Sports
Derek Jeter Kicks Off Retirement by Launching a Web Site for Athletes to Bypass the Media ‘Filter’
(Kathy Willens/AP)
Cindy Boren, THE WASHINGTON POST
NEW YORK (The Washington Post)—Of all the post-baseball careers envisioned for Derek Jeter, media magnate seemed least likely.
But just days after his final game with the New York Yankees — you might have heard something about that — the future Hall of Famer unveiled “The Players’ Tribune,” a website of stories about athletes by athletes and intended to bypass the filter of the news media.
It is with a modicum of irony and self-awareness that Jeter, who smoothly sidestepped controversy for most of his 20 years in the Bronx by giving reporters no quotes that could be translated into “gotcha” tabloid covers, announced:
I realize I’ve been guarded. I learned early on in New York, the toughest media environment in sports, that just because a reporter asks you a question doesn’t mean you have to answer. I attribute much of my success in New York to my ability to understand and avoid unnecessary distractions.
###
