When we think of social media in basketball, a lot of names come to mind. Shaq was the pioneer. Steve Nash engages with fans with the same smoothness he does orchestrating the basketball court. Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh make announcements on Facebook. LeBron makes notes of his haters. The list goes on, but Kobe Bryant isn’t on that list. No, Kobe Bryant doesn’t understand Twitter or the importance of building his online brand at all.

Mind you, he does have a website with attached Twitter and Facebook accounts but they are merely a microphone to announce his latest shoes, and I’m pretty sure none of it is run by him personally. In the age of social media where authentic content is key, Kobe just doesn’t quite get it.

Or that’s what he’d like all of us to think. You see, Kobe actually knows a lot more about social media than we all think. Even as he pretends not to know how to use Twitter or Facebook, he understands, maybe better than anyone, the power of building an online community.

In an interview with Yahoo! Sports writer Adrian Wojnarowski, he lets this quote slip: “Guys have voices now, want to build brands. I don’t identify with it, but I understand where it’s going, why it’s going there. That’s not for me. I focus on one thing and one thing only – that’s trying to win as many championships as I can.”

You see, what he understands and we often forget is that Kobe’s brand equity is not on par with the Charlie Villianuevas and  Jared Dudleys of the NBA. He’s not even on the same level as Dwayne Wade, Chris Paul, or LeBron James. Wait, hold on a second, not on the same level as LeBron? Yeah that’s right. LeBron, for all his powder throwing, customized Beats by Dre headphones, and engaging tweets (synced to his Facebook) has 4.4 million fans on Facebook. A huge number, no doubt, but it’s still second fiddle compared to Kobe’s 5.5 million*. And that’s with Kobe doing absolutely nothing on Facebook at all.

Yes, Kobe understands that in North America, the only thing that defines his brand is winning. He can get caught trash talking his own teammates, ignore millions of fans on Facebook and Twitter, and not be hurt in the slightest because he is only focused on winning. Because of his skills on the court, the rings on his fingers, and the big spotlight of Los Angeles, he doesn’t need to spend time engaging with his fans on Twitter. Barring a PR nightmare a la Tiger Woods, his fans will remain fans as long as the Lakers keep winning.

And in true Kobe form, he is never one to stop finding new ways to push himself. With the same drive and determination that won him multiple championships, Kobe wants to win as much as he can with his brand equity as well.

Having already conquered the North American market, he has set sights on becoming a global sports icon. He may not be involved online locally, but he is discretely (at least to the North American eye) reaching out to fans in China. He recognizes the Chinese audience as one of his targets, and tweeting won’t help him win there. Chinese Internet giant Sina would, and he signed a partnership with them.  He has been blogging in Chinese on the popular network for almost a year, where he chimes in on trade rumours, Team USA, and his friendship with the most popular player from China – Yao Ming. The content on the blog is authentic, engaging, and rich – exactly the type of stuff social media experts preach about. And with 100,000 unique membership visits and more than 900 comments per blog entry , it’s safe to say he’s got a nice little online community there.

Kobe Bryant may never get any social media awards, but there is no doubt that Kobe cares about his brand. He is simply so laser-focused on dominating on a global level that ‘tweeting’ (at least in English) is the last thing on his mind.

*Having a successful Facebook community is not about the number of fans, but I felt the numbers in this case provided simple evidence for Kobe’s gigantic brand equity

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About Sam Chan

Sam is the community manager of Sports Networker and the Sports Executive Association. He is passionate in all things sports, mobile, and social media. His dream is for the Vancouver Canucks to win a Stanley Cup in his lifetime, although so far, its looking kind of bleak. In the past, he worked with BlackBerry and helped relaunch their Business-to-Business network. With his experience there, he can probably help you change your ringtone, maybe. When he finds time (never), he also writes infrequently at his personal blog. If you would like to talk sports, write a guest post for us, or argue about why iPhone > BlackBerry, you can find him on Twitter, Facebook or email.

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Should athlete talent dribble through a season of aging before being presented to the pro sports world? Is college a necessary bridge between high school and pro sports?

Let’s think about it for a moment. What would the basketball world look like without LeBron James, Dwight Howard, and Kobe Bryant; all of which jumped directly from high school to the NBA?

The NBA requires one year removed from high school. The NHL and MLB allow a player to be drafted once he is 18 years old. The NFL is the only major professional sport that prohibits the drafting of players who are not three years removed from high school.

Is it really in the best interest of the players or is it another way for the NFL and NCAA to profit? Let’s look at the different sides of lifting the age requirement:

Lifting the age requirement:

• Young athletes have personal and family needs and should be able to turn pro so they can care for themselves and their families, utilizing their exceptional talent for monetary benefits.
• A former graduate of Baylor says it this way, “The NCAA and NFL have an unspoken rule that college players are ‘harvested’ and primed for free until they’re ready for the NFL. It’s basically exploiting the players for the gain and benefit of the two organizations.”
• Some say the NFL and NCAA are reaping huge profits from players, with no compensation in return for those who provide the entertainment and talent. Yes, they have scholarships but nothing more.
• Not all people are academically inclined. There are many famous CEO’s with brilliant business minds who were college-challenged; Bill Gates being just one prime example.  Talented athletes should be able to go into professional sports when they want to; it’s their body and their choice.
• The injury factor: If a talented athlete receives a career-ending injury before he hits the pro level, he has not had a chance to capitalize on the monetary value of his talent as a professional athlete. No one is going to pay his way through life, post injury.
• Unscrupulous sports agents also seek to cut their piece of the pie from the “lost” years of the young, zealous athlete who is anxious for a chance at professional sports.

