"Player X" Giving ESPN The Mag An Exclusive Look Into The NFL

Tuesday, August 25, 2009


How a player could remain unnamed, after revealing intimate details about the Sport he plays in is beyond me, but that's exactly what will be happening to the NFL. A player, referred to as "Player X", is set to reveal the scandalous detail about the league to ESPN The Magazine. Via Game On....

ESPN The Magazine is launching a column by an NFL star dubbed "Player X" who'll give readers his anonymous take on on athletes' extra-marital affairs, dalliances with groupies and other taboo topics, says editor-in-chief Gary Belsky.

In his first piece hitting newsstands Friday, the player admits that not only are many "negative" tales about pro athletes true, they're actually worse in some cases. The hedonistic lifestyles of some younger, single jocks are "no different" than the party-hearty worlds depicted in sports movies like Semi-Tough or HBO's Entourage, he says.

Player's X's teammates, coaches, agent and family don't know he's writing the column, Belsky says. It will be his call whether he wants to identify himself after penning 10-12 columns during the 2009 season. If the idea takes off, Belsky wants to recruit a Major League Baseball player to write a similar column.

So why the anonymous approach? The most interesting stories come from inside the locker room, answers Belsky. But many athletes will only talk about them on a confidential basis.

"I don't know if he's the Deep Throat of sports. But we hope he's going to be the ultimate guide to the life of a professional athlete," Belsky says.
Well, I'm for sure going to be reading that issue when it comes this week. It seems odd that a player would break the "locker room code" in this fashion, but it will definitely sell some copies.

"Player X" dishes on hedonistic world of pro athletes and groupies (Game On)

Posted by Awful Announcing at 2:21 PM

3 Comments:

The sort of journalism that ESPN is famous for. Means more if Player X puts his name to his moniker.

Steve Smith said...
Aug 25, 2009, 3:10:00 PM  

Is he naming names? If so, that is weak.

GMoney said...
Aug 25, 2009, 4:10:00 PM  

Is this the same ESPN that refused to report on Ben Roethlisberger's little problem because it was only a civil case? ESPN, the self-appointed guardians of rectitude in sports journalism? Yeah, thought so.

jvwalt said...
Aug 26, 2009, 7:36:00 AM  

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