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Media and the PR Playbook: Strategies for Sporting Success - Platform Magazine

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Media and the PR Playbook: Strategies for Sporting Success - Platform Magazine

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Media and the PR Playbook: Strategies for Sporting Success - Platform Magazine

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Unlock the winning strategies of Sports PR with insights into audience engagement, social media hygiene, media relations, and more. Learn from industry experts and discover the playbook for success in the exhilarating world of sports public relations.

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Sports PR: What Does It Mean & How Does It Work?

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Sports PR: What Does It Mean & How Does It Work?

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The way you present yourself to your set audience and how you react to how they react is quite important. Your audience sees you based on what you want them to see. A good example of this is how the LA Chargers use their X account “The team effectively caters to its target audience, primarily the younger Generation Z demographic. Its social media consistently features visually engaging content, showcasing exciting plays and exclusive events with coaches and players. Additionally, the page keeps its content current and relatable by incorporating popular memes that align with current events.”

In sports, athletes NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) is now being introduced into college sports, which in turn, compensates the athletes based on their public image. This has shown some great potential with one backup QB at the Texas Longhorns having the potential to receive up to 3.8 million dollars. This amount of money being received for a single athlete broadcasts how important your public image is so important in the sports industry.

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Author: Caroline Raley - Communication Coordinator - American Cancer Society | LinkedIn

Date Published: November 6, 2023, 3:46 p.m.

Date Updated: November 6, 2023, 3:46 p.m.

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A public relations (PR) professional attempts to make a better image for an athlete or sport. A good public relationship with its community provides attraction to fans, merchandise revenue, an increase in ticket sales, gathering sponsorships, and collaborations. Connecting with a certain community is easier than ever with television, social media, news, the radio, journalists, and much more.

A sports PR professional may have to take on a multitude of different tasks while on the job (ie. statisticians, event managers, communications experts, speech trainers, and travel coordinators). These professionals must also connect with media outlets (national and international) to not only gather new audiences but maintain the audience with this image said athlete is developing. Furthermore, the professionals are likely on the clock due to fan engagement and a wide variety of immersiveness for the athlete. Like developing good advertising for companies, sports PR professionals must create and maintain an image of an athlete. Crisis management is highly needed within the sports community due to the high risk of accusations over time.

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Author: Nastya Zelenovskaya

Date Published: November 19, 2023

Date Updated: November 19, 2023

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This removal of a said person tends to consist online on social media platforms. Campaigns are usually begun in the cause of a social norm of society being broken (social norms can vary between culture and location). Some examples of this is acts of racism, pedophilia, fat-shaming, assault, murder, or even association with a hateful group. The effects are not only online based, but may face real world issues for the accused (fired from work, or even jail time). Cancel culture is most, if not always never have a due process with lack or no way to show proof. Cancel culture may also cause a burial behind the reasoning of said action.

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Cancel Culture - Document - Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints

Author: Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection

Date Published: 2023 (did not present month nor date)

Date Updated: 2023

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What PR in sports does and why athletes need it.

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What PR in sports does and why athletes need it.

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Main question HOW CAN THE PUBLIC EYE EFFECT AN ATHLETES FAME WITHIN SPORTS

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Main question HOW CAN THE PUBLIC EYE EFFECT AN ATHLETES FAME WITHIN SPORTS

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ALL SITES (red) THAT ARE ANNOTATED WILL HAVE A BACKGROUND AND RESOURCES BEHIND POST (orange) AND A SUMMARY OR SOME FORM OF REPRESETATIONS OF READING (green)(this is an exclusion to all pdf's)

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Author: Julian Kates-Harbeck and Martin Nowak

Date Published: August 23, 2023

Date Updated: August 23, 2023

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The self online: When meaning-making is outsourced to the cyber audience. - Document - Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints

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The self online: When meaning-making is outsourced to the cyber audience. - Document - Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints

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A converging reputation ranking iteration method via the eigenvector. - Document - Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints

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A converging reputation ranking iteration method via the eigenvector. - Document - Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints

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24 Athletes Who Lost Their Huge Endorsement Deals

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First, scandal hit. Then their corporate sponsors fled.

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Impact of Sports Mass Media on the Behavior and Health of Society. A Systematic Review

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Impact of Sports Mass Media on the Behavior and Health of Society. A Systematic Review

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Impact of Sports Mass Media on the Behavior and Health of Society. A Systematic Review

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The presence of sport in the media has grown exponentially over the last few decades. As a result, the influence of the media on the concept of physical activity within society and the collective and individual values it purports is indisputable. The…

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is an example of the balance

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Reputation structure in indirect reciprocity under

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Reputation structure in indirect reciprocity under

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noisy and private assessment

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Effect of memory, intolerance and second-order reputation

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Effect of memory, intolerance and second-order reputation

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on cooperation.

