Brandon Marshall Comments on Relationship Between NFL Players, Media

In the wake of recent clashes between the media and some NFL players, New York Jets wide receiver Brandon Marshall offered his perspective on the issue Tuesday.

According to Jordan Heck of Sporting News, the five-time Pro Bowler commented on player-media relations during a segment on Showtime's Inside the NFL.

"We have an epidemic right now and the epidemic is, the clash between our local media and our players," Marshall said. "In fact, I struggle with it at times."

Most notably, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant recently went on a locker room tirade due to an article written and comments allegedly made by ESPN.com's Jean-Jacques Taylor.

Marshall believes the media can be too overbearing at times and feels as though that is a big part of the problem:

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I personally think that the media has too much access. Let's face it, we get out the shower and there's 10, 15, 20 reporters standing there looking at you waiting to ask you a question while you're getting dressed. I think it's too much. I think we're put in tough positions. And I think we need to figure this thing out.

"

In addition to that, he empathizes with young players in particular when it comes to getting grilled with tough questions from reporters:

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My biggest issue is this: We have young players who aren't trained to handle the difficult conversation. We put them in a hostile environment; take Dallas for example. They're on a five-, six-, seven-game losing streak whatever it is, so you understand what's going on inside of these players and we're asking them these tough questions.

How do we think they're going to respond? So for me, I think the teams and the NFL's job is to protect the players. And I question if we're doing that by giving them so much access, especially right after a game or every single day.

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Marshall is 31 years old and a 10th-year NFL veteran, and the fact that he still has issues with media relations sheds some light on the actions of less experienced players like Bryant.

While Marshall is clearly in favor of a much smaller and more infrequent media presence in the NFL, it is difficult to envision the league changing its operating procedure due to the correlation between exposure and profitability.

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