It seems that the sport of track and field is facing some difficulties in terms of their brand and image, even though it is an Olympic year. It was reported that more people watched the swimming Olympic trials compared to the Track and Field trials. What is even more amazing is the fact that the Track trials were held at the place where people associate as the capital of the sport– Eugene, Oregon. So, what happened? People have said that it is due to the fact that track and field has been impacted negatively due to all of the doping scandals and other PR Nightmares.
But track and field has a lot more challenges than just dealing with athletes that test positive for steroids– it is also what happens behinds the scenes. What about the politics that go on that are not public? A perfect example is the Trevor Graham situation. It was recently reported that Graham received a lifetime ban from the sport– and USATF did issue a statement regarding the situation:
“USA Track & Field applauds USADA for issuing a lifetime ban against Trevor Graham. Through his involvement in fostering the use of performance-enhancing drugs, Mr. Graham jeopardized the health of his athletes, to say nothing of their integrity and their future ability to compete in the sport. Athletes rarely act alone when they make the ill-advised decision to dope, and anyone involved in advocating or enabling the use of PEDs should be punished just as severely as an athlete who uses them. USA Track & Field has long advocated lifetime bans for first-time doping convictions, and today’s action sends a powerful message to athlete support personnel that they will be held accountable for their actions.”
Okay, well– I think that this is a good statement, but this should have been stressed way earlier. This seems to be a reactive statement on USATF’s part, and they should have been more proactive in making sure coaches like Graham were not in the sport. Plus, the level of credibility and trust that people have of track is at an all-time low because organizations like USATF have been reactive in dealing with crises, and at times– covering up for athletes that have tested positive. In my point of view, there just seems to be a lot of things going on that the public is not fully aware of, and they are jumping to conclusions and are perceiving track negatively.
Track and field really has a challenge ahead of itself– instead of focusing in on event planning for meets and sending out press releases– their PR staff really needs to research and find out why people have these negative perceptions and associations about the sport. They can do this by conducting focus groups or surveys among sports fans, and then they can be more informed in developing their PR campaign messages and strategies. They have to walk the walk, and talk the talk– and stick to it, and make sure that those that break the rules face the consequences.
So the first step that I would have for USATF is to do some research in crisis communication, crisis management, and corporate association literature– and then begin their primary research among their target audiences. Then, they have to figure out what they stand for in terms of a brand identity or image– how they want to be perceived, and compare that to how they are actually viewed by the public. Next step would be to formulate their strategies and tactics and key messages in their PR campaign plans. These are just a few of my suggestions. 🙂
Hope you all are having a great day! 🙂
Best Wishes,
Karen 🙂
Update: There seems to be more media coverage on what is going on with the Greer situation (I posted on this issue a few days a go). Seems like a lot of people are not too happy with the decision that USATF made about him. After finishing 17th, Greer gets to go to Beijing because he made the “A” standard ages ago, however– the 2nd place finisher in the women’s javelin doesn’t get to go. Fair? Hmm– this indeed is a PR Nightmare. It is interesting to see how this is developing.
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