Analysis: Elite sports stars from Michael Jordan to Jude Bellingham have always used media criticism as motivational fuel
It's one of the oldest tactics used by coaches and athletes across sport: print all the hurtful lies and unjustified criticism which the media has written about you and stick it up on the dressing room wall. Players can walk over and read the various critiques and jibes written by journalists and pundits, offering a handy motivational boost and a reminder of why they need to prove their doubters wrong.
It is a fascinating (and highly effective) psychological mind game that helps create an us-against-the-world siege mentality. In the cut-throat world of elite-level professional sport and marginal gains, squeezing out those extra few percentage points in terms of an athlete's individual performance is essential in deciding the winners and losers.
Often, media criticism is entirely justified and not intended as malicious. Fundamentally, it is the role of the media to offer both praise and criticism when each one is merited and necessary. It’s a foundation of sports journalism to offer balanced and truthful analysis of performances.
'You do have to take it personally... sometimes it feels like there is a bit of a pile-on. In moments like that, it's nice to throw it back to some people'
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) June 30, 2024
Jude Bellingham on the criticism England have received from their fans and media#euro2024
Report: https://t.co/SxnxG2kKK7 pic.twitter.com/RElA5PvzGd
There's a long and fascinating history of athletes using the media as a tool to motivate themselves. Speaking after his side’s dramatic victory against Slovakia, England goalscorer Jude Bellingham gave an intriguing insight into how he uses haters and doubters as motivation. Responding to media criticism of England's performances, he said "you hear people talk a lot of rubbish. It's nice when you can deliver and give them a little bit back. Maybe it was a message to a few people."
Bellingham’s comments have divided opinion. Some agree with his view that criticism of England has been overboard. Others argue that the media and fans have been entirely justified in bemoaning their disappointing performances in Germany this summer.
Basketball legend Michael Jordan is considered one of the greatest athletes in the history of sport. He said he would play mind games with himself in order to produce his best performances. The Chicago Bulls star said that — like all athletes — he would use everyday criticism and petty disrespect as motivational fuel, so he could prove his naysayers wrong.
From ESPN, trailer for The Last Dance
Examples given by Jordan are truly riveting: a rival coach not saying hello to Jordan at a restaurant, a comment about Jordan’s shirt number, a sarcastic "Nice game, Mike" from an opponent when he had a poor performance against the Washington Bullets in 1993. Jordan never forgot and he stored each little slight away as fuel. He would normally have the last laugh.
Of course, seeing as he was the greatest basketball player in history, there wasn’t too much for members of the media to criticise Jordan about on the court. He was a six-time NBA champion and 14-time NBA All-Star for a reason. His solution? Jordan said he would invent extra criticism in his own head, creatively thinking up different headlines made by journalists, comments by opponents, barbs by opposition fans. Jordan was so good, he actually needed to fabricate his own put-downs.
"He constructed reasons why he needed to play hard that night," author Mark Vancil explained during an episode of Netflix’s The Last Dance, a documentary series about Jordan and his all-conquering 1990s Chicago Bulls team. "These little slights were deep indignations to him. That's all he needs. That’s like throwing meat to a tiger. He'd find a game within a game to keep him interested, but it was all in his mind."
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Arena, review of The Last Dance
A 2012 study sought answers for this phenomenon in sports psychology. What impact does media coverage have on elite athletes and their performances? Can it actually help them? It found that when exposed to high levels of criticism, elite level athletes’ stress levels rise. Interestingly, it said that "negative media stress correlated positively with performance and ego orientation."
In essence, many of the best athletes actually thrive off negative media coverage and it helps boost their ego. They can translate a heightened sense of emotional stress, feelings of being doubted, criticised and blamed, into an increased level of performance, both to silence their critics and prove their own self-worth.
These are not new revelations to any sports fan. Players, athletes and coaches have used media criticism as a motivational tool for decades. Further questions arise, however, on whether the media are always a fair target. The argument can rightly be made that, being an institution which doles out criticism, members of the media ought to take some flack themselves. It is only fair to "give them a little bit back," as Bellingham explained.
Recent decades have witnessed a gradual decrease in the levels of trust which the public places in journalists. This naturally makes them a target for sports stars. "The press… they are garbage," Cristiano Ronaldo famously said in a 2022 interview with Piers Morgan.
It is an easy strategy for sports stars to lay into journalists, because members of the so-called "fake news media" are often held in low esteem by fans too. It is often a tactic of playing to the crowd, with fans of the slighted athlete happy to join in with criticism of the media.
But the problem with this tactic of athletes blaming the media is when media criticism is, in fact, fully justified. In these cases, such as with England's poor performances at Euro 2024, pointing the finger at the media can come across as delusional. It is also misleading when sports stars state in press conferences that they take zero notice of what journalists write, but continue to blame the media despite claiming they pay no attention to what they report. In terms of perception, this comes across as conceited.
From RTÉ Sport's Sunday Game, 'what do you think of that Joe Brolly?'
By blaming haters and doubters in the media — journalists, pundits, broadcasters, people on social media — it can give the impression of a player not taking responsibility for their own performances on the field of play.
It is therefore a delicate balancing act, using criticism as fuel for motivation, while at the same time not wanting to pass the whole blame onto the media as a crutch for below-par performances. Doing so may come across as disingenuous and lead to further criticism.
The media melodrama surrounding Bellingham, Harry Kane and England at Euro 2024 has offered another intriguing insight into how sports stars can try and use the media to get the best out of themselves. The best athletes will always let their performances on the pitch do the talking. But as witnessed throughout sports history - from Jordan to Ronaldo to Bellingham to your county GAA team - many use the media as a motivational tool to create a siege mentality and push themselves to the highest level.
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The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
