Bobby Burack
Videos by OutKick
Media members live to criticize others. They are paid to do so. But, let me tell you, from experience, they hate, and cannot handle when it’s returned. It’s Kevin Durant-level insecurity. (Well, not quite that bad. But bad.)
The sports media really won’t like this. This time, they were dunked on by Aaron Rodgers, a common target of many in the business.
Speaking to Kyle Brandt, Rodgers played media critic and denounced debate shows and “low-class journalism.” Here is Rodgers unleashing:
#Packers @AaronRodgers12 took a very justifiable dump on hot-take sports shows. I completely agree with everything he said.
Rodgers probably took issue with former teammate @GregJennings, among others who routinely criticizes his character on such shows.https://t.co/PIyWILwZ2h pic.twitter.com/FhivmPsDhB
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) August 12, 2020
It would’ve been helpful for Rodgers to specify what channel he’d prefer, as opposed to just saying there’s too much ESPN and NFL Network. We know he was a big-time Game of Thrones fan, maybe airing The Witcher in the background would satisfy him?
Anyway, his complaints are accurate. “Clickbait” has ruined the internet. It has made writers dumber. For some journalists, their energy is merely spent on writing witty, misleading headlines. The body comes second.
As for sports debate shows, they are mostly terrible. The genre is much worse now due to the rise of media interaction on Twitter. That’s the audience it’s catered to. Woke hacks who are offended by everything excluding fake outrage and over-the-top NBA gushing.
It’s why segments like these are written into the sheet:
On this day 7 years ago Brandon Knight made a very bad business decision 😳 pic.twitter.com/7N1jCFquJm
— HIGH NOON (@HIGHNOONonESPN) March 10, 2020
Who could possibly care?
Or multiple LeBron vs. Jordan segments per day:
"Think about all the iconic athletes that rep the Jordan shoe brand. This could keep him relevant for the next 100 years."@realjaywilliams explains why he believes LeBron will never catch MJ as a worldwide brand. pic.twitter.com/KccTLSVELX
— First Take (@FirstTake) April 8, 2020
Or attempts at “humor.”
.@katienolan is done with @bomani_jones trolling her love of hockey 🙄 pic.twitter.com/0VjfOOud0J
— Highly Questionable (@HQonESPN) August 12, 2020
It even leads to shows posting polls asking if it’s funny that Jonathan Isaac, who stood for the anthem, tore his ACL. No, really, it happened.
As for “low-class journalism,” an NBA reporter sending a “fuck you” to a senator could be a good example of that.
Man, what an industry.
Hey Bobby,
Great stuff, in the sense of you informing us, and then all these clips which make your point that TV sports talk/debate is pretty much a hot mess (as Big Sexy likes to say) lol.
Just thinking…watching these “personalities”…they all look like they’d rather be at the dentist, even LeBatard. Can’t imagine it gets better.
Bobby, great points. For me, MSESPN is by far the worst when it comes to “clickbait”. They have zero integrity and zero creativity. You picked out two great examples of just how bad they are with their countless “jordan vs Lebron” debates and their shameful comments about Jonathan Isaac (Jonathan Isaac, a true hero who helps bring food to families during times of need)….And even if someone is far left and agrees with MSESPN’s agenda, I still don’t know how anyone can stand to tune in to MSESPN, because MSESPN’s zero-creativity and horrifically boring programming probably kills brain cells.
Go, Aaron!!
If enough high enders speak this truth, there will be some positive journalistic changes…
20 years ago PTI changed everything, and PTI is still a great show during the few months of the year they have something interesting to talk about. But that’s because Kornheiser and to a certain extent Wilbon are legitimate journalist who don’t pander to the lowest common denominator the way that nearly all of their spin off shows have done. I stopped watching ESPN when they made Michelle Beadle a “superstar”, there is nothing superstar about a halfway decent lady with opinions about sports. Nothing Michelle Beadle has ever done in her life is worth the asinine 5 Million per year they agreed to pay her. John Skipper should have been perp walked out of the building the second he signed that deal, and he should be working for free as a janitor to pay it back.
Rodgers is just figuring this out? Journalism, in its truest sense, is dead. It started decades ago when the big 3 networks decided to burden news departments with generating revenue. Ted Turner unleashed the 24-hour news cycle via CNN and then the internet busted down most of the tenets of professionalism, decorum and rules of engagement. So, you have what you have today, which is partisan journalism hackery controlled by a few conglomerates and moguls, catering to Genz and y, who largely have malformed brains (thank you Big Education) incapable of critical thinking. People screaming at each other for 35 seconds is the outcome.
Well said, this post needs a like button.
Dave Ramsey has a great saying about Millennials, they come in two sizes, suck, and awesome. Same thing applies to Gen Z. You have wonderful young people in this country who’s parents (or some type of mentor) carried the load that public education failed to do, and in fact the parents did a far better job than the school system ever could, and then you have young people who’s parents were more interested in their own selfish desires than caring for and teaching their kids. Sad but true.
I am really enjoying Outkick in my daily feed. Thoughtful pieces like this are why! Aaron Rodgers sounds like a smart, thoughtful guy. Now…if he can just eliminate “you know” from the convo!