YOU DECIDE: Young Athletes and the Media

Whether you are a fan of baseball or not, you likely saw at least some footage of the Little League World Series (LLWS) that concluded with South Korea defeating Chicago’s Jackie Robinson West team. The event attracted crowds of more than 30,000 people. (That’s more than an average major league game with professionals, not to mention millions of viewers  on television from all over the world.)

The biggest spotlight was cast on 13 year-old Mo’-ne Davis, a pitcher from the Taney Dragons Philadelphia team that made it all the way to the United States division semi-final. Davis got lots of attention because she was the first American girl to play in the LLWS in ten years, she was the first female player to earn a pitching win in the LLWS, and she struck out the most batters of any of the previous female pitchers seen in this baseball tournament history.

Davis’  also made more news by earning a feature story and cover of a recent Sports Illustrated magazine publication. This gives her yet another first–the youngest athlete ever to appear on the aports magazine’s sover. But . . . has all of this media attention gone too far? Some critics wonder if the attention on Davis in particular and on all of these young athletes in general is too much at such an age.

We thought we’d put it to the population this affects directly and let you decide.

Is Excessive Media Too Much for a Minor?

YES

• No matter their skill level, these are still kids who are not fully developed, especially emotionally. They should just be allowed to be kids and have fun.
• The “media” is no longer made up of just journalists with some level of professional ethic. The media is now anyone with access to the internet. When one of the pitchers, overcome by frustration, began to cry on the mound, he was called out on social media for being a crybaby, which reached massive circulation.
• Despite her ease in front of the camera, when asked by a reporter how she would handle autograph seekers, Davis responded, “If a random person walks up to me, I’ll be like ‘ehh,’ and if I’m by myself, it will probably be even more awkward, so I’ll probably walk around with friends more of the time.”
• Once the Taney team started to get attention surrounding their star pitcher, many of them reportedly couldn’t sleep and felt consistently sick and anxious, fearing they couldn’t live up to all of the hype.

NO

• Competing at this level comes with its own set of challenges that can be predicted and prepared for. Children that work as hard as these kids do to reacj a pinnacle event are capable of acquiring an appropriate level of defense from criticism.
• Kids are resilient. This generation’s parents, in particular, have been criticized for too much “helicopter parenting.” Shielding kids from every disappointment is only going to produce increasingly weak and dependent adults.
• Experiences like these can be once in a lifetime. Opportunities to develop friendships with other kids around the world based on a unique, shared experience is worth it. Also, the media attention will end with the next big news story. Jae Yeonh Hwang, pitcher for the championship-winning South Korea said, “I’m very joyful. It’s a wonderful thing.”
• Competition like this is likely to produce well-rounded as well as well-adjusted adults. As they grow older, many will look back with fondness and say that they learned valuable life lessons from having gone through something big and learning to handle pressure.

Dig Deeper Research other arenas in which young people receive a lot of media attention for their accomplishments. Consider other sports, entertainment, newsmakers, and others. Read some more arguments in favor of and against.