StMU Research Scholars

Featuring Scholarly Research, Writing, and Media at St. Mary's University

Podcast Series

Espera, ¿cómo dices eso?

Episode

Querido Mejor Amigo

December 12, 2022
Espera, ¿cómo dices eso?
Espera, ¿cómo dices eso?
Querido Mejor Amigo
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The media has completely changed a league that was once centered around on the court play and team performance. Nowadays what happens on the basketball court takes a backseat to off the court drama, postgame quotes, and narratives that have little to do with professional basketball. So much of what happens on the court is now dictated by what the media says and the players are conscious of various narratives and storylines that the media creates within any given National Basketball Association (NBA) season. These narratives have many implications that aren't usually talked about when discussing the NBA as a whole.
(Alex Montes)
The media negatively affects the NBA in many ways. First the media tends to sensationalize different events/quotes within the season. This done to to attract viewership and engagement with their posts. This type of sensationalism doesn’t just happen in the articles that are made by beat writers. Other more modern versions of media such as Instagram pages, TikTok accounts, and Twitter accounts that are run by these major outlets like ESPN, Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and they are one of the biggest culprits of this form of sensationalism. These pages spew off “hot takes” for the sake of increasing engagement on the post. While this may seem like a harmless form of increasing popularity, the long-term effects of this kind of media coverage are evident when you read between the lines. A lot of these engagement farming posts are consumed by the casual fan that isn’t as invested in the league as other, more die-hard individuals. As a result, the general perception of a team/player can be affected by these incendiary posts. The casual viewer won’t know how to differentiate the posts that are farming engagement from the reality of the featured team or player. As a result, a large portion of the casual fan population become uninformed on various topics within the NBA. 
(Alex Montes)
This negative coverage largely affects the overall perception of the league itself. If media members are consistently degrading the skill level and performance of the players within the league, it will lead to the league itself being seen as producing a low-quality product. One of the most glaring examples of this dynamic is the media’s constant need to call the NBA an offensive-minded league where no defense is played. This is a lazy narrative that glosses over the fact that the league has collectively become more skilled compared to the NBA of the 1980s/90s. This narrative also conveniently ignores the boom in three-point shooting that occurred between 2015-2018. Lazy narratives like this led to the NBA as a league being seen in a light that simply isn’t accurate.  On the flip side, some may argue that this negative coverage of the league isn’t all bad, as it leads to an increase in the overall popularity of the NBA and its star players. While this may be true if we’re looking at it from a pure engagement and popularity standpoint, but there are many downsides to having this kind of media coverage. For one, negative exposure can affect the NBA's relationships with sponsors, advertisers, and partners. Companies may hesitate to associate their brand with a league that is embroiled in controversy or negative publicity, leading to loss of sponsorship deals and revenue. NBA players often have individual endorsement deals with various brands. Negative exposure for the league can spill over to affect players' endorsement deals. Sponsors may be reluctant to renew contracts or may terminate existing deals if they believe their brand is at risk due to negative association with the NBA. This is especially evident in the NBA where, unlike baseball  and especially  football, in  basketball the players’ faces are easy to see and thus easy to use in advertisements,” which creates a “clearer identification between fans and individual players.” [1. Secular, Steven. The Digital NBA: How the World’s Savviest League Brings the Court to Our Couch. University of Illinois Press, 2023.] Because of this, the NBA’s presence in media and TV is much larger than other leagues such as the National Football League or the Major League Baseball. The NBA has the most marketable stars in all of sports because of how present any given player is throughout the season. Players play 82 games, giving advertisers time to structure ad campaigns and sponsorships centered on them. Often these players are very generous with their donations to non-profits within the local community and these endorsement deals are often relevant and important to the community for this reason. NBA players are in the limelight now more than ever. The popularity of the average NBA is much higher than it was 20 years ago with the rise of social media. These players’ lives are looked at under a microscope. One of the many skills that young basketball players are taught is how to respond to and interact with the media. "You're, in all humbleness, a big-time athlete, and I mean, in our case, we're in the NBA, and it's a dream for a lot of people. And so that means a lot of people are watching," Gradey Dick adds. "So, people are gonna try everything they can to just find different things out about you." [2. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago,”] Many programs, most notably Overtime Elite, a startup basketball league that is run by Overtime, a popular media outlet that covers all sports, makes it a point to train their young players on how to handle the media. The media has become a staple of NBA players lives with the increase for the demand of fan interaction and engagement on social media. As expected, players respond differently to this new age of NBA culture. Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic has expressed his discomfort with the intrusive nature of NBA fans and has generally tried to stay away from the public eye. "Being famous, some people like it, some people don't. When I finish my career, I really wish nobody knows me," Jokic said. "I really don't like this life because, at the end of the day, we are just basketball players. We are just good at what we are doing. But the media is something that is around us, and, of course, we are getting paid because of the media, because of our popularity."  He added: "It just feels sad, whenever you go to the bar, restaurant, some game, people are just taking their phones out and trying to record you. I think that's really, I'm going to say, rude. It's not that I'm out showing myself; I'm just who I am."  The league and its organizations are actively working against this rising tide, trying to figure out how to keep information in-house before it gets leaked to the public and spirals into something much bigger -- something that could have a significant impact on how the organization is viewed or even how the players perform on the basketball court.” [3. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago”]  This relationship between the players and the media becomes much more complex when discussing what the players can and can’t talk about. For example, NBA Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving has been outspoken when it comes to voicing his support for various causes and movements that he agrees with. When Irving played for the Brooklyn Nets, he was required by New York law to receive the COVID vaccine to play at the Barclay’s Center, the home court of the Brooklyn Nets. Irving publicly rejected this request and sat out for the rest of the season. While NBA players are encouraged to support movements that are generally viewed as good and worthwhile, they have been ridiculed for supporting causes that aren’t unanimously viewed as positive.  This begs the question of how many liberties NBA players really have, and if the league is really entitled to players’ participation in the media. Players generally stay within the “gray area” when it comes to speaking about controversial topics to the media. “Players’ neutrality favored the NBA and their respective eco- nomic futures in the league by seemingly kowtowing to Chinese national interests [4. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]. Between the U.S. and China, the NBA struggled to appease one side without alienating the other [5. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]”. The NBA is currently trying to find a balance with what they allow their players to say or speak about. They want to empower their athletes to be outspoken about causes they support, but sometimes these causes don’t align with the views of the league itself. 
(Alex Montes)
In conclusion, the relationship between NBA players and the national media is growing and evolving with each passing season. As players get used to the tactics and methods of the media, they will be more equipped to deal with the problems that are caused by these outlets. While media exposure can increase visibility and fan engagement, not all exposure is beneficial. Negative media coverage can damage the league's reputation, affect player image and marketability, and strain relationships with sponsors and partners. It's essential for the NBA to navigate these challenges by promoting responsible journalism, prioritizing player empowerment, and addressing issues that arise with transparency and integrity. By doing so, the league can continue to thrive while mitigating the negative effects of media scrutiny, ensuring a positive and sustainable future for the NBA and its stakeholders. 
The media has completely changed a league that was once centered around on the court play and team performance. Nowadays what happens on the basketball court takes a backseat to off the court drama, postgame quotes, and narratives that have little to do with professional basketball. So much of what happens on the court is now dictated by what the media says and the players are conscious of various narratives and storylines that the media creates within any given National Basketball Association (NBA) season. These narratives have many implications that aren't usually talked about when discussing the NBA as a whole.
(Alex Montes)
The media negatively affects the NBA in many ways. First the media tends to sensationalize different events/quotes within the season. This done to to attract viewership and engagement with their posts. This type of sensationalism doesn’t just happen in the articles that are made by beat writers. Other more modern versions of media such as Instagram pages, TikTok accounts, and Twitter accounts that are run by these major outlets like ESPN, Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and they are one of the biggest culprits of this form of sensationalism. These pages spew off “hot takes” for the sake of increasing engagement on the post. While this may seem like a harmless form of increasing popularity, the long-term effects of this kind of media coverage are evident when you read between the lines. A lot of these engagement farming posts are consumed by the casual fan that isn’t as invested in the league as other, more die-hard individuals. As a result, the general perception of a team/player can be affected by these incendiary posts. The casual viewer won’t know how to differentiate the posts that are farming engagement from the reality of the featured team or player. As a result, a large portion of the casual fan population become uninformed on various topics within the NBA. 
(Alex Montes)
This negative coverage largely affects the overall perception of the league itself. If media members are consistently degrading the skill level and performance of the players within the league, it will lead to the league itself being seen as producing a low-quality product. One of the most glaring examples of this dynamic is the media’s constant need to call the NBA an offensive-minded league where no defense is played. This is a lazy narrative that glosses over the fact that the league has collectively become more skilled compared to the NBA of the 1980s/90s. This narrative also conveniently ignores the boom in three-point shooting that occurred between 2015-2018. Lazy narratives like this led to the NBA as a league being seen in a light that simply isn’t accurate.  On the flip side, some may argue that this negative coverage of the league isn’t all bad, as it leads to an increase in the overall popularity of the NBA and its star players. While this may be true if we’re looking at it from a pure engagement and popularity standpoint, but there are many downsides to having this kind of media coverage. For one, negative exposure can affect the NBA's relationships with sponsors, advertisers, and partners. Companies may hesitate to associate their brand with a league that is embroiled in controversy or negative publicity, leading to loss of sponsorship deals and revenue. NBA players often have individual endorsement deals with various brands. Negative exposure for the league can spill over to affect players' endorsement deals. Sponsors may be reluctant to renew contracts or may terminate existing deals if they believe their brand is at risk due to negative association with the NBA. This is especially evident in the NBA where, unlike baseball  and especially  football, in  basketball the players’ faces are easy to see and thus easy to use in advertisements,” which creates a “clearer identification between fans and individual players.” [1. Secular, Steven. The Digital NBA: How the World’s Savviest League Brings the Court to Our Couch. University of Illinois Press, 2023.] Because of this, the NBA’s presence in media and TV is much larger than other leagues such as the National Football League or the Major League Baseball. The NBA has the most marketable stars in all of sports because of how present any given player is throughout the season. Players play 82 games, giving advertisers time to structure ad campaigns and sponsorships centered on them. Often these players are very generous with their donations to non-profits within the local community and these endorsement deals are often relevant and important to the community for this reason. NBA players are in the limelight now more than ever. The popularity of the average NBA is much higher than it was 20 years ago with the rise of social media. These players’ lives are looked at under a microscope. One of the many skills that young basketball players are taught is how to respond to and interact with the media. "You're, in all humbleness, a big-time athlete, and I mean, in our case, we're in the NBA, and it's a dream for a lot of people. And so that means a lot of people are watching," Gradey Dick adds. "So, people are gonna try everything they can to just find different things out about you." [2. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago,”] Many programs, most notably Overtime Elite, a startup basketball league that is run by Overtime, a popular media outlet that covers all sports, makes it a point to train their young players on how to handle the media. The media has become a staple of NBA players lives with the increase for the demand of fan interaction and engagement on social media. As expected, players respond differently to this new age of NBA culture. Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic has expressed his discomfort with the intrusive nature of NBA fans and has generally tried to stay away from the public eye. "Being famous, some people like it, some people don't. When I finish my career, I really wish nobody knows me," Jokic said. "I really don't like this life because, at the end of the day, we are just basketball players. We are just good at what we are doing. But the media is something that is around us, and, of course, we are getting paid because of the media, because of our popularity."  He added: "It just feels sad, whenever you go to the bar, restaurant, some game, people are just taking their phones out and trying to record you. I think that's really, I'm going to say, rude. It's not that I'm out showing myself; I'm just who I am."  The league and its organizations are actively working against this rising tide, trying to figure out how to keep information in-house before it gets leaked to the public and spirals into something much bigger -- something that could have a significant impact on how the organization is viewed or even how the players perform on the basketball court.” [3. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago”]  This relationship between the players and the media becomes much more complex when discussing what the players can and can’t talk about. For example, NBA Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving has been outspoken when it comes to voicing his support for various causes and movements that he agrees with. When Irving played for the Brooklyn Nets, he was required by New York law to receive the COVID vaccine to play at the Barclay’s Center, the home court of the Brooklyn Nets. Irving publicly rejected this request and sat out for the rest of the season. While NBA players are encouraged to support movements that are generally viewed as good and worthwhile, they have been ridiculed for supporting causes that aren’t unanimously viewed as positive.  This begs the question of how many liberties NBA players really have, and if the league is really entitled to players’ participation in the media. Players generally stay within the “gray area” when it comes to speaking about controversial topics to the media. “Players’ neutrality favored the NBA and their respective eco- nomic futures in the league by seemingly kowtowing to Chinese national interests [4. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]. Between the U.S. and China, the NBA struggled to appease one side without alienating the other [5. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]”. The NBA is currently trying to find a balance with what they allow their players to say or speak about. They want to empower their athletes to be outspoken about causes they support, but sometimes these causes don’t align with the views of the league itself. 
(Alex Montes)
In conclusion, the relationship between NBA players and the national media is growing and evolving with each passing season. As players get used to the tactics and methods of the media, they will be more equipped to deal with the problems that are caused by these outlets. While media exposure can increase visibility and fan engagement, not all exposure is beneficial. Negative media coverage can damage the league's reputation, affect player image and marketability, and strain relationships with sponsors and partners. It's essential for the NBA to navigate these challenges by promoting responsible journalism, prioritizing player empowerment, and addressing issues that arise with transparency and integrity. By doing so, the league can continue to thrive while mitigating the negative effects of media scrutiny, ensuring a positive and sustainable future for the NBA and its stakeholders. 
The media has completely changed a league that was once centered around on the court play and team performance. Nowadays what happens on the basketball court takes a backseat to off the court drama, postgame quotes, and narratives that have little to do with professional basketball. So much of what happens on the court is now dictated by what the media says and the players are conscious of various narratives and storylines that the media creates within any given National Basketball Association (NBA) season. These narratives have many implications that aren't usually talked about when discussing the NBA as a whole.
(Alex Montes)
The media negatively affects the NBA in many ways. First the media tends to sensationalize different events/quotes within the season. This done to to attract viewership and engagement with their posts. This type of sensationalism doesn’t just happen in the articles that are made by beat writers. Other more modern versions of media such as Instagram pages, TikTok accounts, and Twitter accounts that are run by these major outlets like ESPN, Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and they are one of the biggest culprits of this form of sensationalism. These pages spew off “hot takes” for the sake of increasing engagement on the post. While this may seem like a harmless form of increasing popularity, the long-term effects of this kind of media coverage are evident when you read between the lines. A lot of these engagement farming posts are consumed by the casual fan that isn’t as invested in the league as other, more die-hard individuals. As a result, the general perception of a team/player can be affected by these incendiary posts. The casual viewer won’t know how to differentiate the posts that are farming engagement from the reality of the featured team or player. As a result, a large portion of the casual fan population become uninformed on various topics within the NBA. 
(Alex Montes)
This negative coverage largely affects the overall perception of the league itself. If media members are consistently degrading the skill level and performance of the players within the league, it will lead to the league itself being seen as producing a low-quality product. One of the most glaring examples of this dynamic is the media’s constant need to call the NBA an offensive-minded league where no defense is played. This is a lazy narrative that glosses over the fact that the league has collectively become more skilled compared to the NBA of the 1980s/90s. This narrative also conveniently ignores the boom in three-point shooting that occurred between 2015-2018. Lazy narratives like this led to the NBA as a league being seen in a light that simply isn’t accurate.  On the flip side, some may argue that this negative coverage of the league isn’t all bad, as it leads to an increase in the overall popularity of the NBA and its star players. While this may be true if we’re looking at it from a pure engagement and popularity standpoint, but there are many downsides to having this kind of media coverage. For one, negative exposure can affect the NBA's relationships with sponsors, advertisers, and partners. Companies may hesitate to associate their brand with a league that is embroiled in controversy or negative publicity, leading to loss of sponsorship deals and revenue. NBA players often have individual endorsement deals with various brands. Negative exposure for the league can spill over to affect players' endorsement deals. Sponsors may be reluctant to renew contracts or may terminate existing deals if they believe their brand is at risk due to negative association with the NBA. This is especially evident in the NBA where, unlike baseball  and especially  football, in  basketball the players’ faces are easy to see and thus easy to use in advertisements,” which creates a “clearer identification between fans and individual players.” [1. Secular, Steven. The Digital NBA: How the World’s Savviest League Brings the Court to Our Couch. University of Illinois Press, 2023.] Because of this, the NBA’s presence in media and TV is much larger than other leagues such as the National Football League or the Major League Baseball. The NBA has the most marketable stars in all of sports because of how present any given player is throughout the season. Players play 82 games, giving advertisers time to structure ad campaigns and sponsorships centered on them. Often these players are very generous with their donations to non-profits within the local community and these endorsement deals are often relevant and important to the community for this reason. NBA players are in the limelight now more than ever. The popularity of the average NBA is much higher than it was 20 years ago with the rise of social media. These players’ lives are looked at under a microscope. One of the many skills that young basketball players are taught is how to respond to and interact with the media. "You're, in all humbleness, a big-time athlete, and I mean, in our case, we're in the NBA, and it's a dream for a lot of people. And so that means a lot of people are watching," Gradey Dick adds. "So, people are gonna try everything they can to just find different things out about you." [2. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago,”] Many programs, most notably Overtime Elite, a startup basketball league that is run by Overtime, a popular media outlet that covers all sports, makes it a point to train their young players on how to handle the media. The media has become a staple of NBA players lives with the increase for the demand of fan interaction and engagement on social media. As expected, players respond differently to this new age of NBA culture. Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic has expressed his discomfort with the intrusive nature of NBA fans and has generally tried to stay away from the public eye. "Being famous, some people like it, some people don't. When I finish my career, I really wish nobody knows me," Jokic said. "I really don't like this life because, at the end of the day, we are just basketball players. We are just good at what we are doing. But the media is something that is around us, and, of course, we are getting paid because of the media, because of our popularity."  He added: "It just feels sad, whenever you go to the bar, restaurant, some game, people are just taking their phones out and trying to record you. I think that's really, I'm going to say, rude. It's not that I'm out showing myself; I'm just who I am."  The league and its organizations are actively working against this rising tide, trying to figure out how to keep information in-house before it gets leaked to the public and spirals into something much bigger -- something that could have a significant impact on how the organization is viewed or even how the players perform on the basketball court.” [3. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago”]  This relationship between the players and the media becomes much more complex when discussing what the players can and can’t talk about. For example, NBA Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving has been outspoken when it comes to voicing his support for various causes and movements that he agrees with. When Irving played for the Brooklyn Nets, he was required by New York law to receive the COVID vaccine to play at the Barclay’s Center, the home court of the Brooklyn Nets. Irving publicly rejected this request and sat out for the rest of the season. While NBA players are encouraged to support movements that are generally viewed as good and worthwhile, they have been ridiculed for supporting causes that aren’t unanimously viewed as positive.  This begs the question of how many liberties NBA players really have, and if the league is really entitled to players’ participation in the media. Players generally stay within the “gray area” when it comes to speaking about controversial topics to the media. “Players’ neutrality favored the NBA and their respective eco- nomic futures in the league by seemingly kowtowing to Chinese national interests [4. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]. Between the U.S. and China, the NBA struggled to appease one side without alienating the other [5. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]”. The NBA is currently trying to find a balance with what they allow their players to say or speak about. They want to empower their athletes to be outspoken about causes they support, but sometimes these causes don’t align with the views of the league itself. 
