In February 2014, the US National Football League (NFL) player Ray Rice was accused of knocking his fiancée unconscious in the elevator of a casino. A video showing Ray dragging his unconscious fiancée out of the elevator was released. The NFL issued a two-game suspension to Ray for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. However, the NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was widely criticized because the punishment was perceived as too lenient. In response, the NFL announced a tougher domestic violence policy.
On September 8, 2014, a more violent video was disclosed, showing Rice punching his fiancée in the face and her falling unconscious in the elevator. As a consequence, Goodell announced that Rice would be suspended indefinitely and denied …show more content…
In July 2014, Greg Hardy was found guilty of assaulting and threatening his ex-girlfriend. In August, Ray McDonald was charged with the altercation with his fiancée. In September, Adrian Peterson was indicted for child injury and abuse.
A variety of parties were involved in the recent NFL domestic violence scandal. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was the most attacked individual in the case. Players like Ray Rice and the media also play significant roles. In addition, this scandal has had a great influence on NFL’s stakeholders, such as its sponsors, its audience, and anti-domestic-violence groups.
Most of the NFL’s sponsors made public statements in response to the NFL players’ domestic violence misconducts. NFL’s major sponsors like Radisson, Crest and P&G immediately suspended their sponsorship of the NFL teams and reiterated their commitment to protecting women and children. Other sponsors, such as Anheuser-Busch, Covergirl, Visa and the Governor of Minnesota, publicly condemned the outrageous domestic violence misconducts of NFL …show more content…
Spin to the public. Some evidence showed that Goodell was lying when he said that no one at the NFL had watched or received the full video before Rice’s initial punishment. Because Roger Goodell represented the NFL to the public, his dishonest claim had a negative effect on the league. Spinning to the public always carries the risk that the public will become even angrier once they learn the truth. This is not a wise strategy for crisis communication.
4. Sent an open letter to NFL owners to apologize. Under great pressure from the public and sponsors, Goodell sent an open letter to NFL owners. When making crisis communication strategies, the decision maker should always consider “who matters to us”. For NFL, fans and sponsors matter to them because it earns its profits from them. The league found that if they remained silent, they would lose the ability to influence the outcome. Thus, at this point they began to use active strategies to manage the crisis.
5. Issued a memo about the problem of domestic violence in the league. This memo showed that the NFL realized that if it wanted to regain credibility and rebuild its image, it should present the league to the public as a responsible organization. This memo also reflected the NFL’s ambition to prevent domestic violence from happening
On September 8, 2014, a more violent video was disclosed, showing Rice punching his fiancée in the face and her falling unconscious in the elevator. As a consequence, Goodell announced that Rice would be suspended indefinitely and denied …show more content…
In July 2014, Greg Hardy was found guilty of assaulting and threatening his ex-girlfriend. In August, Ray McDonald was charged with the altercation with his fiancée. In September, Adrian Peterson was indicted for child injury and abuse.
A variety of parties were involved in the recent NFL domestic violence scandal. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was the most attacked individual in the case. Players like Ray Rice and the media also play significant roles. In addition, this scandal has had a great influence on NFL’s stakeholders, such as its sponsors, its audience, and anti-domestic-violence groups.
Most of the NFL’s sponsors made public statements in response to the NFL players’ domestic violence misconducts. NFL’s major sponsors like Radisson, Crest and P&G immediately suspended their sponsorship of the NFL teams and reiterated their commitment to protecting women and children. Other sponsors, such as Anheuser-Busch, Covergirl, Visa and the Governor of Minnesota, publicly condemned the outrageous domestic violence misconducts of NFL …show more content…
Spin to the public. Some evidence showed that Goodell was lying when he said that no one at the NFL had watched or received the full video before Rice’s initial punishment. Because Roger Goodell represented the NFL to the public, his dishonest claim had a negative effect on the league. Spinning to the public always carries the risk that the public will become even angrier once they learn the truth. This is not a wise strategy for crisis communication.
4. Sent an open letter to NFL owners to apologize. Under great pressure from the public and sponsors, Goodell sent an open letter to NFL owners. When making crisis communication strategies, the decision maker should always consider “who matters to us”. For NFL, fans and sponsors matter to them because it earns its profits from them. The league found that if they remained silent, they would lose the ability to influence the outcome. Thus, at this point they began to use active strategies to manage the crisis.
5. Issued a memo about the problem of domestic violence in the league. This memo showed that the NFL realized that if it wanted to regain credibility and rebuild its image, it should present the league to the public as a responsible organization. This memo also reflected the NFL’s ambition to prevent domestic violence from happening