Protecting Professional Football: a Case Study of Crisis Communication Tactics Demonstrated During the Concussion Crisis By
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Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 2015-12-01 Protecting Professional Football: A Case Study of Crisis Communication Tactics Demonstrated During the Concussion Crisis by the National Football League and the Introduction of Cultural Ingrainment as a Component in Crisis Communications Models Jordan Todd Mower Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the Communication Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Mower, Jordan Todd, "Protecting Professional Football: A Case Study of Crisis Communication Tactics Demonstrated During the Concussion Crisis by the National Football League and the Introduction of Cultural Ingrainment as a Component in Crisis Communications Models" (2015). Theses and Dissertations. 5791. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/5791 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. 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Protecting Professional Football: A Case Study of Crisis Communication Tactics Demonstrated During the Concussion Crisis by the National Football League and the Introduction of Cultural Ingrainment as a Component in Crisis Communications Models Jordan Todd Mower A thesis submitted to the faculty of Brigham Young University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Kenneth Plowman, Chair Pamela Brubaker Kristoffer Boyle School of Communications Brigham Young University December 2015 Copyright © 2015 Jordan Todd Mower All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT Protecting Professional Football: A Case Study of Crisis Communication Tactics Demonstrated During the Concussion Crisis by the National Football League and the Introduction of Cultural Ingrainment as a Component in Crisis Communications Models Jordan Todd Mower School of Communications, BYU Masters of Arts This research analyzes the crisis communications tactics employed by the National Football League at key points during the concussion crisis in relation to strategies recommended by models based on image restoration theory and situational crisis communications theory. The discrepancies between the NFL's tactics and recommended situational tactics, viewed in light of the financial and market increases for the league over the duration of the crisis, show the need for an additional component in accepted crisis communications models. Cultural ingrainment is posited as a component to be added to present models as a mitigating factor of organizational harm in cases of strong attribution of organizational responsibility. This addition of cultural ingrainment provides an explanation for the possibility of so-called “invincible brands.” Keywords: crisis communications, situational crisis communication theory, image restoration theory, public relations ethics, cultural ingrainment, invincible brands iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page . i Abstract . ii Table of Contents . iii List of Figures . vi Chapter 1 Introduction . 1 Significance to Field . 2 Introduction to Literature Review . 3 Case Study Methodology . 3 Delimitations and Scope . 3 Definitions Unique to this Study . 5 Chapter 2 Literature Review . 8 An Explanation of Image Restoration Theory . 8 An Explanation of Situational Crisis Communication Theory . 12 Additional Crisis Communications Research . 17 Branding . 25 Cultural Branding . 26 Crisis Communications Ethics . 28 Invincible Brands . 33 Direction of Research. 33 Chapter 3 Methodology . 36 Proposed Research Method. 36 Strengths and Weaknesses . 36 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont.) Accounting for Bias . 38 Sources of Data and Evidence . 38 Analyzing the Data for Meaning . 40 Chapter 4 Historical Background . 41 Chapter 5 Results . 49 Analysis of the Articles Published by the NFL's MTBI Committee. 50 Scientific Research Contradictory to the MTBI Articles . 67 Information About the Dangers of Subconcussive Hits . 72 2009 Congressional Hearing . 76 Acknowledging Effects and Funding Research . 80 Rule Changes . 83 The Efforts of the NFL to Combat Special Reports . 85 Compensation: Lawsuits and Settlements . 91 Early Player Retirements . 102 Youth Football Participation and the NFL Evolution Website . 107 Chapter 6 Discussion . 113 Tactics and Response Strategies Employed By The NFL . 113 Level of Success and Compliance With Public Relations Ethics Standards . 119 Cultural Ingrainment and the NFL as an Invincible Brand . 120 Chapter 7 Conclusion . 128 Recommended Strategies From Image Restoration Theory . 129 Recommended Strategies From Situational Crisis Communication Theory . 131 Cultural Ingrainment Explains the Resulting Circumstances . 132 v TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont.) Application of Research Findings . 136 Ethics Considerations. 138 Research Direction of this Study . 139 Limitations . 140 Future Studies. 141 References . 142 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Crisis situation model of Situational Crisis Communication Theory . 13 Figure 2. SCCT tactics present in the crisis communications of the NFL . 114 Figure 3. NFL crisis communication tactics model . 118 Figure 4. Recommended image restoration strategies . 130 Figure 5. Revised SCCT crisis situation model . 134 PROTECTING PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL 1 Chapter 1: Introduction The National Football League is the highest revenue-grossing sports league in the world, expanding into foreign markets and gaining ever-increasing revenue and market saturation (Ejiochi, 2014.). The organization rakes in large amounts of money by filling stadiums with ticket-holders, selling merchandise, negotiating massive television deals, and through other lucrative endorsements. Its teams are so economically important to the communities in which they play that ownership groups often receive large portions of public funding for the stadiums in which games are played. Professional football is the most popular sport in America (Rovell, 2014). Recently, the reputation of the NFL has been threatened because of its involvement in several recent scandals and the extensive coverage of these scandals by American news media. Many opinion leaders and members of the American public have observed that many of the values displayed by the actions of the NFL differ from ideal behavior. Fans and the public have observed numerous recent public relations crises related to player misbehavior, unethical behavior by teams and coaches, and self-interested actions by the league in their prioritization of discipline and player-safety measures. The primary question of this research asks, “Do the failed crisis communication responses demonstrated by the NFL during the concussion crisis, in light of their organizational success, point toward the need for inclusion of a new component of cultural ingrainment within accepted crisis communications models?” The term cultural ingrainment describes the degree to which a brand has become embedded in the culture of its society or the success of a brand in terms of cultural branding. In order to answer this primary research question, this case study examines the NFL's concussion crisis within the context of appropriate response strategies according to established models of image restoration and PROTECTING PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL 2 situational crisis communication theory. This study introduces the addition of a cultural ingrainment component into existing crisis communications models as a component that explains the success of the NFL despite discrepancies between the league's tactics and recommended strategies, and examines applications of proper crisis communication ethics within the contexts of these theories. Significance to Field This case study of the NFL's crisis communications efforts contributes to the existing body of research in the fields of public relations and crisis communications by introducing the need for research in the area of cultural ingrainment as it may lead to the phenomenon of the invincible brand. This case study illustrates how a severe crisis sparked a focus on safety throughout the sporting world and created large attributions of responsibility for the accused organization, yet the organization under crisis managed to emerge from the controversy in a stronger financial and cultural position than it held prior to the crisis. This study shows that crisis communications research is incomplete where it pertains to certain cases of large, culturally ingrained brands, necessitating the potential for inclusion of a cultural ingrainment component as a mitigating factor for organizational harm in cases of high attributions of responsibility. This case study also contributes to the existing body of research by providing a look at crisis communications in a recent, relevant context that informs modern, socially-important controversies such as domestic violence, player crime, performance-enhancing drugs, and others. The lessons available from this case, both positive and negative, inform the decisions faced by many sporting leagues and large organizations with attributes similar to the NFL. Both the failed PROTECTING PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL 3 and successful crisis communication responses employed by the NFL, in light of the league's culturally-ingrained position, inform professional practice and future crisis communication decisions. Introduction to Literature Review This case study reviews previous literature for applicable theories and crisis communications models as well as