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Indirect reciprocity with assessments of group

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Indirect reciprocity with assessments of group

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reputation

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THE ESPORT GAMERS ARE A GOOD EXAMPLE (for the most part), being too low on the balance

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THE ESPORT GAMERS ARE A GOOD EXAMPLE (for the most part), being too low on the balance

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this one is not color coordinated

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Mike Tyson, Lebron James, Christiano Ronaldo, Serena Williams. Each is one of the greatest athletes of all time seen by the public. their name lasting generations and more to come. But what makes an athlete seem so great to the public even if they aren't as good as the others? Their public image is what gives the public the sight that these athletes are at the peak of the industry. It may be difficult for some athletes and competitors to reach the hall of the greatest athletes. So how can athletes balance their fame and reputation to reach the ideal look for athletes and the public? This study will discuss what may be too far and what happens if you give a lack of care. [Due to a lack of study and a tendency of difficulty, some of the study is simulation based]

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"Most endorsement deals also tend to come with moral clauses that let the company exit the contract if the celebrity lands in trouble or tarnishes their reputation."

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"Most endorsement deals also tend to come with moral clauses that let the company exit the contract if the celebrity lands in trouble or tarnishes their reputation."

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Athletes are a good way to represent a numerous amount of companies wether or not it relates to sports. In the case that a athlete does run into a situation or does not match the image that could reach for their company, it may taint what the company is perceived as due to the athlete tainting the companies look. Hence, why athletes may not have the oppurtunity or get the contract voided based off of the image.

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From what I have read in the stimulus, Serena Williams has gave a lack of care for sponsors and the hate (mainly) towards her image playing tennis and being at the top.

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6/14 done

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From the reading, I have gathered rather good quotations and an exceptional understanding on how this will help.

-"’ Evert told me, adding, ‘‘She works hard.’’ She also suggested that any demonstration of corporate preference is about a certain ‘‘type’’ of look or image"

-"it’s not wholly in her control. Then suddenly Serena stopped. ‘‘I don’t want any incidents there,’’ she said. ‘‘But I’m always going to be myself. If anything happens, I’m always going to be myself, true to myself.’’

-", the tall, blond Canadian who has yet to really distinguish herself in the sport, being named the world’s most marketable athlete by the British magazine SportsPro this spring,"

- "She wins, yes, but she also loses it. She jokes around, gets angry, is frustrated or joyous, and on and on. She is fearlessly on the side of Serena,"

with these quotes, we can take away that an athlete to an extent has to be themselves (not saying or doing anything that would get you canceled (see cancel culture)). Furthermore, an athlete must stand out to a degree, which may be from looks, actions, or play style. The final main thing about a positive reputation is if you have skill or really trying in the sport.

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The realm of E-sports is a mixed region. From the stimulus, we have seen gamers who do not share their identity to peers around them, a limited amount, and a full amount. this has sparked a weird situation where the public can only make assumptions of most if not all gamers in the sporting community

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Ten years. In the world of sports, it can seem like an eternity.

As this decade began, the Yankees were reigning World Series champions, the Saints were about to win the franchise's first Super Bowl title, Kobe Bryant was on his way to leading the Lakers to back-to-back NBA titles and Tiger Woods - with 14 major victories by the age of 34 - was seemingly a lock to break Jack Nicklaus' record of 18.

How things have changed. The Yankees, Saints and Lakers have yet to return to the pinnacle of their sports, and Woods went 11 years before winning his 15th major.

Then again, some stars who ruled the sports world in 2010 have managed to stay on top. Which ones deserve recognition as the greatest athletes of the past decade?

Thirty-five members of the USA TODAY Sports staff voted to determine the top 50 athletes of the decade. Points were given in descending order, so an athlete who was voted No. 1 received 25 points, followed by No. 2 receiving 24 points and so on. Point totals are in parentheses.

1. LeBron James (786 points)

The start of the decade coincided with James entering his prime, having just turned 25. He delivered, playing in eight NBA Finals and winning three titles, being voted MVP twice and winning a gold medal in 2012. Plus nobody has scored more points since the start of the 2009-10 season than James. But it's his impact off the court that elevates James beyond other athletes of the 2010s, adding to his philanthropic efforts and becoming a leading voice on social and political issues.

2. Serena Williams (781 points)

Narrowly beat out by James, Williams is arguably the the greatest tennis player in history with 23 Grand Slam tournament singles titles, more than any man or woman in the Open Era. Not all of those majors came in this decade, but winning 10 of them - as well as Olympic golds in singles and doubles - after turning 30 might be an even more impressive feat.

3. Tom Brady (742 points)

A sixth-round draft choice in 2000, Brady's career has spanned two decades, and he's still going strong at 42. In the 2010s, he won two MVP awards (2010 season and '17) and led the Patriots to five Super Bowl appearances and three Super Bowl titles (2014 season, '16 and '18).

4. Simone Biles (740 points)

Biles hit the elite gymnastics scene as a 14-year-old in 2011. Two years later she claimed her first world championship gold medals, winning the floor exercise and all-around competitions. She won eight more golds at worlds in 2014-15 before leading the USA to team gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Individually, Biles won gold in the floor exercise, vault and all-around competitions with a bronze in the balance beam. After taking 2017 off, she returned by winning seven more individual golds at the 2018 and 2019 world championships.
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5. Usain Bolt (654 points)

Bolt was already an international star and Olympic champion when the decade started. But he added to his legacy by becoming the only sprinter to win gold medals in both the 100 and 200 meters in three consecutive Olympics (2008, 2012, 2016). He also won 11 gold medals at the track and field world championships from 2009 to 2015. And he currently holds the world record in both the 100 and the 200.

