Red Sox DH David Ortiz' recent post on The Players' Tribune about "being unfairly branded a cheater" in '03 was a “small triumph for a website that has a mission to give an athlete a platform ... without a reporter playing the journalistic middleman," according to Richard Sandomir of the N.Y. TIMES. It also "showcased how the site’s streamlined structure ... can be appealing to prominent athletes who are eager to have their say on a topic, or a grievance." Ortiz "had promised to contribute to the site since its launch last October, but it was not until earlier this month, when one of the site’s producers saw him at training camp, that he talked about what he felt was the unfairness of being bunched with baseball’s steroid users." Players' Tribune Editorial Dir Gary Hoenig said of site founder Derek Jeter's involvement, "He reads everything. ... We talk to him every day. He has comments every day." Sandomir noted the site has a "closed door to evident self-promotion." Hoenig: "We won’t pimp a product, a charity, or help you with your endorsement" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/29). MLB Network’s Bill Ripken said of Ortiz’ article, “The first thing I thought of was, ‘Why? Did anything prod you to this point? Did somebody come after you with it?’ The other thing I thought of -- The Players’ Tribune, that’s Jeter's site. Here’s a guy who spent his entire career saying and doing the right thing, and now Jeter has opened up a forum for anybody who wants to say anything that might not necessarily be the right thing” (“MLB Tonight,” MLB Network, 3/27).
