The state of sports documentaries and storytelling has grown creatively stagnant as athletes increasingly guard their narratives, making journalists’ jobs much tougher. This is a lesson New Yorker editor David Remnick learned firsthand from LeBron James.
Today, more athletes bypass traditional media entirely, sharing their messages directly through podcasts or outlets like The Players’ Tribune. Consequently, audiences rarely encounter documentaries that truly explore ideas beyond public relations; most recent pieces since The Last Dance read like image-boosting campaigns for the central figure.
LeBron James has long had a complicated relationship with the media. He’s also stepped into the spotlight on his own terms, from The Decision to hosting a podcast with his Lakers’ coach, J.J. Redick.
Remnick discussed his experience on The Press Box podcast with Bryan Curtis at The Ringer, recounting how he hoped to profile James. A dinner meeting with the superstar seemed to set up a life-changing opportunity, but the reality of contemporary media quickly crushed that dream.
Remnick’s account of a “thwarted profile” underscores a broader trend: athletes are far more insulated today. Stories about them are often controlled by the athletes’ teams, with cameras following the shiny, curated image rather than an unfiltered portrait. Remnick observes that this approach robs readers and viewers of the kind of thorough sports reporting that once flourished.
He recalled the hopeful moment when an off-the-record dinner with LeBron and Maverick Carter seemed like a doorway to a genuine profile. A simple gift—the Ali biography King of the World—thrilled LeBron, and Remnick imagined a quick move to Los Angeles for the assignment. Yet within days, the communications team shut the door, suggesting that if a story were necessary, it would be published through social media or a ghostwritten book with a major publisher, bypassing any independent mediation.
This shift reflects a broader truth about today’s sports media: controlling the narrative often trumps journalistic access. Athletes hold substantial power, and unless mainstream outlets bow to their terms, they risk being kept at the margins. The challenge now falls to writers like Remnick to craft compelling storytelling without the traditional, off-the-record access that fueled past great profiles.
