NBA All-Star demonstrates power of on-line authenticity
“I’m going back to Cleveland,” NBA All-Star, Kevin Love posted to the Players Tribune on Wednesday.
A free agent entitled to sign with any other NBA team of his choosing, Love wrote:
After Game 1 of the NBA Finals, that’s when it really struck me. Sitting on the sidelines, I never wanted to play in a game more than that one. I had dreamed of playing in the NBA Finals and I just wanted to help my guys win. I couldn’t have been prouder of them as they poured their blood, sweat and tears onto the court.
Yeah, of course I’ve heard the free agency rumors. But at the end of the day, and after meeting with my teammates (it turns out pools are great meeting places) and with the front office, it was clear Cleveland was the place for me. We’re all on the same page and we’re all in. We have unfinished business and now it’s time to get back to work.
The Players’ Tribune is a new media platform, much like a blog, which provides a medium for direct reflections, thoughts and experiences of professional athletes. Rather than engaging sports fans and the public through sports reporters and public relations professionals, athletes speak directly to their audience in a genuine and authentic fashion.
The Tribune was founded last year by former Professional Major League Baseball and future Hall of Famer, Derek Jeter.
Jeter’s goal is for the site to transform how athletes and newsmakers share information, bringing fans closer than ever to the games and the players they follow.
Love is one of many athletes who have posted to the Tribune. Last year, Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers penned a lengthy piece entitled “The Boss” about his uncomfortable existence with the teams owner, Donald Sterling, who had been disclosed to be a racist.
Love, Griffin and The Tribune are role models for lawyers and law firms who are stuck in the world of controlled messaging. Whether press releases, legal alerts, email newsletters or sanitized content marketing, most legal professionals refuse to share direct reflections, thoughts and experiences.
Some lawyers and law firms have ethical concerns. Others do not know how to truly use blogs and social media. Each reflect a bit of ignorance.
Lawyers and law firms are not athletes and professional sports teams, but there is no reason lawyers and law firms cannot join others in “speaking” to to their audience directly in a genuine and authentic fashion.