Why it is wrong for professional athletes to automatically become media personalities after they retire

Malthouse advertising channel seven AFL

Over the years there seems to have been an alarming increase in retired athletes becoming media personalities in one way or another, be it commentating or being "journalists". 

I don't see how former players of a certain sport can give better information about a specific sport compared to an individual that has studied that specific sport for years. The worst thing about former players becoming commentators is the quality of the language spoken.

Personally, this is a big issue in the Australian Football League. Former players seem to be given a one-way ticket to sports journalism or commentary after their retirement. Sure, most of the time the jobs are only offered to "legends" of the game, but does this really justify giving a player who probably has no detailed knowledge in journalism a job as a journalist?

Retired athletes writing articles is definitely not as worse as commentating because the articles are edited by an educated editor, so the accuracy of the language is often fairly good. Commentators have the difficult task of having to think quickly and be smart with their choice of words.

Nowadays, it is very rare to see anyone in a commentary box that has not had any prior experience playing the certain sport. This presents many problems. The "commentators" often have divided opinions on topics and there may even be a longstanding on-field rivalry that has carried on after retirement. Imagine, if commentators from the same station had arguments with each other throughout a game! 

Former players really do not add that much to a viewers experience. They may give a few insights into what a player is feeling at a particular moment, but that is it. People who study sports media and have dreams of being commentators should not miss out because of an uneducated retired player has been offered a job.

As I have touched on a little, the language is absolutely horrible, it is so inaccurate and there are so many mistakes. Plus, the heavy Australian accents which many former athletes possess drives people nuts and sounds very uneducated, but hey, they probably are uneducated.

Something that is even more frustrating is coaches that criticise the media throughout their coaching life who retire and then become a media personality.

Mick Malthouse in his coaching days.

A clear example of this is former Collingwood Magpies coach Mick Malthouse who made a name for himself by despising the media. This year he has become a part of channel seven's AFL panel of "legends" after retiring last season, what a disgrace. I really hope that players treat Malthouse how he treated the media.

In the end, former players of any sport really don't deserve to be given jobs as media personalities and journalists when there are many people who work hard all their life just for a slim chance of getting a job as either a journalist or a media personality.