Enforcing the age requirement:

• When talented athletes are given instant notoriety and stardom at a young age, they often do not have the emotional maturity to handle inappropriate situations that are sure to come their way. Suddenly shoved into the limelight, the young athletes’ lack of maturity and social development is exposed to too much – too young.
• There is a healthy 30+ year post-sports life to deal with. A college education will enhance a young athlete’s life experience which he can use well beyond his athletic career. Social and educational exposure gained in college helps develop the young athlete into more of a well-rounded player and hopefully, into a more responsible adult.

Two solutions to consider:

One is a mandatory requirement for young athletes to complete a certain amount of college classes in the off-season when they’ve turned pro. The athlete might also be required to have his degree before being offered a major pro contract. This would expose the young athlete to the educational process and life experiences outside of the sports world.

Another possible solution, (many are already doing this) is for the athlete to compete within foreign leagues such as NFL Europe, Euro league Basketball, and NBA Europe while in transition from high school/college to professional sports.

What’s your take on this hotly debated topic?

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About Michelle Hill

Michelle Hill, the Strong Copy Quarterback for Winning Proof, is a sports and fitness copywriter. My mission is to help pro athletes, coaches, and sports agents increase their success score in their entrepreneurial endeavors with my writing expertise and creative turn of mind.I write website content, client letters, media pitch letters, sponsorship proposals, and brochures for sports-related companies. www.winningproof.com

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Are athletes judged and dealt with more harshly for their indiscretions and blatant crimes than the Average Joe? Are they scrutinized and seen as villains under the media’s microscope in a way that’s justified by those who condemn them?

If we’re honest about it, most people thrive on public scandal and it is evidenced by the way we were glued to our televisions during the O.J. trial.  Of course, other sports heroes have caught our attention with scandals of varying degrees, like Kobe Bryant, Rae Carruth, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Nate Newton, Michael Vick, Tonya Harding, Mike Tyson, and most recently, Tiger Woods.

Scandals make for good sports bar banter and wildly heated debates. Among analysts and commentators it creates juicy, on-camera airtime. When one of our sports heroes goes astray, he is often cast as a villain.  His (or her) fame is perverted, and their name dragged through the mud in every conceivable way.

Since the public eye is watching, it does appear larger than life. After all, we idolize our sports heroes and expect near perfection from them. When they fall short, we (and the media) scrutinize their actions, condemn, and self-righteously sit back and pronounce judgment.

Based on the severity of the crime, a few of our fallen sports heroes deserve to be behind bars and psychologically evaluated. Others, who have had marital indiscretions and possible addictions, are like anyone else in the “real” world. They need a strong dose of counseling and support to help them on the road to recovery. They need a hand up and a strong arm of love and support.

The REAL heroes are the ones who admit they’ve fallen and can’t get up without outside help. Through ongoing therapy and accountability, they regain their sense of balance, restore damaged relationships, and get back on the course or court, or whatever the field of play may be; they re-establish themselves as the hero they once were. They’ll forever drag their personal scandal behind them, but they use it as a springboard for a stronger and more courageous future.

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About Michelle Hill

Michelle Hill, the Strong Copy Quarterback for Winning Proof, is a sports and fitness copywriter. My mission is to help pro athletes, coaches, and sports agents increase their success score in their entrepreneurial endeavors with my writing expertise and creative turn of mind.I write website content, client letters, media pitch letters, sponsorship proposals, and brochures for sports-related companies. www.winningproof.com

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(This is a guest article by Stephen Lombardo)

For what seems like an eternity, the NBA has lost some of its appeal to its fans when it comes to All-Star weekend.  The game is the most entertaining part.  However, they don’t actually play basketball until the final five minutes of the game.  All-Star Saturday feels like it doesn’t even exist.  HORSE, the newest event of the weekend, showed its crucial flaw this week when they turned it into a three-point shoot out until someone was declared the winner.  The point guard time trials feel a bit lame, the shoot out is ok, but the slam dunk contest (the NBA’s marquis event) feels like less than a shell of its former self.  How do you save this event, and bring back the excitement there was in the 80’s and 90’s?

Well first of all, we cannot bring back Jordan and Bird to resurrect this event as much as we may want to.  Instead the NBA should introduce a new twist to the weekend.  One idea would be to host a one on one tournament that features the All-Stars playing that weekend.  Set it up by having 16 of the players compete in this event.  Give the fans a chance to see the game’s greatest players decide it amongst themselves who the best player in the NBA really is.  We watch all the best players play against each other during the regular season, but that’s with their teams playing with them.  Instead of us having to imagine what it would be like to watch these great players face each other as if they were out in the schoolyard why not just make it happen?  What do you feel is more attractive?  Nate Robinson going for his 3^rd or 4^th slam dunk title, or LeBron James playing a game one on one versus Kobe Bryant?  I think the answer is obvious.

Setting up this tournament would be pretty basic as well.  You can have them play to 11, 15, or 21 as if they were playing at the schoolyard.  Attracting the players would be easy also.  Give them a cash incentive for playing in the tournament and let it go from there.   These athletes would love to compete with one another in something like this.  Making the clientele easy to attract.  The NBA would easy blow away every other idea that the NFL, MLB, or NHL could have to make their event better.

Although the NBA could be in a state of crisis this time next year, we all know they will be back on their feet just like every other sport has in a time of CBA peril.  This idea surprisingly has not gotten a lot of play.  Instead they think they can come up with better ideas to save this lost weekend.  So far none of them have worked.  This one could not only save their All-Star weekend, but also perhaps change the way other leagues run their All-Star events.

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Stephen Lombardo is a recent graduate of St. Johns’ University, with experience working for the Staten Island Yankees. Previous experiences also include working at CBS during the NCAA tournament in 2009 and writing for a fantasy baseball website. To learn more about Stephen connect with him on LinkedIn.

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About Lewis Howes

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