6. Mike Trout (610 points)

Trout made his major league debut in 2011 at 19 and a season later won the AL Rookie of the Year award and finished second in AL MVP voting. He hasn't slowed down since. An eight-time All-Star, Trout has won three MVP awards and finished second four times. The only blemish on his career is a lack of postseason success, but he's only 28.

7. Steph Curry (571 points)

The seventh overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft, Curry quickly established himself as one of the game's best shooters. He led the NBA in 3-point field goals for five consecutive seasons, including a record 402 in 2015-16. An All-Star in each of the past six seasons, Curry was named the league's MVP in 2015 as he led the Warriors to their first NBA title in 40 years. The following year, Curry repeated as MVP as the Warriors finished with an unprecedented 73-9 record but lost the NBA Finals in seven games to the Cavaliers. Entering the 2019-20 season, Curry and the Warriors have represented the Western Conference in each of the past five NBA Finals, winning three.

8. Lionel Messi (570 points)

In the decade's greatest soccer rivalry, Messi comes out slightly ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo. A prolific goal-scorer, Messi has won a record six Ballon d'Or awards (five this decade) as the world's top player. He has spent his entire pro career with Barcelona, where he holds the record of six Golden Boot awards as the leading scorer in the top division of the five major European leagues. The native of Argentina is his country's all-time leading scorer with 70 goals in 138 international appearances. He also led Argentina to the 2014 World Cup final.
FROM BASEBALL: DARKEST MOMENT: Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal rocked the world Dream team, position-by-position for the decade
9. Michael Phelps (541 points)

Although many of his accomplishments came in the 2000s, Phelps arguably did enough alone in this decade to be considered the greatest swimmer in history. Following his unprecedented eight gold medal-winning performance at the 2008 Olympics, Phelps cut back his schedule - winning four golds and two silvers in 2012 in London. He was chosen as the U.S. flag bearer for the 2016 Rio Games, then added another five golds and one silver. His victories in the 200-meter butterfly and 200 medley made him, at 31, the oldest individual champion in Olympic swimming history.

10. Novak Djokovic (479 points)

Men's tennis has been ruled by three players this decade. Of the three, Djokovic holds the upper hand. Of his 16 Grand Slam tournament titles, 15 have come since 2011 - including all five Wimbledon crowns and six of his record seven Australian Open titles. His 2015 season, in which he won three majors and reached the final in a fourth, is considered one of the greatest in history.

11. Katie Ledecky (443 points)

Ledecky is quite simply the most dominant freestyle swimmer in history. At 15, she claimed her first Olympic title in 2012, setting a record for an American and winning the 800-meter freestyle by more than four seconds. Breaking world records and going undefeated in every international final she entered between the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, Ledecky hit more milestones at the 2016 Rio Games. She won gold in the 200-, 400- and 800-meter free, posting world-record times in the 400 and 800 that still stand. All told, she's set 14 world records.

12. Kevin Durant (398 points)

Starting in the 2009-10 season, Durant led the league in points five years in a row with the Thunder, went to the 2012 Finals, was league MVP in 2013-14 and won Olympic gold medals in 2012 and 2016. But Durant didn't become an NBA champion until he joined the Warriors in 2016. He won back-to-back titles (winning Finals MVP) and was the leading playoff scorer last season until he was hurt before the Finals.

13. Rafael Nadal (396 points)

The King of Clay won the French Open eight times during the decade and three of the four Grand Slam tournaments in 2010. He's the reigning champion at the French and U.S. Open. Nadal was ranked No. 1 for 140 weeks, including now, and No. 2 for 133 weeks.

14. Cristiano Ronaldo (387 points)

He signed with Real Madrid before the turn of the decade and dominated, scoring 40 or more goals three times and winning back-to-back Ballon D'Or awards in 2013 and 2014 and 2016 and 2017. He was named the top forward as Portugal won UEFA Euro 2016. He transferred to Juventus in 2018 and led that team to a first-place finish in his first year.

15. Aaron Rodgers (297 points)

The Packers' quarterback was MVP of the 2011 Super Bowl XLV win against the Steelers, throwing for 304 yards and three touchdowns. He was NFL MVP in 2012, when the Packers went 15-1, and he had a career-best 4,643 passing yards and 45 TD passes. He picked up six All-Pro nods and won 10 or more games seven times, including this season.
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16. Roger Federer (273 points)

He began the decade ranked No. 1 and finished No. 3. There was a lot of fluctuation in there, including a drop to 16, but he won five Grand Slam tournaments and the Federer-Nadal rivalry remains fun to watch.