(Alex Montes)
In conclusion, the relationship between NBA players and the national media is growing and evolving with each passing season. As players get used to the tactics and methods of the media, they will be more equipped to deal with the problems that are caused by these outlets. While media exposure can increase visibility and fan engagement, not all exposure is beneficial. Negative media coverage can damage the league's reputation, affect player image and marketability, and strain relationships with sponsors and partners. It's essential for the NBA to navigate these challenges by promoting responsible journalism, prioritizing player empowerment, and addressing issues that arise with transparency and integrity. By doing so, the league can continue to thrive while mitigating the negative effects of media scrutiny, ensuring a positive and sustainable future for the NBA and its stakeholders. 
The media has completely changed a league that was once centered around on the court play and team performance. Nowadays what happens on the basketball court takes a backseat to off the court drama, postgame quotes, and narratives that have little to do with professional basketball. So much of what happens on the court is now dictated by what the media says and the players are conscious of various narratives and storylines that the media creates within any given National Basketball Association (NBA) season. These narratives have many implications that aren't usually talked about when discussing the NBA as a whole.
(Alex Montes)
The media negatively affects the NBA in many ways. First the media tends to sensationalize different events/quotes within the season. This done to to attract viewership and engagement with their posts. This type of sensationalism doesn’t just happen in the articles that are made by beat writers. Other more modern versions of media such as Instagram pages, TikTok accounts, and Twitter accounts that are run by these major outlets like ESPN, Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and they are one of the biggest culprits of this form of sensationalism. These pages spew off “hot takes” for the sake of increasing engagement on the post. While this may seem like a harmless form of increasing popularity, the long-term effects of this kind of media coverage are evident when you read between the lines. A lot of these engagement farming posts are consumed by the casual fan that isn’t as invested in the league as other, more die-hard individuals. As a result, the general perception of a team/player can be affected by these incendiary posts. The casual viewer won’t know how to differentiate the posts that are farming engagement from the reality of the featured team or player. As a result, a large portion of the casual fan population become uninformed on various topics within the NBA. 
(Alex Montes)
This negative coverage largely affects the overall perception of the league itself. If media members are consistently degrading the skill level and performance of the players within the league, it will lead to the league itself being seen as producing a low-quality product. One of the most glaring examples of this dynamic is the media’s constant need to call the NBA an offensive-minded league where no defense is played. This is a lazy narrative that glosses over the fact that the league has collectively become more skilled compared to the NBA of the 1980s/90s. This narrative also conveniently ignores the boom in three-point shooting that occurred between 2015-2018. Lazy narratives like this led to the NBA as a league being seen in a light that simply isn’t accurate.  On the flip side, some may argue that this negative coverage of the league isn’t all bad, as it leads to an increase in the overall popularity of the NBA and its star players. While this may be true if we’re looking at it from a pure engagement and popularity standpoint, but there are many downsides to having this kind of media coverage. For one, negative exposure can affect the NBA's relationships with sponsors, advertisers, and partners. Companies may hesitate to associate their brand with a league that is embroiled in controversy or negative publicity, leading to loss of sponsorship deals and revenue. NBA players often have individual endorsement deals with various brands. Negative exposure for the league can spill over to affect players' endorsement deals. Sponsors may be reluctant to renew contracts or may terminate existing deals if they believe their brand is at risk due to negative association with the NBA. This is especially evident in the NBA where, unlike baseball  and especially  football, in  basketball the players’ faces are easy to see and thus easy to use in advertisements,” which creates a “clearer identification between fans and individual players.” [1. Secular, Steven. The Digital NBA: How the World’s Savviest League Brings the Court to Our Couch. University of Illinois Press, 2023.] Because of this, the NBA’s presence in media and TV is much larger than other leagues such as the National Football League or the Major League Baseball. The NBA has the most marketable stars in all of sports because of how present any given player is throughout the season. Players play 82 games, giving advertisers time to structure ad campaigns and sponsorships centered on them. Often these players are very generous with their donations to non-profits within the local community and these endorsement deals are often relevant and important to the community for this reason. NBA players are in the limelight now more than ever. The popularity of the average NBA is much higher than it was 20 years ago with the rise of social media. These players’ lives are looked at under a microscope. One of the many skills that young basketball players are taught is how to respond to and interact with the media. "You're, in all humbleness, a big-time athlete, and I mean, in our case, we're in the NBA, and it's a dream for a lot of people. And so that means a lot of people are watching," Gradey Dick adds. "So, people are gonna try everything they can to just find different things out about you." [2. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago,”] Many programs, most notably Overtime Elite, a startup basketball league that is run by Overtime, a popular media outlet that covers all sports, makes it a point to train their young players on how to handle the media. The media has become a staple of NBA players lives with the increase for the demand of fan interaction and engagement on social media. As expected, players respond differently to this new age of NBA culture. Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic has expressed his discomfort with the intrusive nature of NBA fans and has generally tried to stay away from the public eye. "Being famous, some people like it, some people don't. When I finish my career, I really wish nobody knows me," Jokic said. "I really don't like this life because, at the end of the day, we are just basketball players. We are just good at what we are doing. But the media is something that is around us, and, of course, we are getting paid because of the media, because of our popularity."  He added: "It just feels sad, whenever you go to the bar, restaurant, some game, people are just taking their phones out and trying to record you. I think that's really, I'm going to say, rude. It's not that I'm out showing myself; I'm just who I am."  The league and its organizations are actively working against this rising tide, trying to figure out how to keep information in-house before it gets leaked to the public and spirals into something much bigger -- something that could have a significant impact on how the organization is viewed or even how the players perform on the basketball court.” [3. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago”]  This relationship between the players and the media becomes much more complex when discussing what the players can and can’t talk about. For example, NBA Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving has been outspoken when it comes to voicing his support for various causes and movements that he agrees with. When Irving played for the Brooklyn Nets, he was required by New York law to receive the COVID vaccine to play at the Barclay’s Center, the home court of the Brooklyn Nets. Irving publicly rejected this request and sat out for the rest of the season. While NBA players are encouraged to support movements that are generally viewed as good and worthwhile, they have been ridiculed for supporting causes that aren’t unanimously viewed as positive.  This begs the question of how many liberties NBA players really have, and if the league is really entitled to players’ participation in the media. Players generally stay within the “gray area” when it comes to speaking about controversial topics to the media. “Players’ neutrality favored the NBA and their respective eco- nomic futures in the league by seemingly kowtowing to Chinese national interests [4. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]. Between the U.S. and China, the NBA struggled to appease one side without alienating the other [5. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]”. The NBA is currently trying to find a balance with what they allow their players to say or speak about. They want to empower their athletes to be outspoken about causes they support, but sometimes these causes don’t align with the views of the league itself. 
(Alex Montes)
In conclusion, the relationship between NBA players and the national media is growing and evolving with each passing season. As players get used to the tactics and methods of the media, they will be more equipped to deal with the problems that are caused by these outlets. While media exposure can increase visibility and fan engagement, not all exposure is beneficial. Negative media coverage can damage the league's reputation, affect player image and marketability, and strain relationships with sponsors and partners. It's essential for the NBA to navigate these challenges by promoting responsible journalism, prioritizing player empowerment, and addressing issues that arise with transparency and integrity. By doing so, the league can continue to thrive while mitigating the negative effects of media scrutiny, ensuring a positive and sustainable future for the NBA and its stakeholders. 
The media has completely changed a league that was once centered around on the court play and team performance. Nowadays what happens on the basketball court takes a backseat to off the court drama, postgame quotes, and narratives that have little to do with professional basketball. So much of what happens on the court is now dictated by what the media says and the players are conscious of various narratives and storylines that the media creates within any given National Basketball Association (NBA) season. These narratives have many implications that aren't usually talked about when discussing the NBA as a whole.
(Alex Montes)
The media negatively affects the NBA in many ways. First the media tends to sensationalize different events/quotes within the season. This done to to attract viewership and engagement with their posts. This type of sensationalism doesn’t just happen in the articles that are made by beat writers. Other more modern versions of media such as Instagram pages, TikTok accounts, and Twitter accounts that are run by these major outlets like ESPN, Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and they are one of the biggest culprits of this form of sensationalism. These pages spew off “hot takes” for the sake of increasing engagement on the post. While this may seem like a harmless form of increasing popularity, the long-term effects of this kind of media coverage are evident when you read between the lines. A lot of these engagement farming posts are consumed by the casual fan that isn’t as invested in the league as other, more die-hard individuals. As a result, the general perception of a team/player can be affected by these incendiary posts. The casual viewer won’t know how to differentiate the posts that are farming engagement from the reality of the featured team or player. As a result, a large portion of the casual fan population become uninformed on various topics within the NBA. 
(Alex Montes)
This negative coverage largely affects the overall perception of the league itself. If media members are consistently degrading the skill level and performance of the players within the league, it will lead to the league itself being seen as producing a low-quality product. One of the most glaring examples of this dynamic is the media’s constant need to call the NBA an offensive-minded league where no defense is played. This is a lazy narrative that glosses over the fact that the league has collectively become more skilled compared to the NBA of the 1980s/90s. This narrative also conveniently ignores the boom in three-point shooting that occurred between 2015-2018. Lazy narratives like this led to the NBA as a league being seen in a light that simply isn’t accurate.  On the flip side, some may argue that this negative coverage of the league isn’t all bad, as it leads to an increase in the overall popularity of the NBA and its star players. While this may be true if we’re looking at it from a pure engagement and popularity standpoint, but there are many downsides to having this kind of media coverage. For one, negative exposure can affect the NBA's relationships with sponsors, advertisers, and partners. Companies may hesitate to associate their brand with a league that is embroiled in controversy or negative publicity, leading to loss of sponsorship deals and revenue. NBA players often have individual endorsement deals with various brands. Negative exposure for the league can spill over to affect players' endorsement deals. Sponsors may be reluctant to renew contracts or may terminate existing deals if they believe their brand is at risk due to negative association with the NBA. This is especially evident in the NBA where, unlike baseball  and especially  football, in  basketball the players’ faces are easy to see and thus easy to use in advertisements,” which creates a “clearer identification between fans and individual players.” [1. Secular, Steven. The Digital NBA: How the World’s Savviest League Brings the Court to Our Couch. University of Illinois Press, 2023.] Because of this, the NBA’s presence in media and TV is much larger than other leagues such as the National Football League or the Major League Baseball. The NBA has the most marketable stars in all of sports because of how present any given player is throughout the season. Players play 82 games, giving advertisers time to structure ad campaigns and sponsorships centered on them. Often these players are very generous with their donations to non-profits within the local community and these endorsement deals are often relevant and important to the community for this reason. NBA players are in the limelight now more than ever. The popularity of the average NBA is much higher than it was 20 years ago with the rise of social media. These players’ lives are looked at under a microscope. One of the many skills that young basketball players are taught is how to respond to and interact with the media. "You're, in all humbleness, a big-time athlete, and I mean, in our case, we're in the NBA, and it's a dream for a lot of people. And so that means a lot of people are watching," Gradey Dick adds. "So, people are gonna try everything they can to just find different things out about you." [2. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago,”] Many programs, most notably Overtime Elite, a startup basketball league that is run by Overtime, a popular media outlet that covers all sports, makes it a point to train their young players on how to handle the media. The media has become a staple of NBA players lives with the increase for the demand of fan interaction and engagement on social media. As expected, players respond differently to this new age of NBA culture. Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic has expressed his discomfort with the intrusive nature of NBA fans and has generally tried to stay away from the public eye. "Being famous, some people like it, some people don't. When I finish my career, I really wish nobody knows me," Jokic said. "I really don't like this life because, at the end of the day, we are just basketball players. We are just good at what we are doing. But the media is something that is around us, and, of course, we are getting paid because of the media, because of our popularity."  He added: "It just feels sad, whenever you go to the bar, restaurant, some game, people are just taking their phones out and trying to record you. I think that's really, I'm going to say, rude. It's not that I'm out showing myself; I'm just who I am."  The league and its organizations are actively working against this rising tide, trying to figure out how to keep information in-house before it gets leaked to the public and spirals into something much bigger -- something that could have a significant impact on how the organization is viewed or even how the players perform on the basketball court.” [3. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago”]  This relationship between the players and the media becomes much more complex when discussing what the players can and can’t talk about. For example, NBA Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving has been outspoken when it comes to voicing his support for various causes and movements that he agrees with. When Irving played for the Brooklyn Nets, he was required by New York law to receive the COVID vaccine to play at the Barclay’s Center, the home court of the Brooklyn Nets. Irving publicly rejected this request and sat out for the rest of the season. While NBA players are encouraged to support movements that are generally viewed as good and worthwhile, they have been ridiculed for supporting causes that aren’t unanimously viewed as positive.  This begs the question of how many liberties NBA players really have, and if the league is really entitled to players’ participation in the media. Players generally stay within the “gray area” when it comes to speaking about controversial topics to the media. “Players’ neutrality favored the NBA and their respective eco- nomic futures in the league by seemingly kowtowing to Chinese national interests [4. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]. Between the U.S. and China, the NBA struggled to appease one side without alienating the other [5. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]”. The NBA is currently trying to find a balance with what they allow their players to say or speak about. They want to empower their athletes to be outspoken about causes they support, but sometimes these causes don’t align with the views of the league itself. 
(Alex Montes)
In conclusion, the relationship between NBA players and the national media is growing and evolving with each passing season. As players get used to the tactics and methods of the media, they will be more equipped to deal with the problems that are caused by these outlets. While media exposure can increase visibility and fan engagement, not all exposure is beneficial. Negative media coverage can damage the league's reputation, affect player image and marketability, and strain relationships with sponsors and partners. It's essential for the NBA to navigate these challenges by promoting responsible journalism, prioritizing player empowerment, and addressing issues that arise with transparency and integrity. By doing so, the league can continue to thrive while mitigating the negative effects of media scrutiny, ensuring a positive and sustainable future for the NBA and its stakeholders. 
The media has completely changed a league that was once centered around on the court play and team performance. Nowadays what happens on the basketball court takes a backseat to off the court drama, postgame quotes, and narratives that have little to do with professional basketball. So much of what happens on the court is now dictated by what the media says and the players are conscious of various narratives and storylines that the media creates within any given National Basketball Association (NBA) season. These narratives have many implications that aren't usually talked about when discussing the NBA as a whole.
(Alex Montes)
The media negatively affects the NBA in many ways. First the media tends to sensationalize different events/quotes within the season. This done to to attract viewership and engagement with their posts. This type of sensationalism doesn’t just happen in the articles that are made by beat writers. Other more modern versions of media such as Instagram pages, TikTok accounts, and Twitter accounts that are run by these major outlets like ESPN, Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and they are one of the biggest culprits of this form of sensationalism. These pages spew off “hot takes” for the sake of increasing engagement on the post. While this may seem like a harmless form of increasing popularity, the long-term effects of this kind of media coverage are evident when you read between the lines. A lot of these engagement farming posts are consumed by the casual fan that isn’t as invested in the league as other, more die-hard individuals. As a result, the general perception of a team/player can be affected by these incendiary posts. The casual viewer won’t know how to differentiate the posts that are farming engagement from the reality of the featured team or player. As a result, a large portion of the casual fan population become uninformed on various topics within the NBA. 
(Alex Montes)
This negative coverage largely affects the overall perception of the league itself. If media members are consistently degrading the skill level and performance of the players within the league, it will lead to the league itself being seen as producing a low-quality product. One of the most glaring examples of this dynamic is the media’s constant need to call the NBA an offensive-minded league where no defense is played. This is a lazy narrative that glosses over the fact that the league has collectively become more skilled compared to the NBA of the 1980s/90s. This narrative also conveniently ignores the boom in three-point shooting that occurred between 2015-2018. Lazy narratives like this led to the NBA as a league being seen in a light that simply isn’t accurate.  On the flip side, some may argue that this negative coverage of the league isn’t all bad, as it leads to an increase in the overall popularity of the NBA and its star players. While this may be true if we’re looking at it from a pure engagement and popularity standpoint, but there are many downsides to having this kind of media coverage. For one, negative exposure can affect the NBA's relationships with sponsors, advertisers, and partners. Companies may hesitate to associate their brand with a league that is embroiled in controversy or negative publicity, leading to loss of sponsorship deals and revenue. NBA players often have individual endorsement deals with various brands. Negative exposure for the league can spill over to affect players' endorsement deals. Sponsors may be reluctant to renew contracts or may terminate existing deals if they believe their brand is at risk due to negative association with the NBA. This is especially evident in the NBA where, unlike baseball  and especially  football, in  basketball the players’ faces are easy to see and thus easy to use in advertisements,” which creates a “clearer identification between fans and individual players.” [1. Secular, Steven. The Digital NBA: How the World’s Savviest League Brings the Court to Our Couch. University of Illinois Press, 2023.] Because of this, the NBA’s presence in media and TV is much larger than other leagues such as the National Football League or the Major League Baseball. The NBA has the most marketable stars in all of sports because of how present any given player is throughout the season. Players play 82 games, giving advertisers time to structure ad campaigns and sponsorships centered on them. Often these players are very generous with their donations to non-profits within the local community and these endorsement deals are often relevant and important to the community for this reason. NBA players are in the limelight now more than ever. The popularity of the average NBA is much higher than it was 20 years ago with the rise of social media. These players’ lives are looked at under a microscope. One of the many skills that young basketball players are taught is how to respond to and interact with the media. "You're, in all humbleness, a big-time athlete, and I mean, in our case, we're in the NBA, and it's a dream for a lot of people. And so that means a lot of people are watching," Gradey Dick adds. "So, people are gonna try everything they can to just find different things out about you." [2. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago,”] Many programs, most notably Overtime Elite, a startup basketball league that is run by Overtime, a popular media outlet that covers all sports, makes it a point to train their young players on how to handle the media. The media has become a staple of NBA players lives with the increase for the demand of fan interaction and engagement on social media. As expected, players respond differently to this new age of NBA culture. Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic has expressed his discomfort with the intrusive nature of NBA fans and has generally tried to stay away from the public eye. "Being famous, some people like it, some people don't. When I finish my career, I really wish nobody knows me," Jokic said. "I really don't like this life because, at the end of the day, we are just basketball players. We are just good at what we are doing. But the media is something that is around us, and, of course, we are getting paid because of the media, because of our popularity."  He added: "It just feels sad, whenever you go to the bar, restaurant, some game, people are just taking their phones out and trying to record you. I think that's really, I'm going to say, rude. It's not that I'm out showing myself; I'm just who I am."  The league and its organizations are actively working against this rising tide, trying to figure out how to keep information in-house before it gets leaked to the public and spirals into something much bigger -- something that could have a significant impact on how the organization is viewed or even how the players perform on the basketball court.” [3. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago”]  This relationship between the players and the media becomes much more complex when discussing what the players can and can’t talk about. For example, NBA Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving has been outspoken when it comes to voicing his support for various causes and movements that he agrees with. When Irving played for the Brooklyn Nets, he was required by New York law to receive the COVID vaccine to play at the Barclay’s Center, the home court of the Brooklyn Nets. Irving publicly rejected this request and sat out for the rest of the season. While NBA players are encouraged to support movements that are generally viewed as good and worthwhile, they have been ridiculed for supporting causes that aren’t unanimously viewed as positive.  This begs the question of how many liberties NBA players really have, and if the league is really entitled to players’ participation in the media. Players generally stay within the “gray area” when it comes to speaking about controversial topics to the media. “Players’ neutrality favored the NBA and their respective eco- nomic futures in the league by seemingly kowtowing to Chinese national interests [4. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]. Between the U.S. and China, the NBA struggled to appease one side without alienating the other [5. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]”. The NBA is currently trying to find a balance with what they allow their players to say or speak about. They want to empower their athletes to be outspoken about causes they support, but sometimes these causes don’t align with the views of the league itself. 
