A new blog series giving PR advice for hot messes of the world…so what would Beauty and the Pitch do?

Another successful week of football is behind us. On the field that is (at least for some of us who picked up Niles Paul)… Off the field not so much. Why is is that all my money making fantasy football players turn into psychopaths? Looking at you, Aaron Hernandez.

Basically after this I have learned that the NFL can lie, be so bad at communicating, lie a lot more and people will still watch football and go to games. Under the current jurisdiction, the NFL has successfully blunted questions about brain injuries suffered by players, the fallout from a murder-suicide and the lockout of referees. Social media has spoke, #GoodellMustGo.

Seems as if NFL has dug them quite a hole. Even those who don’t follow the NFL or professional football know all the details of Ray Rice by now. And that’s not a good thing. Here’s how we can turn this around… maybe…

• Your CEO should be the most trusted spokesperson. So right or wrong, it’s clear it’s time for a change. Attempting to minimize the seriousness of the issue by condescendingly describing it as a “PR” problem, rather than a serious lapse in judgment or decision-making, is the problem here. As the old adage goes, the coverup is worse than the crime.

• Refocus the story on solving the issue at hand. Simply put, respect for others is what is at stake here. The important message is to show that the NFL holds a tough no-tolerance stance on domestic abuse of any kind, anywhere, at any time. Talent can not be an excuse for ultimate disrespect.

• Just Don’t Do It.  In the end, on Sundays we will get behind our teams —not the NFL. So to answer the burning question, yes, I’m certain the Ray Rice debacle will hurt the league’s brand, but it likely won’t affect ticket sales or TV ratings which is what ultimately matters. On the other hand, I can pretty much guarantee, the married commissioner of two lovely girls is the brand that’s been hurt… both at home and in the office.

College football for now,

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