Derek Jeter launches website to connect athletes to fans

Retired Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter launched a new website on Wednesday aiming to give athletes another avenue to talk to their fans.

Retired New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter launched a new website on Wednesday aiming to give athletes another avenue to talk to their fans, saying he wanted to “have a way to connect directly with our fans, with no filter.”

The site, called the Players Tribune, says it is a “new media platform that will present the unfiltered voices of professional athletes, bringing fans closer to the games they love than ever before.”

Jeter, who retired this week after 20 seasons, admitted that he has been guarded with reporters who have tried to interview him, but wanted to be careful about what he said while playing in New York, which he called ''the toughest media market.”

“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,” Jeter wrote on the site. 

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He did call New York fans the best, and even praised other ballparks' fans for the way he was treated this season. 

"It's the reception outside of New York that was the biggest difference this year. I'll never forget how baseball fans across the country have treated me," he said.

Jeter called his final MLB season a “whirlwind,” noting that it was impossible to treat the season like the previous 19. He also called the season disappointing because the Yankees missed the playoffs. 

Jeter said the website will have contributors from athlete editors during the next few months, and he hopes to fill the site with first-person stories.

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