LeBron James: Will Jason Whitlock’s exit from Fox Sports end hot takes?

Sports fans will demand consistent sports information and “Hot Takes” aren’t worth the money anymore.  

Lake Show Life wants to take you back to when the bar of sports journalism was raised. It was last year when the craze of Kevin Durant’s free agency was all of the rage. 35 seconds in, if this exchange didn’t wake sports journalists up, they should leave the business ASAP.

There are levels of sports journalism. They go from personal websites, to bloggers of companies (This writer to FanSided), to beat reporters, to major sports insiders to the top networks.

All of the parties above are competing to get the attention of you, the sports fan. Whether it be more entertaining or more in-depth, the main goal is to get your eyes on our product. The more eyes to the product, the more we make. Simple.

Somehow, the sports arena has lost sight of analyzing the sports for information and replaced it with a statement to rile fans. Jason Whitlock used that blueprint for years attaching the biggest superstars in the NBA to do it.

Before he joined Fox Sports 1, he talked about a vision of journalism that he believes makes him a target. Something that may have burned bridges at ESPN.

"So why have I been portrayed in countless stories as the black plague of journalism? That’s the deeper explanation, and it begins with understanding the conversation I wanted The Undefeated to provoke among black people. Who are we? And do the black journalists and leaders alleged to represent our views really represent what we believe? Or are they unwitting pawns handed 30 pieces of silver, 100,000 Twitter followers and a standing invitation on FOX News, CNN and MSNBC to provoke a battle that will ultimately lead to further rollbacks of the victories won by Dr. King, Rosa Parks and our greatest generation? The self-appointed leaders of groupthink are comfortable basking in the admiration of their neo-liberal, white supporters, uninterested in legitimate discourse and worked nonstop to characterize my vision as irresponsible, anti-black and too revolutionary for Disney. My vision is not out of step with traditional black values. Fair journalism – the kind of work done by Simon and Alexander – would properly analyze black culture."

Now that Jason Whitlock’s tenure has ended, this was his statement in this tweet on May 31st that states:

"God’s design. One mouth. Two ears. Two eyes. We should all do 4 times as much listening and observing as talking. Don’t be afraid to reflect, acquire knowledge and listen to others with more wisdom. Social media compels us to speak even when we have little of substance to say."

June 1st, 2020 may have been the day that the sports industry changes the way it is covered.