The media in sports has been an extremely controversial topic in today's society. It is believed that the media can cause stress for athletes and that added stress will negatively impact their performance. Growing up as an athlete, I know how much stress can change the way a player will perform based on personal experience. While I was playing softball in high school, a sport I was always naturally very good at, I became extremely stressed from the thought of so many people watching me and relying on me to play my best. As a result I ended up having one of my worst seasons ever since I had started playing as a little kid. If I felt this much stress and pressure playing as a high school athlete, I can only imagine the kind of stress a professional athlete must feel with all the attention they receive from the media. I find this topic to be extremely interesting since I know how much stress can impact an athlete's performance, and the media should not be able to have the power to impact a game. As an avid sports fan, I have also seen this problem present with the sports teams that I follow very closely. While the pressure from mass media has never personally affected me, I do know how hard it is to play sports to your full ability when stress levels are high. I do not think any athlete should have to suffer from that kind of pressure, and the problem should not go unnoticed. I am qualified to write about this topic because I am very knowledgeable about sports and I have seen many players impacted by this issue. I have learned a lot about the mass media problem through watching press conferences, reading articles, and even just watching players' performances differ from game to game depending on the amount of media coverage that a certain game received beforehand. Being an athlete and an invested fan over the years has taught me a lot about this issue and why there needs to be a change. 

One source that can be used is "Does The Media Impact Athletic Performance?" by Kyle Ott. One of the biggest reasons that an athlete may face failure or success is because of the media. Their failure may come from media-related stress, and their success may come from media-related motivation. The article uses many different athletes as examples to prove both points of view. The article focuses on both the positive and negative affects that the media can have, so it both defends and attacks the value of media restrictions. Some people feel that the media should have restrictions so athletes don't have to deal with unnecessary stress, but others disagree since the media can serve as a motivational outlet. The author is a writer for The Sports Journal, which writes many different articles about many different sports related topics. The authors for this journal are well informed about all areas related to sports. The author does not have a bias when explaining this topic. He gave a logical reasoning for both sides of the argument to prove his case that media impacted athletes, and did so without letting his own personal views impact his article. 

Another article that can be used for this argument is "Has Odell Beckham Jr. Hype Reached Tipping Point?" by Scott Neumyer. Odell Beckham Jr., the star wide receiver for the New York Giants, has been a phenomenon since entering the league in 2014. He is one of the most talked about athletes in the NFL, and the article goes into detail about how the media hype surrounding him after just two years has become so excessive that it could have a serious negative impact on his career. This article discusses the value of media hype impacting an athlete. Odell Beckham Jr. has enough talent to have a very long and successful career, and the media has made it a point to publicize him as much as they can. The article attacks the value of media hype and claims how it can seriously hurt an athlete's performance and his overall career. The author of the article is an extremely credible source. The author writes for Sports Illustrated, which is one of the most well known sports news outlets. Their focus is completely on sports so their writers are extremely knowledgeable. There is not much bias in this article since the author uses facts to prove his points rather than his personal feelings towards the athlete.     

Another article that will be useful for this paper is "How the Broncos' Defense Silenced the Hype and Sank the Panthers," by Chris Korman. This article was written after the heavily favored Carolina Panthers were upset in Super Bowl 50 by the Denver Broncos. Almost everyone in the media had predicted the Panthers to win, and in the end the game was not really close at all. The claim this article makes is that some of the star Panther players were distracted by all of the hype of the media, and that impacted their play. The article discusses the value of highly glorified sporting events. The media had a clear impact on Super Bowl 50 after touting the Carolina Panthers continuously for two weeks straight, and when it was time for the game the Panthers did not play to standards the media expected. This article attacks the value of extremely hyped sporting events, because the only people who should have an impact on who wins the game are the teams, and not the media. While the author of this article is credible, he does seem to have some bias in his writing. The article is posted by USA Today Sports, which is a reliable news source. However, the author uses a tone that makes it seem as though he was rooting for the Broncos in the Super Bowl. Despite being slightly biased, the information presented in the article is still true.  

This research question is arguable because many people feel that the media does not have a major impact on athletes. The support for this side of the argument is that by the time these athletes have reached a professional level, they are used to the media talking about all aspects of their lives so it should not be stressful to them. Athletes begin to learn how to handle the media once they start their college careers, so if they are going to be successful in the pros, they need to be able to handle this part of the job. However, some people just cannot handle the pressure that the media puts on them and that should not be the determining factor as to whether they will be a successful professional athlete or not. My first source is in disagreement with my other two sources, since the first source has some evidence as far as why the media can be positive. This article also made me see why the media is a necessary part of sports. Originally I felt the media should play little to no role in athletics, however this article made me rethink this idea. The media is very important, but it should only be present in moderation. I could possibly revise this research question by discussing the negative impact of the media rather than the positives and negatives.  