17. Sidney Crosby (268 points)

The hockey world wondered if the Penguins' star would be able to return from a concussion suffered in the 2011 Winter Classic. He spent parts of two seasons on the sideline but came back strong. He led the league with 104 points in 2013-14 to win MVP and was playoff MVP twice as the Penguins won back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 2016 and 2017, the first NHL team to do that since the late 1990s.

18. Clayton Kershaw (256 points)

The Dodgers' pitcher dominated in the regular season, winning the Cy Young Award in 2011, 2013 and 2014. He was voted National League MVP in 2014, when he went 21-3 with a 1.77 ERA. He hasn't been able to repeat that dominance in the postseason, though, with a combined 5.40 ERA in World Series games.

19. Alex Ovechkin (239 points)

The runaway NHL goal-scoring leader of the decade. The Capitals' star scored his 600th goal on March 12, 2018, and is closing in on 700. Ovechkin eliminated the one blemish on his career by winning the Stanley Cup in 2018.

20. Carli Lloyd (217 points)

A force on the U.S. Women's National Team, she scored the winning goal in the 2012 Olympics, was captain of the 2015 World Cup team and had a hat trick in the championship game against Japan. She scored three goals in the 2019 World Cup as the USA repeated as champion.

21. American Pharoah (160 points)

Yes, horses are athletes too. American Pharoah won the Triple Crown in 2015, the first to do so since Affirmed in 1978. He took the Kentucky Derby by 1 length, the Preakness Stakes by 7 lengths and the Belmont Stakes by 5½ lengths. Trained by Bob Baffert, American Pharoah went on to win the Breeders' Cup Classic, the first to win all four races in one year.

22. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (154 points)

Mayweather added to his perfect record by winning nine fights in the decade, including a 10th-round TKO of UFC fighter Conor McGregor in August 2017. That gave Mayweather a 50-0 record, surpassing Hall of Fame boxer Rocky Marciano's 49-0 mark. Mayweather announced on Instagram in November that he was "coming out of retirement in 2020," but no bout has been scheduled.

23. Max Scherzer (123 points)

Scherzer started the decade as an up-and-comer who just completed his first full season in the major leagues. He finishes the 2010s with the most strikeouts and wins in the decade, three Cy Young Awards and a newly earned World Series title.

24. Lindsey Vonn (119 points)

Vonn's decade as a skier was filled with remarkable achievements and excruciating injuries. She won Olympic gold in the downhill and a bronze in the super-G at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. In 2013, she suffered torn knee ligaments and a broken leg and did not fully recover in time for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. Vonn returned to the Games in 2018, taking bronze in the downhill. She announced her retirement in 2019 after claiming a record 82 World Cup victories, the most of any female skier in history. She also has seven world championship medals and was the first female skier to win medals at six world championships.

25. Mikaela Shiffrin (118 points)

The world's dominant slalom skier has won the World Cup season title six times. Shiffrin, 24, also has won three consecutive overall World Cup titles. Currently tied for second on the list of World Cup victories with 62, Shiffrin could pass Ingemar Stenmark's record of 86 before the Beijing Olympics in 2022. At the 2014 Olympics at 18, she became the youngest to win Olympic gold in slalom. Four years later, Shiffrin won gold in the giant slalom and silver in the combined.

26. Maya Moore (104 points)

The five-time, first-team All-WNBA honoree helped the Lynx win four championships since her rookie year in 2011. Moore was also named MVP in 2014. She has missed only one game in eight seasons, with career averages of 18.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. In February, Moore, 30, announced that she would sit out the 2019 season to focus on family and "some ministry dreams."

27. James Harden (86 points)

A seven-time All-Star and two-time NBA scoring champion, Harden was the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year (2011-12) with the Thunder before he was traded to the Rockets. Since the trade, Harden, 30, has averaged 29.4 points and 7.7 assists. He's led the NBA in scoring each of the past two seasons: 30.4 points in 2017-18 - when he was the league MVP - and 36.1 points in 2018-19.

28. Justin Verlander (83 points)

Verlander won two Cy Young Awards in the decade, including one in 2019 when he became the oldest pitcher to achieve the feat since 42-year-old Roger Clemens did it in 2004. Now 36, Verlander is second to Max Scherzer in wins and strikeouts in the 2010s and first in innings pitched. He also won a World Series title with the Astros in 2017.

29. Elena Delle Donne (69 points)

She is the first player in WNBA history to win MVP honors with two teams: the Sky in 2015 and the Mystics in 2019. A seven-year veteran, Delle Donne, 30, led the Mystics to the team's first league championship in 2019. She is the first player in WNBA history to shoot over 50% from the field, over 40% from 3-point territory and over 90% from the free throw line in a season (2019).

30. Tiger Woods (57 points)

Woods hasn't been the same since he crashed his Escalade outside his Florida mansion on the day after Thanksgiving in 2009. He endured personal scandal and several surgical procedures on his back. But Woods had his share of moments of triumph on the golf course. He was named PGA Tour Player of the Year in 2013 and won 11 tournaments in the 2010s. His Masters victory in 2019 was one of the decade's most dramatic moments and marked his 15th career major, keeping Woods within reach of Jack Nicklaus' record of 18.

