A Small Reminder That Context Is Key
Or Let's Not Allow ESPN MMA To Become The UFC's Propaganda Department
Welcome to the latest C’mon Now newsletter. This is the place where I’ll share my thoughts on all the goings-on in MMA. Those thoughts could range from media criticism to advice for folks looking to get into MMA writing to why certain fighters or managers are not good for the sport.
Today’s post looks at another case where ESPN MMA dropped the ball.
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I almost forgot about this, but the tweet somehow re-entered my brain today and so you folks get to read about it.
There you go, that’s from the ESPN MMA social media account. So, what’s my issue you ask? Well, I’ll tell you. The tweet lacks one important fact, and that is that while Edmen Shahbazyan might very well be a protege of Ronda Rousey, he is also very much her client. Yes, the fighter who Rousey is pumping up in this brief social media post is managed by Rousey. That’s a huge part of the story and it’s just not there.
Some will say that I’m blowing things out of proportion or that it’s only a tweet. That might be true, but let’s look at it this another way.
Let’s say this post was part of a larger story on the ESPN MMA website and it was just Rousey talking about how great Shahbazyan is and how he will break Jon Jones’ record as the youngest champ in UFC history and how he will go on to one day have his name in the UFC record books and the story failed to mention that Shahbazyan is her client. What kind of reporting would that be? Would you think the story lacked context and would you eye the future reporting of that writer with a little suspicion? Of course you would and you’d be correct to do so.
Do you know something about UFC, USADA, an MMA manager or a fighter, that I should know? You can email me at trent.reinsmith@gmail.com or contact me via secure messaging on Telegram at trentreinsmith.
ESPN is already suspect because it’s the broadcast partner of the UFC and like FOX before it, ESPN risks becoming the propaganda arm of the promotion. It hasn’t done that yet, but it has dipped its toe in those waters, something I detailed earlier this year.
The long partnership between the UFC and ESPN needs to be watched, if it's not, we could be left with another FOX on our hands and that benefits no one but the UFC.
