Thierry Henry Leaving the New York Red Bulls, But Not Before Memorable Postgame Press Conference

On Saturday, the New York Red Bulls lost to the New England Revolution in the second leg of the MLS Eastern Conference Final. Afterward, speculation turned toward Thierry Henry and his future with the club since his contract was set to expire. Reporters flocked around the French legend inside the Gillette Stadium locker room — notebooks were readied, recorders were positioned — waiting for Henry to speak on his future.

Instead, Henry proceeded to give his version of the Rasheed Wallace “both teams played hard” press conference saying to the amassed scrum, “You ready (brief pause), well done New England” and then walked behind some partition.

Subsequently on Monday the 37-year-old Henry confirmed that he’s played his final game with the Red Bulls after 4 1/2 seasons, via a statement. Speculation immediately turned back to Arsenal after Henry changed the banner on his Facebook page to a picture of the Emirates Stadium facade.

So … there’s where we often stand in 2014, there’s more information to be gleaned from an athlete from his or her own social media postings than from established media outlets’ beat reporters. An athlete with the reach of an Henry, for example, it makes some sense to deliver the message directly and on your own terms. In Henry’s case his departure with the Red Bulls wa expected, so there wasn’t a gigantic scoop or headline waiting inside the Gillette locker room. It doesn’t exactly require “journalism” to make an announcement to a yes/no question, either.

At the same time, beat reporting remains valuable — if thankless endeavor. Someone still has to develop sources and a rapport to relay much of the other information sports fans are looking to digest outside of a Facebook update. Even though we have access to athletes (and teams) directly, there is still a place for independent, objective third-party reporting.

As always, sports media remains ever-evolving as the question of access and how much its needed continues to change.