American pro golfer Bryson DeChambeau is fine with media attention, but only when he’s being portrayed positively, because as he said Saturday, “I’m not too bad of a dude, I don’t think.”
The 26-year old DeChambeau has generated plenty of interest this year after debuting his bulked-up physique. So naturally, when he Hulk smashes his golf club in frustration during Saturday’s round at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, the at-home audience wants to see it.
According to Golf Channel’s Will Gray, after DeChambeau “fired his club angrily into the sand,” the golfer turned his attention to the camera operator who was following him to document the hole. DeChambeau believes the camera operator’s job should be to display golfers during happy moments of triumph and not after doing something that could impede their image.
“He was literally watching me the whole entire way up after getting out of the bunker, walking up next to the green. And I just was like, ‘Sir, what is the need to watch me that long?’” DeChambeau told Gray about his encounter with the camera operator. “I mean, I understand it’s his job to video me, but at the same point, I think we need to start protecting our players out here compared to showing a potential vulnerability and hurting someone’s image. I just don’t think that’s necessarily the right thing to do.”
After the round, DeChambeau reiterated his concerns over the camera operator trying to catch a glimpse of his frustrations.
“As much as we’re out here performing, I think it’s necessary that we have our times of privacy as well when things aren’t going our way. I mean, we’re in the spotlight, but if somebody else is in the spotlight they wouldn’t want that either,” DeChambeau told Gray. “I feel like when you’re videoing someone and you catch Tiger (Woods) at a bad time, you show him accidentally doing something, or someone else, they’re just frustrated because they really care about the game. It could really hurt them if they catch you at a potentially vulnerable time.
“We don’t mean anything by it, we just care a lot about the game. For that to damage our brand like that, that’s not cool in the way we act because if you actually meet me in person, I’m not too bad of a dude, I don’t think.”
Especially without fans on the course, the at-home audience is looking for even more transparency during a live sports broadcast. It’s one thing for athletes to ask not to be heard using foul language, but expecting TV crews to stand clear of showing any moments of anger or frustration just isn’t realistic or what fans want.