(Alex Montes)
In conclusion, the relationship between NBA players and the national media is growing and evolving with each passing season. As players get used to the tactics and methods of the media, they will be more equipped to deal with the problems that are caused by these outlets. While media exposure can increase visibility and fan engagement, not all exposure is beneficial. Negative media coverage can damage the league's reputation, affect player image and marketability, and strain relationships with sponsors and partners. It's essential for the NBA to navigate these challenges by promoting responsible journalism, prioritizing player empowerment, and addressing issues that arise with transparency and integrity. By doing so, the league can continue to thrive while mitigating the negative effects of media scrutiny, ensuring a positive and sustainable future for the NBA and its stakeholders. 
The media has completely changed a league that was once centered around on the court play and team performance. Nowadays what happens on the basketball court takes a backseat to off the court drama, postgame quotes, and narratives that have little to do with professional basketball. So much of what happens on the court is now dictated by what the media says and the players are conscious of various narratives and storylines that the media creates within any given National Basketball Association (NBA) season. These narratives have many implications that aren't usually talked about when discussing the NBA as a whole.
(Alex Montes)
The media negatively affects the NBA in many ways. First the media tends to sensationalize different events/quotes within the season. This done to to attract viewership and engagement with their posts. This type of sensationalism doesn’t just happen in the articles that are made by beat writers. Other more modern versions of media such as Instagram pages, TikTok accounts, and Twitter accounts that are run by these major outlets like ESPN, Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and they are one of the biggest culprits of this form of sensationalism. These pages spew off “hot takes” for the sake of increasing engagement on the post. While this may seem like a harmless form of increasing popularity, the long-term effects of this kind of media coverage are evident when you read between the lines. A lot of these engagement farming posts are consumed by the casual fan that isn’t as invested in the league as other, more die-hard individuals. As a result, the general perception of a team/player can be affected by these incendiary posts. The casual viewer won’t know how to differentiate the posts that are farming engagement from the reality of the featured team or player. As a result, a large portion of the casual fan population become uninformed on various topics within the NBA. 
(Alex Montes)
This negative coverage largely affects the overall perception of the league itself. If media members are consistently degrading the skill level and performance of the players within the league, it will lead to the league itself being seen as producing a low-quality product. One of the most glaring examples of this dynamic is the media’s constant need to call the NBA an offensive-minded league where no defense is played. This is a lazy narrative that glosses over the fact that the league has collectively become more skilled compared to the NBA of the 1980s/90s. This narrative also conveniently ignores the boom in three-point shooting that occurred between 2015-2018. Lazy narratives like this led to the NBA as a league being seen in a light that simply isn’t accurate.  On the flip side, some may argue that this negative coverage of the league isn’t all bad, as it leads to an increase in the overall popularity of the NBA and its star players. While this may be true if we’re looking at it from a pure engagement and popularity standpoint, but there are many downsides to having this kind of media coverage. For one, negative exposure can affect the NBA's relationships with sponsors, advertisers, and partners. Companies may hesitate to associate their brand with a league that is embroiled in controversy or negative publicity, leading to loss of sponsorship deals and revenue. NBA players often have individual endorsement deals with various brands. Negative exposure for the league can spill over to affect players' endorsement deals. Sponsors may be reluctant to renew contracts or may terminate existing deals if they believe their brand is at risk due to negative association with the NBA. This is especially evident in the NBA where, unlike baseball  and especially  football, in  basketball the players’ faces are easy to see and thus easy to use in advertisements,” which creates a “clearer identification between fans and individual players.” [1. Secular, Steven. The Digital NBA: How the World’s Savviest League Brings the Court to Our Couch. University of Illinois Press, 2023.] Because of this, the NBA’s presence in media and TV is much larger than other leagues such as the National Football League or the Major League Baseball. The NBA has the most marketable stars in all of sports because of how present any given player is throughout the season. Players play 82 games, giving advertisers time to structure ad campaigns and sponsorships centered on them. Often these players are very generous with their donations to non-profits within the local community and these endorsement deals are often relevant and important to the community for this reason. NBA players are in the limelight now more than ever. The popularity of the average NBA is much higher than it was 20 years ago with the rise of social media. These players’ lives are looked at under a microscope. One of the many skills that young basketball players are taught is how to respond to and interact with the media. "You're, in all humbleness, a big-time athlete, and I mean, in our case, we're in the NBA, and it's a dream for a lot of people. And so that means a lot of people are watching," Gradey Dick adds. "So, people are gonna try everything they can to just find different things out about you." [2. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago,”] Many programs, most notably Overtime Elite, a startup basketball league that is run by Overtime, a popular media outlet that covers all sports, makes it a point to train their young players on how to handle the media. The media has become a staple of NBA players lives with the increase for the demand of fan interaction and engagement on social media. As expected, players respond differently to this new age of NBA culture. Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic has expressed his discomfort with the intrusive nature of NBA fans and has generally tried to stay away from the public eye. "Being famous, some people like it, some people don't. When I finish my career, I really wish nobody knows me," Jokic said. "I really don't like this life because, at the end of the day, we are just basketball players. We are just good at what we are doing. But the media is something that is around us, and, of course, we are getting paid because of the media, because of our popularity."  He added: "It just feels sad, whenever you go to the bar, restaurant, some game, people are just taking their phones out and trying to record you. I think that's really, I'm going to say, rude. It's not that I'm out showing myself; I'm just who I am."  The league and its organizations are actively working against this rising tide, trying to figure out how to keep information in-house before it gets leaked to the public and spirals into something much bigger -- something that could have a significant impact on how the organization is viewed or even how the players perform on the basketball court.” [3. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago”]  This relationship between the players and the media becomes much more complex when discussing what the players can and can’t talk about. For example, NBA Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving has been outspoken when it comes to voicing his support for various causes and movements that he agrees with. When Irving played for the Brooklyn Nets, he was required by New York law to receive the COVID vaccine to play at the Barclay’s Center, the home court of the Brooklyn Nets. Irving publicly rejected this request and sat out for the rest of the season. While NBA players are encouraged to support movements that are generally viewed as good and worthwhile, they have been ridiculed for supporting causes that aren’t unanimously viewed as positive.  This begs the question of how many liberties NBA players really have, and if the league is really entitled to players’ participation in the media. Players generally stay within the “gray area” when it comes to speaking about controversial topics to the media. “Players’ neutrality favored the NBA and their respective eco- nomic futures in the league by seemingly kowtowing to Chinese national interests [4. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]. Between the U.S. and China, the NBA struggled to appease one side without alienating the other [5. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]”. The NBA is currently trying to find a balance with what they allow their players to say or speak about. They want to empower their athletes to be outspoken about causes they support, but sometimes these causes don’t align with the views of the league itself. 
(Alex Montes)
In conclusion, the relationship between NBA players and the national media is growing and evolving with each passing season. As players get used to the tactics and methods of the media, they will be more equipped to deal with the problems that are caused by these outlets. While media exposure can increase visibility and fan engagement, not all exposure is beneficial. Negative media coverage can damage the league's reputation, affect player image and marketability, and strain relationships with sponsors and partners. It's essential for the NBA to navigate these challenges by promoting responsible journalism, prioritizing player empowerment, and addressing issues that arise with transparency and integrity. By doing so, the league can continue to thrive while mitigating the negative effects of media scrutiny, ensuring a positive and sustainable future for the NBA and its stakeholders. 
The media has completely changed a league that was once centered around on the court play and team performance. Nowadays what happens on the basketball court takes a backseat to off the court drama, postgame quotes, and narratives that have little to do with professional basketball. So much of what happens on the court is now dictated by what the media says and the players are conscious of various narratives and storylines that the media creates within any given National Basketball Association (NBA) season. These narratives have many implications that aren't usually talked about when discussing the NBA as a whole.
(Alex Montes)
The media negatively affects the NBA in many ways. First the media tends to sensationalize different events/quotes within the season. This done to to attract viewership and engagement with their posts. This type of sensationalism doesn’t just happen in the articles that are made by beat writers. Other more modern versions of media such as Instagram pages, TikTok accounts, and Twitter accounts that are run by these major outlets like ESPN, Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and they are one of the biggest culprits of this form of sensationalism. These pages spew off “hot takes” for the sake of increasing engagement on the post. While this may seem like a harmless form of increasing popularity, the long-term effects of this kind of media coverage are evident when you read between the lines. A lot of these engagement farming posts are consumed by the casual fan that isn’t as invested in the league as other, more die-hard individuals. As a result, the general perception of a team/player can be affected by these incendiary posts. The casual viewer won’t know how to differentiate the posts that are farming engagement from the reality of the featured team or player. As a result, a large portion of the casual fan population become uninformed on various topics within the NBA. 
(Alex Montes)
This negative coverage largely affects the overall perception of the league itself. If media members are consistently degrading the skill level and performance of the players within the league, it will lead to the league itself being seen as producing a low-quality product. One of the most glaring examples of this dynamic is the media’s constant need to call the NBA an offensive-minded league where no defense is played. This is a lazy narrative that glosses over the fact that the league has collectively become more skilled compared to the NBA of the 1980s/90s. This narrative also conveniently ignores the boom in three-point shooting that occurred between 2015-2018. Lazy narratives like this led to the NBA as a league being seen in a light that simply isn’t accurate.  On the flip side, some may argue that this negative coverage of the league isn’t all bad, as it leads to an increase in the overall popularity of the NBA and its star players. While this may be true if we’re looking at it from a pure engagement and popularity standpoint, but there are many downsides to having this kind of media coverage. For one, negative exposure can affect the NBA's relationships with sponsors, advertisers, and partners. Companies may hesitate to associate their brand with a league that is embroiled in controversy or negative publicity, leading to loss of sponsorship deals and revenue. NBA players often have individual endorsement deals with various brands. Negative exposure for the league can spill over to affect players' endorsement deals. Sponsors may be reluctant to renew contracts or may terminate existing deals if they believe their brand is at risk due to negative association with the NBA. This is especially evident in the NBA where, unlike baseball  and especially  football, in  basketball the players’ faces are easy to see and thus easy to use in advertisements,” which creates a “clearer identification between fans and individual players.” [1. Secular, Steven. The Digital NBA: How the World’s Savviest League Brings the Court to Our Couch. University of Illinois Press, 2023.] Because of this, the NBA’s presence in media and TV is much larger than other leagues such as the National Football League or the Major League Baseball. The NBA has the most marketable stars in all of sports because of how present any given player is throughout the season. Players play 82 games, giving advertisers time to structure ad campaigns and sponsorships centered on them. Often these players are very generous with their donations to non-profits within the local community and these endorsement deals are often relevant and important to the community for this reason. NBA players are in the limelight now more than ever. The popularity of the average NBA is much higher than it was 20 years ago with the rise of social media. These players’ lives are looked at under a microscope. One of the many skills that young basketball players are taught is how to respond to and interact with the media. "You're, in all humbleness, a big-time athlete, and I mean, in our case, we're in the NBA, and it's a dream for a lot of people. And so that means a lot of people are watching," Gradey Dick adds. "So, people are gonna try everything they can to just find different things out about you." [2. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago,”] Many programs, most notably Overtime Elite, a startup basketball league that is run by Overtime, a popular media outlet that covers all sports, makes it a point to train their young players on how to handle the media. The media has become a staple of NBA players lives with the increase for the demand of fan interaction and engagement on social media. As expected, players respond differently to this new age of NBA culture. Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic has expressed his discomfort with the intrusive nature of NBA fans and has generally tried to stay away from the public eye. "Being famous, some people like it, some people don't. When I finish my career, I really wish nobody knows me," Jokic said. "I really don't like this life because, at the end of the day, we are just basketball players. We are just good at what we are doing. But the media is something that is around us, and, of course, we are getting paid because of the media, because of our popularity."  He added: "It just feels sad, whenever you go to the bar, restaurant, some game, people are just taking their phones out and trying to record you. I think that's really, I'm going to say, rude. It's not that I'm out showing myself; I'm just who I am."  The league and its organizations are actively working against this rising tide, trying to figure out how to keep information in-house before it gets leaked to the public and spirals into something much bigger -- something that could have a significant impact on how the organization is viewed or even how the players perform on the basketball court.” [3. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago”]  This relationship between the players and the media becomes much more complex when discussing what the players can and can’t talk about. For example, NBA Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving has been outspoken when it comes to voicing his support for various causes and movements that he agrees with. When Irving played for the Brooklyn Nets, he was required by New York law to receive the COVID vaccine to play at the Barclay’s Center, the home court of the Brooklyn Nets. Irving publicly rejected this request and sat out for the rest of the season. While NBA players are encouraged to support movements that are generally viewed as good and worthwhile, they have been ridiculed for supporting causes that aren’t unanimously viewed as positive.  This begs the question of how many liberties NBA players really have, and if the league is really entitled to players’ participation in the media. Players generally stay within the “gray area” when it comes to speaking about controversial topics to the media. “Players’ neutrality favored the NBA and their respective eco- nomic futures in the league by seemingly kowtowing to Chinese national interests [4. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]. Between the U.S. and China, the NBA struggled to appease one side without alienating the other [5. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]”. The NBA is currently trying to find a balance with what they allow their players to say or speak about. They want to empower their athletes to be outspoken about causes they support, but sometimes these causes don’t align with the views of the league itself. 
(Alex Montes)
In conclusion, the relationship between NBA players and the national media is growing and evolving with each passing season. As players get used to the tactics and methods of the media, they will be more equipped to deal with the problems that are caused by these outlets. While media exposure can increase visibility and fan engagement, not all exposure is beneficial. Negative media coverage can damage the league's reputation, affect player image and marketability, and strain relationships with sponsors and partners. It's essential for the NBA to navigate these challenges by promoting responsible journalism, prioritizing player empowerment, and addressing issues that arise with transparency and integrity. By doing so, the league can continue to thrive while mitigating the negative effects of media scrutiny, ensuring a positive and sustainable future for the NBA and its stakeholders. 
The media has completely changed a league that was once centered around on the court play and team performance. Nowadays what happens on the basketball court takes a backseat to off the court drama, postgame quotes, and narratives that have little to do with professional basketball. So much of what happens on the court is now dictated by what the media says and the players are conscious of various narratives and storylines that the media creates within any given National Basketball Association (NBA) season. These narratives have many implications that aren't usually talked about when discussing the NBA as a whole.
(Alex Montes)
The media negatively affects the NBA in many ways. First the media tends to sensationalize different events/quotes within the season. This done to to attract viewership and engagement with their posts. This type of sensationalism doesn’t just happen in the articles that are made by beat writers. Other more modern versions of media such as Instagram pages, TikTok accounts, and Twitter accounts that are run by these major outlets like ESPN, Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and they are one of the biggest culprits of this form of sensationalism. These pages spew off “hot takes” for the sake of increasing engagement on the post. While this may seem like a harmless form of increasing popularity, the long-term effects of this kind of media coverage are evident when you read between the lines. A lot of these engagement farming posts are consumed by the casual fan that isn’t as invested in the league as other, more die-hard individuals. As a result, the general perception of a team/player can be affected by these incendiary posts. The casual viewer won’t know how to differentiate the posts that are farming engagement from the reality of the featured team or player. As a result, a large portion of the casual fan population become uninformed on various topics within the NBA. 
(Alex Montes)
This negative coverage largely affects the overall perception of the league itself. If media members are consistently degrading the skill level and performance of the players within the league, it will lead to the league itself being seen as producing a low-quality product. One of the most glaring examples of this dynamic is the media’s constant need to call the NBA an offensive-minded league where no defense is played. This is a lazy narrative that glosses over the fact that the league has collectively become more skilled compared to the NBA of the 1980s/90s. This narrative also conveniently ignores the boom in three-point shooting that occurred between 2015-2018. Lazy narratives like this led to the NBA as a league being seen in a light that simply isn’t accurate.  On the flip side, some may argue that this negative coverage of the league isn’t all bad, as it leads to an increase in the overall popularity of the NBA and its star players. While this may be true if we’re looking at it from a pure engagement and popularity standpoint, but there are many downsides to having this kind of media coverage. For one, negative exposure can affect the NBA's relationships with sponsors, advertisers, and partners. Companies may hesitate to associate their brand with a league that is embroiled in controversy or negative publicity, leading to loss of sponsorship deals and revenue. NBA players often have individual endorsement deals with various brands. Negative exposure for the league can spill over to affect players' endorsement deals. Sponsors may be reluctant to renew contracts or may terminate existing deals if they believe their brand is at risk due to negative association with the NBA. This is especially evident in the NBA where, unlike baseball  and especially  football, in  basketball the players’ faces are easy to see and thus easy to use in advertisements,” which creates a “clearer identification between fans and individual players.” [1. Secular, Steven. The Digital NBA: How the World’s Savviest League Brings the Court to Our Couch. University of Illinois Press, 2023.] Because of this, the NBA’s presence in media and TV is much larger than other leagues such as the National Football League or the Major League Baseball. The NBA has the most marketable stars in all of sports because of how present any given player is throughout the season. Players play 82 games, giving advertisers time to structure ad campaigns and sponsorships centered on them. Often these players are very generous with their donations to non-profits within the local community and these endorsement deals are often relevant and important to the community for this reason. NBA players are in the limelight now more than ever. The popularity of the average NBA is much higher than it was 20 years ago with the rise of social media. These players’ lives are looked at under a microscope. One of the many skills that young basketball players are taught is how to respond to and interact with the media. "You're, in all humbleness, a big-time athlete, and I mean, in our case, we're in the NBA, and it's a dream for a lot of people. And so that means a lot of people are watching," Gradey Dick adds. "So, people are gonna try everything they can to just find different things out about you." [2. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago,”] Many programs, most notably Overtime Elite, a startup basketball league that is run by Overtime, a popular media outlet that covers all sports, makes it a point to train their young players on how to handle the media. The media has become a staple of NBA players lives with the increase for the demand of fan interaction and engagement on social media. As expected, players respond differently to this new age of NBA culture. Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic has expressed his discomfort with the intrusive nature of NBA fans and has generally tried to stay away from the public eye. "Being famous, some people like it, some people don't. When I finish my career, I really wish nobody knows me," Jokic said. "I really don't like this life because, at the end of the day, we are just basketball players. We are just good at what we are doing. But the media is something that is around us, and, of course, we are getting paid because of the media, because of our popularity."  He added: "It just feels sad, whenever you go to the bar, restaurant, some game, people are just taking their phones out and trying to record you. I think that's really, I'm going to say, rude. It's not that I'm out showing myself; I'm just who I am."  The league and its organizations are actively working against this rising tide, trying to figure out how to keep information in-house before it gets leaked to the public and spirals into something much bigger -- something that could have a significant impact on how the organization is viewed or even how the players perform on the basketball court.” [3. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago”]  This relationship between the players and the media becomes much more complex when discussing what the players can and can’t talk about. For example, NBA Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving has been outspoken when it comes to voicing his support for various causes and movements that he agrees with. When Irving played for the Brooklyn Nets, he was required by New York law to receive the COVID vaccine to play at the Barclay’s Center, the home court of the Brooklyn Nets. Irving publicly rejected this request and sat out for the rest of the season. While NBA players are encouraged to support movements that are generally viewed as good and worthwhile, they have been ridiculed for supporting causes that aren’t unanimously viewed as positive.  This begs the question of how many liberties NBA players really have, and if the league is really entitled to players’ participation in the media. Players generally stay within the “gray area” when it comes to speaking about controversial topics to the media. “Players’ neutrality favored the NBA and their respective eco- nomic futures in the league by seemingly kowtowing to Chinese national interests [4. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]. Between the U.S. and China, the NBA struggled to appease one side without alienating the other [5. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]”. The NBA is currently trying to find a balance with what they allow their players to say or speak about. They want to empower their athletes to be outspoken about causes they support, but sometimes these causes don’t align with the views of the league itself. 
