On September 4, 2013, the NFL announced the latest in a series of efforts to address growing concerns about concussions in sports. Known as Head Health Challenge II, the program is part of a collaboration with GE and Under Armor (the Head Health Initiative) offering up to $10 million for innovations that improve the tracking and prevention of traumatic brain injuries.
The league’s announcement of the Head Health Challenge II comes on the heels of a $765 million settlement with more than 4,500 former players who sued the NFL on the grounds that the NFL knowingly failed to protect them from concussions and their long-term effects. However, lawsuits and public complaints from current and former players are not the only concussion-related challenges currently facing the NFL. Public outcry for better safety equipment and concern for player safety has extended all the way to the high school level, where three students died in 2013 following traumatic brain injuries suffered on the football field.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell acknowledged these concerns following the Head Health Challenge announcement:
“We are very pleased to have Under Armor join our work with GE to help accelerate progress and find better ways to protect the brain from injury. This is a perfect example of our shared commitment to making the culture of sports better and safer — especially for young athletes.”
The Head Health Initiative is an example of public relations as it represents a clear attempt by the NFL to maintain its relationship with its publics. It also emphasizes key components of PR including:
- Issue Management
- Employee/Member Relations
- Publicity
- Special Events
With the creation of this Initiative, the NFL is highlighting its recognition of the concussion problem in football and demonstrating a more pro-active commitment to reducing these risks. By doing so, the league has begun to address an important issue of public concern and sought to promote a safer work environment for its players.
Moreover, the Head Health Challenge is clearly aimed at drawing publicity to the league’s renewed commitment to safety. Rather than using the $10 million award to fund its own research and innovation, the NFL has created a special event that encourages interaction with different stakeholders and participation and feedback from its various publics.
The NFL’s decision to tackle this challenge by sponsoring the Head Health Challenge II and the Head Health Initiative can be best understood using Systems Theory.
Systems Theory is based on the idea that organizations are made up of interdependent parts that adapt to changes in the environments in which they operate. These systems can be “open” if they actively seek feedback through a two-way communication model, or “closed” if decisions are independent of such feedback.
In this instance, the NFL is at the center of an open system involving numerous publics such as current and former NFL players, equipment manufacturers, medical researchers, and amateur football players of all ages. As these publics have grown concerned with the dangers of concussions, the NFL has adapted by implementing the Head Health Initiative and committing millions of dollars to concussion research and development of better safety equipment.
Furthermore, with incentive programs like Head Health Challenge II, the NFL is participating in an open system by soliciting feedback and innovations from researchers and equipment manufacturers. Program participants and the program’s PR team also serve as “boundary spanners” in the system, connecting researchers, players, helmet manufacturers and other stakeholders.
The Head Health Initiative and Head Health Challenge are clearly a public relations response by the NFL to address a perceived lack of commitment to player safety by demonstrating a serious commitment to better research and helmet technology. However, due to the league’s late response to these issues, I think the initiatives will need to produce tangible results in order to truly satisfy the many concerned stakeholders.
Additional Sources:
http://mmqb.si.com/2013/10/22/nfl-helmets-head-injury-concussion/
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000223891/article/genfl-head-health-challenge-continues
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9875758/nfl-end-official-helmet-deal-riddell-2013-14-season