By Erik Gudris | Monday, July 11, 2016
Some are calling John McEnroe’s TV commentary of the Wimbledon men’s final a conflict of interest. Was it? Or was it just business as usual for tennis broadcasting?
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While most tennis fans were busy watching and talking about Sunday's men's final at Wimbledon, a separate conversation also took place. While the men’s final ended in a definitive outcome, the debate over whether John McEnroe should or should not have commentated on that final was fascinating at times, but one that didn’t end with any real conclusions or solutions.
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McEnroe, who worked as a consultant to finalist Milos Raonic during the grass court season, did television commentary on some of Raonic’s matches for both the BBC and ESPN during the Wimbledon fortnight. When he appeared on ESPN’s commentary team for the men's final on Sunday, many felt it was inappropriate.
"I'm not trying to put him in a box and have him be an objective observer of the match and wear two hats," Jamie Reynolds, an ESPN vice president overseeing tennis coverage said on McEnroe. ”I’m having him here as Milos' coach. We were sensitive to it because at the end of the day we're trying to serve the audience.”
”Let the audience decide whether or not John is still John. I think that's a win, as long as everybody understands what voice he's bringing into the booth,” Reynolds added.
What “voice” McEnroe was bringing during the broadcast was still hard for many to define. Some thought he should be neutral. Others wanted to hear his insight on working with Raonic - who himself had no problem with McEnroe doing television commentary during the event.
McEnroe’s appearance created divided views on social media, even among those who liked the former Wimbledon champion’s commentary style.
Others didn't see any issue pointing out that McEnroe is not a journalist.
Meanwhile, Andy Roddick at the same time appeared online through Periscope TV and gave unfiltered commentary for the first two sets of the final. For those that liked Roddick’s previous work last year for the BBC, the former US Open champion gave clear insights into the final without having the perceived conflict of interest hanging over his head.
Roddick, who has often taken issue with current tennis television commentary, was asked about McEnroe being in the booth during the final.
“This is like interviewing a coach for four hours,” Roddick said. “Having that access is kinda cool. I think tennis broadcasting has become a little bit monotonous. If I’m ESPN or BBC, and you have John McEnroe, people respond to him. And if he has intimate knowledge of Raonic’s run, you have to put him on. I know some people will disagree. My opinion is the people who don’t like it will still watch it.”
Conflict of interest for television commentators, whether they be former players or not, has often been a source of contention and irritation for tennis watchers, even if those involved see nothing wrong with it.
Many objected to Justin Gimelstob, when he coached John Isner, for covering his matches on Tennis Channel. Mary Joe Fernandez, covers women's matches, many featuring Americans, even though she is currently US Fed Cup captain. Chris Evert. an ESPN analyst, shares an agent with Stan Wawrinka, and also sometimes commentates on matches featuring rising players who train at her academy.
In fairness, Fernandez does not commentate on Roger Federer matches as she is married to Federer’s agent. Darrin Cahill, despite being the current coach of Simona Halep does not commentate on WTA matches.
But if current tennis watchers think this blurring of the lines between the court and those on a television set are new, they are wrong. In fact, there likely would not be any current live coverage on television without it.
Back in 1979, NBC started the first "Breakfast at Wimbledon" live coverage of the men's final. Donald Dell, who shared broadcasting duties with the late great Bud Collins, was also the manager of Roscoe Tanner who played in that 1979 final losing to eventual champion Bjorn Borg.
Before the match, Dell famously told Tanner to wait in the bathroom for five minutes before going on court. That was to prevent tournament officials from starting the match on time at 2 p.m. so that the network could air its introductory segment and advertising just after the show started at 9 a.m. east coast time. The live broadcast was a success and the rest they say is history.
Live sports broadcasting since then has gotten better but also a lot more crowded and competitive. Network tennis coverage has to appeal to diehard fans who watch every match, every day, year-round and also to the curious, first-time viewer who tune into big events once a year - like the Wimbledon final. John McEnroe is a recognizable name who has also been doing tennis commentary for over 20 years. Does McEnroe bring and repel viewers at the same time? Probably. But a little controversy can only help the network's overall goal of getting viewers.
“Sport is sport but it’s also a business and the whole goal is to get eyeballs on TV,” Roddick said. “Those that are outraged about Mac will still watch so they can complain about him.”
Currently, it's very clear that the networks have zero conflict having McEnroe covering Raonic's matches or any other former player now commentating doing the same for anyone they are working with at the same time. For those that don't like it, aside from not watching the broadcast all together, the only way around it is to find an alternative commentary source.
Roddick announced that he plans to do more commentary on Periscope during the US Open. If this evolves into a full-time thing remains to be seen, but it does show how the very format of broadcasting live sports events is changing.
As for McEnroe, while we expect him back in the commentary booth as well for New York, it's unclear yet if he will still be working with Raonic post-Wimbledon. But it’s very likely that the ongoing debate over conflicts, seeming or not, in tennis television commentary will continue. As they like to say in broadcast land, stay tuned.