Sports broadcaster’s reaction to Dumar Hamlin’s injury

Injuries are an unfortunate part of any sport. Nothing like the NFL, where players can be knocked out in front of tens of millions of TV viewers.

Usually when a player gets injured, the media will switch to commercials and give replays of the injury. Sometimes using every possible camera angle of him, he replays it over and over, analyzing what happened and its impact on players and teams.

But in the case of Buffalo Bills safety Dummer Hamlin, who fell to the ground after a tackle during the “Monday Night Football” game between the Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals, it wasn’t a broken arm or a torn ACL. It soon became clear. This was a matter of life and death. Paramedics worked to keep him alive in the field before he was taken to hospital, where he remains in critical condition.

As the tragic scene unfolded, ESPN’s broadcasters and studio hosts were forced to explain what was happening in real time with virtually no information.

I’m a sports journalism professor who spends a lot of time teaching students how to cover games. As a sportswriter, I’ve covered many contests as if they were battles. In doing so, the language of war is interwoven with extraordinary human feats.

But when a crisis hits sports, it’s up to the media to report in, around, around, and through the moment. Some succeed, others fail miserably.

Covering Hamlin’s injury, I believe ESPN was a sound and responsible broadcaster during one of football’s darkest on-field moments.

ESPN’s cautious and restrained response

ESPN’s broadcast duo of Troy Aikman and Joe Buck, along with sideline reporter Lisa Salters, covered the event. But instead of filling their live airtime with rambling commentary and sensationalist language, they responded with compassion and care. , Aikman asked, “How are you going to continue playing football as a member of the Buffalo Bills or the Cincinnati Bengals?”

As noted by The Washington Post, “The broadcast was measured, informative and emotional.”

From the studio, former NFL players Booger McFarland and Ryan Clarke provided their take on what it feels like to be a player on the field in that moment, either as a member of the Bills or Bengals. They reminded the audience that players are first and foremost human. McFarland acknowledged the violence inherent in the game, adding: “I think we’re getting to a point where nobody’s worried about football tonight.”

Clark, who was hospitalized with a splenic infarction shortly after playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2007, admitted that part of living the NFL dream is “risking your life.”

“Tonight we got to see a very ugly side of football, a side that no one wants to see or acknowledge,” he said.

The gravity of the situation was reflected in ESPN cutting all commercials by over an hour to provide uninterrupted coverage. In doing so, the network emphasized the importance of the player’s life over gaming or profit motives.

when the media misfires

When live sports broadcast disaster strikes, it’s easy to say the wrong thing, especially in an era where words are widely circulated, analyzed, and criticized on social media.

Just ask controversial ESPN commentator Skip Bayless. after tweeting: “There’s no doubt the NFL is considering postponing the rest of this game, but how? Late in the season, a game of this magnitude is critical to the regular season outcome… it suddenly… It seems pointless.”

Bayless may have been right — the NFL now has to figure out how to deal with the outcome of this game and its implications for the postseason — but his tone and timing have led to a lot of criticism.

Bayless isn’t the only broadcaster to be accused of being indifferent to the deaths and serious injuries of sports stars.

The 2020 deaths of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, with TMZ breaking the news before the family was notified, were a model for what could go wrong. , demoted News to ESPN2. Some reporters trafficked misinformation in their haste to reveal details about their articles. ABC News eventually suspended a reporter who said on-air that all four of Bryant’s daughters were one of his victims in the crash, and the BBC aired footage of LeBron’s James instead of Bryant. Did.

Driver Kevin Ward Jr. died during the 2014 sprint car race, but it was Tony Stewart, whose car crashed into him, that garnered most of the media coverage. The media immediately blamed Stewart squarely, but an investigation acquitted the driver and revealed that Ward was under the influence of marijuana at the time of the crash.

Never before has the sports media been criticized for reporting the incident more than in 2020, when Danish footballer Christian Eriksen suffered cardiac arrest on the field. BBC cameras showed not only medical professionals performing chest compressions as Eriksen struggled for his life, but also his weeping life partner and traumatized teammate. The camera remained on him for 15 minutes before switching to the studio host.

Prioritize mourning over making money

From the tragic deaths of basketball players Hank Gathers and Reggie Lewis, to auto racers Dan Wheldon and Dale Earnhardt, to Chuck Hughes, the first and only NFL football player to die in a game in 1971. The responsibility of the media to survive the tragedy on behalf of the masses.

Research shows that the media is often responsible for modeling appropriate emotional displays when traumatic or tragic events occur, including respect and public remembrance of victims and their families. is shown. Media can be an important conduit for building community connections in times of tragedy when people seek to show support and share their grief, especially in the digital age.

It’s a fine line when it comes to sports and catastrophe. Because a lot of the reason people like football is because of its combative nature. Players are drawn like gladiators in the Colosseum.media quotes player words they would die for their teammates.

But when life and death become too real, the player’s well-being takes precedence over winning or losing. At that point, in my view, the media has one main job. To help remind the viewer of the player’s humanity.

SportsCenter host Scott Van Pelt said: And suddenly it wasn’t. ”

Nicole KraftAssociate Professor of Clinical Communication, Ohio State University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Please read the original article.