(Alex Montes)
In conclusion, the relationship between NBA players and the national media is growing and evolving with each passing season. As players get used to the tactics and methods of the media, they will be more equipped to deal with the problems that are caused by these outlets. While media exposure can increase visibility and fan engagement, not all exposure is beneficial. Negative media coverage can damage the league's reputation, affect player image and marketability, and strain relationships with sponsors and partners. It's essential for the NBA to navigate these challenges by promoting responsible journalism, prioritizing player empowerment, and addressing issues that arise with transparency and integrity. By doing so, the league can continue to thrive while mitigating the negative effects of media scrutiny, ensuring a positive and sustainable future for the NBA and its stakeholders. 
The media has completely changed a league that was once centered around on the court play and team performance. Nowadays what happens on the basketball court takes a backseat to off the court drama, postgame quotes, and narratives that have little to do with professional basketball. So much of what happens on the court is now dictated by what the media says and the players are conscious of various narratives and storylines that the media creates within any given National Basketball Association (NBA) season. These narratives have many implications that aren't usually talked about when discussing the NBA as a whole.
(Alex Montes)
The media negatively affects the NBA in many ways. First the media tends to sensationalize different events/quotes within the season. This done to to attract viewership and engagement with their posts. This type of sensationalism doesn’t just happen in the articles that are made by beat writers. Other more modern versions of media such as Instagram pages, TikTok accounts, and Twitter accounts that are run by these major outlets like ESPN, Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and they are one of the biggest culprits of this form of sensationalism. These pages spew off “hot takes” for the sake of increasing engagement on the post. While this may seem like a harmless form of increasing popularity, the long-term effects of this kind of media coverage are evident when you read between the lines. A lot of these engagement farming posts are consumed by the casual fan that isn’t as invested in the league as other, more die-hard individuals. As a result, the general perception of a team/player can be affected by these incendiary posts. The casual viewer won’t know how to differentiate the posts that are farming engagement from the reality of the featured team or player. As a result, a large portion of the casual fan population become uninformed on various topics within the NBA. 
(Alex Montes)
This negative coverage largely affects the overall perception of the league itself. If media members are consistently degrading the skill level and performance of the players within the league, it will lead to the league itself being seen as producing a low-quality product. One of the most glaring examples of this dynamic is the media’s constant need to call the NBA an offensive-minded league where no defense is played. This is a lazy narrative that glosses over the fact that the league has collectively become more skilled compared to the NBA of the 1980s/90s. This narrative also conveniently ignores the boom in three-point shooting that occurred between 2015-2018. Lazy narratives like this led to the NBA as a league being seen in a light that simply isn’t accurate.  On the flip side, some may argue that this negative coverage of the league isn’t all bad, as it leads to an increase in the overall popularity of the NBA and its star players. While this may be true if we’re looking at it from a pure engagement and popularity standpoint, but there are many downsides to having this kind of media coverage. For one, negative exposure can affect the NBA's relationships with sponsors, advertisers, and partners. Companies may hesitate to associate their brand with a league that is embroiled in controversy or negative publicity, leading to loss of sponsorship deals and revenue. NBA players often have individual endorsement deals with various brands. Negative exposure for the league can spill over to affect players' endorsement deals. Sponsors may be reluctant to renew contracts or may terminate existing deals if they believe their brand is at risk due to negative association with the NBA. This is especially evident in the NBA where, unlike baseball  and especially  football, in  basketball the players’ faces are easy to see and thus easy to use in advertisements,” which creates a “clearer identification between fans and individual players.” [1. Secular, Steven. The Digital NBA: How the World’s Savviest League Brings the Court to Our Couch. University of Illinois Press, 2023.] Because of this, the NBA’s presence in media and TV is much larger than other leagues such as the National Football League or the Major League Baseball. The NBA has the most marketable stars in all of sports because of how present any given player is throughout the season. Players play 82 games, giving advertisers time to structure ad campaigns and sponsorships centered on them. Often these players are very generous with their donations to non-profits within the local community and these endorsement deals are often relevant and important to the community for this reason. NBA players are in the limelight now more than ever. The popularity of the average NBA is much higher than it was 20 years ago with the rise of social media. These players’ lives are looked at under a microscope. One of the many skills that young basketball players are taught is how to respond to and interact with the media. "You're, in all humbleness, a big-time athlete, and I mean, in our case, we're in the NBA, and it's a dream for a lot of people. And so that means a lot of people are watching," Gradey Dick adds. "So, people are gonna try everything they can to just find different things out about you." [2. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago,”] Many programs, most notably Overtime Elite, a startup basketball league that is run by Overtime, a popular media outlet that covers all sports, makes it a point to train their young players on how to handle the media. The media has become a staple of NBA players lives with the increase for the demand of fan interaction and engagement on social media. As expected, players respond differently to this new age of NBA culture. Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic has expressed his discomfort with the intrusive nature of NBA fans and has generally tried to stay away from the public eye. "Being famous, some people like it, some people don't. When I finish my career, I really wish nobody knows me," Jokic said. "I really don't like this life because, at the end of the day, we are just basketball players. We are just good at what we are doing. But the media is something that is around us, and, of course, we are getting paid because of the media, because of our popularity."  He added: "It just feels sad, whenever you go to the bar, restaurant, some game, people are just taking their phones out and trying to record you. I think that's really, I'm going to say, rude. It's not that I'm out showing myself; I'm just who I am."  The league and its organizations are actively working against this rising tide, trying to figure out how to keep information in-house before it gets leaked to the public and spirals into something much bigger -- something that could have a significant impact on how the organization is viewed or even how the players perform on the basketball court.” [3. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago”]  This relationship between the players and the media becomes much more complex when discussing what the players can and can’t talk about. For example, NBA Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving has been outspoken when it comes to voicing his support for various causes and movements that he agrees with. When Irving played for the Brooklyn Nets, he was required by New York law to receive the COVID vaccine to play at the Barclay’s Center, the home court of the Brooklyn Nets. Irving publicly rejected this request and sat out for the rest of the season. While NBA players are encouraged to support movements that are generally viewed as good and worthwhile, they have been ridiculed for supporting causes that aren’t unanimously viewed as positive.  This begs the question of how many liberties NBA players really have, and if the league is really entitled to players’ participation in the media. Players generally stay within the “gray area” when it comes to speaking about controversial topics to the media. “Players’ neutrality favored the NBA and their respective eco- nomic futures in the league by seemingly kowtowing to Chinese national interests [4. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]. Between the U.S. and China, the NBA struggled to appease one side without alienating the other [5. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]”. The NBA is currently trying to find a balance with what they allow their players to say or speak about. They want to empower their athletes to be outspoken about causes they support, but sometimes these causes don’t align with the views of the league itself. 
(Alex Montes)
In conclusion, the relationship between NBA players and the national media is growing and evolving with each passing season. As players get used to the tactics and methods of the media, they will be more equipped to deal with the problems that are caused by these outlets. While media exposure can increase visibility and fan engagement, not all exposure is beneficial. Negative media coverage can damage the league's reputation, affect player image and marketability, and strain relationships with sponsors and partners. It's essential for the NBA to navigate these challenges by promoting responsible journalism, prioritizing player empowerment, and addressing issues that arise with transparency and integrity. By doing so, the league can continue to thrive while mitigating the negative effects of media scrutiny, ensuring a positive and sustainable future for the NBA and its stakeholders. 
The media has completely changed a league that was once centered around on the court play and team performance. Nowadays what happens on the basketball court takes a backseat to off the court drama, postgame quotes, and narratives that have little to do with professional basketball. So much of what happens on the court is now dictated by what the media says and the players are conscious of various narratives and storylines that the media creates within any given National Basketball Association (NBA) season. These narratives have many implications that aren't usually talked about when discussing the NBA as a whole.
(Alex Montes)
The media negatively affects the NBA in many ways. First the media tends to sensationalize different events/quotes within the season. This done to to attract viewership and engagement with their posts. This type of sensationalism doesn’t just happen in the articles that are made by beat writers. Other more modern versions of media such as Instagram pages, TikTok accounts, and Twitter accounts that are run by these major outlets like ESPN, Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and they are one of the biggest culprits of this form of sensationalism. These pages spew off “hot takes” for the sake of increasing engagement on the post. While this may seem like a harmless form of increasing popularity, the long-term effects of this kind of media coverage are evident when you read between the lines. A lot of these engagement farming posts are consumed by the casual fan that isn’t as invested in the league as other, more die-hard individuals. As a result, the general perception of a team/player can be affected by these incendiary posts. The casual viewer won’t know how to differentiate the posts that are farming engagement from the reality of the featured team or player. As a result, a large portion of the casual fan population become uninformed on various topics within the NBA. 
(Alex Montes)
This negative coverage largely affects the overall perception of the league itself. If media members are consistently degrading the skill level and performance of the players within the league, it will lead to the league itself being seen as producing a low-quality product. One of the most glaring examples of this dynamic is the media’s constant need to call the NBA an offensive-minded league where no defense is played. This is a lazy narrative that glosses over the fact that the league has collectively become more skilled compared to the NBA of the 1980s/90s. This narrative also conveniently ignores the boom in three-point shooting that occurred between 2015-2018. Lazy narratives like this led to the NBA as a league being seen in a light that simply isn’t accurate.  On the flip side, some may argue that this negative coverage of the league isn’t all bad, as it leads to an increase in the overall popularity of the NBA and its star players. While this may be true if we’re looking at it from a pure engagement and popularity standpoint, but there are many downsides to having this kind of media coverage. For one, negative exposure can affect the NBA's relationships with sponsors, advertisers, and partners. Companies may hesitate to associate their brand with a league that is embroiled in controversy or negative publicity, leading to loss of sponsorship deals and revenue. NBA players often have individual endorsement deals with various brands. Negative exposure for the league can spill over to affect players' endorsement deals. Sponsors may be reluctant to renew contracts or may terminate existing deals if they believe their brand is at risk due to negative association with the NBA. This is especially evident in the NBA where, unlike baseball  and especially  football, in  basketball the players’ faces are easy to see and thus easy to use in advertisements,” which creates a “clearer identification between fans and individual players.” [1. Secular, Steven. The Digital NBA: How the World’s Savviest League Brings the Court to Our Couch. University of Illinois Press, 2023.] Because of this, the NBA’s presence in media and TV is much larger than other leagues such as the National Football League or the Major League Baseball. The NBA has the most marketable stars in all of sports because of how present any given player is throughout the season. Players play 82 games, giving advertisers time to structure ad campaigns and sponsorships centered on them. Often these players are very generous with their donations to non-profits within the local community and these endorsement deals are often relevant and important to the community for this reason. NBA players are in the limelight now more than ever. The popularity of the average NBA is much higher than it was 20 years ago with the rise of social media. These players’ lives are looked at under a microscope. One of the many skills that young basketball players are taught is how to respond to and interact with the media. "You're, in all humbleness, a big-time athlete, and I mean, in our case, we're in the NBA, and it's a dream for a lot of people. And so that means a lot of people are watching," Gradey Dick adds. "So, people are gonna try everything they can to just find different things out about you." [2. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago,”] Many programs, most notably Overtime Elite, a startup basketball league that is run by Overtime, a popular media outlet that covers all sports, makes it a point to train their young players on how to handle the media. The media has become a staple of NBA players lives with the increase for the demand of fan interaction and engagement on social media. As expected, players respond differently to this new age of NBA culture. Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic has expressed his discomfort with the intrusive nature of NBA fans and has generally tried to stay away from the public eye. "Being famous, some people like it, some people don't. When I finish my career, I really wish nobody knows me," Jokic said. "I really don't like this life because, at the end of the day, we are just basketball players. We are just good at what we are doing. But the media is something that is around us, and, of course, we are getting paid because of the media, because of our popularity."  He added: "It just feels sad, whenever you go to the bar, restaurant, some game, people are just taking their phones out and trying to record you. I think that's really, I'm going to say, rude. It's not that I'm out showing myself; I'm just who I am."  The league and its organizations are actively working against this rising tide, trying to figure out how to keep information in-house before it gets leaked to the public and spirals into something much bigger -- something that could have a significant impact on how the organization is viewed or even how the players perform on the basketball court.” [3. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago”]  This relationship between the players and the media becomes much more complex when discussing what the players can and can’t talk about. For example, NBA Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving has been outspoken when it comes to voicing his support for various causes and movements that he agrees with. When Irving played for the Brooklyn Nets, he was required by New York law to receive the COVID vaccine to play at the Barclay’s Center, the home court of the Brooklyn Nets. Irving publicly rejected this request and sat out for the rest of the season. While NBA players are encouraged to support movements that are generally viewed as good and worthwhile, they have been ridiculed for supporting causes that aren’t unanimously viewed as positive.  This begs the question of how many liberties NBA players really have, and if the league is really entitled to players’ participation in the media. Players generally stay within the “gray area” when it comes to speaking about controversial topics to the media. “Players’ neutrality favored the NBA and their respective eco- nomic futures in the league by seemingly kowtowing to Chinese national interests [4. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]. Between the U.S. and China, the NBA struggled to appease one side without alienating the other [5. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]”. The NBA is currently trying to find a balance with what they allow their players to say or speak about. They want to empower their athletes to be outspoken about causes they support, but sometimes these causes don’t align with the views of the league itself. 
(Alex Montes)
In conclusion, the relationship between NBA players and the national media is growing and evolving with each passing season. As players get used to the tactics and methods of the media, they will be more equipped to deal with the problems that are caused by these outlets. While media exposure can increase visibility and fan engagement, not all exposure is beneficial. Negative media coverage can damage the league's reputation, affect player image and marketability, and strain relationships with sponsors and partners. It's essential for the NBA to navigate these challenges by promoting responsible journalism, prioritizing player empowerment, and addressing issues that arise with transparency and integrity. By doing so, the league can continue to thrive while mitigating the negative effects of media scrutiny, ensuring a positive and sustainable future for the NBA and its stakeholders. 
The media has completely changed a league that was once centered around on the court play and team performance. Nowadays what happens on the basketball court takes a backseat to off the court drama, postgame quotes, and narratives that have little to do with professional basketball. So much of what happens on the court is now dictated by what the media says and the players are conscious of various narratives and storylines that the media creates within any given National Basketball Association (NBA) season. These narratives have many implications that aren't usually talked about when discussing the NBA as a whole.
(Alex Montes)
The media negatively affects the NBA in many ways. First the media tends to sensationalize different events/quotes within the season. This done to to attract viewership and engagement with their posts. This type of sensationalism doesn’t just happen in the articles that are made by beat writers. Other more modern versions of media such as Instagram pages, TikTok accounts, and Twitter accounts that are run by these major outlets like ESPN, Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and they are one of the biggest culprits of this form of sensationalism. These pages spew off “hot takes” for the sake of increasing engagement on the post. While this may seem like a harmless form of increasing popularity, the long-term effects of this kind of media coverage are evident when you read between the lines. A lot of these engagement farming posts are consumed by the casual fan that isn’t as invested in the league as other, more die-hard individuals. As a result, the general perception of a team/player can be affected by these incendiary posts. The casual viewer won’t know how to differentiate the posts that are farming engagement from the reality of the featured team or player. As a result, a large portion of the casual fan population become uninformed on various topics within the NBA. 
(Alex Montes)
