One of the topics we are seeing being discussed today in the sports world of course is Heisman Winner Johnny Manziel from Texas A&M. While he has been stellar on the field and has become the first freshman to win the coveted trophy, he has also had this issues with sanctions and social media as well. He was also involved in Autographgate (basically signing autographs for a fee), which is against NCAA rules for student-athletes. The result – a half game suspension against the opening game versus Rice.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mp8iZAySN2M[/youtube]
I do think Johnny Manziel (or otherwise known as “Johnny Football”) is being treated at a much different level compared to other athletes. From a crisis and reputation management standpoint, there are several issues I think we need to address
- Double standard with universities: Many football programs have suffered some pretty devastating NCAA sanctions for somewhat similar cases. For example, USC got a huge penalty with the whole Reggie Bush situation a few years ago. While there are some similarities between the two cases, there are some clear differences based on the penalties. Two years versus a half of a football game? What message does this send to other programs, athletes, and the athletic community?
- Double standard with athletes: What message does this send out to other players – if you win the Heisman, you are untouchable? This is not the first time athletes have done this sort of thing, but Johnny Manziel is the first to get away with it. How about the issues pertaining to what happened to Ohio State and how one player (Terrell Pryor) wanted to sell his championship ring?
- Look behind the athlete involved: While everyone is focused their attention to Manziel – I would suggest looking at Texas A&M and see what are the facts and questions that need to be addressed. For example, what were the conversations between the NCAA and the officials at Texas A&M? What were the conversations at the university level and the athletic department at Texas A&M? We need to consider looking at college athletics like a business – because it is. We have to look at who are the people benefiting from this beyond the main players involved – this is where we could potentially get some interesting answers about this situation. More focus needs to be directed here.
- Crisis message strategies & spokespeople: There were several things about this situation that caught my attention. First, I found it interesting that the NCAA met with Manziel this past weekend (not during the week) – why was this the case? Second, there seemed to be a lot of people talking and addressing the media regarding Manziel – from the athletic director to the chancellor. The other thing that is being argued is whether or not Manziel was responsible and should have known the actions he was taking was against NCAA rules. As a former student-athlete, I know we were always quizzed and drilled on the NCAA regulations, so we knew pretty well that we were not supposed to do certain things.
- Short term vs. Long term focus: Plus, the focus was for the upcoming game and Manziel, but nothing really focused on the long term. This raises a red flag to me because what happens if Manziel does not have a good season for Texas A&M? Is the university just protecting him because he is doing well on the field? How much longer will this last? Based on what I have seen (and experienced as a student-athlete myself), some universities do want you to succeed in the long term, but there are those out there that only care what you do in your four years. This is something Johnny (and his family) need to note.
- Social media response: There were a lot of reactions to Twitter about the suspension, and most of it was directed towards the NCAA and Johnny Manziel along with the Texas A&M officials. Here are just some of the reactions. College football starts today, so it will be interesting to see how this translates to games and other events related to the game.
Overall, I think this is going to be a case that will continued to be discussed both in the sports community as well as the crisis community. I do think there needs to be a consistent and fair standard set across the board with universities, student-athletes, and the support staff as well.
Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
Karen
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