Basketball Commentary and Social Media

Marc-Anthony Lapaix

St. Francis College

LWP-1000: Intro to Digital Humanities

Dr. Emily Edwards

May 9, 2023

        Generally, the most alluring aspect of the digital humanities is the extent to which newer technologies and methods are being employed in order to inspire an evolution of the traditional research process. Rather than remaining limited to paper books and basic forms of online research, the digital humanities gives scholars of today the opportunity to engage with other scholars in substantive ways, to organize and present information innovatively, and to create new research initiatives entirely. What allows this to take place includes the creative minds of young and developing scholars who have a fresh and informed outlook on research and the growing world of technology as well as a continued introduction of newer technologies and attentive developments of existing technologies. While scholars typically develop research initiatives based on very particular academic matters, it is possible that the digital humanities can have an apparent and practical impact on the world that everyone interacts with. It can provide insight on matters that affect large groups of people and it can inspire creations that alter the lives of the public as a whole. This includes daily activities that most people interact with and often do not do so consciously. Watching television, interacting with social media, and speaking with others are all activities that people engage with every day and, because they have become so ingrained within the average person’s daily routine, there is not much thought behind the moments in which these activities are pursued, how they are pursued, and what the implications of these activities actually are. Digital humanities, as with anything else, also has the potential to alter these activities as a result of revolutionizing the research method. A particular example of this is changing the ways in which people interact with the NBA and social media platforms related to the NBA.

When it comes to basketball as a sport that is watched worldwide, particularly when it comes to the NBA, there are multiple ways of engaging with it. Many will simply watch the NBA as it appears on television, but fans can also interact with the words of NBA commentators. These commentators also watch events in the NBA as they transpire and they will provide their expert opinions and analysis in order to provide public access to secondary sources related to the NBA. This implementation of NBA commentary works to make the sport more accessible worldwide in the sense that more people will be able to digest the information about events that happen related to the NBA. Other than the games themselves, there are a lot of events related to player trades between teams, coach activity, brand deals, etc. NBA laymen are likely not going to be able to follow the implications of these events, especially if they have not been keeping up with the league over the course of years or even decades. NBA commentary summarizes these events and provides a reliable perspective on how these events affect the league in general. One way in particular that these commentators provide their opinions is with the use of social media. Many commentators have established significant platforms online either by regularly posting about specific segments of the NBA, interacting publicly with figures related to the NBA, or even by developing podcasts about the NBA. By making posts on their personal social media platforms about the NBA, people who regularly engage with social media are able to easily access the information and the NBA becomes even more accessible to the global public. Rather than the NBA appearing to some as a sport that is only fully accessible to the most devoted NBA fanatics, social media can blend what is already familiar with what many people can come to learn about the NBA. NBA statistics also show that, alongside the development of the social media presence of these commentators, more people are tuning in to watch the NBA on television. While there are many motives that can inspire an increase in viewership, NBA commentary can easily be inferred as one of them. This possible correlation suggests that there is some success behind NBA commentary as a whole. Since commentators are continuing to build individual fan bases and making the NBA look more attractive and engaging to those who may not be familiar with the specifics of it, it seems that more people have been inspired to engage with the content themselves. This also has the potential to spur the development of more NBA commentary, either from professionals or from individuals within the public that are passionate enough to share their opinions online in an organized fashion. This has already began developing: we can observe this on various YouTube channels, Instagram accounts, online forums, and many more. With this, a cycle can form: commentators present a portion of the NBA to the general public, the general public can digest it and find it engaging, and people within the general public can assume the role of commentator to present more portions of the NBA. Since this phenomenon takes place, it is possible to see that social media in general can become a useful tool for finding information and putting it to use for practical purposes. Especially when it comes to niche topics that have not been covered by academics, those with expertise on the topics can provide reliable information on social media. This presents a potentially large development for digital humanities as a whole because it introduces an entirely separate medium for research that has previously been either neglected or rejected based on general skepticism. The following argument will assert that the increasing spread of basketball commentary with the help of social media gives more people access to the sport and it creates greater potential for the development of digital humanities.

