As the growth and popularity of Twitter continues to rise, sports teams and organizations are being forced to deal with the impact and threats of the emerging social media landscape. It seems almost every day an athlete is posting something on Twitter that’s either controversial or detrimental to his or her team in a public relations capacity. Last week, backup rookie linebacker Robert Henson of the Washington Redskins used Twitter to attack fans for booing his team following a slim two point victory against a weak opponent (St. Louis Rams) at home. Here’s an excerpt of the more than 50 [...]
Juan Martin Del Potro and Kim Clijsters’ remarkable runs to the finals and championship victories in the U.S. Open last week should have been the talk of the sports world and a great public relations coup for the United States Tennis Association. Del Potro’s stunning five-set victory over Roger Federer launched a new star to the tennis scene and perhaps introduced us to the heir apparent to the king of men’s tennis. Clijster, with her adorable 18-month old daughter in tow, returned from retirement to become the first unseeded champion and first wild-card champion in Open history. But instead of those two [...]
The role of the First Lady of the United States has historically made varying degrees of impact on the American people and culture. Although the title carries no official duties, it’s a very respected and potentially powerful position in our country if leveraged effectively. But ultimately, it’s up to the President’s wife to decide how to best utilize the high-profile job. Lady Bird Johnson created the Society for a More Beautiful National Capital as a beautification project to improve the physical conditions of Washington D.C. Betty Ford served as an important voice on social issues during her tenure as First [...]
Sep 9th 2009
Sometimes Athletes Do and Say the Right Things
It’s not unusual in today’s world of professional sports for athletes to lose their cool and act out, often irrationally. Whether it’s the vastly expanding salaries or rapidly increasing media attention (probably a combination of both), today’s athlete is not shy about voicing his or her displeasure to coaches, front office personnel, ownership and, especially, media. From a public relations perspective, it’s an unfortunate trend, or now a common occurrence, for a player to publicly grumble about their salary and contract or pop off about the team’s play calling and decision making. When an athlete disrupts the team with their [...]
Sep 2nd 2009
The PGA and Sports Media Have Created a Monster
The world of golf, specifically the PGA TOUR, has benefited greatly by its precious gift from heaven, Tiger Woods. Television ratings, sponsorship dollars, tournament attendance, merchandise sales and overall interest and popularity in golf have skyrocketed since Woods exploded on the sports scene in 1997 with his stunning win at the Masters. There is no one single athlete who has ever made more of an impact to his or her sport than Tiger Woods (yes, even more than Michael Jordan). But is it wise for golf to allow the media to turn its sport into the “Tiger Woods Show”? The foundation [...]
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