The Cult of Personality

He defies all sports logic. He is on paper; a third string Quarterback. He defines fan favorite. He is the cult of personality. He is most importantly, a Winner. Tim Tebow is an enigma wrapped in a mystery. He has the arm strength of a college quarterback and the accuracy of a high school quarter back. He has completed 50% of his passes in a game once, he has had a two completion game. His jersey was sold more than any other player when he was a third string quarter back. I could sit here all day writing fun Tim Tebow facts, however the bottom line is he is a winner.

Why did a Quarterback who possesses none of the skills required to be a starter get a shot; because of Public Relations. Denver entered this season with virtually no play-off aspirations, lead by a safe QB option; Kyle "the Legend Killer" Orton. From day one of training camp the fans were chanting two syllables; "TE-BOW". Denver's coaching staff logically ignored the fans demands and started Kyle Orton. Orton would in fact be backed up by former hyped prospect Brady Quinn. This left Tebow as the third string Quarterback. Based on his skills set, this seemed like an applicable spot on the depth chart.

As the season began to play out, Denver did as many expected and lost....repeatedly. As the losses mounted the Tebow chants began to get louder. These chants grew despite ridicule from head coach John Fox, every football analyst, and local hero John Elway. Entering their bye week 1-4 the Denver coaching staff decided to give in to the fans pressure and start Tim Tebow week six after the bye. Contradictory to many Quarterback changes, this one was not a football move, it was a Public Relations move. That sounds ridiculous doesn't it? A professional organization going against their instincts and starting someone at the most important position in sports based on their fan base' demand. Even though the coaching staff would never admit it, Denver viewed the 2011-2012 season as a lost campaign and started Tim Tebow with the purpose of proving to their fans he was NOT the starting Quarterback of the future in Denver.

The move to anoint Tebow as the starter in Denver was a public relations move by the coaching staff. This was evident by skipping over the number two starter on the depth chart and putting in the third string starter. By making him the backup quarterback the Denver coaching staff and indicated coming out of pre-season that they thought Quinn gave them the second best chance to win behind Orton. Quinn was overlooked and Tebow jumped into the starting role after Orton was publically chastised by fans. Every incomplete pass would result in a louder "Tebow" chant. His name was being chanted on the road as well as at home games.

Sometimes the fans know best. Despite lacking the skills stereotypical to an NFL Quarterback, Tebow has won six of his seven starts, leading the Broncos to the cusp of the NFL playoffs. His personal statistics are significantly underwhelming, however his heart and will to win are unmatched. With the city of Denver behind him it should be interesting to see how far Tebow can carry the Broncos in their "lost season of 11-12"

Controversy Creates Cash

It is a cultural phenomena that has survived the test of time. A singular concept that when analyzed from a denotative perspective makes little to no sense. However, every week thousands of people fill stadiums, and millions of people tune into their televisions to watch the global "glorified ballet" that is known as professional wrestling. Professional Wrestling has been around for longer than you might think, however began to make a cultural impact once Vince McMahon Sr entered the picture. After passing his legacy on to his son, Vincent Kennedy McMahon Jr the business entered new realm of success. This success lead to developing competition and the scrutiny that comes with being a multi-million dollar industry. As the 1990's progressed pro-wrestling emerged from the cult following to become a global entity.

As the decade progressed two pro-wrestling brands distanced themselves from any competition. Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation, and media mogul Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling were in direct competition with each other on a weekly basis. This lead to a creative duel with each organization battling for viewership, and public attention. The two organizations both represented the same niche manufactured industry and thus were in direct competition. The competition and battle for audience attention lead to each organization pushing the proverbial limits to what could be aired on television. Each week both organizations were producing more raunchy, controversial episodes that shifted the intrinsic focus away from the wrestling and more toward character and plot development. This was the beginning of the "attitude era" in professional wrestling.

