Exploiting the media

I am not the only one who feels that the bias of the media can impact the outcome of games. Players believe it as well. Why else would they go to the media with some of their stories?


A really good example of players exploiting the media's influence would be the numerous examples of teams insisting they were above embellishment. There was one year when the Dallas Stars received praise for implementing a team rule against diving. Personally, I don't think that rule really existed. That season, the Dallas Stars were absolutely horrible when it came to embellishment.

Along the same lines, I have watched playoff series with the San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators. Both of those teams have publicly accused their opponents of diving just to go overboard themselves.

Why do teams that love to dive portray themselves as above that behavior? That's an easy question to answer. If they can convince the media that they are above that behavior, officials will likely hear about it. When that team dives, the officials are more likely to give them the benefit of the doubt.

This media exploitation isn't just about embellishment. When the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup, the use of the media was clearly a part of the team strategy. After every game, they would approach the media with flimsy arguments to sway opinions in their favor. They knew the media was on their side, and they knew that exploitation of the media would increase their odds of winning. When of the better examples of this was their criticism of Maxim Lapierre for offering has hand for a bite (making fun of a teammate for an admittedly embarrassing but still overblown incident). The Bruins treated it as the most embarrassing act in the history of the game just to do the same thing themselves twice the following game. The Bruins antics were conveniently downplayed by their buddies in the media.

In all of the instances I mentioned, the players and teams addressed the media. They didn't look for more appropriate outlets for their frustrations, and they didn't try to settle their problems themselves. Also, each of these points that I just made were followed by worse from the teams making the claims. It's clear to me that they maintained strategies of approaching the media, pushing an opinion, then expecting more leniency. These teams exploited the media to sway things unfairly in their favor.