Baker Mayfield was once again in headlines this week after NFL Network's Cynthia Frelund shared a conversation she had with the former Browns quarterback.
Frelund reported that Mayfield said he was going to f—k up the Browns, which the quarterback denied and clarified after the quote made the rounds.
92.3 The Fan’s Andy Baskin and Daryl Ruiter discussed the latest Mayfield situation on Audacy’s “It’s Always Gameday in Cleveland” podcast.
“This situation is why players detest the media,” Ruiter said (6:30 in player above). “It is why Baker says what he says about the media because he had a private exchange with somebody on the field without the expectation that what he was about to say would be put out there in the public domain. She came at him like they’re buddies, which apparently they are, according to both parties. They have a history. So when you have that type of relationship, guess what? You’re going to be a little more cavalier and loose-lipped with what you say and how you respond and whatnot. It goes back to she should’ve kept her mouth shut.”
Baskin was mostly in agreement with Ruiter’s take on the Mayfield matter, but he said that players should know better.
“I agree with you that this story never should’ve got out. I agree with you that she shouldn’t have said it,” he said. “But there isn’t a player in the NFL that doesn’t know that when you say something to a reporter it is on the record. I don’t care if somebody says it’s off the record or not. They learn it from day one when they walk into rookie symposium and they tell them that right away. ‘Look, no matter how good of friends you might be with the media, and you may be best friends, you may have known them your whole life, there is nothing off the record. So be careful for what you say.’”
There are two sides to every story and this is no different. Baskin can see both of those sides given his experience in sports media.
“Cynthia messed up. She shouldn’t have said it,” he continued. “Really, Baker Mayfield lost his trust in Cynthia. And probably Cynthia isn't’ going to get a whole lot from anybody else. But I also think the players also know that this isn’t a multi-billion dollar industry if it’s not for the media. And they’ve gotta do some media things. No one says they have to say anything extravagant and the media, if you’re a player, needs to be a conduit to the fans.”
Today’s day and age of social media and everything being streamed does allow for players to connect with the fans if they use the media correctly. Being friendly to whoever you meet, including the media, always goes a long way.
“If a player is nice to the media, man I got to tell you, it’s hard for the media sometimes to say bad things about somebody who’s nice,” Baskin said. “Somebody can be a bad player but if they’re super guys and you know they’re trying hard and maybe they dropped a couple catches or something crazy like that happens. The media will be a little less on the player, especially in a market like Cleveland.”
While there are some markets where the players may view the media as the enemy, and vice versa, it’s not that way in Cleveland.
“Smart players understand – especially ones that want to get into media when they’re done – that the media is something that can help them and not hurt them and sometimes you’re better off not fighting with the media,” Baskin continued.
Baskin and Ruiter both agreed that Mayfield is somebody that could be very successful in the media after his playing career, despite what may go on between him and reporters during his career.
Ruiter shared a personal example about a conversation being off the record. He revealed that he had a private conversation with Dee Haslam, the co-owner of the Browns, a few weeks ago.
“She had a few things that she wanted to talk to me about and I had an opportunity to speak with her about a few things and what we discussed will remain private,” he said. “Number one, I was not recording the conversation. You can get mad at me because you don’t like my take on something or my opinion or whatever. One thing you’ll never get mad at me for is misquoting you… I could’ve run to a keyboard and upchucked 1,500 words on everything that Dee Haslam and I discussed on the practice field for that 10, 15 minutes, considering that was the first actual conversation … over the previous 10 years. But she had no expectation that she was on the record with me. I was not recording the conversation. And we were just talking. That’s why what we discussed will remain private.”
Ruiter clarified that he wasn’t sharing this just to show off, but rather to provide context into why some private conversations should remain private.
“Even if he said it. Even if he said ‘I’m gonna f— up the Browns,’ even if he said that to her, it does not matter. The contents of that conversation should have never seen the light of day,” he said. “At most, she should’ve said ‘Talked to Baker Mayfield briefly after the game against Buffalo. He’s looking forward to that Week 1 matchup against his former team.’ That is it. That’s the extent of what she should have disclosed.
“She made a mistake, not trying to bag on her or whatever, but to be fair to Baker here, he’s got a legitimate reason to be upset regardless if he said it or not. That headline should have never been a headline.”
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