What does "play" mean in this paragraph? I had an interesting conversation with a reporter recently---one who works for you. In fact, he's one of your best reporters. He wants to leave. Your reporter gave me a copy of his resume and photocopies of six stories that he wrote for you. The headlines showed you played them proudly. With great enthusiasm, he talked about how he finds issues, approaches them, and writes about them, which tells me he is one of your best. I'm sure you would hate to lose him. Surprisingly, your reporter is not unhappy. In fact, he told me he really likes his job. He has a great assignment , and said you run a great paper. It would be easy for you to keep him, he said. He knows that the paper values him. He appreciates the responsibility you've given him, takes ownership of his profession, and enjoys his freedom. 1. "The headlines showed you played them proudly." What does "play" mean in this paragraph? I look it up in the dictionary and find the following explanation which I think best suits this context. play: to include sb in a sports team except in this paragraph to include them in a newspaper? 2. " takes ownership of his profession" I have difficulty in understanding this. Is there any other way to express this?