NBA players have "embraced the ever-expanding platforms available to them to communicate with fans" through "social media channels, blogs, podcasts, production companies and even the athletes' very own digital content company, The Players' Tribune," according to Ken Berger of CBSSPORTS.com. Thunder F and The Players' Tribune Deputy Publisher Kevin Durant said, "I just feel like when you read a Players' Tribune story, you can almost read it in the player's voice -- that it's 100 percent them, 100 percent their words and their insights and thoughts about the game or whatever the topic is. You get total control over every single part of the article and what comes out. I think players are gravitating towards that a little bit more because it's 100 percent your voice." Berger wrote athletes who "embrace these new media platforms also are embracing the responsibilities that come with not just being the subjects of content, but also the creators." Cavaliers F LeBron James and his agent Maverick Carter last year created Uninterrupted, a video-based athlete-controlled content site. Control "is a key benefit" that players "cited over and over" about their media strategies. There also is an "undercurrent of distrust between athletes and traditional media that has helped spawn this new wave of content driven and controlled by the athletes themselves." Clippers F Blake Griffin said, "I can just take a moment, say exactly what I want to say and be done with it -- instead of maybe getting my words mixed around a little bit and not getting exactly what I want out there. ... We have people there to help us make sure that what we're saying is what we really want to say" (CBSSPORTS.com, 2/1).
NOT A MINUTE MORE: In L.A., Ben Bolch notes Yahoo Sports' "The Vertical Podcast" with Clippers G J.J. Redick "debuted Monday and made Redick a pioneer of sorts as the first NBA player to host his own weekly podcast." Redick "made it clear on the podcast that he would devote about two hours a week to the show." Redick said that he "made a yearlong commitment to doing the podcast, necessitating the need for in-season shows" (L.A. TIMES, 2/3).
