I did not see this coming.
I have to confess that I did have a contrary thought Tuesday night as I watched Riley Curry take over America, but I didn’t think it would blow up like this. Mine was a fleeting, small thought, along the lines of, “Well, if you’re a radio producer trying to get a decent sound bite out of this, you’re in trouble.”
I didn’t think Skip Bayless was still awake.
But he was, and he and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst apparently talked about Steph Curry’s daughter on First Take. Widely followed NBA reporter Ramona Shelburne blew the whistle first:
https://twitter.com/ramonashelburne/status/600896599527567360
The reaction was immediate and, at times, pretty fierce. Former ESPN reporter and former Golden State Warriors’ sideline commentator Ric Bucher went sarcastic:
We finally found Steph Curry's flaw: parenting. Did you see Riley Curry last night? Kid was a menace. An adorable menace, but still…
— Ric Bucher (@RicBucher) May 20, 2015
Sports Illustrated media critic Richard Deitsch put on his referee shirt and tried to make sense of the coming mayhem:
I ABSOLUTELY think Ric Bucher meant no harm with his tweet. But what has followed is far more interesting re: perception/social media power.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) May 20, 2015
Deitsch’s colleague at SI, Phil Taylor, represents a large percentage of the public opinion on this:
Kids at the podium turn press conferences from dry Q&As into scenes worth describing. Why would a writer be against that? #RileyCurry
— Phil Taylor (@byPhilTaylor) May 20, 2015
A reaction to the reaction? Here’s one from SI’s Robert Klemko:
Beat writers complaining about kids with their dads at NBA press conferences… and we in the media wonder why people hate us.
— robertklemko (@RobertKlemko) May 20, 2015
Here’s Klemko again, trying to explain to “Traditional Journalists” that they are dinosaurs:
What traditional journalists don't get is that Steph's daughter got 5 million more pageviews than their 800-word game story.
— robertklemko (@RobertKlemko) May 20, 2015
Yahoo got involved, of course. Who loves a debate more than Yahoo?
Should kids be allowed at postgame press conferences? @KevinKaduk and @JayBusbee discuss: http://t.co/8rUYyK3nY6 pic.twitter.com/G1DHm7ywmt
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) May 20, 2015
And, let’s not forget the political angle:
beyond being cute, when ballers bring their kids to press conferences, it says something powerful about black manhood and fatherhood
— profloumoore (@loumoore12) May 20, 2015
Speaking of politics, ESPN’s Kevin Van Valkenburg has a future in that field if this tweet is any indication:
1. I think athletes taking kids to pressers is cute.
2. I also see how it makes deadline harder.
3. Some athletes DO use kids as a shield.— Kevin Van Valkenburg (@KVanValkenburg) May 20, 2015
Many of the tweets I saw from media members, almost none of whom agreed with Windhorst and Bayless, centered around the tension point I thought was the most interesting. It was the basic question of, “How valuable is the post-game press conference anyway?” I’ll let Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tell you:
Good reporters avoid press conferences as much as possible. Transcripts usually available in postseason. You get more in locker room.
— Henry Schulman BLUE CHECK MARK (@hankschulman) May 20, 2015
Is this the real problem? Is this what we should be talking about today? Shouldn’t the postgame press conference have some value for the media in attendance?
Here’s a thought: Let’s ban reporters from asking questions that start with “Talk about…” That might help. Ask a question that indicates that you watched the game closely. Ask a question that isn’t a warmed-over version of the question the last guy asked, or even one that you asked before that you didn’t like the answer to. Don’t ask a question that requires a player or coach to divulge a strategic point, especially in a postseason series.
*
Despite the scales I drop all over the place, I realize that the media landscape has changed a lot in a pretty short amount of time. The postgame press conference itself is a function of that. When all of the reporters were men, there was no need to have a room that provided equal access to players and coaches. Now, women have access to locker rooms, but the press conference is here to stay, and it should be valuable.
What reporters on deadline need are quotes from players. Transcripts, with all due respect to Hank Schulman, don’t get it done. How a person talks is at least as important as what he or she says, and sometimes even more so. With the explosion of new electronic media outlets, video is a necessary part of the process. I haven’t seen too many websites post photos of the transcripts handed out by the PR people.
I also think each sport presents different challenges to the people covering it, and basketball probably lends itself to the postgame press conference better than any other. There are simply fewer players in a basketball game, so it’s easier to have the key players address the media all at once. In a baseball or football game there could be a dozen possible interview subjects, but in basketball, it’s usually just a handful.
Getting back to the adorable little girl who launched a million tweets Tuesday night, my feeling is that “take your 2-year-old to work” day has its limitations. If I had a meeting in my office and the person I was meeting with brought their 2-year-old, it would be a problem, and we would reschedule.
As a one-time event, Riley Curry’s star turn was fine. It was wonderful, refreshing and — yes, Lou Moore — a powerful image of a black man as a father. That said, if this catches on, it will become a problem.
Luckily, Steph Curry is a sharp guy, and a very mature guy. He knows that once was okay, but I would be shocked to see Riley anywhere near the podium again this season.
Plus, she said it wasn’t fun.
