FOOTBALLERS AND THE PRESS: THE VICIOUS CYCLE OF SAYING NOTHING

Footballers have never been portrayed as having the silver tongue when it comes to expressing themselves to the media. Indeed, perhaps it’s more akin to parseltongue as they mumble incoherently to the gathered press pack, who are often stereotypically seen themselves to be sneaky and slithering, looking for their next back-page victim of prey.

All in all, it serves to give a somewhat hostile, uneasy environment with a 20 something-year-old sounding infantilized having 'emms', 'ahhs' 'wells' and 'buts' permeating through their speech, when attempting describe how it feels to have secured a 2-0 victory against Threave Rovers. 

Sometimes footballers just don't know what to say

Do not get me wrong, I am not for one minute suggesting it is easy to speak to the press – far from it – but, I want to try to dispel the myth that footballers cannot string a sentence together, or indeed, that the press are out to get their next pound of flesh every time the two invariably meet before and after matches.

It is all about the issue of trust, more specifically, a lack of trust between the media, clubs and the players. I am not trying to pin the blame on any of the people involved; rather, I am attempting to explore how it has got to a point where football has tightly regulated rules and restricted media access to players, compared to other sports, which seem to enjoy a far more liberalised and amicable relationship between journalists and professional sportsmen and women.

Essentially, it is like the chicken and the egg argument:  What came first? Was it a newspaper's article which took what the player said completely out of context and sensationalised the story in order to sell papers, which in turn made players clam up in fear of the same thing happening to them?

Or was it the players themselves, who said nothing interesting to the press, being blandly neutral which led the newspaper to 'buff' or 'polish' up a quote to make the story sound more entertaining for its readers. Or, is it because of 'lazy' journalists, who seemingly ask the same routine or 'stupid' (see below) questions?

Perhaps the role of the club's PR officer might enlighten this debate. It is he or she who is assigned the task of handling the club's communications with the public via the media. The club need the publicity in the press to attract sponsorship and fans; the journalists need to fill the back pages. It is a simple enough concept, but within it lies a much deeper issue.

The role of the PR officer has brought fairness, protocol and organisation to the mutually-dependent relationship between the club and the press, but with it comes the restriction of freedom of expression and access to players. Below is a video of Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson getting his press officer to ban a journalist.

The press officer realises when a player goes out to speak the media, they are representing, not only themselves, but the team they play for.  Therefore, whatever they say to the media can affect the club’s image in the eyes of the public and businesses that sponsor them.

No news is good news as they say and that is exactly what gets conveyed to the players – do not say anything to the media which could be construed as controversial or negative which could later have repercussions for the club. They are out to get us. Former Hibs player Scott Brown, follows exactly this procedure below.

But there-in lies the problem, the players end up saying nothing at all remotely newsworthy because they've been told not to say anything which might be construed as controversial. So the press go back to their newsrooms, listen to what they have on their dictaphones or read their shorthand notes and discover they have to conjure up a story from the very little newsworthy quotes they have. Then, after the story has been written and published, sometimes this leads to the clubs being upset at the article because it is not what the player or manager meant.

And, while it is fair to say it is the journalist's job to tease a story out of the player or manager, to get him to display the emotion or passion he has for the game into words, it is up to the player or manager being interviewed, because, they can say as little or as much as they want to the press. 

This is known as ABC in media communication training which stands for Answer, Bridge and Communicate. The player or manager interviewed vaguely answers the question, then they use a bridge phrase to get back to what they want to communicate. A skill commonly associated with politicians; it is now being used by players and managers.

Scottish sports journalist Graham Spiers in 2006 said:

“The clubs don’t trust the press. The clubs protect the information that comes out of them and therefore it’s more difficult for journalists.”

Yet, in other sports and in other countries, journalists seem to have much better access to players. For instance, in America, sports such as American football, soccer or hockey allow accredited sports reporters into locker rooms to interview coaches and players because they realise the commercial value it brings to the club – such as merchandising and ticket sales.

And the same is reflected in rugby in this country. When I went to the RBS Six Nations Scotland v France, players seemed a lot more comfortable in the media spotlight and could convey what they wanted to get across to the reporters articulately.

This is what football should be striving for, to have a culture where players can openly speak to the press without trepidation of what they say landing them in trouble or being taken out of context. When a player is being interviewed, it is their opportunity to be positive about the club they play for, the players they play with or say something a little bit different which makes the reader sit up and take notice. 

For instance, this article by David Winner on Wayne Rooney is brilliant. The England striker, normally depicted as being an unintelligent, gibbering fool, quashes that belief as he explains to Winner, how he visualises scoring in a match before playing, somewhat proving that there is more to him than his chunky exterior would suggest. But it also avoids the usual routine questions which would normally be asked.

Rooney: Visualises scoring before he does

It is this kind of enlightening journalism which sports fans want to read about, and can help improve relations between the clubs, players and the media. Good quality articles like this will go some way to restoring the breakdown in communication.