        In the case that this argument can be successfully corroborated, it affects digital humanities because it contributes both to the amount of information that is available as well as the publicly perceived potential that digital humanities carries as a whole. Firstly, many people are already acquainted with social media. Especially within Generation Z and the Millennial Generation, it has become the new norm to engage with social media in one’s leisure in order to connect with others and to develop a personal sense of status. In doing so, people share a lot of information about themselves, their passions, their expertise, and more. Since social media has become heavily integrated into our lives, introducing it as a formal medium for digital humanities eliminates the need for most, if not all scholars, to learn a completely new method or platform. This accelerates the rate at which we come to develop our methods of study. Additionally, it widens the scope in terms of what can become a formal medium for research. Since social media has been generally rejected in terms of academia, properly implementing it within the digital humanities can inspire other scholars to reach beyond what is considered conventional in order to continue to propose new ways of interacting with scholars and information. With time, assuming the development of digital humanities moves forward in this way, the digital humanities can encompass almost anything. This can make research a much more flexible process overall. Not only will it be nearly impossible to engage with something that cannot contribute to a substantive study, but it will also become more appealing to scholars that may not be proficient with using what may be considered conventional forms of study. By making the digital humanities more accessible in terms of what can be used for research, more creative minds can be employed in order to contribute to the advancement of society as a whole. This exercises research skills, communication skills, and debate skills. More opportunities will be available for scholars to interact with the research process and to observe what proficiencies are necessary in order to conduct a valuable study. An increase in research opportunities will lend itself to an increase in interactions between scholars. Scholars can collaborate in terms of developing new research methods, sharing newly found or derived knowledge, and further speculating about the future of digital humanities. Given that many people will initially be skeptical about newer forms of research such as social media, debates regarding whether or not newer forms of research can be deemed acceptable will be inevitable. The diversity of ideas further enriches the integrity of research, especially within the field of digital humanities. If the digital humanities has the potential to grow and develop in all of these aforementioned ways, society thus has the potential to foster a more rigorous set of thinkers for generations to come. More scholars, especially at a younger age, will be challenged to think critically and unconventionally. Both in terms of theory and practical application, scholars will become accustomed to rapidly changing methods of learning and teaching. The digital humanities, as it presents an entirely different status quo assuming social media and other mediums of research are implemented, will set an entirely different standard for education and for innovation. Relative to what has been historically observed in terms of technological and social advancement, this change in the digital humanities can significantly accelerate the growth and evolution of civilizations around the world.

        To address the argument proposed, we can observe the increasing accessibility of the NBA through basketball commentary on social media by directly engaging with the social media accounts of various commentators and observing their statistics as well as the visible public interactions with the content. Firstly, a well known NBA commentator Stephen A. Smith has provided an extensive catalog of NBA related content on his Instagram account. By employing objective information, trained expertise, and multiple instances of humor, he shares information about current events in the NBA in order for the public to digest what is transpiring in relation to the league. An example of this can be found on one of his recent Instagram posts where the beginning of the caption reads “Do NOT suspend Jokic.” This is in reference to an event that occurred with NBA player Nikola Jokic who currently plays for the Denver Nuggets. Recently, he was found in a short altercation with a fan near the basketball court because Jokic attempted to retrieve the ball as it left the court and the fan refused to return the ball. It was revealed after that this fan was the new owner of the Phoenix Suns NBA team. Given this person’s prestige, it was considered a significant offense on behalf of Jokic for facilitating the altercation and NBA officials have expressed that they are considering suspending Jokic from playing. Since Smith observed this event and has a valuable contribution to provide, he posts online summarizing the event and sharing the argument that Jokic should not be suspended because he could not have known the prestige of this person considering that he was in the middle of playing the game and the owner only recently purchased the team. As it appears to Smith, Jokic was simply doing what would have been intuitive to any NBA player at that moment. He asserts that he “don’t want no damn playoff game decided by a suspension” (Smith, 2023). This implies that, as a significant portion of the NBA season arrives, Jokic plays a major role in how future games will play out because he contributes significantly to the performance of his team. In making this post and sharing it with the public, Smith informs many people about the altercation between Jokic and the new owner of the Phoenix Suns, the near arrival of the NBA playoffs, and Jokic’s recent performance as a member of his team. Obtaining this basic information in such a short period of time gives the public a far greater opportunity to catch up with the progression of the NBA season and to continue to engage with it as it moves forward. As of May 9, 2023, the post has 8,938 likes. This implies that, at the very least, almost nine thousand fans have seen the post and expressed a general appreciation of the content. Additionally, 185 fans have commented on the post replying to Smith’s deliberation and providing their own input. This makes it evident that Smith’s content has inspired others to interact with events related to the NBA.

