Media hype suffocates talented athletes
Most people like attention. It's always nice
to know that someone wants to hear what
you have to say, wants to know what you
think.
For major college athletes, specifically foot
ball and basketball players, attention is a
given. Athletes in these two sports can count
on the media to repeat and print their every
thought.
The limelight is extended if the athlete hap
pens to be gifted. The media dogs the
talented athlete, watching his every step,
monitoring his every breath.
And yes, it is fact that being a big-time col
lege athlete means giving up some privacy
and succumbing to the highs and lows of
publicity.
But it is unfair to assume that celebrated
student-athletes are faultless, or some kind
of saviors. Sportswriters and sportscasters
tend to portray them as such.
commentary
Kevin Willhite is a 20-year-old freshman
running back for Oregon's football team. He
has rushed 55 times for 173 yards — not bad
for an ordinary freshman running back.
Willhite, of course, is no ordinary
freshman. Two years ago, he came to Oregon
as a high school All-America from Rancho
Cordova, Calif. People expected, and con
tinue to expect, plenty from him.
The media has showered attention on
Willhite. From the time he came to Oregon, it
was almost assumed that he would score a
touchdown or do magical things each time
he touched a football. The media thought so,
and then Pac-10 football fans thought so.
An injured hamstring and bruised ribs have
made Willhite something less than All-World.
Remember though, that this is just a 20-year
old kid, not the Superman the press made
him out to be.
Oregon coach Rich Brooks has been
known to bristle about the lavish praise
poured on Willhite and others. He knows the
media has the right to cover college sports,
but he feels the exploits of its athletes can be
overblown.
"The press," says Brooks, a combination of
conviction and despair in his voice, "can do
what they want. But I don't want to project
someone to be more than they are. No mat
ter how talented an athlete is, he still has to
perform."
Tim Norton hasn't even performed yet. A
rifle-armed quarterback out of Skyline, Calif.,
he transferred to Oregon from Tennessee
this year.
Although Norton must sit out 1983 before
earning his spurs at Oregon, The Oregonian
saw fit to feature him in a page one story. The
probable "quarterback of the future" for the
Ducks, said the Portland daily.
Again, the media has stuck its claws into a
great talent Again, Brooks is less than
pleased.
"It's kind of hard to predict things of so
meone who hasn't even played a down in the
Pac-10," Brooks says.
Chris Miller played his first down Saturday
against UCLA at Autzen Stadium. Miller is a
local hero, a freshman quarterback out of
Eugene's own Sheldon High School.
Facing a tough Bruin team. Miller com
pleted two of seven passes, including a
24-yard scoring strike to the omnipresent
Lew Barnes. He showed enthusiasm and and
ability to run.
But it Miller thought he had to run during
the game, he must have felt like Alberto
Salazar in Oregon's locker room. Television
crews and reporters stuffed microphones
and note pads in his face until he was alone
in the dressing room.
The Register-Guard featured Miller in a col
umn. Miller told questioners he was "going
bananas” when he was inserted into the
game. He'll really be going bananas if he has
to face armloads of media folks again.
"He certainly didn't set the world on fire,"
says Brooks, clearly perplexed as to why
Miller got )oe Namath treatment.
That's the problem — too many college
athletes are placed upon a red carpet. Those
of us in the media, myself included, should
recall that these are teenagers, not grizzled
professionals.
Oregon basketball coach Don Monson
sums up how a teenager should be treated.
"When you talk about freshmen," Monson
says, "you can't evaluate them too much. It's
not fair."
It's unfortunate, but its true. Collegiate
football and basketball stars are coddled,
caressed and abused by attention. They
needn't be.
et al.
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