It’s hard for me to explain why I like Bill Simmons because originally I thought he was a pompous, arrogant journalist who thought banging his chest would get him noticed. But I couldn’t have been more wrong. I understand Simmons may be considered more of a blogger, but he goes about it in a journalistic way — reporting facts and using observation at live events instead of making assumptions.
My favorite article by Simmons was “Daring to ask the PED Question.” The article came out in 2013 addressing the often under-talked about use of performance enhancing drugs in sport. I got really into this article because he cited examples of possible PED usages that all my friends commonly talk about. And just like Simmons and his co-workers, the topic is rarely publicly brought up.
Simmons goes into examples of league’s that use different methods to make it harder for their athletes to get caught cheating. While this has changed, Simmons is able to pinpoint scenarios that make you question both athletes and the leagues they play for.
My second favorite Simmons article was the “Consequences of Caring.” While this one is more of a relaxed story, I still found it refreshing for the impact that sports journalists can have on people. He tells the story of being a sports fan through his daughter’s eyes and the passion and mostly heartbreak that goes along with it.
As the article gets into its latter stages, he reverts back to why he wanted to become a sports journalist in the first place — sports have the ability to move people in a way unlike anything else in our society. It reminded me of why I wanted to get into sports journalism too.
Interestingly enough, Simmons brash attitude is what eventually drew me back to his writing. He wasn’t afraid to make people uncomfortable or point out the elephant in the room. He’s made many people angry in his time as a sports journalist and that is something I feel like many journalists struggle with. They are afraid about being everyone’s friend instead of reporting what needs to be said and Simmons just isn’t like that.