Derek Jeter isn’t sitting back and taking it easy during his first few days of retirement.
Just three days after hanging up the cleats, the former New York Yankees shortstop announced his newest business venture, The Players’ Tribune — an online publication devoted to giving athletes a platform to interact with fans without the “filter” of media.
The famously private Yankee explained his intentions behind creating the publication in a statement on the site Wednesday, adding that although he was guarded with reporters throughout his career, fans “deserve more” from their athletes.
“I realize I’ve been guarded,” Jeter said on the front page of the new publication. “I learned early on in New York, the toughest media environment in sports, that just because a reporter asks you a question doesn’t mean you have to answer. I attribute much of my success in New York to my ability to understand and avoid unnecessary distractions.
“I do think fans deserve more than ‘no comments’ or ‘I don’t knows.’ Those simple answers have always stemmed from a genuine concern that any statement, any opinion or detail, might be distorted. I have a unique perspective. Many of you saw me after that final home game, when the enormity of the moment hit me. I’m not a robot. Neither are the other athletes who at times might seem unapproachable. We all have emotions. We just need to be sure our thoughts will come across the way we intend.”
With written pieces, video, podcasts and more, Jeter’s aim for the site is “ultimately transform how athletes and newsmakers share information, bringing fans closer than ever to the games they love. ”
Photo via USA TODAY Sports Images/Greg M. Cooper
