What does a Sports Columnist do?
A sports columnist is a writer whose primary job is to give his or her opinion on sports. A sports columnist, who usually must work up from being a regular sports writer, is typically someone who has many years of experience – and therefore has developed a respected presence within a sports community to the point that his or her opinion is highly regarded among readers. Because the job of a sports columnist is to give his or her opinion, sports columnists are often – rightly or wrongly – thought of as being rude or disagreeable. The tone of their work is often negative, but their job is also to find stories which might otherwise not be found – a sports columnist must typically become a newspaper’s best sports reporter first. Depending on the status of a newspaper within a community, a sports columnist can often influence public opinion and thus influence – at least in a small way – the actions of a team. If a sports columnist calls for a coach to be fired, and the public opinion become
