The phrase “You are whatever you stand for” has never been more appropriate than right now as the NFL deals with one of its worst PR nightmares ever as several NFL stars are involved in ugly domestic violence cases. The manner in which NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL teams have mishandled investigating domestic violence cases and failed to adequately punish its players is nothing short of negligent and disingenuous. The biggest travesty is the fact that until yesterday Goodell never deemed it necessary to seek the counsel or advice of a qualified woman judge, law enforcement professional nor domestic violence expert to aid in either the investigation or disciplinary process. The NFL announced it was forming a four woman commission on domestic violence. For his violent acts against his wife, player Ray Rice would be cut by the Ravesn, lose his endorsement deal with Nike and have his jersey removed from NFL’s online store. Until yesterday, when Radisson Hotel announced they were “suspending” their sponsorship of the Minnesota Vikings due to Adrian Peterson’s Texas indictment for alleged child abuse, neither the NFL nor any NFL teams had yet to suffer any recourse from corporate sponsors throughout these ordeals. The fear of losing more corporate sponsors, NFL games being heavily picketed by domestic violence organizations and games being boycotted by women fans around the country played a major role in Goodell giving in and deciding to form this new commission.
Nearly fifty percent of the NFL’s fan base is women and over the last few years the NFL has aggressively marketed more towards them. Not only is it common sense but it is good for business for Goodell and NFL teams to suspend NFL players found guilty of domestic violence acts against women in a court of law like Greg Hardy. The NFL and those NFL stars involved in domestic violence still have an opportunity to rebuild their brands and trust with women fans and sponsors provided they take the necessary steps. As a veteran Marketing and PR executive who has successfully helped star athlete clients rebuild their brands after major crisis events in their careers, I know it is possible for them to do so. The NFL’s forming of a Domestic Violence commission was a great start because for the first time women are a part of the process. The next step is the NFL, NFL teams and NFL stars becoming active in long term Domestic Violence programs which filter all the way down to the little league football level. Once women fans and corporate sponsors see the NFL’s consistent efforts over a long period of time they would both feel comfortable with continuing to support the NFL. This can’t be a one-time PR stunt the NFL does a few months and then abandons. Otherwise we will be right back here again in a few months.
-Carlos Scott is VP of Marketing & Corporate Partnerships at N-Vision Marketing Inc., a marketing and PR firm which represents a diverse pool of talent ranging from Olympic Gold medalists, Super Bowl champions, Grammy Award winning artists and Hollywood actors to name a few. Follow him on Twitter at @NVisionMarketin
