Brandon Marshall, Jets beat writers discuss player-journalist relationship on 'Inside the NFL'

Boomer Esiason jokingly called it "The Tabloid Summit That Saved New York," but later added, "I don't know if we got anything done there, folks."

Regardless, the segment on Tuesday night's "Inside the NFL" on Showtime in which Jets receiver Brandon Marshall attempted to broker peace and understanding with three beat writers - including Newsday's Kimberley A. Martin - was unusual and interesting.

The approximately eight-minute segment was designed as a follow-up to an exchange on the previous week's show between Marshall and Judy Battista of NFL.com/NFL Network.

Marshall had alleged there is too much media access to NFL players these days and Battista bluntly explained the absurdity of his position, with subsequent backing from fellow journalists.

With Esiason moderating Tuesday night's sequel, Marshall was joined by Martin, Dom Cosentino of NJ.com and Manish Mehta of the Daily News.

Marshall, a regular on the show, seemed to feel the exchange was productive, saying near the end that the key was for players to accept the fact journalists are human beings with jobs to do - an insight that generally requires regular access and opportunities to speak to star athletes one on one.

Marshall did correctly note that tensions between athletes and journalists often are the result of sensationalized headlines beyond the reporters' control.

Another source of tension, which Marshall noted the previous week, is the awkward spectacle of a crowd of reporters standing around a player's locker while he is getting dressed and ready to speak.

This one is easily solved. Just do what LeBron James does, and what athletes for most of the history of open locker rooms in professional sports have done: speak to the media, then shower and dress and put on whatever the fashion statement of the day calls for, be it fake eyeglasses in 2012 or a stylish hat in 2015.

Solved!

Anyway, here are some excerpts, courtesy of Showtime:

Manish Mehta: "I think it's about time. I think if you build a relationship with the media and the media has the time to build a relationship with players, that will ultimately foster trust. And when you have trust, that's really the building block for any kind of productive relationship. Can you as a player trust me in telling me things in confidence knowing that it's not going to be on social media 30 seconds later? And as a reporter, can I trust that you're going to be honest and forthright with me and not give me the b.s.?"

Kimberley A. Martin: "Well you're talking a lot about what the media needs to do. What about the ownership and the responsibility of the players? If a player has an issue with something I write I would expect you, as Brandon Marshall, to come to me and say, 'Kimberley, that was b.s., I didn't appreciate it.' And then you and I talk about it. And some of those interactions have spawned really good relationships with players going forward. So I can't speak for any other journalist on the beat except for myself, and say that I hold myself to a certain standard and I expect you to challenge me on anything. And that I think is how we build trust and we build a relationship going forward."

Brandon Marshall: "I don't think a player has ever been told that, and that's the issue. Because if you tell me that I can hold you accountable or you're open to conversation, then I will come up to you and say, 'You know what Kimberley, I don't agree with what you wrote. I think you got it wrong.' And maybe we'll start to see that relationship grow and get better, but no one has ever told a player that."

Dom Cosentino: "I think Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick have kind of ruined this for everyone because they put these restrictions now in place. And Boomer can probably speak to how things used to be but where the access now is so restricted. And it gets more and more restricted I feel like with each passing year, that it's difficult now to build those relationships and build that trust because frequently now the star players in particular, they're herded out to be talked to in a group. There's no opportunity to really get to know us or you and that creates a real divide between the players."

Mehta: "We're all similar. We're more similar than dissimilar. You're competitive. I'm competitive, Kimberley, Dom, we're all competitive. You are paid to beat the Bills, Dolphins, and Patriots and win the AFC East. I'm paid to get the story, the information that nobody else has. How do you do it? You catch touchdowns, you score points. How do I do it? I cultivate relationships with people who will help me uncover interesting stories."

By Neil Best

neil.best@newsday.com@sportswatch

Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.