31. Abby Wambach (55 points)

Inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in September, Wambach, 39, is the career-leading goal scorer in women's international soccer with 184 goals. In the 2010s, she was a member of the U.S. women's team that won gold at the 2012 Olympics and the 2015 World Cup. She was the FIFA world women's player of the year in 2012.

T32. Allyson Felix (49 points)

Felix finishes the decade as the most decorated woman in U.S. Olympic track and field history with nine medals. She captured three gold medals in 2012 and two more in 2016 to bring her career total to six, most of any female track and field athlete in Olympic history. She won her 12th gold at the world championships in 2019, her first since becoming a mother.

T32. Marcel Hirscher (49 points)

At just 30 years old, the Austrian is already widely considered the greatest Alpine skier ever. Hirscher won a record eight consecutive overall World Cup titles from 2012 to 2019, plus six titles each in the slalom and giant slalom disciplines and two Olympic gold medals in 2018.

34. Drew Brees (48 points)

Brees earned nine of his 13 career Pro Bowl nods in the 2010s and was the 2011 Offensive Player of the Year. He leads quarterbacks for the decade in touchdowns, yards, pass attempts and completions. He also finishes the decade as the NFL's career leader in passing yards and touchdowns.

35. Megan Rapinoe (46 points)

Rapinoe played in three World Cups during the decade, winning two, including the performance of a lifetime to lead the Americans to a second consecutive title in 2019. She was awarded the Golden Boot as the tournament's top scorer with six goals and earned the Golden Ball as the best player.

36. Diana Taurasi (35 points)

Considered one of the greatest female basketball players in history, Taurasi spent the 2010s burnishing her Hall of Fame résumé. She earned five All-Star nods and seven All-WNBA selections during the decade and won her third WNBA championship and second Finals MVP in 2014. Taurasi became the WNBA's all-time leader scorer in 2017 and won Olympic gold medals with the U.S. in 2012 and 2016.

37. Klay Thompson (35 points)

Thompson teamed with Steph Curry to form the Splash Brothers, the best shooting backcourt in NBA history and cornerstones of a Warriors dynasty that won three championships. Thompson was a five-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA third-team pick during the decade.

38. Patrick Kane (34 points)

The top pick in the 2007 draft, Kane became a cornerstone of the Blackhawks' teams that won three Stanley Cup championships during the decade. Kane won the Art Ross Trophy as NHL scoring champion and the Hart Trophy as league MVP in 2015-16, becoming the first American-born player to win each.

39. Alex Morgan (28 points)

Morgan became the latest international soccer star for the U.S. She appeared in three World Cups, helping the U.S. win the 2015 and 2019 titles. In April 2019, Morgan became the seventh American woman to score 100 international goals, and she finishes the decade with 107.

40. Lewis Hamilton (25 points)

Hamilton established himself as one of the most accomplished drivers in Formula One history with five championships in six years (2014-15, 2017-19). His six total championships and 84 race wins are both second behind Michael Schumacher, and Hamilton holds the F1 career record with 88 poles.

T41. Canelo Alvarez (21 points)

Canelo became one of boxing's biggest draws this decade, signing a massive deal with the DAZN streaming service for his fights in 2018. In the ring, the four-division champion has gone an impressive 23-1-1 over the past 10 years.

T41. Sue Bird (21 points)

Bird finishes the decade among the best women to ever play basketball. She won two of her three WNBA titles (2010 and 2018), made five All-Star teams and three All-WNBA teams and became the league's all-time assists leader in 2017. Bird also helped the U.S. win Olympic gold medals in 2012 and 2016.

T41. Aaron Donald (21 points)

The accolades started piling up in 2013 for Donald, as he was named the ACC defensive player of the year and cleaned up in award season, taking home the Nagurski Award, Bednarik Award, Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award. He continued in the NFL as he was named Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2014 and captured back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2017 and 2018, the latter when he led the league with 20½ sacks.

T41. Brooks Koepka (21 points)

The 29-year-old golfer became one of the best big-game players on the planet in the last few years of the decade. He captured four major titles - twice taking home the PGA Championship (2018 and 2019) and twice winning the U.S. Open (2017 and 2018). When he wasn't winning in 2019 he was in the hunt, finishing second at the Masters, second at the U.S. Open and fourth at the British Open.

45. Jon Jones (20 points)

There was plenty of controversy for "Bones" during the decade as he was stripped of his light heavyweight championship multiple times. But there was no disputing his dominance in the octagon. He never lost a UFC bout in the decade, racking up 16 wins.

46. JJ Watt (18 points)

Perhaps no defensive player was as dominant as Watt in the 2010s. He won three NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards (2012, 2014, 2015) and twice led the league in sacks. Watt's career has been slowed of late by injuries, but in 2017 he made perhaps his biggest impact off the field when he was named the Walter Payton Man of the Year after helping to spearhead a massive fundraising effort in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

47. Julio Jones (17 points)

The wide receiver began the decade as a star on Alabama as the Crimson Tide captured their first national championship in 17 years in January 2010. He was drafted by the Falcons with the sixth overall pick in 2011 and hasn't slowed down, twice leading the league in receiving yards while clearing 900 yards in all but one year of his NFL career.

