Tyler Lockett didn’t have to do it.
The relationship between players and the media is inherently transactional. Both parties have their jobs to do. Some athletes enjoy talking to the media; others do it to avoid fines.
So when Lockett moved to his second NFL city after spending his entire career with the Seattle Seahawks since 2015, he could have easily kept his distance. But he made a point to start things off on the right foot with his new community and, notably, with the people who will be covering this next chapter of his career.
Before his first press conference as a member of the Tennessee Titans, he made sure to shake hands with every media member in attendance.
“I feel like, you know, y’all are just as much as family as everybody that’s gonna be teammates,” Lockett said. “So, you gotta get to know the coaches, get to know the media. You guys are going to be the ones writing stories about us, whether it’s good or bad. And who knows? Sometimes, doing that handshake, you might be a little more lenient. But either way, it’s great to meet y’all. Obviously, I’m gonna learn new names, learn new faces, but excited just to do some media y’all.”
Lockett is trying to set the tone early with a local beat that’s had its clashes with Titans star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons. It’s also the same beat that prompted head coach Brian Callahan to tell a reporter to shove a question about his team being soft up their ass. But Lockett’s taking a different approach.
It might not always be this way, but this gesture will likely earn him some early brownie points.
And it seemingly did with not just the local beat, but the national media, too.
“He gets it. He understands there’s a symbiosis to this,” Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio said. “We’re not trying to attack, for the most part. We’re not trying to tear down, for the most part. The people who cover a team need information. And there’s information that can be supplied that does not compromise the strategic interests of the team; tell that to Bill Belichick. But I think a lot of other people like Tyler Lockett understand that.”
“My mind is blown. I don’t think I’ve heard — I don’t know about you — but I don’t think I’ve heard 10 athletes say that in the time I’ve been covering pro sports,” Michael Holley added. “As a matter of fact, I tell people who are interested in this business, I said, ‘Get used to it.’ If you’re covering high school sports, the answer to your question is usually yes. When you ask for things, it’s usually ‘yes,’ about 100 percent of the time in high school. In college, it’s ‘yes’ about 60-65 percent of the time. And in the pros, it’s ‘no’ about 80 percent of the time.
“Most pro athletes don’t look at it that way,” Holley adds. “That’s refreshing.”
Lockett didn’t have to go out of his way, and yet he made a simple choice that said a lot.
It’s refreshing and might just be what people remember when things get tough.