Consultants coaching athletes to better handle reporters

The advice seems simple enough, but imagine trying to remember with a camera and microphone in your face? One wrong comment caught on tape can ruin a career thanks to today’s wired world.

“We live in a world of images and impressions,” said Spencer Tillman, former NFL running back, current CBS football analyst and media consultant. “People aren’t interested in pulling away the veneer. We, as a result, deal with what’s on the surface.”

So athletes now find themselves getting help from a new type of coach — consultants who teach them to handle the media.

Tillman and Katrina Smith, a former TV reporter, have partnered to help pro teams like the NFL’s Tennessee Titans better prepare players to deal with reporters.

“A lot of times when you come in there with a camera, you come in there with a microphone and turn that light on, they freeze up,” Smith said. “They could be the brightest people, but they just freeze and don’t know how to handle the interviews.”

Tillman knows from experience. He earned degrees in journalism and communication at Oklahoma, but came into the NFL at a time when coaches wanted players to focus only on football.

“So I had to kind of almost play down the notion I had a desire to be involved in the media and other things. They saw that as a distraction,” said Tillman, who played eight years in the NFL for Houston and San Francisco.

These days, NFL policy mandates that teams make players regularly available to reporters. The league produces a video for teams to show each training camp along with a guidebook on dealing with the media.

The annual rookie symposium includes a media session, with Lesley Visser scheduled to host a discussion with Troy Vincent of Buffalo, Kevin Mawae of the New York Jets and Wayne Gandy of New Orleans later this month.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the intense media attention is a result of the evolution of the media and the NFL’s role in sports and entertainment. And the media is the league’s outlet to the fans who buy the tickets and merchandise.

“That’s why we place such importance on working with our players to understand what our media policy is, but also to understand how important it is for them to have a good relationship with the media,” McCarthy said.

It isn’t always enough.

Marcus Robertson, a 12-year veteran who spent 10 years with the Houston Oilers/Titans franchise, wanted to become a better speaker. He sought out Smith, who had started her Sports Media Edge consulting firm after marrying former teammate and current Titans’ pro scouting director Al Smith.

“I knew for me to be on TV and be on the radio that I needed some assistance. That’s where I found it,” said Robertson, now the Titans’ director of player development.

“I now no longer fear public speaking.”

Al Smith suggested his wife partner with Tillman, his former teammate, and start working with NFL teams who wanted to provide further training for players.

A typical session usually lasts 90 minutes, although Robertson said he could devote two days to the issue. Tillman and Smith use video to show good and bad examples of interviews, put players through mock interviews and even role-play to help players better understand reporters.

They also work with teams’ media relations officials.

One-on-one instruction and critiques are available using MP3 files and e-mail. Robertson said at least 11 rookies wanted a business card after last week’s session with the Titans.

Tillman said the interest comes from players wanting the extra help to burnish their marketability. A poor TV interview is the quickest way to shoot down endorsement deals.

More teams are looking for help. A client roster that started with the Titans four years ago has grown to nine pro franchises this year, and they received a call from a new team within the past week.

“You’ve got to play the game, and I mean that in the best way possible. You’ve got to be able to communicate the English language,” Tillman said.

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On the Web:

Axiom Sports Productions Inc.: http://www.binaryideas.com/axiom/

Sports Media Edge: www.sportsmediaedge.com