The sports field has definitely had quite the Monday when it comes to dealing with crisis situations. Both raise the eyebrows to both the overseeing governing bodies involved and lots of questions are being asked. The two situations I am referring to is the case involving Ray Rice (formerly of the Baltimore Ravens) and Penn State football.
Ray Rice was cut by the Ravens and was indefinitely suspended by the NFL today after a video from TMZ emerged that showed Rice hitting his fiancee (now wife) in an elevator in an act of domestic violence. Many involved in the professional football industry along with other football players shared their perspectives and reactions both on social media as well as in the traditional news outlets. Mashable has more information and detail about the case in this latest opinion post. Plus, one of the things that is of course being discussed in this case is the role social media has played in this case. Many users and others are going back through all of the social media updates and tweets by the Baltimore Ravens (including this one that has been circulating from May) and reshared again to spark more conversations about this situation. It was finally reported that the Baltimore Ravens did delete this particular tweet – which raises the issue about the digital footprint of not only users and others online, but brands and organizations as well. The domino effect has also emerged with others distancing themselves from Rice – and I would imagine this is just the beginning.
The other case involves one of the biggest scandals and crises that happened in collegiate athletics – the Penn State scandal involving Jerry Sandusky back in 2012. The NCAA, the governing body of collegiate sports, dropped the postseason ban against Penn State – where they are able to get their scholarships back for their football team and are now bowl eligible. However, they still have to pay the $60 million dollar fine, but they do not have to continue on with the rest of their ban that would have gone on for two more years. What message does this say not only to fellow players and universities – but to youth players? There have been several blogs and posts about this decision and how others feel about the NCAA regarding this decision. As a USC alum and former track and field athlete for the Trojans (and still their school record holder in the shot put)- I was a bit shocked and disappointed with this decision since USC had to fulfill their ban involving Reggie Bush. You can see some of the USC fan’s reactions to this ruling here in this Facebook group – they are not too happy here.
Both of these cases in the sports industry not only focus on a rising crisis for both the NCAA and the NFL – but both integrate different acts of crime. In crisis communications, we always seem to talk about the importance of message strategies and getting the main spokesperson out to the right channels at the right time. In many ways, it’s almost like a game of chess. However, these two situations are ones where messages are not the focus here – actions are. How both entities handled each of these situations was based on power, not necessarily what was right. The timing spent by the NFL in handling the situation was reactive and not proactive, and the NCAA made a decision that was not consistent or aligned with the moral compass a governing body should have as an overseer for the industry.
In addition, it is time for both entities to act to address both of these situations, but understand their role and responsibility as well. Accountability is one term that is getting a lot of attention when it comes to both of these cases. It’s one thing to talk the talk – but both the NCAA and NFL need to walk the walk and own up to their role to make things right. They need to go back by practicing ethicals and having a moral compass to do what is right and stand up for what is right for all of their audiences – internal and external. There needs to be a culture change within both of these organizations to make sure both of these situations don’t happen again. At this point, statements and press conferences will not do the trick. Nor will tweetable statements that can be shared on Twitter. There doesn’t need to be more talking – but more actions that are sustainable and focus on the moral behavior and professional ethical behavior we are all expected to see and be treated with.
In summary, I believe in the next few days we will see some posts and blogs about what we can learn from both of these cases. Understanding best practices and what we can learn from these situations is one thing – but we as crisis communicators, professionals, and professors need to start acting and addressing these situations also head on. We need to not only talk about we can do for the future to make sure this doesn’t happen again. We need to take actions. We need to bring the conversation to the table with everyone to start acting on these best practices and lessons learned. It will not be easy, but we need to do something to address this growing crisis and reputation trend that is eating away and becoming part of a virus infesting within the athletic community.
Hope you all are having a great day.
Best Wishes,
Karen
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