There seems to be a lot of coverage of athletes and how they are perceived among various audiences– such as the media, sports fans, sponsors, and the general public. Some athletes have a negative image to them– like Kobe Bryant and Barry Bonds. Both have had their own crises that they have had to deal with. But there are athletes that have a positive perception and people associate them as being “good” athletes. One example would be Tiger Woods– not only is he the top in his sport of golf, but he is respected and has a large following.
However, there seems to be more coverage of athletes that let their personal lives and activities become the primary focus instead of their athletic achievements. The latest example of this is New York Yankees baseball player Alex Rodriguez. He has been in the news lately for his public divorce from his wife, and to the allegations that he has had an “affair of the heart” with singer Madonna. First of all– I think that this is a huge PR nightmare for not only Rodriguez, but also the New York Yankees. They want to be in the news for good things– but not for negative things like this. A-Rod’s reputation and overall image is being attacked and is not looking too good.
From a PR standpoint– this is an interesting case study. First, you have several parties that are denying that there is even a relationship (A-Rod and Madonna), however– you are getting a completely different message from A-Rod’s wife. Plus, it is interesting to see the other parties that are getting involved in this situation and what they are trying to do to address this issue. For example, the New York Yankees have taken the liberty to make a comment on what they are doing in terms of handling this situation by making the comment that despite all of this playing out in the media– A-Rod is remaining “focused.” They are doing this to reassure their sports fans that this crisis won’t affect the team. However, I think behind closed stores– it is a completely different story.
For athletes– it doesn’t matter how much you get paid or what your contract is, or anything else– the most prized item that you have is your reputation. Once it is damaged— it is really, really, REALLY hard to get it back, and if you are the few that do recover from a crisis– it is just never perceived the same. My advice for A-Rod is to really look at what is going on– and realize that his behavior was inappropriate and not at all fair to his family. It is a hard lesson to learn– and it’s going to be a long, hard road for him. This entire situation is just getting really ugly– but we will have to see what happens next.
These are just a few of my thoughts. Hope you all are having a great day! 🙂
Best Wishes,
Karen 🙂
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