The Media Bashes Any Player Who Has a Great Relationship With Their Dad

There is an interesting pattern in sports media: when an elite athlete has a close relationship with his father, the relationship can quickly become part of the criticism.

Look at LaMelo Ball, Ben Shelton and Shedeur Sanders.

LaMelo grew up with LaVar Ball heavily involved in his basketball development. LaVar became one of the most polarizing fathers in sports, with the media spending years analyzing his parenting, personality and influence over his sons.

Ben Shelton presents a completely different version of the father-son relationship. His father, Bryan Shelton, is a former professional player and college coach who now coaches Ben. Bryan has played a major role in Ben’s development, and Ben has publicly credited the support of his family.

Then there is Shedeur Sanders, whose father, Deion Sanders, has been deeply involved in his football career. Their relationship has also received enormous attention because Deion is not simply a father—he is a Hall of Fame athlete, coach and one of the biggest personalities in sports.

The question is: Why does a successful father-son relationship so often become something the media wants to dissect, criticize or portray as a problem?

Maybe we should stop automatically treating a father who is heavily involved in his son’s athletic career as a negative thing. Sometimes a father is simply a father—someone who believes in his child, teaches him, supports him and wants to see him succeed.

The real question shouldn’t be, “Why is Dad so involved?”

It should be: “Is the relationship actually hurting the athlete—or is the media simply uncomfortable with a father being deeply involved in his son’s success?”