CRISIS PERCEPTIONS, FAN BEHAVIORS, AND EGOCENTRIC DISCUSSION NETWORKS: AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE IMPERVIOUS NATURE OF NFL CRISES Jennifer L. Harker A dissertation submitted to the faculty of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Media and Journalism. Chapel Hill 2018 Approved by: Adam J. Saffer Daniel Riffe Lucinda Austin Andrew Billings Jonathan Jensen ©2018 Jennifer L. Harker ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT JENNIFER L. HARKER: Crisis Perceptions, Fan Behaviors, and Egocentric Discussion Networks: An Investigation into the Impervious Nature of NFL Crises (Under the direction of Adam J. Saffer, Ph.D.) This dissertation uniquely measured stakeholders’ perceptions of crisis, and the affective and behavioral outcomes of those perceptions. More specifically, sport identification, fan behaviors, and egocentric discussion network analyses were all situated within the framework of situational crisis communication theory to explore the ways in which individuals react to and communicate perceptions concerning sport crises. Stakeholders’ perceptions were divided into two categories, crisis perceptions and reputational outcomes, and tested for associations with sport identification and the activation of several fan behaviors. This dissertation captured stakeholders’ perceptions regarding four crises involving the National Football League (NFL) among the three structural levels of the NFL organization: the league as a whole entity, the team as an organization, and athlete as individual. Each crisis, by level of attribution, was then explored in tandem with the sport-specific measurements of sport identification and the activation of fan behaviors. Sport identification was uniquely examined in this dissertation as a relational history with sport entities and actors, and was tested as a predictive antecedent to stakeholders’ perceptions. Sport identification was tested for its predictive power over stakeholders’ perceptions and for its driving force behind the activation of fan behaviors. Several fan behaviors, including CORFing, Blasting, and Schadenfreude, were examined for their role in the psychological and behavioral iii image management attempts in response to general sport outcomes and in response to sport crises. Findings indicate that sport identification is indeed a predictive element of stakeholders’ perceptions regarding sport crises, as well as an activating factor of fan behaviors in response to both general sport outcomes and in response to sport crises. However, sport identification tracks in an interesting new direction different than originally hypothesized within this research. As a result, this dissertation extended current knowledge and furthers current theory, method, and practice across the crisis communication, sport public relations, and the network perspective bodies of literatures. Exciting new directions are paved by this dissertation for future sport crisis communication research, including the application of fan behaviors as crisis outcomes and the calibrating propensity of identification. iv “ In pure identification there would be no strife. Likewise, there would be no strife in absolute separateness, since opponents can join battle only through a mediatory ground that makes their communication possible, thus providing the first condition necessary for their interchange of blows. But put identification and division ambiguously together, so that you cannot know for certain just where one ends and the other begins, and you have the characteristic invitation to rhetoric.” —Kenneth Burke, A Rhetoric of Motives, 1969, p. 25 v DEDICATION Every achievement related to the completion of this dissertation and doctoral degree is directly because of my beautiful and loving family. This dissertation is dedicated to them. To my loving, supportive hubby, this is our achievement. Thank you for doing the laundry, cooking the meals, and wiping my tears away when things felt more difficult than I could tackle. You are the greatest dad to our children. I am eternally grateful for you. To my momma, thank you for your undying support through literally every year of my entire life. I thank God for you every day and I am so grateful for your love and forgiveness. Thank you for always being my biggest cheerleader. Of course, my greatest life successes shall eternally be my three children: Jordan, Brooklyn, and Haven. You each are my truest and purest blessings in life, and each of you fill my heart to bursting. I do hope my time working toward this degree demonstrated to each of you that you never have to be defined by your past, and you always have the power to redirect your future in any way you wish. I look forward to our happiest days together still yet to come. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS No successful moment occurs as a solo act. Our personal networks support us in every imaginable way—some more poignant than others but all playing some relational role, nonetheless. Here, I wish to acknowledge those in my own network who have meant the most and helped me the most over these challenging years as I strived to grow as a scholar. Dr. Adam Saffer, from my first semester in this doctoral program through the end of my time in the School of Media and Journalism, you have dedicated an innumerable amount of hours reviewing my work, editing, mentoring, and guiding me toward a future in academia. I have appreciated your unwavering dedication to excellence in my work. You have crafted me into a more diverse scholar than I ever imagined possible. Your support during the truly challenging times of this program, your grace and forgiveness, and all the letters of recommendation for fellowships and the job market will never be forgotten. Thank you for hanging in there with me and I look forward to watching our professional network grow for many years to come. To my wonderfully brilliant and esteemed committee, thank you for traveling this journey with me. Your mentorship, guidance, advice, and brilliance have helped me tremendously and your commitment to my success is both appreciated and coveted. Dr. Daniel Riffe, there really are no words to truly convey how much working with you and learning from you has meant to me. You have modeled the epitome of being an educator with your demand for excellence yet constant show of patience. What I’ve appreciated most is your understanding regarding the challenges of juggling a family while completing this degree and your continued support of my often-exasperating aspirations. Dr. Lucinda Austin, from our first coffee date I vii knew I was going to enjoy knowing you and learning from you. Your dedication and brilliance are true assets to those of us lucky enough to work with you. Dr. Jonathan Jensen, thank you for our lunch talks, especially the ones at Linda’s with Brussels sprouts. I’ve also appreciated the time spent working and talking in your office, surrounded by inspiring sport marketing trinkets. Sometimes, a big “no” leads to a whole series of even bigger yeses. My first year submitting to AEJMC fell flat with three paper submission rejections. After regrouping, I looked into other avenues for my work, and those avenues led me to conferences and exchanges with Dr. Andrew Billings. Since, I have been connected to countless opportunities for success and introduced to several amazing scholars who share my love for sport communication. Thank you, Dr. Billings, for modeling the true reach of mentorship in academia. I promise to pay it forward. The old adage that it takes a village is especially poignant when reaching this point in one’s educational experiences. The first educator to truly make a difference in my life was my journalism advisor, Mike Haynes. I owe my entire career to his earliest beliefs in my ability to succeed. The coveted mentorship I continue to receive from Dr. Kristina Drumheller, and Dr. Butler Cain’s unending “Just Do It” encouragement has helped me through this program in so many remarkable ways, and I am forever grateful. Here at Carolina, a million thanks go to Dr. Heidi Hennink-Kaminski for being a constant source of mentorship and support. I thank you and Dr. Francesca Dillman Carpentier for giving me this opportunity to attend my top choice doctoral program. Thank you, Francesca, for also introducing me to the Ig Nobels, which will serve as a pinnacle career goal for me as well as a perfect reminder to not take work so seriously all the time. Our 24/7 theory sessions will forever remain my favorite pedagogical experience in all my years of higher education. I also benefitted greatly from the many impromptu lunches enjoyed with Dr. Don Shaw. Thank you Dr. Shaw for viii your humble view. You taught me so much in those one-hour mentorship sessions, including the needed insight that this dissertation is the launchpad of my career and not solely the endpoint to my earning this doctoral degree. I also wish to thank Dean Steve Matson whose unwavering support of doctoral students has been admirable. His dedication to diversity at the graduate level and his foresight to fund summer research has greatly enriched my time here. Dean Matson’s tenure leading the UNC-CH Graduate School ends as my time here completes and I am grateful to have coexisted at Carolina together. And speaking of coexistence, to my cohort, I thank you for enlivening this experience. My fondest memories from my time here will forever be every delightful moment spent with Shao Chengyuan. Thank you for teaching my daughters and me so many beautiful new ways to think about life, and enjoy tea! To Abigail Carroll, my neighbor, soul sister, and best friend through all of this. Thank you for the summer trips to dance to Bob Weir singing, “Women are Smarter” as we crammed for our comprehensive exams. Thank you for sharing your time for the countless magical sessions of outdoor yoga and impromptu champagne cheers over our milestone achievements.