Setting the agenda in sport journalism

By now, anyone with even a passing viewership interest in ESPN programming has seen the latest news regarding former Penn State star and NBA player John Amaechi's decision to announce that he is gay. Amaechi, a native of England and a television personality in that country, has written a book about his playing career in American professional basketball, detailing his thoughts and experiences from his time with several NBA franchises, including several pointed comments about members of the Utah Jazz.

Commentary and conversation regarding this incident have been predictably positive, with most commentators applauding Amaechi's decision to announce his sexual preference (One notable exception was ESPN Page 2's LZ Granderson).

What I find most interesting, however, is the manner in which this story has found its way into the sport news cycle. The story broke on ESPN's "bottom line" on Wednesday morning, and was followed up immediately by an article (linked above) written by ESPN's Chris Sheridan. Amaechi's book, titled "Man in the Middle", is being published by ESPN Books. Amaechi is scheduled to discuss the book and the reaction to it this Sunday --- on ESPN's Outside the Lines. ESPN's flagship programs, including SportsCenter, Pardon the Interruption, Around the Horn, and the Sports Reporters, either have devoted significant time to the story or are planning to. And ESPN's coverage has expanded to include comments from several players, with the attention focusing on comments that could be construed as controversial. For instance, one of the first quotes relayed in the updated ESPN.com story on the topic, from Philadelphia 76ers forward Shavlik Randolph, read:

"As long as you don't bring your gayness on me I'm fine," Randolph said. "As far as business-wise, I'm sure I could play with him. But I think it would create a little awkwardness in the locker room."

One can be assured that, at some point, there will be an even more controversial comment made regarding the issue --- and I would be shocked if that comment did not engender a fresh cycle of stories and commentary from the various facets of ESPN.

There's no question in my mind that Amaechi's announcement is indeed newsworthy, particularly since he is the first NBA player, past or present, to acknowledge his homosexuality. But one has to wonder whether the attention being paid to this story is solely attributable to its relative newsworthiness. It's fascinating to me that ESPN is not only the source of the story (with the book being published by its sister enterprise), but is also the main source for commentary and opinion --- AND the main source for sparking continued interest in the story.

Is this merely an effort by ESPN to give this story its due in terms of coverage? Or does ESPN have a vested financial interest in keeping this story afloat?

Ultimately, this is an issue that companies like ESPN, which have expanded their business operations beyond the realm of sports journalism, are going to face. Whether or not ESPN's journalistic intent in covering this story is pure, the question of whether they are setting the agenda to attempt to promote a product is one that begs to be asked.