This negative coverage largely affects the overall perception of the league itself. If media members are consistently degrading the skill level and performance of the players within the league, it will lead to the league itself being seen as producing a low-quality product. One of the most glaring examples of this dynamic is the media’s constant need to call the NBA an offensive-minded league where no defense is played. This is a lazy narrative that glosses over the fact that the league has collectively become more skilled compared to the NBA of the 1980s/90s. This narrative also conveniently ignores the boom in three-point shooting that occurred between 2015-2018. Lazy narratives like this led to the NBA as a league being seen in a light that simply isn’t accurate.  On the flip side, some may argue that this negative coverage of the league isn’t all bad, as it leads to an increase in the overall popularity of the NBA and its star players. While this may be true if we’re looking at it from a pure engagement and popularity standpoint, but there are many downsides to having this kind of media coverage. For one, negative exposure can affect the NBA's relationships with sponsors, advertisers, and partners. Companies may hesitate to associate their brand with a league that is embroiled in controversy or negative publicity, leading to loss of sponsorship deals and revenue. NBA players often have individual endorsement deals with various brands. Negative exposure for the league can spill over to affect players' endorsement deals. Sponsors may be reluctant to renew contracts or may terminate existing deals if they believe their brand is at risk due to negative association with the NBA. This is especially evident in the NBA where, unlike baseball  and especially  football, in  basketball the players’ faces are easy to see and thus easy to use in advertisements,” which creates a “clearer identification between fans and individual players.” [1. Secular, Steven. The Digital NBA: How the World’s Savviest League Brings the Court to Our Couch. University of Illinois Press, 2023.] Because of this, the NBA’s presence in media and TV is much larger than other leagues such as the National Football League or the Major League Baseball. The NBA has the most marketable stars in all of sports because of how present any given player is throughout the season. Players play 82 games, giving advertisers time to structure ad campaigns and sponsorships centered on them. Often these players are very generous with their donations to non-profits within the local community and these endorsement deals are often relevant and important to the community for this reason. NBA players are in the limelight now more than ever. The popularity of the average NBA is much higher than it was 20 years ago with the rise of social media. These players’ lives are looked at under a microscope. One of the many skills that young basketball players are taught is how to respond to and interact with the media. "You're, in all humbleness, a big-time athlete, and I mean, in our case, we're in the NBA, and it's a dream for a lot of people. And so that means a lot of people are watching," Gradey Dick adds. "So, people are gonna try everything they can to just find different things out about you." [2. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago,”] Many programs, most notably Overtime Elite, a startup basketball league that is run by Overtime, a popular media outlet that covers all sports, makes it a point to train their young players on how to handle the media. The media has become a staple of NBA players lives with the increase for the demand of fan interaction and engagement on social media. As expected, players respond differently to this new age of NBA culture. Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic has expressed his discomfort with the intrusive nature of NBA fans and has generally tried to stay away from the public eye. "Being famous, some people like it, some people don't. When I finish my career, I really wish nobody knows me," Jokic said. "I really don't like this life because, at the end of the day, we are just basketball players. We are just good at what we are doing. But the media is something that is around us, and, of course, we are getting paid because of the media, because of our popularity."  He added: "It just feels sad, whenever you go to the bar, restaurant, some game, people are just taking their phones out and trying to record you. I think that's really, I'm going to say, rude. It's not that I'm out showing myself; I'm just who I am."  The league and its organizations are actively working against this rising tide, trying to figure out how to keep information in-house before it gets leaked to the public and spirals into something much bigger -- something that could have a significant impact on how the organization is viewed or even how the players perform on the basketball court.” [3. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago”]  This relationship between the players and the media becomes much more complex when discussing what the players can and can’t talk about. For example, NBA Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving has been outspoken when it comes to voicing his support for various causes and movements that he agrees with. When Irving played for the Brooklyn Nets, he was required by New York law to receive the COVID vaccine to play at the Barclay’s Center, the home court of the Brooklyn Nets. Irving publicly rejected this request and sat out for the rest of the season. While NBA players are encouraged to support movements that are generally viewed as good and worthwhile, they have been ridiculed for supporting causes that aren’t unanimously viewed as positive.  This begs the question of how many liberties NBA players really have, and if the league is really entitled to players’ participation in the media. Players generally stay within the “gray area” when it comes to speaking about controversial topics to the media. “Players’ neutrality favored the NBA and their respective eco- nomic futures in the league by seemingly kowtowing to Chinese national interests [4. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]. Between the U.S. and China, the NBA struggled to appease one side without alienating the other [5. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]”. The NBA is currently trying to find a balance with what they allow their players to say or speak about. They want to empower their athletes to be outspoken about causes they support, but sometimes these causes don’t align with the views of the league itself. 
(Alex Montes)
In conclusion, the relationship between NBA players and the national media is growing and evolving with each passing season. As players get used to the tactics and methods of the media, they will be more equipped to deal with the problems that are caused by these outlets. While media exposure can increase visibility and fan engagement, not all exposure is beneficial. Negative media coverage can damage the league's reputation, affect player image and marketability, and strain relationships with sponsors and partners. It's essential for the NBA to navigate these challenges by promoting responsible journalism, prioritizing player empowerment, and addressing issues that arise with transparency and integrity. By doing so, the league can continue to thrive while mitigating the negative effects of media scrutiny, ensuring a positive and sustainable future for the NBA and its stakeholders. 
The media has completely changed a league that was once centered around on the court play and team performance. Nowadays what happens on the basketball court takes a backseat to off the court drama, postgame quotes, and narratives that have little to do with professional basketball. So much of what happens on the court is now dictated by what the media says and the players are conscious of various narratives and storylines that the media creates within any given National Basketball Association (NBA) season. These narratives have many implications that aren't usually talked about when discussing the NBA as a whole.
(Alex Montes)
The media negatively affects the NBA in many ways. First the media tends to sensationalize different events/quotes within the season. This done to to attract viewership and engagement with their posts. This type of sensationalism doesn’t just happen in the articles that are made by beat writers. Other more modern versions of media such as Instagram pages, TikTok accounts, and Twitter accounts that are run by these major outlets like ESPN, Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and they are one of the biggest culprits of this form of sensationalism. These pages spew off “hot takes” for the sake of increasing engagement on the post. While this may seem like a harmless form of increasing popularity, the long-term effects of this kind of media coverage are evident when you read between the lines. A lot of these engagement farming posts are consumed by the casual fan that isn’t as invested in the league as other, more die-hard individuals. As a result, the general perception of a team/player can be affected by these incendiary posts. The casual viewer won’t know how to differentiate the posts that are farming engagement from the reality of the featured team or player. As a result, a large portion of the casual fan population become uninformed on various topics within the NBA. 
(Alex Montes)
This negative coverage largely affects the overall perception of the league itself. If media members are consistently degrading the skill level and performance of the players within the league, it will lead to the league itself being seen as producing a low-quality product. One of the most glaring examples of this dynamic is the media’s constant need to call the NBA an offensive-minded league where no defense is played. This is a lazy narrative that glosses over the fact that the league has collectively become more skilled compared to the NBA of the 1980s/90s. This narrative also conveniently ignores the boom in three-point shooting that occurred between 2015-2018. Lazy narratives like this led to the NBA as a league being seen in a light that simply isn’t accurate.  On the flip side, some may argue that this negative coverage of the league isn’t all bad, as it leads to an increase in the overall popularity of the NBA and its star players. While this may be true if we’re looking at it from a pure engagement and popularity standpoint, but there are many downsides to having this kind of media coverage. For one, negative exposure can affect the NBA's relationships with sponsors, advertisers, and partners. Companies may hesitate to associate their brand with a league that is embroiled in controversy or negative publicity, leading to loss of sponsorship deals and revenue. NBA players often have individual endorsement deals with various brands. Negative exposure for the league can spill over to affect players' endorsement deals. Sponsors may be reluctant to renew contracts or may terminate existing deals if they believe their brand is at risk due to negative association with the NBA. This is especially evident in the NBA where, unlike baseball  and especially  football, in  basketball the players’ faces are easy to see and thus easy to use in advertisements,” which creates a “clearer identification between fans and individual players.” [1. Secular, Steven. The Digital NBA: How the World’s Savviest League Brings the Court to Our Couch. University of Illinois Press, 2023.] Because of this, the NBA’s presence in media and TV is much larger than other leagues such as the National Football League or the Major League Baseball. The NBA has the most marketable stars in all of sports because of how present any given player is throughout the season. Players play 82 games, giving advertisers time to structure ad campaigns and sponsorships centered on them. Often these players are very generous with their donations to non-profits within the local community and these endorsement deals are often relevant and important to the community for this reason. NBA players are in the limelight now more than ever. The popularity of the average NBA is much higher than it was 20 years ago with the rise of social media. These players’ lives are looked at under a microscope. One of the many skills that young basketball players are taught is how to respond to and interact with the media. "You're, in all humbleness, a big-time athlete, and I mean, in our case, we're in the NBA, and it's a dream for a lot of people. And so that means a lot of people are watching," Gradey Dick adds. "So, people are gonna try everything they can to just find different things out about you." [2. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago,”] Many programs, most notably Overtime Elite, a startup basketball league that is run by Overtime, a popular media outlet that covers all sports, makes it a point to train their young players on how to handle the media. The media has become a staple of NBA players lives with the increase for the demand of fan interaction and engagement on social media. As expected, players respond differently to this new age of NBA culture. Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic has expressed his discomfort with the intrusive nature of NBA fans and has generally tried to stay away from the public eye. "Being famous, some people like it, some people don't. When I finish my career, I really wish nobody knows me," Jokic said. "I really don't like this life because, at the end of the day, we are just basketball players. We are just good at what we are doing. But the media is something that is around us, and, of course, we are getting paid because of the media, because of our popularity."  He added: "It just feels sad, whenever you go to the bar, restaurant, some game, people are just taking their phones out and trying to record you. I think that's really, I'm going to say, rude. It's not that I'm out showing myself; I'm just who I am."  The league and its organizations are actively working against this rising tide, trying to figure out how to keep information in-house before it gets leaked to the public and spirals into something much bigger -- something that could have a significant impact on how the organization is viewed or even how the players perform on the basketball court.” [3. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago”]  This relationship between the players and the media becomes much more complex when discussing what the players can and can’t talk about. For example, NBA Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving has been outspoken when it comes to voicing his support for various causes and movements that he agrees with. When Irving played for the Brooklyn Nets, he was required by New York law to receive the COVID vaccine to play at the Barclay’s Center, the home court of the Brooklyn Nets. Irving publicly rejected this request and sat out for the rest of the season. While NBA players are encouraged to support movements that are generally viewed as good and worthwhile, they have been ridiculed for supporting causes that aren’t unanimously viewed as positive.  This begs the question of how many liberties NBA players really have, and if the league is really entitled to players’ participation in the media. Players generally stay within the “gray area” when it comes to speaking about controversial topics to the media. “Players’ neutrality favored the NBA and their respective eco- nomic futures in the league by seemingly kowtowing to Chinese national interests [4. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]. Between the U.S. and China, the NBA struggled to appease one side without alienating the other [5. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]”. The NBA is currently trying to find a balance with what they allow their players to say or speak about. They want to empower their athletes to be outspoken about causes they support, but sometimes these causes don’t align with the views of the league itself. 
(Alex Montes)
In conclusion, the relationship between NBA players and the national media is growing and evolving with each passing season. As players get used to the tactics and methods of the media, they will be more equipped to deal with the problems that are caused by these outlets. While media exposure can increase visibility and fan engagement, not all exposure is beneficial. Negative media coverage can damage the league's reputation, affect player image and marketability, and strain relationships with sponsors and partners. It's essential for the NBA to navigate these challenges by promoting responsible journalism, prioritizing player empowerment, and addressing issues that arise with transparency and integrity. By doing so, the league can continue to thrive while mitigating the negative effects of media scrutiny, ensuring a positive and sustainable future for the NBA and its stakeholders. 
The media has completely changed a league that was once centered around on the court play and team performance. Nowadays what happens on the basketball court takes a backseat to off the court drama, postgame quotes, and narratives that have little to do with professional basketball. So much of what happens on the court is now dictated by what the media says and the players are conscious of various narratives and storylines that the media creates within any given National Basketball Association (NBA) season. These narratives have many implications that aren't usually talked about when discussing the NBA as a whole.
(Alex Montes)
The media negatively affects the NBA in many ways. First the media tends to sensationalize different events/quotes within the season. This done to to attract viewership and engagement with their posts. This type of sensationalism doesn’t just happen in the articles that are made by beat writers. Other more modern versions of media such as Instagram pages, TikTok accounts, and Twitter accounts that are run by these major outlets like ESPN, Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and they are one of the biggest culprits of this form of sensationalism. These pages spew off “hot takes” for the sake of increasing engagement on the post. While this may seem like a harmless form of increasing popularity, the long-term effects of this kind of media coverage are evident when you read between the lines. A lot of these engagement farming posts are consumed by the casual fan that isn’t as invested in the league as other, more die-hard individuals. As a result, the general perception of a team/player can be affected by these incendiary posts. The casual viewer won’t know how to differentiate the posts that are farming engagement from the reality of the featured team or player. As a result, a large portion of the casual fan population become uninformed on various topics within the NBA. 
(Alex Montes)
This negative coverage largely affects the overall perception of the league itself. If media members are consistently degrading the skill level and performance of the players within the league, it will lead to the league itself being seen as producing a low-quality product. One of the most glaring examples of this dynamic is the media’s constant need to call the NBA an offensive-minded league where no defense is played. This is a lazy narrative that glosses over the fact that the league has collectively become more skilled compared to the NBA of the 1980s/90s. This narrative also conveniently ignores the boom in three-point shooting that occurred between 2015-2018. Lazy narratives like this led to the NBA as a league being seen in a light that simply isn’t accurate.  On the flip side, some may argue that this negative coverage of the league isn’t all bad, as it leads to an increase in the overall popularity of the NBA and its star players. While this may be true if we’re looking at it from a pure engagement and popularity standpoint, but there are many downsides to having this kind of media coverage. For one, negative exposure can affect the NBA's relationships with sponsors, advertisers, and partners. Companies may hesitate to associate their brand with a league that is embroiled in controversy or negative publicity, leading to loss of sponsorship deals and revenue. NBA players often have individual endorsement deals with various brands. Negative exposure for the league can spill over to affect players' endorsement deals. Sponsors may be reluctant to renew contracts or may terminate existing deals if they believe their brand is at risk due to negative association with the NBA. This is especially evident in the NBA where, unlike baseball  and especially  football, in  basketball the players’ faces are easy to see and thus easy to use in advertisements,” which creates a “clearer identification between fans and individual players.” [1. Secular, Steven. The Digital NBA: How the World’s Savviest League Brings the Court to Our Couch. University of Illinois Press, 2023.] Because of this, the NBA’s presence in media and TV is much larger than other leagues such as the National Football League or the Major League Baseball. The NBA has the most marketable stars in all of sports because of how present any given player is throughout the season. Players play 82 games, giving advertisers time to structure ad campaigns and sponsorships centered on them. Often these players are very generous with their donations to non-profits within the local community and these endorsement deals are often relevant and important to the community for this reason. NBA players are in the limelight now more than ever. The popularity of the average NBA is much higher than it was 20 years ago with the rise of social media. These players’ lives are looked at under a microscope. One of the many skills that young basketball players are taught is how to respond to and interact with the media. "You're, in all humbleness, a big-time athlete, and I mean, in our case, we're in the NBA, and it's a dream for a lot of people. And so that means a lot of people are watching," Gradey Dick adds. "So, people are gonna try everything they can to just find different things out about you." [2. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago,”] Many programs, most notably Overtime Elite, a startup basketball league that is run by Overtime, a popular media outlet that covers all sports, makes it a point to train their young players on how to handle the media. The media has become a staple of NBA players lives with the increase for the demand of fan interaction and engagement on social media. As expected, players respond differently to this new age of NBA culture. Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic has expressed his discomfort with the intrusive nature of NBA fans and has generally tried to stay away from the public eye. "Being famous, some people like it, some people don't. When I finish my career, I really wish nobody knows me," Jokic said. "I really don't like this life because, at the end of the day, we are just basketball players. We are just good at what we are doing. But the media is something that is around us, and, of course, we are getting paid because of the media, because of our popularity."  He added: "It just feels sad, whenever you go to the bar, restaurant, some game, people are just taking their phones out and trying to record you. I think that's really, I'm going to say, rude. It's not that I'm out showing myself; I'm just who I am."  The league and its organizations are actively working against this rising tide, trying to figure out how to keep information in-house before it gets leaked to the public and spirals into something much bigger -- something that could have a significant impact on how the organization is viewed or even how the players perform on the basketball court.” [3. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago”]  This relationship between the players and the media becomes much more complex when discussing what the players can and can’t talk about. For example, NBA Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving has been outspoken when it comes to voicing his support for various causes and movements that he agrees with. When Irving played for the Brooklyn Nets, he was required by New York law to receive the COVID vaccine to play at the Barclay’s Center, the home court of the Brooklyn Nets. Irving publicly rejected this request and sat out for the rest of the season. While NBA players are encouraged to support movements that are generally viewed as good and worthwhile, they have been ridiculed for supporting causes that aren’t unanimously viewed as positive.  This begs the question of how many liberties NBA players really have, and if the league is really entitled to players’ participation in the media. Players generally stay within the “gray area” when it comes to speaking about controversial topics to the media. “Players’ neutrality favored the NBA and their respective eco- nomic futures in the league by seemingly kowtowing to Chinese national interests [4. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]. Between the U.S. and China, the NBA struggled to appease one side without alienating the other [5. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]”. The NBA is currently trying to find a balance with what they allow their players to say or speak about. They want to empower their athletes to be outspoken about causes they support, but sometimes these causes don’t align with the views of the league itself. 
(Alex Montes)
In conclusion, the relationship between NBA players and the national media is growing and evolving with each passing season. As players get used to the tactics and methods of the media, they will be more equipped to deal with the problems that are caused by these outlets. While media exposure can increase visibility and fan engagement, not all exposure is beneficial. Negative media coverage can damage the league's reputation, affect player image and marketability, and strain relationships with sponsors and partners. It's essential for the NBA to navigate these challenges by promoting responsible journalism, prioritizing player empowerment, and addressing issues that arise with transparency and integrity. By doing so, the league can continue to thrive while mitigating the negative effects of media scrutiny, ensuring a positive and sustainable future for the NBA and its stakeholders. 
The media has completely changed a league that was once centered around on the court play and team performance. Nowadays what happens on the basketball court takes a backseat to off the court drama, postgame quotes, and narratives that have little to do with professional basketball. So much of what happens on the court is now dictated by what the media says and the players are conscious of various narratives and storylines that the media creates within any given National Basketball Association (NBA) season. These narratives have many implications that aren't usually talked about when discussing the NBA as a whole.
(Alex Montes)
The media negatively affects the NBA in many ways. First the media tends to sensationalize different events/quotes within the season. This done to to attract viewership and engagement with their posts. This type of sensationalism doesn’t just happen in the articles that are made by beat writers. Other more modern versions of media such as Instagram pages, TikTok accounts, and Twitter accounts that are run by these major outlets like ESPN, Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and they are one of the biggest culprits of this form of sensationalism. These pages spew off “hot takes” for the sake of increasing engagement on the post. While this may seem like a harmless form of increasing popularity, the long-term effects of this kind of media coverage are evident when you read between the lines. A lot of these engagement farming posts are consumed by the casual fan that isn’t as invested in the league as other, more die-hard individuals. As a result, the general perception of a team/player can be affected by these incendiary posts. The casual viewer won’t know how to differentiate the posts that are farming engagement from the reality of the featured team or player. As a result, a large portion of the casual fan population become uninformed on various topics within the NBA. 
(Alex Montes)
