The Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson stories have been major PR hits for the NFL, and the players in the NFL seem to have already written off the league office. These players will continue to play, but it appears that they do not trust the league. However, the league is taking an even bigger PR hit in the American public eye.
What Has Happened?
People who watch the NFL do not seem to trust the league or its owners. When people watch the NFL, they see a violent that has violent players. People are wondering if the violence is a result of the violence that these players are paid for every week.
What Can The NFL Do?
The NFL has to make sure that it is appealing to women and mothers especially. They have tried marketing campaigns in the past to target women, but the NFL must do much more to show women that they are important. Women today are wondering if the NFL is simply harboring violent men who happen to be paid handsomely to play a child’s game. In fact, some women think that the NFL is immature in every way possible.
What Has Helped?
The NFL has been helped immensely by the publicity that Devon Still has gotten from the fight he has been waging against his daughter’s cancer. Devon Still jerseys are flying off the shelves to support cancer research, and the Bengals kept him on the practice squad so that he would have the insurance he needed to help his daughter fight cancer.
Most recently, Devon Still was activated off the practice squad so that he could play in games for the Cincinnati Bengals. People are standing behind Devon Still because he is supporting his child, and he is supporting he daughter. Women may see this as a step in the right direction, but the NFL has a long way to go.
Resignation
Most people in America are looking for Roger Goodell and most of his lower executives to resign from their positions. The belief is that the NFL can repair its image if these people who handled to Ray Rice case simply step away. The Minnesota Vikings has put Adrian Peterson on the exempt list while his cases are being resolved, and it is believed they are doing this to save face.
Roger Goodell is no longer a hall of fame commissioner, but only time will tell if he can stay on long enough to fix this PR crisis.
About Ronn Torossian
Ronn Torossian is the Founder and CEO of 5W Public Relations. He is an experienced leader in the public relations industry with over 20 years of experience. Ronn Torossian has been named as Public Relations executive of the year by the American Business Awards, and has run countless award-winning Public Relations programs.