T48. Larry Fitzgerald (16 points)

Fitzgerald has spent the decade continuing to build one of the most impressive resumes of any wide receiver in NFL history. The greatest player in Arizona Cardinals history is now second in career receptions and yards and sixth in touchdowns. He also has the most receptions of the 2010s.

T48. Shaun White (16 points)

One of the most recognizable names in extreme sports, White won Olympic gold medals in snowboard halfpipe at the 2010 and 2018 Winter Games. He also spent the early part of the decade dominating at the X Games.

50. Adrian Peterson (14 points)

Peterson has rushed for over 9,000 yards this decade, claiming the rushing title in 2012 and 2015 - the former accompanied by the league MVP as he nearly broke Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record.

Others receiving votes

Jimmie Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Breanna Stewart, Mo Farah, Eliud Kipchoge, Kyle Busch, Justify, Lamar Jackson, Von Miller, Chandler Jones, Miguel Cabrera.

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From LeBron James to Tiger Woods to Simone Biles: Who made our list of top 50 athletes this decade?

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Ten years. In the world of sports, it can seem like an eternity. As this decade began, the Yankees were reigning World Series champions, the Saints were about to win the franchise's first Super Bowl title, Kobe Bryant was on his way to leading the Lakers to back-to-back NBA titles and Tiger Woods - with 14 major victories by the age of 34 - was seemingly a lock to break Jack Nicklaus' record of 18.

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When it comes to NBA discourse on the topic of skill, NBA fans' definition of skill varies because of the split between numerical production and the good ol' eye test as the basis of the argument. Some fans use scoring numbers as the primary talking point while other fans use the "biggest bag" debate. In our interview in November with Carmelo Anthony, he stated that was a big difference between the best players in the game and most skilled players in the game.

"There are skilled guys in the NBA that are not the best players," Anthony says. "There's a big difference. The best player comes with different things. You know what I'm saying? There's a lot of that comes with being the best player in the NBA. You got to be one out of 400."

You'll run into weekly debates on X, formerly known as Twitter, with fans bickering about the players with the most skill and criticizing players that "lack" skill to negate their impact. Every fan believes their words are the bible but what do the players think about this topic? We polled several stars & young players around the NBA on who they believed were the top five most skilled players in the league. As athletes who have trained and attempted to perfect their skills for over a decade, the players provide a different perspective than the average social media user devoted to protecting their favorite player's legacy.

All-Stars Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton, Damian Lillard, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander were among the group that was polled individually. The two common names on almost every list were Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, which should be no surprise to NBA fans. The majority of the rest of the votes were split between Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, LeBron James, Paul George, and Steph Curry.

With all that being said, here's the most skilled players in the NBA right now voted by the players.

Damian Lillard
Damian's Most Skilled 2. Kevin Durant 3. Luka Doncic 4. Paul George 5. Joel Embiid
Tyrese Haliburton
Tyrese's Most Skilled 1. Kyrie Irving 2. Kevin Durant 3. Steph Curry 4. Paul George 5. Joel Embiid
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Shai's Most Skilled Players 1. Steph Curry 3. Kyrie Irving 4. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 5. Luka Doncic
Jayson Tatum
Jayson's Most Skilled 1. Kyrie Irving 2. Kevin Durant 3. Paul George 4. Jayson Tatum 5. Devin Booker
Alperen Sengun
Alperen's Most Skilled: 1. Luka Doncic 2. Nikola Jokic 3. Stephen Curry 4. LeBron James 5. Paul George
Khris Middleton
1. Kyrie Irving 2. Kevin Durant 3. LeBron James 4. Nikola Jokic 5. Giannis Antetokounmpo
Terry Rozier
1. Kyrie Irving 2. Luka Doncic 3. Kevin Durant 4. Luka Doncic 5. Terry Rozier
Scoot Henderson
1. Steph Curry 2. Nikola Jokic 3. LeBron James 4. Donovan Mitchell 5. Luka Doncic
Carmelo Anthony

Carmelo didn't list his top five but he mentioned that Kyrie Irving and Nikola Jokic would be atop his list in terms of pure skill.

"Kyrie may be the most skilled player in the NBA," Anthony says. "Him and Jokic. Speaking on Kyrie, a lot of people may say he's not the best player but he's the most skilled."

Total Vote Count

1. Kyrie Irving (7 votes)

2. Kevin Durant (6 votes)

3. Luka Doncic (5 votes)

4. Paul George (4 votes)

5. Steph Curry (4 votes)

6. Nikola Jokic (4 votes)

7. LeBron James (3 votes)

8. Joel Embiid (2 votes)

9. Jayson Tatum (2 vote)

10. Devin Booker (1 vote)

11. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (1 vote)

12. Terry Rozier (1 vote)

13. Donovan Mitchell (1 vote)

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We Asked NBA Stars to Rank the Top 5 Most Skilled Players Right Now

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We caught up with Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyrese Haliburton, Carmelo Anthony, and more NBA stars to name their top five most skilled players in the NBA right now.

