Few major sports organizations other than the GAA could claim to be “in a parallel universe” to what unfolded at Roland-Garros this week in terms of media-stakeholder relations: the obvious reason being that such contractual obligations are not simply don’t exist – never existed. , and probably never will be.
As an organization still strictly amateur, any such commitment is not based on a requirement or even a request, but rather on the will and the good deed. As long as it remains amateur, it should continue for a long time.
Alan Milton, GAA’s director of communications, is in a unique position to assess all of this given that he trained and worked as a GAA journalist, before turning to orchestrating GAA’s media relations: nothing of what happened with Naomi Osaka only made him look over his shoulder at what might happen on the runway.
“I can’t say it’s never going to change, but I certainly don’t think change is imminent,” he says. “And especially not following an incident like this. I don’t think any other sports will see a big shift in that direction either.
“I also think that we [the GAA] operate in a different ecosystem, or perhaps compare apples to oranges. We also make every effort not to promise anything to our broadcast or media partners. All we’re saying is we’ll do our best to facilitate, but we can’t guarantee managers or players, and I think everyone involved understands this scenario very well.
“And to be fair, the cooperation has been amazing, there have been very few occasions where that willingness to cooperate hasn’t been there.
“Some managers or players will always be a bit more willing than others, and maybe feel they can help build their own profile through some of them, some less so, but either way, we respect that.”
Indeed, even if such a commitment, before or after the match, is not something that the GAA takes for granted, it is rarely refused: “It really is part of the fabric, and we know that it is not the priority of any manager or player, who already give so much to prepare our games and the level at which they play them.This is another responsibility they happily take on.
“What we are aware of is trying to streamline the way the media works as best we can. I know from recent experience at the Emirates Stadium, during the time of Arsene Wenger, and he would 12 rounds of interviews in his post-match obligations We would certainly never ask that Even if the managers were under contract in one way or another, you should ask yourself what level of answers you would get in the 11th or 12th maintenance round.
“I also think that one of the points that professional sportspeople seem to make is that they think they can communicate with the legion of followers through their own channels, and while that may also be true for our own sportspeople hobbyists, it’s not their main application, it’s not their bread and butter, so there’s not the same emphasis on the need to do it.
“Of course, if they want to comment in that way, they’re completely free to do that as well, but overall most of our players have grown up watching these interviews around our games, and maybe have a respectful relationship with the media, or at least there is in most cases.
“We still have a few pools of interviews for them, and again I have to admit that their level of cooperation is almost flawless. Sometimes if they rush to a bus or a train, that could be the problem. , real-world problems in other words.
“With Roland-Garros, it seems to have gone from a very black and white situation of doing media, to doing no media. We can see a situation where we do more group interviews, which would mean fewer interviews , but again, I can’t repeat enough how well they cooperate, and maybe that’s another unique dimension of our games.
Milton’s years as a GAA reporter overlapped with post-game access that included the team locker room.
“I also remember one of my first forays as a full-time journalist was Dublin v Kerry in Killarney, 2001, and Páidí Ó Sé, God forbid, only got out of the shower when we were sticking our microphones in front of him. We also knew we had to start doing things differently and respect some of the privacy that comes with a losing or winning dressing room. I think it was well received by the players and the managers.
