Wisconsin company’s endorsement deal with Seahawks’ Wilson is a PR dream
Sometimes public relations professionals work long hours to produce campaigns, craft precisely worded news releases, and hit “send” on messages at just the right moment for businesses. Other times their charismatic, performance driven and kind-hearted football-player endorser leads his team to the Super Bowl and their story tells itself … with thousands of media along […]
An open letter to Seahawks cornerback, Richard Sherman
Dear Richard — I was wrong. I experienced a knee-jerk reaction during your rant to FOX Sports’ Erin Andrews and all of us in TV Land, I retweeted something about a Stanford education not teaching you how to act intelligently. I watched you with a “WTF?” look on my face and to those in the […]
Colts owner fails the big game PR test
There are times when someone just shouldn’t speak. If tempted, zip it. Are you reading this, Jim Irsay? Irsay is a football team owner. He’s not a player, not a coach and not someone who in most circumstances, has to comment more than a public-relations appropriate, “We love(d) our players and we look forward to […]
Athletes in NFL training camps: keep comments classy
Athletes competing for NFL roster spots or higher positions on the team ladder face daunting challenges in training camp. The No. 1A task that ranks next to the top priority to stay healthy, is not to make headlines for the wrong reasons. The first thing that comes to mind in our salacious world is the […]
Stupid happens. Just ask Riley Cooper.
Make no mistake about it. Eagles receiver Riley Cooper was caught in a swamp of stupid when a video of him berating an African-American security guard at a concert surfaced last week. Like many, I wrestled with whether his comment was blatantly prejudice. He used the “n word,” an ugly, unseemly adjective that I wish […]
Football players at NFL Combine should look up to Donald Driver
The end of the NFL Combine is upon us, so being in Wisconsin, I’m looking back at how a former participant with lofty goals and dreams went about his business, was selected in the seventh round of the NFL Draft and experienced a career that many first-rounders never see. Earlier this month, Donald Driver officially […]
When social media is cruel, keep communication lines open
You’ve heard the phrase “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say it at all.” Most of us were taught that lesson before kindergarten, but it escaped some people who hide behind screen names and spew mean-spirited comments on social media pages. Among those frequently targeted are public personalities including professional athletes and media. While […]
An extended NFL lockout hurts more than players and owners; bad PR is just part of the fallout
While the 2011 season is months away from its scheduled kickoff, there are thousands of people who are worried about what an extended labor stoppage would mean for them. The PR efforts from both sides are already falling on deaf ears.