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The Process of Being Known and Staying Known

Reputation

Being Skillful

Being Yourself (to an extent)

Public Relations (PR) professionals

News Outlets and Other Forms of Wide Spread Media

Cancel Culture

Assumptions and Trust from the Public

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Usain Bolt, Lebron James, Christiano Ronaldo, Serena Williams. Each is one of the greatest athletes of all time seen by the public. their name lasting generations and more to come.  But what makes an athlete seem so great to the public even if they aren't as good as the others? Their public image is what gives the public the sight that these athletes are at the peak of the industry. It may be difficult for some athletes and competitors to reach the hall of the greatest athletes. So how can athletes balance their fame and reputation to reach the ideal look for athletes and the public once reaching the top? This argument will discuss how an athlete reaches these heights, who is behind athletes, what may be too far in the hopes of reaching fame, and what may happen if a lack of care is provided.

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Stats on usage of social media

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MORE STATS

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"Athletes engage in higher volumes of social media consumption than the average person; over 80% of athletes reported two or more hours of social media use daily, with a mean of 4 hours of use per day"

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0/7 COMPLETE

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Bronny James, son of NBA superstar LeBron James, commits to the University of Southern California | CNN

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LeBron James has achieved everything possible in the NBA, except his last stated goal of playing his final season with his son, Bronny.

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with a daily views reaching a new height of 812,000 viewers as of Q1 in 2022

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Among Viewers 18-49, ESPN Tops all Cable Networks by Wide Margin

Long List of Studio Shows with Surging Audiences, Every Live Edition of SportsCenter

ESPN's total day viewership in the first quarter of 2022 was up 32% vs. last year to an average of 812,000 viewers (P2+), the network's best for the first three months of the year since 2017. The increase was even more pronounced in prime time - up 40% to 2.068M viewers.

In the target demo of adults 18-49, ESPN was up 23% in total day audience and led the second-place network by 74%. In prime time, ESPN's audience in the demo grew 36% and the advantage was more than double - up 111% - the next closest competitor.

On the strength of the weekday studio show lineup, ESPN averaged 600,000 viewers from 8 a.m. - 7 p.m. ET, up 20% over 2021 and the best since 2017.
Event Programming

ESPN's 2022 got off to a hot start with strong performances from cable television's annually most-watched three programs - the College Football Playoff Semifinals and Championship - and Monday Night Football including the inaugural Week 18 doubleheader and the first-ever NFL Wild Card Playoff Game on a Monday night

In its first year, the on ESPN averaged an audience 21% larger than last season's Wednesday night games in the quarter.

The on ESPN averaged 1.3M viewers, up 9% from a year ago.

Men's College Basketball increased its audience 26% vs. the previous season. Champ Week was up 33% on ESPN/ESPN2.

The last home game for Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski drew an average of 4M viewers and was the most-watched regular-season game on any network in three years.

Women's College Basketball soared 45% over last year's average audience. After two rounds, the NCAA Tournament audience is 15% larger than 2021.

The Bahrain Grand Prix on March 20 kicked off the 2022 World Championship season and was the most-watched (average of 1.353M) event of the series on cable since 1995 (Grand Prix of Brazil, 1.74M)...until it was topped a week later by the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (1.445M). Both races aired on ESPN.

The Australian Open men's championship was up 56% from the previous year and the most-viewed since 2017.

Studio Programming

Every live edition of ESPN's flagship program, SportsCenter , was up double digits vs. 2021 (except for the 1 a.m. show which was up 9%). The biggest increases were the 11 p.m. show (up 27%) and the 6 p.m. show (up 20%). The most-watched edition was the midnight program with an average of 550,000 viewers, up 12% from a year ago.

Weekday afternoon's NBA Today averaged 311,000 viewers, up 32% from the time slot the previous season. It reached a new all-time high point on Thursday, Feb. 10, with an average of 544,000 viewers.

NBA Countdown averaged 523,000 viewers, a 29% increase vs. 2021.

The weekday morning show First Take was up 23% for its best first quarter since 2018. It set a show record for most-viewed show ever on Monday, Jan. 17, with an average of 918,000 people.

The weekday morning program Get Up enjoyed its best first quarter ever, up 15% from last year. On Monday, Jan. 17, it garnered its biggest audience ever with an average of 658,000 viewers.

W eekday afternoon's NFL Live recorded its best first quarter since 2016, up 31% from 2021.

Around the Horn at 5 p.m. had its best first quarter since 2018, up 25% from a year ago.

In its 21st year, Pardon the Interruption at 5:30 p.m. was up 12% and is ESPN's most popular weekday studio show, averaging 728,000 in the quarter.

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ESPN's Best First Quarter Viewership in Five Years, up 40% in Prime Time

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ESPN's total day viewership in the first quarter of 2022 was up 32% vs. last year to an average of 812,000 viewers (P2+), the network's best for the first three months of the year since 2017. The increase was even more pronounced in prime time - up 40% to 2.068M viewers.