        Academic sources also point to the relationship between recent events in the NBA and commentators relaying this information. Alexander C. Krueger-Wyman writes in their article about an event in 2011 and how people involved with the NBA reacted to it. Another NBA player Chris Paul was meant to trade from the New Orleans Hornets to the Los Angeles Lakers, but NBA Commissioner David Stern stopped this from happening. The article suggests that these actions were “immediately and harshly criticized by prominent NBA commentators” (Krueger-Wyman, 2013). Given that many experts opposed this event, it is evident that this trade was significant in terms of the ways in which it would have inspired changes in that NBA season. Viewers interacting with such content have the potential to become more engaged with the NBA in the sense that they can begin to grasp different perspectives and arguments about the skill level of individual players, the roles that players serve on their teams, and the implications behind the interactions between teams and NBA officials. This kind of engagement also gives viewers more substance to form arguments of their own and to inspire further research regarding the nuances behind events in the NBA. The accessibility provided by NBA commentators in this case also demonstrates the potential for increasing the public view of the NBA as a whole. While it was not confirmed whether or not this commentary occurred on social media, it is possible that, during 2011, social media could have been employed considering that it was readily available at the time. Additionally, even if social media was not heavily implemented to share this commentary, the phenomenon of commentary inspiring public interaction alone is enough to corroborate a significant portion of the thesis.

        Statistics related to the engagement of the NBA also suggest that fans are becoming more interested in watching the NBA. Sports Business Journal reports that “NBA games saw its best share of the U.S. audience on record, and up 11% from last season” (Karp, 2023) and that “NBA games across ABC, TNT and ESPN also saw viewers watch for 43 minutes on average this season, the longest time spent viewing yet” (Karp, 2023). Additionally, The Hollywood Reporter reports that “The opening games of the eight first-round [NBA Playoff] series averaged 4.15 million viewers across ABC, ESPN and TNT. That’s a 3 percent improvement on last year’s games and the best for the playoffs’ opening weekend since 2011” (Porter, 2023). With objective information behind the changes in NBA engagement, it is undeniable that more people have decided to watch the NBA in recent years. Considering the continued popularity of NBA commentators and the use of social media in general, one would have to consider NBA commentary as one of the reasons for this increase in viewership. By considering the evident interaction with NBA commentary on social media and the increase in viewership in tandem, one can observe a potential correlation between the two. The output of content related to NBA events and theoretical expertise being applied to these events can have profound effects in the real world.

        If NBA commentators can employ social media to provide information and it is observed that people interact with this content, create opinions of their own, and engage more with the NBA itself, it is evident that social media and related media of information exchange can supplement the intellectual interaction between people. In terms of digital humanities, this implies that social media can indeed be a useful tool for research. Acknowledging that social media may not always be reliable and is often the source of significant misinformation, one may implement social media as a form of digital humanities under the condition that it is utilized correctly. As long as known professionals are cited and information is thoroughly verified, social media can create a significant step forward for the field of digital humanities and society as a result.

References

Karp, A. (2023, April 11). NBA viewership flat for 2022-23 across TNT, ABC, ESPN. Sports Business Journal. https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Closing-Bell/2023/04/11/nba-viewership-social-media.aspx#:~:text=The%20continued%20shrinking%20of%20the%20TV%20universe%20(broadcast%20and%20cable,longest%20time%20spent%20viewing%20yet.

Krueger-Wyman, A. K. (2013). Collective Bargaining and the Best Interests of Basketball. HeinOnline. https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/virspelj12&div=9&id=&page=

Porter, R. (2023, April 18). The Hollywood Reporter. The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/nba-playoffs-2023-tv-ratings-opening-weekend-1235391225/

Smith, S. S. (2023, May). Do NOT Suspend Jokic [Video]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cr_lAeMr6SD/