Separating Art from Artist in Sports
Nick Wright, regular host on Colin Cowherd’s “The Herd” and all-around Fox Sports 1 commentator, tweeted this on January 1st.
This is a problem I struggle with, daily, when it comes to discussing athletes and sports news on my platform TYTSports. I watch an inordinate amount of news and commentary, not just of the sports variety (I would call it a 70/30 split between sports news and political/world news). Part of this is my work environment, as working for any media company does put you in its own bubble.
Alongside Nick Wright and Bryan Curtis, Andre Snellings (The Hoops Lab, Rotowire.com and frequent contributor and guest on my show) pens pieces on a fairly consistent basis in regards to political commentary, and he shares stories and experiences in an honest tone. His website is an analytically driven basketball space, but Andre is not just a sportswriter, it would be completely unfair to characterize him as just that.
These are just three examples that have really stood out since since January 1st.
The rules of sports commentary have become increasingly convoluted, since the access to information regarding specific athletes past troubles paint such a vivid picture, it becomes near impossible to separate the two, especially since a player on and off the field are not separate entities.
Let’s take a quick look back on Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs RB and Kick/Punt Returner, who brought with him a checkered past into the NFL. If you think Tyreek Hill is a great football player, that, in turn, means you think he is “great” in every sense of the word? From experience through Twitter and comments sections, the two become unfairly associated. This is something I’ve grown to understand and learn from watching back on older clips.
Below are two headlines that circulated in early December, right where Hill’s play on the Chiefs garnered attention. The first, from the Kansas City Star, the second, from ESPN.
NFL’s fastest man: Chiefs are reaping rewards after risky pick of Tyreek Hill
Tyreek Hill’s emergence makes Chiefs legitimate Super Bowl threat
The headline for my clip: Tyreek Hill’s Great Game Does Not Excuse Violent Past
I still stand by that headline, but it was also a response to the outrageous timing of many news outlets claiming Hill was “a changed man”. It seemed off that Hill was a changed man right about the same time he exploded for two touchdowns on Sunday Night Football in the Chiefs biggest win of the year over the Denver Broncos. I am not claiming, at all, that Hill is in fact the same person he was. What I do know for sure, is that scoring two touchdowns and emerging as an electric NFL player did not change who he was that Sunday night.
You should not have to separate art from artist in sports and if you are annoyed when sports writers or commentators discuss the violent history of a player at hand, telling them to stick to sports is essentially telling them to do their job according to your agenda.
Opinions sell for a far higher price than facts, yet it seems like when certain facts are brought to the table, an opposing view deflects to validate their opinion, rather than accept the two realities:
Tyreek Hill is good at football. Tyreek Hill made an inexcusable mistake two years ago. Neither should be forgotten.