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Public perception of esports: an examination of esports image and genre differences

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As esports continues to gain popularity, a clear understanding of the public image associated with esports would help corporations and organizations working within or collaborating with the esports…

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Council Post: Public Relations And The World’s Leading Athletes

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For success on and off the field, athletes need to perfect PR during their careers.

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Student-athletes across the nation are seeking more support for their mental health. In a recent NCAA survey, rates of mental exhaustion, anxiety and depression have remained 1.5 to two times higher than pre-pandemic rates.

According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), around one in five adults experience a mental health condition at some point during their life. Among student athletes, however, approximately 30% of women and 25% of men report having anxiety. Only 10% of all student athletes with known mental health conditions seek help from a mental health professional. Furthermore, about 25% of elite athletes experience disordered eating, burnout, depression or anxiety.

Last spring, at least five college athletes across America took their own lives: Katie Meyer, Robert Martin, Jayden Hill, Sarah Shulze and Lauren Bernett. Their deaths have triggered widespread concern that colleges are not doing enough for their student-athletes.

Recently, more former and current student-athletes are speaking up about mental health and college sports. In March, the Ohio State footballer Harry Miller announced his early retirement on Twitter due to his struggles with mental health.

"A person like me, who supposedly has the entire world in front of them, can be fully prepared to give up the world entire," he wrote. "This is not an issue reserved for the far and away. It is in our homes. It is in our conversations. It is in the people we love."

Ari Miller, Assistant Director, Student Athlete Mental Health and Performance at the University shared his thoughts on the recent rise in college student-athlete suicides in an interview with The News-Letter.

"It is important that we do discuss the student athlete experience and the mental health of student athletes competing at all levels," he said. "Coming out of a two-and-a-half year global pandemic and all of the stresses and pressure that a student-athlete has to endure just to play their sport, we are seeing a lot of depression, a lot of increased levels of anxiety and unfortunately some tragedies."

Miller detailed resources provided by Hopkins for their athletes as well.

"We are currently starting year two of having an embedded professional that offers a wide range of services to student athletes... Specific to athletes, I offer mental performance sessions, I offer brief therapy, I work with teams and groups and offer consultation to coaches around mental health," he said. "We're also having all of our coaches go through mental health first aid certification."

Miller described mental health first aid as a training to provide coaches with an understanding of mental health, mental illness, talking through individual warning signs, support systems, ways to have conversations and setting boundaries in order to give baseline knowledge of mental health.

He feels that there is a deep commitment within Hopkins Athletics to making the necessary changes to support student athletes' mental health. Miller highlighted that having open communication, acknowledging the challenges that we're facing and remaining present with student athletes is critical in addressing this mental health crisis.

"Mental health and taking care of our mental health doesn't just mean addressing difficult situations," he said. "Taking care of our mental health is what are our self-care routines each day, what does our nutrition look like, our sleep patterns, are we communicating and working through our emotional challenges when they aren't severe so they don't built up and cause a bigger challenge."

Student-athletes often feel pressure to perform academically and athletically, and this increase in stress can trigger mental health issues. Due to the pressure to succeed in both realms, athletes often refrain from seeking help.

In response to this phenomena, Miller shared his opinion on what is important to erase the stigma of mental health within athletics.

"The idea of mental health being part of the performance sphere is a new idea, and it's not something that has been in competitive spaces forever - we are thinking about taking care of our mental health as an element to sustainable performance," he said. "[Mental health] doesn't need to be an either or. I think you can be focused, and mentally tough, engaged with your sport and also take care of your mental health and have empathy for those who need help at the same time. Those aren't separate things."

Finally, Miller offered his own advice to all students.

"If you are a student athlete, or just a student, taking care of yourself, your mental health, your physical health, is the most important thing above all else. It is what allows you to reach your performance goals," he said. "The more that we can openly talk about that and be empathetic and understanding of what each other need to feel comfortable in our space... that will put us in the place that we will want to be better than sleep deprivation or lack of nutrition, or pushing ourselves to the point when we are unable to fulfill even simple duties."

Linked below are various mental health services, including some resources with 24/7 support lines:

988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: 988

Crisis Text Line: Text-based mental health support.
National Alliance on Mental Health Helpline
The Trevor Project: Suicide prevention and crisis intervention for LGBTQ youth.

National Eating Disorders Association Helpline: Providing eating disorder support, resources and treatment options.

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: Resources for those affected by suicide and ways you can help prevent it.

Mental Health America: Promoting mental health, prevention and intervention.

The Jed Foundation: Protecting emotional health and preventing suicide for teens and young adults.

Grace Van Atta is a junior from Montclair, N.J. studying Cognitive Science and Psychology. They are a student athlete on the fencing team. They are a contributing Sci-Tech writer for The News-Letter.

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Student-athletes across the nation are seeking more support for their mental health. In a recent NCAA survey, rates of mental exhaustion, anxiety and depression have remained 1.5 to two times higher than pre-pandemic rates. According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), around one in five adults experience a mental health condition at some point during their life.