Stalemate: The precarious relationship between athletes and reporters

When cricketer Shahid Afridi responded to a question about his poor captaincy in 2016 by saying only a reporter could ask such a silly question, The Express Tribune dubbed it a ‘verbal clash’. Truly scathing. But what is more news worthy was the aftermath. Reporters went to the Pakistan team manager protesting Afridi’s behaviour, going as far as to ask for an apology.

However, a wholly different dynamic can be showcased from the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Ahead of an event which would see Sean Strickland defend his middleweight title in January of 2024, a media day took place. The evening went by without a hitch, until the ever newsworthy Strickland made his appearance.

The American MMA fighter, who has been outspoken in his disgust for left leaning politics, was asked by a reporter to expound on his beliefs regarding the LGBTQ community. What ensued was unsurprising for everyone in the room. Calling it a verbal assault would be putting it lightly, and to say it was vicious might still be too mild.

“You’re an infection,” said Strickland at one point during his flurry. However, the outpouring of anger is not the point. Instead, one thing, albeit multifaceted, is of consequence. Namely, the consequences. There were none. Why is that?

Strickland’s vitriol was clarified with the explanation that everyone in the room was unsurprised. In other words, his actions were to be expected. But, when Pakistan test skipper Shan Masood is repeatedly asked to explain his less than stellar performances, he is expected to roll over. To affect composure in the face of perceived disrespect. That demanding presumption comes from an understanding of what Masood and his peers represent. Pakistan!

While it may seem obvious that Masood represents his country, it is not something that most athletes worry about on a daily basis. Strickland may walk out with an American flag to his bouts, but it is his name on the poster.

But there is one other entity that he and every other fighter represent. An entity whose name is plastered on their shorts, and at the top of every promotion: UFC. Similarly, Masood represents the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

The PCB works directly under the prime minister’s office which appoints the chairman of the board, who currently also holds the position of the federal interior minister. Masood must behave, not only because of what he represents, but also to remain in the good graces of the PCB. Such is truer than ever with the changes to the selection committee, which divested power from the coaches and in turn the team, allowing certain committee members to monopolise decision making.

Strickland doesn’t have this issue at the moment. His rhetoric, however condemnable for some, and agreeable to others, matches the beliefs of UFC CEO Dana White, specifically that of free speech. But what happens if that changes? What if the organisation comes under new management that finds Strickland’s actions to be more like antics?

The National Basketball Association (NBA) may provide some assistance to that end. Patrick Beverley, who was playing for the Milwaukee Bucks at the time, fell into controversy after refusing to answer a reporter’s questions since she was not subscribed to his podcast. This instance, combined with an act of throwing the basketball at a fan during the game before the press conference, resulted in a four game ban without pay. Truly chastising.

Even if an NBA athlete becomes too much trouble for a franchise to handle, they have the opportunity to compete for other teams. Both the Detroit Pistons and the Houston Rockets made offers to Beverley at the end of his last season. This is possible as basketball at the highest level is a franchise sport. Meanwhile, cricket in Pakistan is most popular at the international level, with domestic leagues paling in comparison.

Athletes in the West also have the ability to compete in foreign leagues. Beverley ended up signing with a team in the Israeli Basketball Premier League. But once again, Pakistani cricketers aren’t afforded the same opportunities. The PCB made it clear in 2023 that players are expected to prioritise playing for the national team over foreign leagues in order to manage workload. In 2024, this was taken to an extreme as the PCB stated that they retain “the right to refuse an NOC (No Objection Certificate) if it believes a player’s workload and fitness may be compromised or if the player is needed for domestic duties.”

If a player were to forgo the PCB in favour of foreign leagues, they would be held back from competing at the international level for Pakistan, which remains the primary avenue for Pakistani cricketers to find success and earn money. Thus, the PCB retains its chokehold on athletes.

And that hold is not limited to the players, but could also have dire consequences for the journalists covering these games. To understand that, we must go back to the UFC once again, this time observing White on the night of Strickland’s fight.

“You obviously give a long leash to fighters about what they can say,” a reporter said, beginning to ask a question about Strickland’s homophobia earlier in the week. “I don’t [expletive] tell any other human being what to say, what to think, and there’s no leashes,” said White, adding soon after that “people can say whatever they want and believe whatever they want.”

The answer epitomises the relationship between reporter and athlete in the UFC. When stating that the organisation doesn’t tell athletes what to say, White made it clear who the UFC does censor. The reporters, such as the one who never got to finish his question.

In 2016, prolific MMA journalist Ariel Helwani was banned from attending UFC media events for leaking an upcoming fight. However, Helwani stated that in truth, it was due to discussing topics that portray the UFC in a less than flattering light, such as fighter pay, free agency, and competition. “It was a buildup of them feeling like I was not a teamplayer,” Helwani said in an interview. 

The dynamic between cricketers and journalists in Pakistan is the opposite. Reporters feel that they have power over the athletes due to the pressure the PCB exerts. But that relationship may soon change.

“Pakistan’s captain is sitting here. You can definitely ask questions, but please show respect,” said Sami ul Hasan, the PCB’s director of media at the end of a press conference held on October 1. It was in response to a question a reporter made to Masood, in which he asked why his conscience and self-respect hadn’t convinced him to quit yet. 

Was the question disrespectful? Definitely. Was it a crass comment meant to agitate? Indubitably. And with all that in mind, the media manager still shouldn’t have stepped in. It sets a bad precedent that at worst could lead to the silencing of reporters who ask less than flattering questions, and at best a refusal from athletes to provide anything but the plainest of answers in order to avoid any repercussions.

In the press conference following Pakistan’s series win against England in October 26, Masood was visibly irked, twice. The first came after a reporter asked about his poor performances during the series. Masood was quick to point out that even after winning, reporters were focusing on the negatives. Later, the skipper was asked how Pakistan would do in the big upcoming series against South Africa and Australia, in which they wouldn’t be able to control pitch conditions. “Is England a small team?” the captain said, ignoring how the reporter prefaced his question by saying that beating England was a huge win.

The point is not to show Masood failing in any way. In fact, he did nothing wrong in either instance. He went on to answer both questions thoroughly, discussing the team nature of the sport, and how pitch conditions were unique for Pakistan as well. If reporters can ask whatever questions they want, athletes can respond in any way they want.

The point is that tensions are rising. Reporters try to poke the bear, knowing a roar would stray away from expectation and thus be newsworthy. But that may backfire if athletes default to pre-prepared answers. At the same time, cricketers are beginning to resent the media for asking questions that make it difficult to prove to the PCB that they deserve a spot on the team. To that end, I offer another quote by Helwani from that same, previously cited interview.

“I was never supposed to be a team player, I’m a journalist.”

And if the PCB didn’t have such an immense influence on cricketers’ careers, that sentiment may be easier to swallow.