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| (Exclusive FenwayNation Photo) |
Just two days after retiring from baseball, former Yankee shortstop
Derek Jeter announced a new website that aims at making a direct connection between athletes and fans—effectively eliminating the filter of sports media. The idea is a reflection of Jeter's career-long reluctance to open up to the New York media. His stated reasons have always been that he refused to allow "negative" vibes to distract him from his own approach to the game. We'd say it worked pretty well for two decades. Jeter stated that the new website—
The Players Tribune—has the following goal:
"...to provide unique insight into the daily sports conversation and to publish first-person stories directly from athletes." The player-driven content should be intriguing. Jeter went on:
"Over the next few months, we’ll be introducing a strong core of athlete editors and contributors who will shape the site into an online community filled with first-person stories and behind-the-scenes content. My goal is for the site to ultimately transform how athletes and newsmakers share information, bringing fans closer than ever to the games they love." The sure-fire Hall of Famer was candid about his own image, but clarified things thusly,
"I’m not a robot. Neither are the other athletes who at times might seem unapproachable. We all have emotions. We just need to be sure our thoughts will come across the way we intend." Brilliant.
