by Kent Sterling
Cincinnati Reds manager Bryan Price needs to know that the media are not his buddies. He owes them nothing, and they owe him the same.
Sometimes members of sports media err by believing they are buddies with the athletes, coaches, and managers involved in sports. Sometimes the managers, coaches, and athletes make that same mistake with the media.
Here is the relationship – the media watch, listen, and report as the eyes and ears of fans. If there is a curiosity, it will be satisfied – one way or another. There was a time when a reporter or radio host could sit on information, but the proliferation of social media has changed all of that.
A beat radio holds information, some guy with a smart phone tweets, and the beat guy is hammered by his editor or program director for being scooped.
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Cincinnati Reds manager Bryan Price turned back the clock to the 1990s when he lambasted the media in a five-minute, 34-second rant that included 77 F-bombs for not operating in the best interest of his team.
Here is an excerpt from the hissy fit thrown by Price as reported by the Cincinnati Enquirer. Price should know that the media’s job is not to protect information important to the Reds from the public:
“I don’t get it. It’s, you know, look, I don’t need you guys to be fans of the Reds, I just need to know if there’s something we want to keep here, it stays here. We don’t need to know that Tucker Barnhart’s in the f****** airport when we haven’t spoken to Kyle Skipworth. I think we owe that f******* kid the right to be called and told that he’s going to be sent down as opposed to reading that Tucker Barnhart is on his way from Louisville. I just… I don’t get it. I don’t get why it’s got to be this way. Has it always been this way where we just tell f****** everybody everything? So every f****** opponent we have has to know exactly what we have. Which f****** relievers are available, which guys are here and which guys aren’t here, when they can play, and what they can do. It’s nobody’s f****** business. It’s certainly not the opponent’s business. We have to deal with this f****** b*******.
“I like to talk — and I have spoken as candidly as I can with you people, if that’s not good enough, I won’t say a f******thing. I’ll go, ‘yes sir, no sir.’ And I can do that. But f***, I’ve been as candid as I can f****** be about this team and our players, and we’ve got to deal with this s***, every f****** team that we f****** play has to know every f****** guy that’s here and what they can and can’t do? F*** me. It’s a f****** disgrace. I’m f****** sick of this s***. It’s f****** hard enough to f****** win here to have f****** every f****** opponent know exactly what the f*** we bring to the table every day. It’s f****** horse****. I don’t like it. It’s what I’m saying. To make it very clear, I don’t like the way that this s***’s going — at all. I don’t like it. I don’t think you guys need to know everything. And I certainly don’t think you need to see something and tweet it out there and make it a f****** world event. How the f*** do we benefit from them knowing we don’t have Devin Mesoraco? How do we benefit from that? They benefit from it. I just want to know how we benefit from these f****** people know we don’t have a player here. Can you answer that? How is that good for the Reds?”
The answer is that the media is not employed by the Reds, and should never concern itself with whether what they share is “good for the Reds.” Price didn’t inform the player on his way to the minors that Tucker Barnhart was on his way to replace him with the Reds. That’s on him.
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Back in the day, the media could sit on information as a favor that could be banked. There were a couple of beat writers, and that was it. Easy to control two reporters. Today, the media is everywhere. Price needs to understand exactly who he’s dealing with, and what they are employed to do.
Price has his agenda and the media has theirs. Neither one has to be happy with the situation. If Price wants to vent his unhappiness, then that is his prerogative, I guess, until bigger fish sanction him for it.
Price assumes that the local press cover the sports for the local fans. If they do things that hurt the Reds chances of winning a game, Price feels that the paper isn’t acting in the Reds best interest which translates to the fans best interest, which translates to the local media’s customers’ best interest.
I don’t think this is going to be a one-sided thing. Price will cut off the information – right or wrong. Both sides will have to “play ball” at some point or no one will be happy. JMO.
Winning does not necessarily fan the flames of interest in media. Many times, the worse a team performs, the greater the thirst for information.
True, but they aren’t happy about it. 😉
Kent,
It’s you childish, spoiled, self-centered sports media cry-babies who are the problem. I’m glad Coach Price said what too many other coaches, GM’s etc. are afraid to tell you laptop lackey who were never good enough to play the game professionally. Most fans don’t care what you say or write, it’s the players and coaches who EARN our respect. More power to Coach Price.
Deacon,
I don’t know where you picked up your enemies, but they are hijacking my name now. It is a shame that there isn’t some kind of security for that kind of stuff, but it is what it is, I guess. Just wanted you to know.
Oddly, it seems that Price hoping that media will behave as “lackeys” is what has caused the disconnect. Without TV and other media, Major League Baseball is a bunch of middle aged guys running around a well-groomed lawn with a big bare spot.
What a country we live in can’t even use the f-bomb anymore without the media getting all bent out of shape.
I am not Deacon. I have been commenting on Kent’s blog for some time. Please do not hijack my name and misrepresent me. Thanks.
Kent,
I don’t care personally about people getting insulting, but I would rather them not hijack my name to do it. I try not to be insulting myself, as you know, and stick to the issues at hand so when I see someone submitting this kind of stuff and using my name, it doesn’t sit well. I am not sure if there is anything you can manage that would eliminate this, but I suspect not. Who would have known that 5th grade mentality would emerge here.
Jeff
MISTER JEFF GREGORY,
Apparently to you “Kent” reads the same as Jeff Gregory.
The unflattering comments were directed to the author – Kent Sterling if you missed it-of the article whining about a coach who actually didn’t suck up to the oh so-special sports media.
Unlike some others who post, I actually WORK at a job so I’ve not been able to defend myself until tonight from being accused of hijacking your precious name.
This is what I am complaining about and it wasn’t directed toward you:
>>Jeff Gregory
April 21, 2015 | 5:30 pm
deacon,
So when are you and Price planning to tie the knot? Your homo-erotic fascination with pent up coaches is obvious.
Oh, and you’re A real tough-GUY name calling from behind your crappy laptop pal.JMO.<<
Deacon, I didn't write that. I don't know who hijacked my name, but I am sure it wasn't you.
Jeff
I deleted the offending comment.