Wrestling needs real journalists to ask tough questions, not just be fans

[Former158]

Compared to other big budget sports, elite wrestlers and coaches are shielded from answering tough questions. Imagine if the Snyder situation was basketball, or Bassett was the number 1 football recruit. In these sports, the coach and those around the program would be pressured constantly to make a comment. Instead we live in a world where Snyder was shielded from the media at Final X and Cael never had to go on record about it. While the situation has improved in recent years with FLO and other outlets, sports journalists are still too scared of having access to top programs cut off. Fans and supporters are left to follow social media rumors and debate via chatrooms without fact checking.

What would it take to have a better wrestling media other than money?

Edited yesterday at 05:27 AM by Former158

[1032004]

I honestly don’t really blame the media, I blame the programs.  It seems their fear of “being cut off” is legitimate, IIRC I think those types of threats were basically what led to the situation that ultimately caused Willie to leave Flo.  It would’ve been nice for someone to push the Snyder issue, but I’m sure they would’ve just said “we can’t comment on an ongoing legal matter” or something anyway.  

[headshuck]

Make Press Briefings Great Again.

"The challenge is the same every year. The battle is in-state. The battle is Big Ten and regional. The battle is national. The battle is planet Earth. If they find life out there, then the battle will be universal."

- Tom Brands

[Jimmy Cinnabon]

To answer the question: fan interest.  Wrestling is a tiny, tiny non-revenue sport that has 0.001% of the fanbase of football and basketball.  No money = no media interest.

[1032004]

Speaking of the Snyder lack of interview, here is a comment from I believe one of Intermat’s correspondents (although the podcast is no longer called the Intermat podcast), saying that holding Snyder out was “egregious.”  Starts at 19:00

 

[Scouts Honor]

yes, flo or one of the other MANY wrestling rags should hire jemele hill as an analyst

[nhs67]

The last journo to ask a tough question got tea-bagged by the entire fanbase.

[Voice of the Quakers]

12 hours ago, Former158 said:

Compared to other big budget sports, elite wrestlers and coaches are shielded from answering tough questions. Imagine if the Snyder situation was basketball, or Bassett was the number 1 football recruit. In these sports, the coach and those around the program would be pressured constantly to make a comment. Instead we live in a world where Snyder was shielded from the media at Final X and Cael never had to go on record about it. While the situation has improved in recent years with FLO and other outlets, sports journalists are still too scared of having access to top programs cut off. Fans and supporters are left to follow social media rumors and debate via chatrooms without fact checking.

What would it take to have a better wrestling media other than money?

To my knowledge, USA Wrestling never even acknowledged Kyle Snyder's arrest. I figured they would've posted something when he was temporarily suspended by SafeSport. (Kudos to FloWrestling.org for posting the story.) But, nope, the adults at USA Wrestling just closed their eyes, put their fingers in their ears and held their collective breath until the suspension was lifted. 

So, yeah, It's tough for me to blame the journalists when our programs don't want to act like their in charge.

[1032004]

4 hours ago, nhs67 said:

The last journo to ask a tough question got tea-bagged by the entire fanbase.

Who?

[1032004]

15 minutes ago, Voice of the Quakers said:

To my knowledge, USA Wrestling never even acknowledged Kyle Snyder's arrest. I figured they would've posted something when he was temporarily suspended by SafeSport. (Kudos to FloWrestling.org for posting the story.) But, nope, the adults at USA Wrestling just closed their eyes, put their fingers in their ears and held their collective breath until the suspension was lifted. 

So, yeah, It's tough for me to blame the journalists when our programs don't want to act like their in charge.

Yes apparently it was USA wrestling that did not make Snyder available for interviews (the only 1 of the winners that was not)

Edited 23 hours ago by 1032004

[pawrestler]

17 minutes ago, 1032004 said:

Who?

Assuming Pyles but I like to think it was the kid who asked Cael if he’d like PSU to sequence better 

[nhs67]

22 minutes ago, 1032004 said:

Who?

The kid who asked Cael about sequencing.

[nhs67]

4 minutes ago, pawrestler said:

Assuming Pyles but I like to think it was the kid who asked Cael if he’d like PSU to sequence better 

Precisely.

[Wrasslin]

20 minutes ago, 1032004 said:

Yes apparently it was USA wrestling that did not make Snyder available for interviews (the only 1 of the winners that was not)

How do you know that it was not Snyder who requested not to be interviewed and USA Wrestling simply acquiesced (I learned that word from Pirates of the Carribean) his request? 

[1032004]

12 minutes ago, Wrasslin said:

How do you know that it was not Snyder who requested not to be interviewed and USA Wrestling simply acquiesced (I learned that word from Pirates of the Carribean) his request? 

I don’t, but that’s the same thing IMO.

[alex1fly]

2 hours ago, nhs67 said:

The kid who asked Cael about sequencing.

I thought it was the lady that wrote the Ferrari --> UNC piece. Folks sure swarmed her

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

1 hour ago, alex1fly said:

I thought it was the lady that wrote the Ferrari --> UNC piece. Folks sure swarmed her

She didn't write the piece; she was merely quoted.  But I'm glad she swarmed back.

[nhs67]

2 hours ago, alex1fly said:

I thought it was the lady that wrote the Ferrari --> UNC piece. Folks sure swarmed her

She had a great right cross of her own.  Dodn't back down.  I don't think she wrote it, though.

[1032004]

1 hour ago, Interviewed_at_Weehawken said:

She didn't write the piece; she was merely quoted.  But I'm glad she swarmed back.

Most of the angst was directed at her, but there was some at the author as well.  She was the same author that wrote about Rob Koll saying there are a lot of good looking women at UNC.

[bnwtwg]

As the 'Bon said - tiny sport.

Add that it's very conservative which will eat its' own for the sake of dessert. That mindset has proven over the course of centuries to be hyper-destructive to anything be it a person or an ideology pushing against the status quo.

Oddly hypocritically given the above second point, Willie, given his personal stances, very correctly pointed out that the sport is on life support more than ever both domestically and internationally. The slackjaws like Mineo will push things forward, but the question will always be "at what cost?" 
 

Given the (rightful) impending death of the NCAA, this is all but a foregone outcome for our sport and many others that did not make the right moves. It's a damn shame because our sport teaches the most important life lessons of all no matter the level.

[1032004]

Hopefully someone besides Basch interviews Beau Bartlett and asks him about his PSU forum post…

@Cornell Kevin I think BEG is the team for the job 

Edited 7 hours ago by 1032004

[AgaveMaria]

USA Today Journalism. Condensed stories, often incomplete.

Professional journalists are always in short supply.

[ionel]

Is it true all the major networks are surrounding Cael's office as we speak ... or maybe not?  

[Ragu]

This topic is more true now than ever. Wondering how Basch and Willie will react to the recent news. Hopeful they aren't like the gall-less FRL guys. I know for a fact the Quad Pod guys will 

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

47 minutes ago, Ragu said:

This topic is more true now than ever. Wondering how Basch and Willie will react to the recent news. Hopeful they aren't like the gall-less FRL guys. I know for a fact the Quad Pod guys will 

It has been reacted to,

Basch said "nothingburger"