Such was the case when Peyton Manning hired Ari Fleischer to clear his name. The quarterback for the Denver Broncos allegedly used steroids after undergoing neck surgery back in 2011. The allegations came from a documentary on athletes juicing to boost performance in sports. A serious allegation for any athlete, Peyton was desperate to put it behind him.
However, hiring the PR specialist who worked on the Bush Administration’s agenda to push war, and Tiger Woods’ cheating scandal, didn’t help much. Thus, Manning’s association with Fleischer began to look more like an admission of guilt, than an innocent cry for help. After that, it became difficult to clear his name.
Still, sometimes even PR firms with neutral reps bring bad publicity when hired to handle touchy issues. People sometimes view PR firms as the ones hired to hide “the awful truth.”.
In October when the Tinley Park Village leaders in Chicago found themselves in hot water, they hired a representative from Prairie State Strategies to clean up the mess. But the move made things worse. One resident stated, “If you are telling the truth and being honest, why would you need someone to craft that message for you? ...I bet that (money) could have been used to square up some water accounts."
For this reason, companies, and public figures should become more proactive in their behalf for crisis management. They should always have public relations experts on board their team. In this way, when crisis hits and their existing PR experts enter, it casts little or no suspicion on the people involved.
Though the more expensive route when it comes to brand management, it helps companies and celebrities maintain a positive image. Offering more value than immediate cash-in-hand.
Such was the case when Peyton Manning hired Ari Fleischer to clear his name. The quarterback for the Denver Broncos allegedly used steroids after undergoing neck surgery back in 2011. The allegations came from a documentary on athletes juicing to boost performance in sports. A serious allegation for any athlete, Peyton was desperate to put it behind him.
However, hiring the PR specialist who worked on the Bush Administration’s agenda to push war, and Tiger Woods’ cheating scandal, didn’t help much. Thus, Manning’s association with Fleischer began to look more like an admission of guilt, than an innocent cry for help. After that, it became difficult to clear his name.
Still, sometimes even PR firms with neutral reps bring bad publicity when hired to handle touchy issues. People sometimes view PR firms as the ones hired to hide “the awful truth.”.
In October when the Tinley Park Village leaders in Chicago found themselves in hot water, they hired a representative from Prairie State Strategies to clean up the mess. But the move made things worse. One resident stated, “If you are telling the truth and being honest, why would you need someone to craft that message for you? ...I bet that (money) could have been used to square up some water accounts."
For this reason, companies, and public figures should become more proactive in their behalf for crisis management. They should always have public relations experts on board their team. In this way, when crisis hits and their existing PR experts enter, it casts little or no suspicion on the people involved.
Though the more expensive route when it comes to brand management, it helps companies and celebrities maintain a positive image. Offering more value than immediate cash-in-hand.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
Other news
See all
EPR Editorial Team · 06/25/2026
Salesforce: EPR's Coverage of the Enterprise SaaS Brand Running the Public Benchmark for Answer Engines
Salesforce — Marc Benioff, founded 1999, $41.5B FY26 revenue. EPR's canonical Salesforce reference: Dreamforce, the Agentforce pivot, the Answer Engine Evaluation benchmark, and the Zeno + Nectar agency stack.
EPR Editorial Team · 06/25/2026
Wells Fargo: EPR's Coverage of the Bank Whose Fake-Accounts Scandal Defined Reputation Permanence in the AI Era
Wells Fargo — founded 1852, NYSE: WFC. The defining U.S. banking reputation case of the post-2008 era. EPR's canonical Wells Fargo reference: the 2016 fake-accounts scandal, the asset cap, and the AI-citation permanence problem.
EPR Editorial Team · 06/25/2026
Boeing: EPR's Coverage of the Aerospace Giant Running the Longest Sustained Crisis of the 21st Century
Boeing — founded 1916, NYSE: BA. World's largest aerospace company. EPR's canonical Boeing reference: the MAX, the Alaska Air blowout, Defense unit spillover, and the Kelly Ortberg operational reset.
Most brands are invisible inside AI search. Is yours?
EPR publishes the data every week.
Free. Weekly. Unsubscribe anytime.