Marshall Faulk, Ike Taylor, and Heath Evans Suspended from NFL Network

[Oil Can Dan]

Sorry but what was so incredible about that article? “Cultural and journalistic sewer” how? The company structured things so as to maximize revenue, and shit rolled downhill. Oh no!!1!

I think the “everybody gets a trophy” generation is just finding that the real world isn’t a toddler soccer game.

 

[mwonow]

Sorry but what was so incredible about that article? “Cultural and journalistic sewer” how? The company structured things so as to maximize revenue, and shit rolled downhill. Oh no!!1!

I think the “everybody gets a trophy” generation is just finding that the real world isn’t a toddler soccer game.

I've got to agree - "mildly interesting if you like that kind of thing" is about as far as I'd go on that one.

 

[JohnnyTheBone]

Yeah, completely underwhelmed, also. Deadspin kinda sucks.

 

[queenb]

It is really odd for someone at a media-watchdog outlet like Deadspin to be surprised that an NFL media property wouldn't be reporting on things that could damage the reputation of the NFL.

I had the same job she did but for the NBA, before the league sold its website and NBATV to Time Warner, which moved those operations down to Atlanta. I worked for the "news desk" but since the site was still owned the by league, it was obvious to everyone that our job essentially was to publish promotional material, not actual NBA news.

Just a minor example, but remember the Spurs-Suns game that bloodied Steve Nash's nose? Web editors were told not to use any photos of his bloody face, even though there was this one iconic photo of him that was everywhere that night and the next day. At the time the league still thought it had an image problem because of the Detroit brawl, and didn't want to glorify violence, seem thuggish, etc.

 

[Mystic Merlin]

Her criticism of Deadspin itself was more arresting.

 

[Van Everyman]

She knew what she signed up for, amirite?

I mean, yes, league-owned sports networks are obviously in the business of promoting the league. And yeah, women have a harder time advancing in sports world in general.

But I don’t see her complaining so much about seasonal jobs and the pecking order as much as explaining how those things exacerbated the sexism and power dynamics.

 

[Oil Can Dan]

I missed all the sexism. Maybe I just couldn’t hear it over all the complaining about the bosses being all bossy. Can you cite the parts that led you to call this an incredible must-read expose on the sexism at NFL Network?

 

[kenneycb]

There were parts about the cheerleader segment, which seem valid enough. The rest seemed to complain about the fact the NFL doesn’t play 12 months out of the year so a lot of people were seasonal and she wasn’t really passionate about football. It’s Deadspin doing Deadspin stuff.

 

[Van Everyman]

So, I probably erred by calling NFLM a “cultural and journalistic sewer.” I don’t think it’s wrong but I probably just should have said the latter because the former descriptor has so many connotations in this environment.

But I was struck by how the piece goes a few clicks down from Weinstein et al to explore all the little ways the deck is stacked against women in this field. It’s not that we don’t know it is for most women in most jobs. Or that sports are male dominated and macho. Or that the state of media in general right now is grim as shit. Or that NFLM is like Pravda as a league-sponsored news organization where story ideas and, you know, journalism aren’t really valued or appreciated.

So while I get that some or even much of what she wrote may seem unsurprising to veterans of corporate America and sports journalism (“bosses being bossy”), I think the point she’s trying to make is that these things conspire to make it particularly hard to succeed in this business as a woman. It’s hard to get promoted. Your ideas aren’t really welcome or sought out. You’re replaceable. And you’re treated like an outsider. Do guys feel like that? Absolutely – and she says as much in the piece. But I don’t think you have to be a bleeding heart to imagine women feel all this more deeply and acutely.

And I completely agree about the Deadspin aspect being perhaps even more revealing – in large part because it says that these dynamics really are cripplingly pervasive in sports media. And as she says near the end:

All the speaking out against sexual harassment and sexual assault, brave and worthwhile as it is, doesn’t change the fact that these abuses unfold within a system that is, fundamentally, rigged in favor of the people with the most power, who tend to be men.

I agree – and think her piece helps demonstrate how, and why – and also why it sucks if you’re a woman who just wants to work in this field for a living.

Hope that makes sense.

 

[DJnVa]

There were parts about the cheerleader segment, which seem valid enough.

Yeah, that was kinda icky, but it wasn't exactly a secret. It was a show on TV. She wasn't shining a light on something.

Other than that, it was mostly "my job sucked".

 

[ifmanis5]

Incredible piece by onetime NFL Media/Network employee and current senior editor of Deadspin, Diana Moscowicz, about the cultural and journalistic sewer that is NFL Media:

https://deadspin.com/you-survived-at-nfl-network-by-staying-silent-1821277178

I’m sure someone will raise an opinion about the propriety of writing a piece like this about one of your former employers for your current employer. It won’t be me. This is a must-read IMO.

David Eaton resigned today:

Eaton’s resignation comes amid public criticisms and lawsuits related to the network’s toxic culture and problems with sexual harassment. It also came days after dozens of interactions with escorts and porn stars were scrubbed from Eaton’s Twitter account; the account later was deleted entirely.

https://deadspin.com/nfl-network-boss-david-eaton-resigns-1821481838