Ethics Struggle: Scala vs. FIFA

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One high-credibility individual’s word against that of a low-credibility organization The departure of Domenico Scala appears to be evidence FIFA is  set on continuing in ways that leave room for unethical behavior to creep in. Scala is well known as the head of auditing and compliance for soccer’s organizing body, but walked …

MLB Waiting Until Someone Dies to Get Proactive

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An easily preventable crisis…but will it be prevented? As spring training games get underway Major League Baseball is once again neglecting the very real possibility of a fan being bludgeoned to death by a flying bat. There was much discussion regarding the issue after a fan was struck, receiving life-threatening injuries, …

IAAF Leaps into Crisis Prevention with Fiery Release

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Sporting regulator fights back against allegations of negligence Early this morning we published a post covering shocking allegations from UK paper The Sunday Times and German broadcaster ARD/WDR regarding the prevalence of doping in international sport and the alleged lack of action from the International Association of Athletics Federations. We …

International Athletics Threatened by Doping Scandal

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Response, international crisis management, public relations, reputation management, sports crisis management 1 Comment

Did the regulating body allow suspicious athletes to compete and win over a 10+ year span? A new report from The Sunday Times sent shocks racing through the sporting world thanks to serious allegations of an absolute epidemic of doping by competitors at the world’s biggest events. What sparked it …

Talking FIFA, Sepp, and Crisis Management

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, PR, public relations, reputation management, sports crisis management Leave a Comment

An ugly situation and a chance to do better Although FIFA’s reputation has slowly been sliding downhill as a result of years of questionable decisions and shady dealings, the corruption charges leveled against officials at the organization by Swiss and U.S. authorities gave it a big shove off the reputation …

A-Rod’s Crisis Management To-Do List

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Doing the right thing could sway fence-sitters and restore the faith of fans, but it will take a hefty dose of honesty and humility The saga of Alex Rodriguez has been one full of ups and downs, with repeated mea culpas and seeming returns to normality, followed by yet more …

UNC Scrambles for Crisis Management Amid Scandal

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communication, crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, public relations, reputation management, sports crisis management Leave a Comment

A sign of deeper institutional issues? It’s not exactly a secret that star school athletes are frequently given special treatment, and we’re surprised that it hasn’t created scandals for more educational institutions. Some of that may be changing though, after revelations of academic scandal dating back nearly twenty years at …

Crisis Management Implications for Female Donald Sterling

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, internet reputation management, Jonathan Bernstein, online crisis management, online reputation management, PR, public relations, reputation management, social media, social media crisis management, social media reputation management, sports crisis management Leave a Comment

Will major Indy Colts sponsor face repercussions for racially insensitive Facebook post? We saw Donald Sterling cost the Clippers sponsorships (and eventually lose his team) due to racially offensive comments, but will that precedent apply to Lucas Oil co-founder Charlotte Lucas as well? Lucas landed herself in the midst of …

ESPN Benches Smith for Domestic Violence Comments

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communication, crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, PR, public relations, reputation management, sports crisis management Leave a Comment

Understandably angry stakeholders and poor crisis management leave sports reporter in a bad spot ESPN anchor Stephen A. Smith won’t be stepping up to the mic for at least a week following his on-air comments regarding domestic violence – specifically that women should avoid “provoking” men into assaulting them. Smith …

Crisis Management Case Study: Miami Dolphins Bullying

Erik Bernstein crisis communication, crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, PR, public relations, reputation management, sports crisis management 1 Comment

Ugly voicemail sparks full-fledged investigation of bullying complaints The NFL’s Miami Dolphins are in full-on crisis management mode following revelations of excessive bullying of rookie players by veterans on the team. The situation came to light after rookie lineman Jonathan Martin left the team, citing mental issues caused by veteran …

Viral Video Crisis Management: Riley Cooper

Erik Bernstein crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, internet crisis management, internet reputation management, Jonathan Bernstein, online crisis management, online reputation management, PR, public relations, reputation management, social media, social media crisis management, sports crisis management, strategic reputation management, YouTube Leave a Comment

NFL player is latest to be caught on tape behaving badly It feels like we’re seeing some type of public figure embarrassed by bad behavior captured on a smartphone’s camera just about every other day. Apparently, the memo still hasn’t gotten around – if you’re recognizable, and acting like an …