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| Image Courtesy of: features.rr.com |
Some may say there is never enough good press, and one
person that knows this idea very well is Deron Williams of the Brooklyn Nets. The NBA superstar was recently reported in the Wall Street Journal to have hired his own team of beat writers to cover him and spin stories in a
positive light. Their purpose, states the article,
is to spread the gospel of D-Will on
his website, DeronWilliams.com. Why you ask? For several reasons I
gather. The most important being potential money from corporate endorsers. Here’s how it
works. Deron Williams hires reporters and writers to create stories about his
career as it happens. The news articles are made to read more like newspaper stories rather than just an athlete writing on a
blog or something, and they’re actually pretty good! These stories are then
published on his interactive website, www.DeronWilliams.com,
with other Williams features and photos galleries. Thus, creating a positive working portfolio
for him and his agency, Excel Sports Management, to
present to potential marketers.
This isn’t entirely a new idea. Most star
athletes take to Twitter to connect to their fan base, but superstars such as
Kobe Bryant have been known to hire their own press from time to time. In fact, Athlete Interactive,
the company that runs Williams’ site, publishes online sites for about 22
athletes, many of them Excel clients. President of
Athlete Interactive, David Neiman, said one of his goals is to help these
athletes "maximize their financial opportunities"—or at least prevent them from doing stupid things that wind up costing them money."You can explain to them how to do it in a way so they're not shooting themselves in the foot," said Neiman.