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ESPN Ombudsman Finally Weighs In On LeBron’s “Decision” Fiasco

Since ESPN broadcast Lebron James‘s capital-d “Decision” to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat, James has felt the brunt of the backlash regarding the overhyped, sensational approach to signing a contract for millions of dollars to play sports professionally.

However, it has also made us more willing to question the others involved in one way or another. Part of the angst towards the decision is likely what led so many to jump on Dwyane Wade’s comments and look for ways to interpret him as the bad guy – even if what he said wasn’t completely wise, the media at hand wanted it to be malicious to give us another reason to hate him.

There is at least one more organization involved in all of this that has been ripped for its willingness to participate: ESPN. While hopefully, few saw the sports news network’s broadcast as actual journalism, there has been significant question of both a news organization and a well-respected journalist (Jim Gray) for their following of the James story as if he were the Pied Piper. As Howard Kurtz noted in a July 10 Washington Post column, Gray had to deal with some of that criticism about whether or not he was a paid talking head or unbiased interviewer:

Jim Gray, the veteran sportscaster who has a reputation as a tough interviewer, has drawn less than rave reviews for his gentle questioning of LeBron James about the basketball star’s decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Gray, however, angrily denied a report that he was paid by the James camp for his role in a relentlessly hyped ESPN special Thursday night on the all-star’s move to the Miami Heat.

“I didn’t take a penny from LeBron or any entity connected to him,” Gray said in an interview Friday, responding to a CNBC story contending that a marketing organization set up by James paid Gray’s fees and travel expenses. That report, Gray said, was “100 percent inaccurate, wrong, totally false” and “irresponsible. . . . I would never take a nickel from somebody I’m interviewing.”

Kurtz didn’t leave the issue alone, and actually had ESPN and WaPo’s Michael Wilbon on Reliable Sources later that weekend to continue the discussion. Wilbon was on location in Greenwich during the broadcast, and among the things he spoke out against regarding the broadcast was how Gray dragged along the interview before finally getting to the only question about which people cared:

I didn’t like it. I mean, just as a reporter, I didn’t like it. And I was saying to somebody at the time, there’s one question here.  I mean, there’s been enough drama, there’s been enough buildup. Get to the chase. Because you know how this is. You’re thinking of this as a reporter. And we are old print, ink- stained people, and they were thinking of it as people in television. And then you’re thinking of it as a viewer. Get to it.  That’s what I want to hear. Let’s start this. Let’s go. And people — look, I mean, I know that people disagree with that. And I guess there are those who found building the moment necessary. I didn’t.

Note, this was all a week and a half ago. ESPN had yet to officially weigh in on the journalism critique and, if you don’t mind the phrase, “whoring” of themselves into an hour long infomercial about James. Finally, earlier this morning, ESPN Ombudsman Don Ohlmeyer posted a response to ESPN.com about the network’s own decision to be involved, in what is a nice blurring of the battle between the business and journalism side of the Worldwide Leader:

Those representing the business and studio production side recognized James’ announcement as a real coup. It would have enormous audience appeal, flowing viewers through hours of network programming that night. It would feed into ESPN’s reputation as the leader in sports television, the place to be for big events and big news. It would promote interest in pro basketball, one of the network’s star programmatic attractions, and further a solid relationship with the NBA’s biggest superstar….In the end, these execs saw this as a unique opportunity that any other media company would have embraced — and that ultimately wasn’t unlike the ESPNU or “SportsCenter” practice of carrying live and exclusive college commitment announcements by top high school football prospects.

[...]

The other faction, made up mostly of those on the newsgathering side of the operation, saw it differently. Those in this group felt the James deal placed ESPN in an untenable position in which their journalistic credentials and integrity would be questioned. For them, the network was paying to play and opening up the news organization to charges of compromised standards. It also put some news executives in the uncomfortable position of knowing details they couldn’t share unless one of their reporters uncovered it of their own accord.

For this group, the conflicts had to be eliminated. Its members felt the nature of the James/Gray portion of the show should be clearly identified to the audience as a separate event and not made to appear as a part of ESPN’s editorial coverage. The public, they argued, should know that Gray — handpicked by Team LeBron to handle the announcement — might not approach his duties in a totally unbiased manner.

As Ohlmeyer notes this wasn’t just a big event for ESPN – it was the second biggest of the year. But there has to be a better justification than trying to compare this to high school kids declaring intent for their schools. James wasn’t sitting patiently behind a table at his first press conference ever, nervously putting on a Heat ball cap. This was produced. This was designed. Ohlmeyer can post as many 10,000 word columns as he wants, it will not change the fact that ESPN was an accomplice in all of this as a business deal, not as a journalistic enterprise of breaking news.

Whatever journalistic integrity needs to be questioned, I think a conversation by Wilbon and Kurtz is probably a better way to put a bow on the “Great Free Agency Summer of 2010.”

WILBON: This is still sports. I mean, people need to chill out when they start talking about how tough you have to be. This wasn’t “60 Minutes.” We’re not talking about the situation in the Gulf. You’re talking about –
KURTZ: Nobody died.
WILBON: Nobody died.
KURTZ: We’re talking about a basketball player’s decision to go to another team.

Until the next ridiculous free agency season (i.e., next summer), let’s hope this is the last we have to hear of The Decision.