Category: Blog Posts

Kobe Bean Bryant, best known for his impressive career and contributions to the sport of basketball, died in a tragic helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on Sunday afternoon at the age of 41. His daughter, Gianna Bryant, along with seven other people were on the aircraft when it flew too low trying to escape the fog that had rolled in. 

“My friend texted me, like, ‘oh, Kobe died,’ and I said, ‘Kobe Bryant like the basketball player?’ Then I saw on Twitter that TMZ had reported that he had died in a spontaneous helicopter crash. It was just so random, that is just the oddest situation that you would never expect.” Said Abby Quinn, a sophomore marketing major from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. After graduating from high school and going straight into the NBA, Bryant went on to have a hugely successful life, filled with numerous highs, but with that came a low that has been brought up in the news cycles in the wake of his death. 

Back in 2003, Bryant was accused of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old hotel worker in Colorado. Bryant admitted to a sexual encounter with said woman, however, he denied the allegation. The case was then dropped after his accuser refused to testify in court. 

“When I first looked up his name to clarify about what had happened, an article about his allegations popped up. I thought that it was interesting because I think that [journalists] should include it in their stories because it was a part of his like, and that shouldn’t be erased. In the end, I feel like it is valid to report on is all of the facts are correct.” Said sophomore finance major Arielle Roos. 

When asked if he could sum up his reaction to Bryant’s death, UMass Amherst senior Lukas Alvarez states, “I don’t know if I can put a word on it. It’s weird, because athletes are a strange group. We almost know them and we don’t know them.”

“I’ve never been hit with a death in the family, fortunately enough, and this was the first time where I actually felt this very strange sadness. It was weird because I don’t think about Kobe all the time, and then when I heard the news, you don’t realize the impact certain people can have on you from your childhood.” He continued. 

I think that the whole concept behind ‘no cheering in the press box,’ comes down to a more broad ideal in journalism that revolves around maintaining objectivity. Of course, everyone has their teams that they are fans of, who they root for from home, but I completely understand the importance of keeping that energy out of the press box.

For starters, the press box is a professional space. Just like an office, the press box should be free of outside conversation that doesn’t pertain to asking questions about stats or things of that nature. However, unlike an office space, the press box is only covering around two to four hours of a game, which is different than an office job where you’re there for nine hours. What I am trying to get at is being in the press box should be like working at an office. You do your job and watch the game, but in the end, there is so much you need to be focused on that cheering would one, take away your objectivity, and two, distract you from doing your job. 

I believe that this ideal is a rule because people will always have an attachment to a certain team or outcome, but by stating this ahead of time, it is known that once you do your job and get the story, you can go home and watch whatever you want, wear your teams jersey and cheer as loud as possible, because you aren’t working anymore. 

I feel as if this rule is significant because, even internally, it is very difficult to be one hundred percent, completely objective in sports writing. This rule, I believe, makes the goal of being objective a little more achievable, because it completely takes away the option of being non-objective in your professional space. However, when you’re sitting in a box in an arena surrounded by cheering fans who are absolutely not being objective, or when you’re covering one team for a whole season and have been with them through their highs and lows, I can definitely see how this is something that people struggle with. I do feel, though, that by maintaining the right about of professionalism, not cheering in the press box won’t such a taxing process. 

I also think that with the development of sports journalism, the prevalence of actual fan bloggers in the press box has gone up. Even in this instance, where you are literally covering a team as a fan, there should still be the expectation of professionalism the second you walk into the press box. 

I do believe that I will be able to abide by this rule. I am not too much of a vocal fan, which, in this case, works in my favor. I think that covering these beats will be a test of that, but I am excited to see what happens (and stick to this rule the best I can).