That's fascinating idea, that some of the sports jargon is being coming from the top, the producers and executives. It hadn't occurred to me, but it's plausible.

Newspapers and other media have "style guides" or style sheets they expect writers to follow (I've written them). These can reflect ideological or other biases.

Agree on the perils of "both sides-ism," too. The media are becoming more aware of those dangers, but you still see the "both sides-ism" a lot (most recently in the Hamas-Israel war). Sometimes--as when Putin invaded Ukraine--there no two sides the media have to show.