I’ve been watching the discourse around the now-viral postgame exchange between Lynn Jones, a local reporter, and the Jacksonville Jaguars head coach following their loss to the Buffalo Bills.
And honestly, my first thought was:
Have we sunk so low that even genuine kindness has to be reframed as something harmful?
For those who missed it: after the loss, Lynn shared words of encouragement and perspective with the coach. You can visibly see the shift in his demeanor as she speaks. What should’ve been a human, grounding moment has instead been met with mixed reactions. Some critics labeling it “unprofessional” and “disrespectful to journalism.”
So let’s unpack this.
First: Let’s bring nuance back to sports journalism.
It’s fascinating how encouragement is suddenly crossing a line, when we’ve long accepted a wide emotional range in sports reporting. We’ve seen journalists cry after devastating injuries. We’ve seen visible frustration over bad calls. We’ve seen excitement when underdogs win it all.
Negative critique toward players is often framed as “doing the job.” But when empathy enters the chat, suddenly it’s a problem. Who is actually harmed here?
That feels like a mismatch of priorities.
Second: From a PR lens, this moment has legs.
When I saw the clip, I didn’t think controversy. I thought future narrative. This is the kind of footage teams love to revisit during rebuild seasons. It’s emotional context. It’s resilience. It’s the opening chapter of an underdog arc.
Handled correctly, this moment becomes brand storytelling. Not a liability.
Third and maybe most important: Let’s talk about who gets labeled “unprofessional.”
Why is it that when local Black media shows humanity, it’s immediately scrutinized at a different standard?
When Stephen A. Smith publicly critiqued LeBron James’ son and then turned that confrontation into extended podcast content, it wasn’t framed as unprofessional. It was framed as media.
So how is this different?
Journalism has ethics for a reason. Accountability matters. Critique is fair. But it has to be applied consistently. Across platforms. Across tones. Across people.
Empathy isn’t the enemy of professionalism.
Selective outrage is.
What do you think about the discourse around the reporter's comments from a comms standpoint?