This negative coverage largely affects the overall perception of the league itself. If media members are consistently degrading the skill level and performance of the players within the league, it will lead to the league itself being seen as producing a low-quality product. One of the most glaring examples of this dynamic is the media’s constant need to call the NBA an offensive-minded league where no defense is played. This is a lazy narrative that glosses over the fact that the league has collectively become more skilled compared to the NBA of the 1980s/90s. This narrative also conveniently ignores the boom in three-point shooting that occurred between 2015-2018. Lazy narratives like this led to the NBA as a league being seen in a light that simply isn’t accurate.  On the flip side, some may argue that this negative coverage of the league isn’t all bad, as it leads to an increase in the overall popularity of the NBA and its star players. While this may be true if we’re looking at it from a pure engagement and popularity standpoint, but there are many downsides to having this kind of media coverage. For one, negative exposure can affect the NBA's relationships with sponsors, advertisers, and partners. Companies may hesitate to associate their brand with a league that is embroiled in controversy or negative publicity, leading to loss of sponsorship deals and revenue. NBA players often have individual endorsement deals with various brands. Negative exposure for the league can spill over to affect players' endorsement deals. Sponsors may be reluctant to renew contracts or may terminate existing deals if they believe their brand is at risk due to negative association with the NBA. This is especially evident in the NBA where, unlike baseball  and especially  football, in  basketball the players’ faces are easy to see and thus easy to use in advertisements,” which creates a “clearer identification between fans and individual players.” [1. Secular, Steven. The Digital NBA: How the World’s Savviest League Brings the Court to Our Couch. University of Illinois Press, 2023.] Because of this, the NBA’s presence in media and TV is much larger than other leagues such as the National Football League or the Major League Baseball. The NBA has the most marketable stars in all of sports because of how present any given player is throughout the season. Players play 82 games, giving advertisers time to structure ad campaigns and sponsorships centered on them. Often these players are very generous with their donations to non-profits within the local community and these endorsement deals are often relevant and important to the community for this reason. NBA players are in the limelight now more than ever. The popularity of the average NBA is much higher than it was 20 years ago with the rise of social media. These players’ lives are looked at under a microscope. One of the many skills that young basketball players are taught is how to respond to and interact with the media. "You're, in all humbleness, a big-time athlete, and I mean, in our case, we're in the NBA, and it's a dream for a lot of people. And so that means a lot of people are watching," Gradey Dick adds. "So, people are gonna try everything they can to just find different things out about you." [2. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago,”] Many programs, most notably Overtime Elite, a startup basketball league that is run by Overtime, a popular media outlet that covers all sports, makes it a point to train their young players on how to handle the media. The media has become a staple of NBA players lives with the increase for the demand of fan interaction and engagement on social media. As expected, players respond differently to this new age of NBA culture. Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic has expressed his discomfort with the intrusive nature of NBA fans and has generally tried to stay away from the public eye. "Being famous, some people like it, some people don't. When I finish my career, I really wish nobody knows me," Jokic said. "I really don't like this life because, at the end of the day, we are just basketball players. We are just good at what we are doing. But the media is something that is around us, and, of course, we are getting paid because of the media, because of our popularity."  He added: "It just feels sad, whenever you go to the bar, restaurant, some game, people are just taking their phones out and trying to record you. I think that's really, I'm going to say, rude. It's not that I'm out showing myself; I'm just who I am."  The league and its organizations are actively working against this rising tide, trying to figure out how to keep information in-house before it gets leaked to the public and spirals into something much bigger -- something that could have a significant impact on how the organization is viewed or even how the players perform on the basketball court.” [3. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago”]  This relationship between the players and the media becomes much more complex when discussing what the players can and can’t talk about. For example, NBA Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving has been outspoken when it comes to voicing his support for various causes and movements that he agrees with. When Irving played for the Brooklyn Nets, he was required by New York law to receive the COVID vaccine to play at the Barclay’s Center, the home court of the Brooklyn Nets. Irving publicly rejected this request and sat out for the rest of the season. While NBA players are encouraged to support movements that are generally viewed as good and worthwhile, they have been ridiculed for supporting causes that aren’t unanimously viewed as positive.  This begs the question of how many liberties NBA players really have, and if the league is really entitled to players’ participation in the media. Players generally stay within the “gray area” when it comes to speaking about controversial topics to the media. “Players’ neutrality favored the NBA and their respective eco- nomic futures in the league by seemingly kowtowing to Chinese national interests [4. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]. Between the U.S. and China, the NBA struggled to appease one side without alienating the other [5. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]”. The NBA is currently trying to find a balance with what they allow their players to say or speak about. They want to empower their athletes to be outspoken about causes they support, but sometimes these causes don’t align with the views of the league itself. 
(Alex Montes)
In conclusion, the relationship between NBA players and the national media is growing and evolving with each passing season. As players get used to the tactics and methods of the media, they will be more equipped to deal with the problems that are caused by these outlets. While media exposure can increase visibility and fan engagement, not all exposure is beneficial. Negative media coverage can damage the league's reputation, affect player image and marketability, and strain relationships with sponsors and partners. It's essential for the NBA to navigate these challenges by promoting responsible journalism, prioritizing player empowerment, and addressing issues that arise with transparency and integrity. By doing so, the league can continue to thrive while mitigating the negative effects of media scrutiny, ensuring a positive and sustainable future for the NBA and its stakeholders. 
The media has completely changed a league that was once centered around on the court play and team performance. Nowadays what happens on the basketball court takes a backseat to off the court drama, postgame quotes, and narratives that have little to do with professional basketball. So much of what happens on the court is now dictated by what the media says and the players are conscious of various narratives and storylines that the media creates within any given National Basketball Association (NBA) season. These narratives have many implications that aren't usually talked about when discussing the NBA as a whole.
(Alex Montes)
The media negatively affects the NBA in many ways. First the media tends to sensationalize different events/quotes within the season. This done to to attract viewership and engagement with their posts. This type of sensationalism doesn’t just happen in the articles that are made by beat writers. Other more modern versions of media such as Instagram pages, TikTok accounts, and Twitter accounts that are run by these major outlets like ESPN, Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and they are one of the biggest culprits of this form of sensationalism. These pages spew off “hot takes” for the sake of increasing engagement on the post. While this may seem like a harmless form of increasing popularity, the long-term effects of this kind of media coverage are evident when you read between the lines. A lot of these engagement farming posts are consumed by the casual fan that isn’t as invested in the league as other, more die-hard individuals. As a result, the general perception of a team/player can be affected by these incendiary posts. The casual viewer won’t know how to differentiate the posts that are farming engagement from the reality of the featured team or player. As a result, a large portion of the casual fan population become uninformed on various topics within the NBA. 
(Alex Montes)
This negative coverage largely affects the overall perception of the league itself. If media members are consistently degrading the skill level and performance of the players within the league, it will lead to the league itself being seen as producing a low-quality product. One of the most glaring examples of this dynamic is the media’s constant need to call the NBA an offensive-minded league where no defense is played. This is a lazy narrative that glosses over the fact that the league has collectively become more skilled compared to the NBA of the 1980s/90s. This narrative also conveniently ignores the boom in three-point shooting that occurred between 2015-2018. Lazy narratives like this led to the NBA as a league being seen in a light that simply isn’t accurate.  On the flip side, some may argue that this negative coverage of the league isn’t all bad, as it leads to an increase in the overall popularity of the NBA and its star players. While this may be true if we’re looking at it from a pure engagement and popularity standpoint, but there are many downsides to having this kind of media coverage. For one, negative exposure can affect the NBA's relationships with sponsors, advertisers, and partners. Companies may hesitate to associate their brand with a league that is embroiled in controversy or negative publicity, leading to loss of sponsorship deals and revenue. NBA players often have individual endorsement deals with various brands. Negative exposure for the league can spill over to affect players' endorsement deals. Sponsors may be reluctant to renew contracts or may terminate existing deals if they believe their brand is at risk due to negative association with the NBA. This is especially evident in the NBA where, unlike baseball  and especially  football, in  basketball the players’ faces are easy to see and thus easy to use in advertisements,” which creates a “clearer identification between fans and individual players.” [1. Secular, Steven. The Digital NBA: How the World’s Savviest League Brings the Court to Our Couch. University of Illinois Press, 2023.] Because of this, the NBA’s presence in media and TV is much larger than other leagues such as the National Football League or the Major League Baseball. The NBA has the most marketable stars in all of sports because of how present any given player is throughout the season. Players play 82 games, giving advertisers time to structure ad campaigns and sponsorships centered on them. Often these players are very generous with their donations to non-profits within the local community and these endorsement deals are often relevant and important to the community for this reason. NBA players are in the limelight now more than ever. The popularity of the average NBA is much higher than it was 20 years ago with the rise of social media. These players’ lives are looked at under a microscope. One of the many skills that young basketball players are taught is how to respond to and interact with the media. "You're, in all humbleness, a big-time athlete, and I mean, in our case, we're in the NBA, and it's a dream for a lot of people. And so that means a lot of people are watching," Gradey Dick adds. "So, people are gonna try everything they can to just find different things out about you." [2. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago,”] Many programs, most notably Overtime Elite, a startup basketball league that is run by Overtime, a popular media outlet that covers all sports, makes it a point to train their young players on how to handle the media. The media has become a staple of NBA players lives with the increase for the demand of fan interaction and engagement on social media. As expected, players respond differently to this new age of NBA culture. Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic has expressed his discomfort with the intrusive nature of NBA fans and has generally tried to stay away from the public eye. "Being famous, some people like it, some people don't. When I finish my career, I really wish nobody knows me," Jokic said. "I really don't like this life because, at the end of the day, we are just basketball players. We are just good at what we are doing. But the media is something that is around us, and, of course, we are getting paid because of the media, because of our popularity."  He added: "It just feels sad, whenever you go to the bar, restaurant, some game, people are just taking their phones out and trying to record you. I think that's really, I'm going to say, rude. It's not that I'm out showing myself; I'm just who I am."  The league and its organizations are actively working against this rising tide, trying to figure out how to keep information in-house before it gets leaked to the public and spirals into something much bigger -- something that could have a significant impact on how the organization is viewed or even how the players perform on the basketball court.” [3. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago”]  This relationship between the players and the media becomes much more complex when discussing what the players can and can’t talk about. For example, NBA Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving has been outspoken when it comes to voicing his support for various causes and movements that he agrees with. When Irving played for the Brooklyn Nets, he was required by New York law to receive the COVID vaccine to play at the Barclay’s Center, the home court of the Brooklyn Nets. Irving publicly rejected this request and sat out for the rest of the season. While NBA players are encouraged to support movements that are generally viewed as good and worthwhile, they have been ridiculed for supporting causes that aren’t unanimously viewed as positive.  This begs the question of how many liberties NBA players really have, and if the league is really entitled to players’ participation in the media. Players generally stay within the “gray area” when it comes to speaking about controversial topics to the media. “Players’ neutrality favored the NBA and their respective eco- nomic futures in the league by seemingly kowtowing to Chinese national interests [4. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]. Between the U.S. and China, the NBA struggled to appease one side without alienating the other [5. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]”. The NBA is currently trying to find a balance with what they allow their players to say or speak about. They want to empower their athletes to be outspoken about causes they support, but sometimes these causes don’t align with the views of the league itself. 
(Alex Montes)
In conclusion, the relationship between NBA players and the national media is growing and evolving with each passing season. As players get used to the tactics and methods of the media, they will be more equipped to deal with the problems that are caused by these outlets. While media exposure can increase visibility and fan engagement, not all exposure is beneficial. Negative media coverage can damage the league's reputation, affect player image and marketability, and strain relationships with sponsors and partners. It's essential for the NBA to navigate these challenges by promoting responsible journalism, prioritizing player empowerment, and addressing issues that arise with transparency and integrity. By doing so, the league can continue to thrive while mitigating the negative effects of media scrutiny, ensuring a positive and sustainable future for the NBA and its stakeholders. 
The media has completely changed a league that was once centered around on the court play and team performance. Nowadays what happens on the basketball court takes a backseat to off the court drama, postgame quotes, and narratives that have little to do with professional basketball. So much of what happens on the court is now dictated by what the media says and the players are conscious of various narratives and storylines that the media creates within any given National Basketball Association (NBA) season. These narratives have many implications that aren't usually talked about when discussing the NBA as a whole.
(Alex Montes)
The media negatively affects the NBA in many ways. First the media tends to sensationalize different events/quotes within the season. This done to to attract viewership and engagement with their posts. This type of sensationalism doesn’t just happen in the articles that are made by beat writers. Other more modern versions of media such as Instagram pages, TikTok accounts, and Twitter accounts that are run by these major outlets like ESPN, Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and they are one of the biggest culprits of this form of sensationalism. These pages spew off “hot takes” for the sake of increasing engagement on the post. While this may seem like a harmless form of increasing popularity, the long-term effects of this kind of media coverage are evident when you read between the lines. A lot of these engagement farming posts are consumed by the casual fan that isn’t as invested in the league as other, more die-hard individuals. As a result, the general perception of a team/player can be affected by these incendiary posts. The casual viewer won’t know how to differentiate the posts that are farming engagement from the reality of the featured team or player. As a result, a large portion of the casual fan population become uninformed on various topics within the NBA. 
(Alex Montes)
This negative coverage largely affects the overall perception of the league itself. If media members are consistently degrading the skill level and performance of the players within the league, it will lead to the league itself being seen as producing a low-quality product. One of the most glaring examples of this dynamic is the media’s constant need to call the NBA an offensive-minded league where no defense is played. This is a lazy narrative that glosses over the fact that the league has collectively become more skilled compared to the NBA of the 1980s/90s. This narrative also conveniently ignores the boom in three-point shooting that occurred between 2015-2018. Lazy narratives like this led to the NBA as a league being seen in a light that simply isn’t accurate.  On the flip side, some may argue that this negative coverage of the league isn’t all bad, as it leads to an increase in the overall popularity of the NBA and its star players. While this may be true if we’re looking at it from a pure engagement and popularity standpoint, but there are many downsides to having this kind of media coverage. For one, negative exposure can affect the NBA's relationships with sponsors, advertisers, and partners. Companies may hesitate to associate their brand with a league that is embroiled in controversy or negative publicity, leading to loss of sponsorship deals and revenue. NBA players often have individual endorsement deals with various brands. Negative exposure for the league can spill over to affect players' endorsement deals. Sponsors may be reluctant to renew contracts or may terminate existing deals if they believe their brand is at risk due to negative association with the NBA. This is especially evident in the NBA where, unlike baseball  and especially  football, in  basketball the players’ faces are easy to see and thus easy to use in advertisements,” which creates a “clearer identification between fans and individual players.” [1. Secular, Steven. The Digital NBA: How the World’s Savviest League Brings the Court to Our Couch. University of Illinois Press, 2023.] Because of this, the NBA’s presence in media and TV is much larger than other leagues such as the National Football League or the Major League Baseball. The NBA has the most marketable stars in all of sports because of how present any given player is throughout the season. Players play 82 games, giving advertisers time to structure ad campaigns and sponsorships centered on them. Often these players are very generous with their donations to non-profits within the local community and these endorsement deals are often relevant and important to the community for this reason. NBA players are in the limelight now more than ever. The popularity of the average NBA is much higher than it was 20 years ago with the rise of social media. These players’ lives are looked at under a microscope. One of the many skills that young basketball players are taught is how to respond to and interact with the media. "You're, in all humbleness, a big-time athlete, and I mean, in our case, we're in the NBA, and it's a dream for a lot of people. And so that means a lot of people are watching," Gradey Dick adds. "So, people are gonna try everything they can to just find different things out about you." [2. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago,”] Many programs, most notably Overtime Elite, a startup basketball league that is run by Overtime, a popular media outlet that covers all sports, makes it a point to train their young players on how to handle the media. The media has become a staple of NBA players lives with the increase for the demand of fan interaction and engagement on social media. As expected, players respond differently to this new age of NBA culture. Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic has expressed his discomfort with the intrusive nature of NBA fans and has generally tried to stay away from the public eye. "Being famous, some people like it, some people don't. When I finish my career, I really wish nobody knows me," Jokic said. "I really don't like this life because, at the end of the day, we are just basketball players. We are just good at what we are doing. But the media is something that is around us, and, of course, we are getting paid because of the media, because of our popularity."  He added: "It just feels sad, whenever you go to the bar, restaurant, some game, people are just taking their phones out and trying to record you. I think that's really, I'm going to say, rude. It's not that I'm out showing myself; I'm just who I am."  The league and its organizations are actively working against this rising tide, trying to figure out how to keep information in-house before it gets leaked to the public and spirals into something much bigger -- something that could have a significant impact on how the organization is viewed or even how the players perform on the basketball court.” [3. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago”]  This relationship between the players and the media becomes much more complex when discussing what the players can and can’t talk about. For example, NBA Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving has been outspoken when it comes to voicing his support for various causes and movements that he agrees with. When Irving played for the Brooklyn Nets, he was required by New York law to receive the COVID vaccine to play at the Barclay’s Center, the home court of the Brooklyn Nets. Irving publicly rejected this request and sat out for the rest of the season. While NBA players are encouraged to support movements that are generally viewed as good and worthwhile, they have been ridiculed for supporting causes that aren’t unanimously viewed as positive.  This begs the question of how many liberties NBA players really have, and if the league is really entitled to players’ participation in the media. Players generally stay within the “gray area” when it comes to speaking about controversial topics to the media. “Players’ neutrality favored the NBA and their respective eco- nomic futures in the league by seemingly kowtowing to Chinese national interests [4. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]. Between the U.S. and China, the NBA struggled to appease one side without alienating the other [5. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]”. The NBA is currently trying to find a balance with what they allow their players to say or speak about. They want to empower their athletes to be outspoken about causes they support, but sometimes these causes don’t align with the views of the league itself. 
(Alex Montes)
In conclusion, the relationship between NBA players and the national media is growing and evolving with each passing season. As players get used to the tactics and methods of the media, they will be more equipped to deal with the problems that are caused by these outlets. While media exposure can increase visibility and fan engagement, not all exposure is beneficial. Negative media coverage can damage the league's reputation, affect player image and marketability, and strain relationships with sponsors and partners. It's essential for the NBA to navigate these challenges by promoting responsible journalism, prioritizing player empowerment, and addressing issues that arise with transparency and integrity. By doing so, the league can continue to thrive while mitigating the negative effects of media scrutiny, ensuring a positive and sustainable future for the NBA and its stakeholders. 
The media has completely changed a league that was once centered around on the court play and team performance. Nowadays what happens on the basketball court takes a backseat to off the court drama, postgame quotes, and narratives that have little to do with professional basketball. So much of what happens on the court is now dictated by what the media says and the players are conscious of various narratives and storylines that the media creates within any given National Basketball Association (NBA) season. These narratives have many implications that aren't usually talked about when discussing the NBA as a whole.
(Alex Montes)
The media negatively affects the NBA in many ways. First the media tends to sensationalize different events/quotes within the season. This done to to attract viewership and engagement with their posts. This type of sensationalism doesn’t just happen in the articles that are made by beat writers. Other more modern versions of media such as Instagram pages, TikTok accounts, and Twitter accounts that are run by these major outlets like ESPN, Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and they are one of the biggest culprits of this form of sensationalism. These pages spew off “hot takes” for the sake of increasing engagement on the post. While this may seem like a harmless form of increasing popularity, the long-term effects of this kind of media coverage are evident when you read between the lines. A lot of these engagement farming posts are consumed by the casual fan that isn’t as invested in the league as other, more die-hard individuals. As a result, the general perception of a team/player can be affected by these incendiary posts. The casual viewer won’t know how to differentiate the posts that are farming engagement from the reality of the featured team or player. As a result, a large portion of the casual fan population become uninformed on various topics within the NBA. 
