PR Theory Used: Systems Theory (The NFL’s statement on concussions, how the media reported and the way the NFL dealt with the media).
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said that the league is doing more than ever to make sure athletes are safe both on and off the field. The NFL has recently made changes on the field such as moving up the kickoff line to make kick returns less common. They also penalize hits above the neck with large hefty fines (which is another issue in itself) and teaching trainers to diagnose concussions on the sideline earlier and making said player be cleared by a health professional before returning to the field.
Some in the media believe these changes don’t solve the bigger issue. Players who get hit might not think they are damaging themselves till later in their careers. Others don’t want to report an injury because they don’t want to miss any time off the field and keep their injury to themselves. For decades, the NFL had denied that there was any connection between playing football and concussions, although there were plenty of retired players developing early-onset brain illnesses such as Parkinson’s disease, ALS (or Lou Gehrig’s disease) and depression among others.
In August the NFL agreed to pay more than $765 million to settle on numerous lawsuits brought on by the family of former players for damages. They claimed the NFL took no real effort in insuring the health and wellness of retired players and looked past the facts for years. A documentary partnered by PBS and ESPN about the truth of concussions and what the NFL really knew was supposed to air in October, but ESPN pulled out last minute from airing and the media believes it was because they didn’t want to anger the NFL.
The NFL has been dealt with some bad publicty over the years, with the issue of concussions, there are constant arrests (the Aaron Hernandez saga), medical issues, and many other problems that hurt one of the nation’s most popular brands.
The NFL’s Statement on Concussions: It’s taken awhile for the league to publicly what they know or chose not is disclose, but the league has acknowledged long-term concussion effects and have vowed to take better steps in protecting current and former players. The first real step was taken in 2008 when commissioner Goodell took questions from the House Judiciary Committee in Washington DC. During that time, lawmakers and former players voiced their frustrations and believed the NFL was neglecting active and retired players with brain injuries.
Fast forward to August of 2013, the NFL reached a settlement with 18,000 retired players, “agreeing to compensate victims, pay for medical exams and underwrite research,” in an article on NFL.com by the AP. “Under the settlement, individual awards would be capped at $5 million for men with Alzheimer’s disease; $4 million for those diagnosed after their deaths with a brain condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy; and $3 million for players with dementia.”
How the Media Reported It: Intially much of the media that reported on this issue had believed that the NFL would take longer to reach an agreement to fix this solution, rather than quickly settle that was brought to many to be surprised at the move. Most of the retired players were relived like former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka who was quoted, “Concussions are part of the game. I know a lot of the old players need a lot of help, and it’s quite a settlement, from what I understand. … I think people have hid behind this too long. It’s time it’s out in the open. It’s out in the open now so we’ll see what happens.”
Others weren’t so thrilled, as said by former running back Leroy Hoard: “”They (the NFL) put a big settlement number out there, but guess what? They say you have to qualify, how easy will they make that? Then you get 50 percent in the first three years and the rest of it you have to wait for over a period of 17 years? Some of the guys who need to be compensated will be dead by then. A guy who has alzheimer’s now. … how relevant is that number to them? Who cares?”
http://youtu.be/R4FJu7Ck8kE
How the NFL Has Dealt with the Media: The league has since created new ad deals with compaines such as Twitter and has been making more games available online. Although this might be good news for the fans, the NFL has still remained mum on what studies (if at all) they are conducting, only repeatingly saying they have the best interest of the players in mind. However many retired players would disagree, and until the NFL can be more open about concussions and the lingering effects, it will only further damange their reputation.
Additional Sources: espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9612672/reaction-nfl-concussion-settlement
