Those watching the 2020 NFL Draft may have noticed there was an unusual focus on negative stories for most prospects, which hung a dark cloud over what is an otherwise joyous time for players.
Each time a player was drafted, ESPN shared information about the player that included video highlights and analysis of the player. That was standard. But what was unusual was hearing all the stories of adversity players overcame. It felt like stories of death a prospect overcame were shared after every pick.
Roger Goodell: "A team selects a player, position, out of a school."
ESPN: "Congratulations to the player. He's a really good player. Now let us tell you about the worst thing that ever happened to this human."
— Mike Leslie (@MikeLeslieWFAA) April 24, 2020
Roger Goodell: "the #NFLDraft is all about looking forward"
*every graphic looks back at a family member's death*
— Ryan M (@giver202) April 25, 2020
Every player either lost a family member or did something bad off the field.
I wish they'd stop leading with that. There's plenty of football/roster construction storylines.
— Eric Galko (@EricGalko) April 25, 2020
Even when stories about family deaths weren’t shared, ESPN shared other details about adversity a player overcame. In one example, they talked about a prospect’s mother overcoming drug addiction. In another, they mentioned a player’s mother having West Nile virus.
This year's draft has been weird about highlighting the depressing aspects of players family backgrounds https://t.co/wrNpOBFdnB
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) April 25, 2020
I mean I'm not sure why I need to know that a draftee's mother contracted the West Nile Virus in 2012 https://t.co/UeCaMS6P9p pic.twitter.com/d5Mz98cv8D
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) April 25, 2020
ESPN faced numerous challenges in broadcasting a virtual version of the draft this year and did a fantastic job, while grabbing huge ratings. Their task was not easy. But they seemed to go out of their way to highlight death and other negative stories from a player’s past, and it added an unnecessarily gloomy tone to the production.