(Alex Montes)
This negative coverage largely affects the overall perception of the league itself. If media members are consistently degrading the skill level and performance of the players within the league, it will lead to the league itself being seen as producing a low-quality product. One of the most glaring examples of this dynamic is the media’s constant need to call the NBA an offensive-minded league where no defense is played. This is a lazy narrative that glosses over the fact that the league has collectively become more skilled compared to the NBA of the 1980s/90s. This narrative also conveniently ignores the boom in three-point shooting that occurred between 2015-2018. Lazy narratives like this led to the NBA as a league being seen in a light that simply isn’t accurate.  On the flip side, some may argue that this negative coverage of the league isn’t all bad, as it leads to an increase in the overall popularity of the NBA and its star players. While this may be true if we’re looking at it from a pure engagement and popularity standpoint, but there are many downsides to having this kind of media coverage. For one, negative exposure can affect the NBA's relationships with sponsors, advertisers, and partners. Companies may hesitate to associate their brand with a league that is embroiled in controversy or negative publicity, leading to loss of sponsorship deals and revenue. NBA players often have individual endorsement deals with various brands. Negative exposure for the league can spill over to affect players' endorsement deals. Sponsors may be reluctant to renew contracts or may terminate existing deals if they believe their brand is at risk due to negative association with the NBA. This is especially evident in the NBA where, unlike baseball  and especially  football, in  basketball the players’ faces are easy to see and thus easy to use in advertisements,” which creates a “clearer identification between fans and individual players.” [1. Secular, Steven. The Digital NBA: How the World’s Savviest League Brings the Court to Our Couch. University of Illinois Press, 2023.] Because of this, the NBA’s presence in media and TV is much larger than other leagues such as the National Football League or the Major League Baseball. The NBA has the most marketable stars in all of sports because of how present any given player is throughout the season. Players play 82 games, giving advertisers time to structure ad campaigns and sponsorships centered on them. Often these players are very generous with their donations to non-profits within the local community and these endorsement deals are often relevant and important to the community for this reason. NBA players are in the limelight now more than ever. The popularity of the average NBA is much higher than it was 20 years ago with the rise of social media. These players’ lives are looked at under a microscope. One of the many skills that young basketball players are taught is how to respond to and interact with the media. "You're, in all humbleness, a big-time athlete, and I mean, in our case, we're in the NBA, and it's a dream for a lot of people. And so that means a lot of people are watching," Gradey Dick adds. "So, people are gonna try everything they can to just find different things out about you." [2. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago,”] Many programs, most notably Overtime Elite, a startup basketball league that is run by Overtime, a popular media outlet that covers all sports, makes it a point to train their young players on how to handle the media. The media has become a staple of NBA players lives with the increase for the demand of fan interaction and engagement on social media. As expected, players respond differently to this new age of NBA culture. Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic has expressed his discomfort with the intrusive nature of NBA fans and has generally tried to stay away from the public eye. "Being famous, some people like it, some people don't. When I finish my career, I really wish nobody knows me," Jokic said. "I really don't like this life because, at the end of the day, we are just basketball players. We are just good at what we are doing. But the media is something that is around us, and, of course, we are getting paid because of the media, because of our popularity."  He added: "It just feels sad, whenever you go to the bar, restaurant, some game, people are just taking their phones out and trying to record you. I think that's really, I'm going to say, rude. It's not that I'm out showing myself; I'm just who I am."  The league and its organizations are actively working against this rising tide, trying to figure out how to keep information in-house before it gets leaked to the public and spirals into something much bigger -- something that could have a significant impact on how the organization is viewed or even how the players perform on the basketball court.” [3. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago”]  This relationship between the players and the media becomes much more complex when discussing what the players can and can’t talk about. For example, NBA Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving has been outspoken when it comes to voicing his support for various causes and movements that he agrees with. When Irving played for the Brooklyn Nets, he was required by New York law to receive the COVID vaccine to play at the Barclay’s Center, the home court of the Brooklyn Nets. Irving publicly rejected this request and sat out for the rest of the season. While NBA players are encouraged to support movements that are generally viewed as good and worthwhile, they have been ridiculed for supporting causes that aren’t unanimously viewed as positive.  This begs the question of how many liberties NBA players really have, and if the league is really entitled to players’ participation in the media. Players generally stay within the “gray area” when it comes to speaking about controversial topics to the media. “Players’ neutrality favored the NBA and their respective eco- nomic futures in the league by seemingly kowtowing to Chinese national interests [4. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]. Between the U.S. and China, the NBA struggled to appease one side without alienating the other [5. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]”. The NBA is currently trying to find a balance with what they allow their players to say or speak about. They want to empower their athletes to be outspoken about causes they support, but sometimes these causes don’t align with the views of the league itself. 
(Alex Montes)
In conclusion, the relationship between NBA players and the national media is growing and evolving with each passing season. As players get used to the tactics and methods of the media, they will be more equipped to deal with the problems that are caused by these outlets. While media exposure can increase visibility and fan engagement, not all exposure is beneficial. Negative media coverage can damage the league's reputation, affect player image and marketability, and strain relationships with sponsors and partners. It's essential for the NBA to navigate these challenges by promoting responsible journalism, prioritizing player empowerment, and addressing issues that arise with transparency and integrity. By doing so, the league can continue to thrive while mitigating the negative effects of media scrutiny, ensuring a positive and sustainable future for the NBA and its stakeholders. 
The media has completely changed a league that was once centered around on the court play and team performance. Nowadays what happens on the basketball court takes a backseat to off the court drama, postgame quotes, and narratives that have little to do with professional basketball. So much of what happens on the court is now dictated by what the media says and the players are conscious of various narratives and storylines that the media creates within any given National Basketball Association (NBA) season. These narratives have many implications that aren't usually talked about when discussing the NBA as a whole.
(Alex Montes)
The media negatively affects the NBA in many ways. First the media tends to sensationalize different events/quotes within the season. This done to to attract viewership and engagement with their posts. This type of sensationalism doesn’t just happen in the articles that are made by beat writers. Other more modern versions of media such as Instagram pages, TikTok accounts, and Twitter accounts that are run by these major outlets like ESPN, Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and they are one of the biggest culprits of this form of sensationalism. These pages spew off “hot takes” for the sake of increasing engagement on the post. While this may seem like a harmless form of increasing popularity, the long-term effects of this kind of media coverage are evident when you read between the lines. A lot of these engagement farming posts are consumed by the casual fan that isn’t as invested in the league as other, more die-hard individuals. As a result, the general perception of a team/player can be affected by these incendiary posts. The casual viewer won’t know how to differentiate the posts that are farming engagement from the reality of the featured team or player. As a result, a large portion of the casual fan population become uninformed on various topics within the NBA. 
(Alex Montes)
This negative coverage largely affects the overall perception of the league itself. If media members are consistently degrading the skill level and performance of the players within the league, it will lead to the league itself being seen as producing a low-quality product. One of the most glaring examples of this dynamic is the media’s constant need to call the NBA an offensive-minded league where no defense is played. This is a lazy narrative that glosses over the fact that the league has collectively become more skilled compared to the NBA of the 1980s/90s. This narrative also conveniently ignores the boom in three-point shooting that occurred between 2015-2018. Lazy narratives like this led to the NBA as a league being seen in a light that simply isn’t accurate.  On the flip side, some may argue that this negative coverage of the league isn’t all bad, as it leads to an increase in the overall popularity of the NBA and its star players. While this may be true if we’re looking at it from a pure engagement and popularity standpoint, but there are many downsides to having this kind of media coverage. For one, negative exposure can affect the NBA's relationships with sponsors, advertisers, and partners. Companies may hesitate to associate their brand with a league that is embroiled in controversy or negative publicity, leading to loss of sponsorship deals and revenue. NBA players often have individual endorsement deals with various brands. Negative exposure for the league can spill over to affect players' endorsement deals. Sponsors may be reluctant to renew contracts or may terminate existing deals if they believe their brand is at risk due to negative association with the NBA. This is especially evident in the NBA where, unlike baseball  and especially  football, in  basketball the players’ faces are easy to see and thus easy to use in advertisements,” which creates a “clearer identification between fans and individual players.” [1. Secular, Steven. The Digital NBA: How the World’s Savviest League Brings the Court to Our Couch. University of Illinois Press, 2023.] Because of this, the NBA’s presence in media and TV is much larger than other leagues such as the National Football League or the Major League Baseball. The NBA has the most marketable stars in all of sports because of how present any given player is throughout the season. Players play 82 games, giving advertisers time to structure ad campaigns and sponsorships centered on them. Often these players are very generous with their donations to non-profits within the local community and these endorsement deals are often relevant and important to the community for this reason. NBA players are in the limelight now more than ever. The popularity of the average NBA is much higher than it was 20 years ago with the rise of social media. These players’ lives are looked at under a microscope. One of the many skills that young basketball players are taught is how to respond to and interact with the media. "You're, in all humbleness, a big-time athlete, and I mean, in our case, we're in the NBA, and it's a dream for a lot of people. And so that means a lot of people are watching," Gradey Dick adds. "So, people are gonna try everything they can to just find different things out about you." [2. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago,”] Many programs, most notably Overtime Elite, a startup basketball league that is run by Overtime, a popular media outlet that covers all sports, makes it a point to train their young players on how to handle the media. The media has become a staple of NBA players lives with the increase for the demand of fan interaction and engagement on social media. As expected, players respond differently to this new age of NBA culture. Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic has expressed his discomfort with the intrusive nature of NBA fans and has generally tried to stay away from the public eye. "Being famous, some people like it, some people don't. When I finish my career, I really wish nobody knows me," Jokic said. "I really don't like this life because, at the end of the day, we are just basketball players. We are just good at what we are doing. But the media is something that is around us, and, of course, we are getting paid because of the media, because of our popularity."  He added: "It just feels sad, whenever you go to the bar, restaurant, some game, people are just taking their phones out and trying to record you. I think that's really, I'm going to say, rude. It's not that I'm out showing myself; I'm just who I am."  The league and its organizations are actively working against this rising tide, trying to figure out how to keep information in-house before it gets leaked to the public and spirals into something much bigger -- something that could have a significant impact on how the organization is viewed or even how the players perform on the basketball court.” [3. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago”]  This relationship between the players and the media becomes much more complex when discussing what the players can and can’t talk about. For example, NBA Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving has been outspoken when it comes to voicing his support for various causes and movements that he agrees with. When Irving played for the Brooklyn Nets, he was required by New York law to receive the COVID vaccine to play at the Barclay’s Center, the home court of the Brooklyn Nets. Irving publicly rejected this request and sat out for the rest of the season. While NBA players are encouraged to support movements that are generally viewed as good and worthwhile, they have been ridiculed for supporting causes that aren’t unanimously viewed as positive.  This begs the question of how many liberties NBA players really have, and if the league is really entitled to players’ participation in the media. Players generally stay within the “gray area” when it comes to speaking about controversial topics to the media. “Players’ neutrality favored the NBA and their respective eco- nomic futures in the league by seemingly kowtowing to Chinese national interests [4. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]. Between the U.S. and China, the NBA struggled to appease one side without alienating the other [5. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]”. The NBA is currently trying to find a balance with what they allow their players to say or speak about. They want to empower their athletes to be outspoken about causes they support, but sometimes these causes don’t align with the views of the league itself. 
(Alex Montes)
In conclusion, the relationship between NBA players and the national media is growing and evolving with each passing season. As players get used to the tactics and methods of the media, they will be more equipped to deal with the problems that are caused by these outlets. While media exposure can increase visibility and fan engagement, not all exposure is beneficial. Negative media coverage can damage the league's reputation, affect player image and marketability, and strain relationships with sponsors and partners. It's essential for the NBA to navigate these challenges by promoting responsible journalism, prioritizing player empowerment, and addressing issues that arise with transparency and integrity. By doing so, the league can continue to thrive while mitigating the negative effects of media scrutiny, ensuring a positive and sustainable future for the NBA and its stakeholders. 
The media has completely changed a league that was once centered around on the court play and team performance. Nowadays what happens on the basketball court takes a backseat to off the court drama, postgame quotes, and narratives that have little to do with professional basketball. So much of what happens on the court is now dictated by what the media says and the players are conscious of various narratives and storylines that the media creates within any given National Basketball Association (NBA) season. These narratives have many implications that aren't usually talked about when discussing the NBA as a whole.
(Alex Montes)
The media negatively affects the NBA in many ways. First the media tends to sensationalize different events/quotes within the season. This done to to attract viewership and engagement with their posts. This type of sensationalism doesn’t just happen in the articles that are made by beat writers. Other more modern versions of media such as Instagram pages, TikTok accounts, and Twitter accounts that are run by these major outlets like ESPN, Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and they are one of the biggest culprits of this form of sensationalism. These pages spew off “hot takes” for the sake of increasing engagement on the post. While this may seem like a harmless form of increasing popularity, the long-term effects of this kind of media coverage are evident when you read between the lines. A lot of these engagement farming posts are consumed by the casual fan that isn’t as invested in the league as other, more die-hard individuals. As a result, the general perception of a team/player can be affected by these incendiary posts. The casual viewer won’t know how to differentiate the posts that are farming engagement from the reality of the featured team or player. As a result, a large portion of the casual fan population become uninformed on various topics within the NBA. 
(Alex Montes)
This negative coverage largely affects the overall perception of the league itself. If media members are consistently degrading the skill level and performance of the players within the league, it will lead to the league itself being seen as producing a low-quality product. One of the most glaring examples of this dynamic is the media’s constant need to call the NBA an offensive-minded league where no defense is played. This is a lazy narrative that glosses over the fact that the league has collectively become more skilled compared to the NBA of the 1980s/90s. This narrative also conveniently ignores the boom in three-point shooting that occurred between 2015-2018. Lazy narratives like this led to the NBA as a league being seen in a light that simply isn’t accurate.  On the flip side, some may argue that this negative coverage of the league isn’t all bad, as it leads to an increase in the overall popularity of the NBA and its star players. While this may be true if we’re looking at it from a pure engagement and popularity standpoint, but there are many downsides to having this kind of media coverage. For one, negative exposure can affect the NBA's relationships with sponsors, advertisers, and partners. Companies may hesitate to associate their brand with a league that is embroiled in controversy or negative publicity, leading to loss of sponsorship deals and revenue. NBA players often have individual endorsement deals with various brands. Negative exposure for the league can spill over to affect players' endorsement deals. Sponsors may be reluctant to renew contracts or may terminate existing deals if they believe their brand is at risk due to negative association with the NBA. This is especially evident in the NBA where, unlike baseball  and especially  football, in  basketball the players’ faces are easy to see and thus easy to use in advertisements,” which creates a “clearer identification between fans and individual players.” [1. Secular, Steven. The Digital NBA: How the World’s Savviest League Brings the Court to Our Couch. University of Illinois Press, 2023.] Because of this, the NBA’s presence in media and TV is much larger than other leagues such as the National Football League or the Major League Baseball. The NBA has the most marketable stars in all of sports because of how present any given player is throughout the season. Players play 82 games, giving advertisers time to structure ad campaigns and sponsorships centered on them. Often these players are very generous with their donations to non-profits within the local community and these endorsement deals are often relevant and important to the community for this reason. NBA players are in the limelight now more than ever. The popularity of the average NBA is much higher than it was 20 years ago with the rise of social media. These players’ lives are looked at under a microscope. One of the many skills that young basketball players are taught is how to respond to and interact with the media. "You're, in all humbleness, a big-time athlete, and I mean, in our case, we're in the NBA, and it's a dream for a lot of people. And so that means a lot of people are watching," Gradey Dick adds. "So, people are gonna try everything they can to just find different things out about you." [2. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago,”] Many programs, most notably Overtime Elite, a startup basketball league that is run by Overtime, a popular media outlet that covers all sports, makes it a point to train their young players on how to handle the media. The media has become a staple of NBA players lives with the increase for the demand of fan interaction and engagement on social media. As expected, players respond differently to this new age of NBA culture. Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic has expressed his discomfort with the intrusive nature of NBA fans and has generally tried to stay away from the public eye. "Being famous, some people like it, some people don't. When I finish my career, I really wish nobody knows me," Jokic said. "I really don't like this life because, at the end of the day, we are just basketball players. We are just good at what we are doing. But the media is something that is around us, and, of course, we are getting paid because of the media, because of our popularity."  He added: "It just feels sad, whenever you go to the bar, restaurant, some game, people are just taking their phones out and trying to record you. I think that's really, I'm going to say, rude. It's not that I'm out showing myself; I'm just who I am."  The league and its organizations are actively working against this rising tide, trying to figure out how to keep information in-house before it gets leaked to the public and spirals into something much bigger -- something that could have a significant impact on how the organization is viewed or even how the players perform on the basketball court.” [3. The Guardian (London, England). 2024. “‘Nothing Is Sacred’: NBA Players Are in the Public Eye like Never before; Social Media Runs the World, Celebrity Culture Runs Social Media, and NBA Players Are More Famous than Ever. All of It Has given Rise to Privacy Concerns Unthinkable Even a Decade Ago”]  This relationship between the players and the media becomes much more complex when discussing what the players can and can’t talk about. For example, NBA Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving has been outspoken when it comes to voicing his support for various causes and movements that he agrees with. When Irving played for the Brooklyn Nets, he was required by New York law to receive the COVID vaccine to play at the Barclay’s Center, the home court of the Brooklyn Nets. Irving publicly rejected this request and sat out for the rest of the season. While NBA players are encouraged to support movements that are generally viewed as good and worthwhile, they have been ridiculed for supporting causes that aren’t unanimously viewed as positive.  This begs the question of how many liberties NBA players really have, and if the league is really entitled to players’ participation in the media. Players generally stay within the “gray area” when it comes to speaking about controversial topics to the media. “Players’ neutrality favored the NBA and their respective eco- nomic futures in the league by seemingly kowtowing to Chinese national interests [4. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]. Between the U.S. and China, the NBA struggled to appease one side without alienating the other [5. Burroughs, Benjamin. “‘Stick to Sports’ and Critical Sports Media Industry Studies.”]”. The NBA is currently trying to find a balance with what they allow their players to say or speak about. They want to empower their athletes to be outspoken about causes they support, but sometimes these causes don’t align with the views of the league itself. 
(Alex Montes)
In conclusion, the relationship between NBA players and the national media is growing and evolving with each passing season. As players get used to the tactics and methods of the media, they will be more equipped to deal with the problems that are caused by these outlets. While media exposure can increase visibility and fan engagement, not all exposure is beneficial. Negative media coverage can damage the league's reputation, affect player image and marketability, and strain relationships with sponsors and partners. It's essential for the NBA to navigate these challenges by promoting responsible journalism, prioritizing player empowerment, and addressing issues that arise with transparency and integrity. By doing so, the league can continue to thrive while mitigating the negative effects of media scrutiny, ensuring a positive and sustainable future for the NBA and its stakeholders. 

