The WSL went into damage control yesterday when Gabriel Medina used some “bad words” in his post heat interview with Pete Mel. Last night the disciplinary committee met to determine how to deal with Medina’s verbal misdemeanour and no doubt decided that they wanted Gabriel to explain himself on the live webcast. This was a win win for the WSL who found a way to get their world champion off the hook and also cash in on the drama he had created.
In the well-staged interview, Medina attributes his slip up to the fact that emotions were running high, and suggests he chose the wrong manner in which to express his feelings. It certainly is fun to watch the way the commentary team teases out a form of apology and gets Gabriel back in the good books. There’s even a touching moment where Gabriel and Glenn catch up to bury the hatchet.
In one sense the whole Micro/Medina drama made for compelling viewing. Sport is much better when athletes where their hearts on their sleeves. Medina did however, make an indelicate choice of words and rightly or wrongly we still live in a world where F*&K! is not considered palatable in post heat interviews for any sport.
The business-motivated WSL must walk a fine line with their webcasts. In one sense the drama, emotion and rivalries will fuel interest and drive numbers in their coverage. However, someone has to determine when the line is crossed, lest they offend their sponsors and prompt them to pull their support. There should also be a well-defined and publicly visible guideline for athletes so that disciplinary action is executed with consistency, irrespective of who the athlete is or what their status might be. It’s not acceptable to go lightly on someone because it might affect the commercial agendas of the WSL. The WSL has to remove any doubt that something of this nature could transpire. (Note: We are not suggesting that this is what happened in this instance but merely making a general point).
So far the WSL are artfully making it all work to their advantage. When Jeremy Flores lost in a controversial earlier round, Rosy Hodge was there for the interview. They know a losing Jeremy makes for compelling viewing and the fact he went way over the top last year and received a suspension only adds to the drama of what might happen when Jeremy is on camera. The same kind of logic applied with Medina’s apology. With its daily webcasts, extended waiting periods, morning shows and post comp wraps, the WSL is in a unique position to control the message it sends out. Other sports don’t have anywhere near the same level of control over their media.
