Regardless of one’s stance or personal feelings regarding the Michael Vick situation, the notorious quarterback has officially returned to the NFL with the approval and support of the league and its commissioner.
As a result, a full-court press of a public relations plan has been activated and it will be fascinating to watch as the NFL, commissioner Roger Goodell and the Philadelphia Eagles try to take a man as popular as Charles Manson and assimilate him back into the American sports culture.
When Roger Goodell took over as NFL Commissioner in August 2006, his top priority was to get a handle on the league’s increasing PR damage caused by rampant criminal activity among some of its players. The severity of the mounting acts of crime were grabbing headlines and making the NFL look like some sort of organized-crime syndicate.
Although he has successfully asserted himself as a “tough on crime” commissioner, Goodell can not simply “ban” or “kick out” Michael Vick from the NFL.
Being the NFL commissioner does not translate to being a dictator. Along with the owners, sponsors and media partners, Goodell has to maintain a relationship and honor a responsibility to the players and their union.
So no matter how much he may not want Vick to return to the NFL, Goodell had to play the role of politician and appease all parties – which he’s doing through PR.
So far, Goodell and the NFL have instituted the first three steps of a PR plan to transition Vick back into the NFL – or as I like to call it, The Vick PR Train.
STEP ONE: Tony Dungy
Goodell’s first PR move in transitioning Vick back into the NFL was to get Tony Dungy involved. Brilliant.
There’s nobody more respected in the NFL community, maybe the entire sports world, than the Super Bowl winning head coach who just retired at the end of last season.
Not only has Dungy been a perennial winner as a head coach but he’s also a highly-regarded community and spiritual leader who’s worked with players (at all levels) to help improve their lives.
As Vick begins his climb back from the depths of PR hell, there’s nobody better, at least on the surface, to mentor and serve as a spiritual adviser than Tony Dungy. It makes it a little harder to hate Vick when someone like Tony Dungy is at his side vouching for him.
STEP TWO: 60 Minutes
It would have been one thing if ESPN or Fox Sports had held the first post-prison-apology interview for Vick. But for 60 Minutes, the highly-rated and the most respected TV news magazine program, to air the exclusive interview of the embattled QB saying all the right things significantly improves Vicks public persona.
Vick humbly explaining, in an interview, his tear-filled prison nights, the pain he feels for his crimes and his reliance on The Lord, aired on 60 Minutes, gives a strong boost to his credibility.
Also, the interview strategically included the Humane Society’s chief executive (Wayne Pacelle) saying that Vick could serve a role in educating people about the horrors of dog fighting – nice touch.
And let’s not forget that the Vick PR Train managed to arrange for James Brown (not a 60 Minutes correspondent) to conduct the interview, instead of, say, Mike Wallace, really benefited Vick and his sob story.
Brown may be an outstanding sports game-day host and acclaimed reporter for HBO’s Real Sports, but his interview with Vick was clearly soft and served more as a spin piece than an investigative segment.
STEP THREE: Donovan McNabb/Andy Reid
It’s vital that the team Vick returned to the NFL with completely backs him and is 100% supportive of the entire transition. Nothing would derail the Vick PR Train faster than dissention or even minor grumblings within the organization.
Donovan McNabb, the very respected and successful veteran QB, and Andy Reid, the very respected and successful veteran head coach, have both climbed aboard the Vick PR Train and are throwing their strong NFL names and reputations behind Vick.
The Eagles organization laid even more groundwork for the Vick transition when they publicly stated that McNabb was the one who initiated the idea of signing Vick – hence, creating an even more comfortable environment for Vick and eliminating media speculation of any QB controversy.
Reid, like Dungy, also plays a father figure role (self-admittedly) in the Vick transition because of his experience with his own two sons who’ve had serious run-ins with the law.
So the Vick PR Train has left the station and is currently humming along. His transition back into the NFL is fully underway and unfolding in front of our eyes.
The NFL and the Eagles public relations and marketing departments still have a tremendous amount of work ahead of them. Vick will face unprecedented fan and community outrage as he continues to practice and, eventually, play in games.
The Vick transition not only has to appease the sports fans and communities, but also league and team sponsors.
But if the first three steps of the plan are any indication, the Vick PR Train will continue to motor ahead.
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