Current Episode Notes

¿Cuándo fue la última vez que le hiciste un cumplido a tu mejor amigo? Para algunos, esta puede ser una pregunta fácil, para otros no tanto.

Ven con nosotros mientras abrimos el diario de cumplidos con nuestra versión de una tendencia popular de TikTok en que la gente les hace cumplidos a los extraños. Sin embargo, en esta version, nuestros participantes le hacen un cumplido a su mejor amigo. En “Querido Mejor Amigo” puedes aprender la diversidad entre cómo nos halagamos como individuos y miembros de grupos sociales, mientras analizas ciertos cumplidos de nuestros participantes. Escucha cumplidos sinceros de cuatro estudiantes de St. Marys (Carolina Vaca Salas, Brissa Campos, María Grazia Cossio, y José Francisco Chamán Álvarez) cuyo primer idioma es el español, y aprende de las diferentes maneras que tienen de alegrar a sus amigos. A través de este podcast, sabrás más de algunos temas pragmáticos como los vocativas, la anticortesía, la intensificación y más. Entonces, ¿a qué esperas? ¡Ven y escucha!

Y no te olvides… ¡TUS MEJORES AMIGOS MERECEN CUMPLIDOS!

 

Referencias

Lopera, S. A. (2013). Reflexiones sobre el uso del acto del habla de los cumplidos. Íkala, revista de lenguaje y cultura, 18(2), 87-93.

Lopera Medina, S. A. (2015). Estrategia de repuestas en los cumplidos. Tonos Digital, 29, 1-31.

Lopera Medina, S. A. (2015). La caracterización de los cumplidos en una población universitaria. Íkala, revista de lenguaje y cultura, 20(1), 61-77.

Maíz-Arévalo, C. (2020). Los cumplidos. In M. E. Placencia & X. A. Padilla (Eds.), Guía práctica de pragmática del español (pp. 29–39). Routledge.

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Recent Comments

4 comments

  • Jennifer Lynn

    El podcast tuvo tanto interesting contenido sobre cumplidos. Era tan interesante ver diferentes modos de dar cumplidos y identificar como mis amigos y yo damos cumplidos, también como los relation es sociales impactan como comunicaron con otros. Quisiera ver mas en cómo diferentes generaciones comunican con cumplidos.

  • mcordero3

    En este grabación están hablando en los diferente tipos de cumplidos. Empezaron a describir la ultima vez que ellos dieron un cumplido. Amanda dijo que para ella fue cuando su hermana estaba tocando musica en el caro. Steph estaba diciendo que para sus amigos los cumplidos tienen connotación negativa y que viene de la cultura. Ella dice que sus amigos pueden distinguir qual palabras son bromas o cuáles son groseras. También invitaron estudiantes de St. Mary’s Universidad para habla de su cultura y explicar la diferencia en cómo hablan a sus amigos. Me gusto que usaron una tendencia de TikTok que yo conoce. Yo recuerdo cuando lo vi el primarla vez. Había un hombre con una micrófono gritando cumplidos as las mujeres. Las mujeres se ponían enojados hasta que se dieron cuenta que estaba dijeron algo bueno. Este episodio me enseño que hay varias maneras de hablar con mis amigos y familia.

  • Nicole Estrada

    Hola Amanda y Stephanie. ¡Gran podcast! Pensé que hiciste un gran trabajo discutiendo tu tema. Me pareció interesante cuando Stephanie dijo que usa “malas palabras” para felicitar a sus amigos porque hoy en día creo que mucha gente usa esas palabras para felicitar a otros, al menos la generación más joven. Cuando lo pienso, he notado que mis amigos me han felicitado usando ese tipo de palabras. Gran podcast en general.

  • Joy Hernandez

    Increíble podcast, ¡definitivamente disfruté de la lista y me reí! Tengo que decir que esto me hizo preguntarme cuándo fue la última vez que le di un cumplido a uno de mis amigos más queridos, y en realidad me di cuenta de que lo hago todo el tiempo. Tengo que estar de acuerdo con Stephanie cuando dijo que usa “palabras vulgares” para complementar a sus amigos ¡¡ES VERDAD!! Creo que tiene que ver con la generación en la que vivimos hoy, donde palabras como esas son en realidad cumplidos. No pasa un día en el que mis amigos y yo hagamos comentarios así, ¡pero nos encanta! Aunque de vez en cuando envío un mensaje a mis amigos expresando cuánta buena persona son, o cómo nunca deberían ponerse más bajos que nadie, o cómo ningún hombre es capaz de tenerlos porque son tan inteligentes jaja:) Disfruté escuchando las diferentes formas y expresando a los invitados, creo que escuché diferentes dialectos, lo cual fue agradable escuchar las diferencias en español. Este podcast me ayudó a recordar que los amigos son importantes y merecen cumplidos. Una vez más, ¡buen podcast!

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