After a decade of competition, Vince McMahon's WWF won and monopolized the industry by buying out competitors such as ECW and rival WCW. World Wrestling Entertainment was the only wrestling show available on cable television. It was at this point that the public relations aspect of professional wrestling altered the product and public perception. Although the demand for wrestling was still incredibly high, the loss of high profile characters such as Hulk Hogan, The Rock, and Stone Cold lead McMahon to alter the target audience. The target audience for professional wrestling had always been ages 18-35 males, however McMahon began to try and shift the primary target audience. Now known as World Wrestling Entertainment was going to tone down the violence and edgy characters in an attempt to segment and add a younger audience. Males ages 18-35 were still a target audience, however had become a secondary audience making way for the "PG era" of pro-wrestling. McMahon and his Public Relations team envisioned maintaining their loyal adult viewership while attracting younger audiences with more resonating characters and family orientated story lines.

This change brought about some explicit changes. The violence was toned down significantly......which was done on purpose....however the charisma and iconic Ora that surrounded the characters and story lines also began to fade. Another thing that began to fade was the viewership. The 18-35 male segmented audience began to tune out because the story lines and characters that had originally attracted them were now obsolete. The public relations attempt to attract younger audiences also did not pan out as expected because many parents who had grown up watching the violence and raunchy material associated with professional wrestling would not expose their children to the product. Even though pro-wrestling was now theoretically acceptable for the younger generation, the stereotypical persona could not be removed.

Professional Wrestling has been proven to be a billion dollar concept that is a million dollar industry. The foundation of pro-wrestling is controversial story lines and characters that are to be directed at males age 18-35. Cable televisions increased restrictions on violence and foul language has limited the capabilities of professional wrestling, however the most important aspect of wrestling is segmenting and targeting the most applicable audience. From the early days of professional wrestling, through the attitude era, to today; the male 18-35 demographic is professional wrestling and that is how McMahon needs to market his product.

Who killed Captain Hindsight?

The two year anniversary of Tiger Woods infamous collapse is upon is. I have always argued that Tiger's image took the biggest hit a few months before his public downfall when he lost a final round lead to then unknown Y.E Yang at the PGA Championship. For the first time in his career myself and other sports fan stepped back for a second and thought, "oh yeah this guy is human". Never before, and perhaps never again has anyone dominated a sport the way Tiger dominated golf.

Before getting into the public relations aspect of Tiger Woods downfall it should be noted that for over a decade Tiger Woods epitomized the sporting world, taking the sport of Golf to heights unimaginable. Tiger displayed a dedication to the sport that was unprecedented and earned and demanded the respect of his fans, and peers. For years Tiger's presence was so prominent that any playing partner of his in the final round would crumble. Tiger Woods was the most recognizable and respected athlete in the world.

Two years ago everything changed for Tiger Woods as his infidelity was uncovered by his wife and the media. The finite details of his actions have been widely speculated upon by the media, and in fact are still the center of discussion amongst tabloid and infotainment media outlets.

Tiger's image and reputation were virtually destroyed and his silence only fueled the media circus.

The most important guideline when dealing with the media in a time of crisis is, shape your story or else the media is going to shape it for you. This message is applicable throughout entertainment, organizational communication, and sport. Communicating your message immediately and honestly is so important as an individual at a time of crisis because immediate response shows transparency. The public is more likely to forgive an individual athlete or entertainer because they can relate to a human mistake. It is harder for organizations or government because they are stereotyped as deceitful and misleading.

There are numerous pertinent examples of personifying an individual at a time of crisis in comparison to possible alternatives. Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens were both accused of using performance enhancing drugs. Pettitte personified himself by explaining why he resorted to performance enhancing drugs and further apologized. Clemens denied it, went to court, made up a word (misremembered?) and now is looking at jail time and a mangled image. Andy Pettitte went on to pitch for a few more seasons, lead his Yankees to a World Series ring and retire a potential hall of famer. Many athletes like Clemens, will speak through lawyers or not at all. This allows the media to vilify the individual and exaggerate on their devious behavior. The key component for any athlete overcoming a crisis is honesty, personification, integrity and most importantly succeeding at the sport they compete in.

In hindsight it is easy to analyze what an athlete should have done at a time of crisis. Many times the athletes crisis communication team gets it right and turns the focus to the athletes performance. However, there is the media relation aspect in which the athlete needs to confront the issue. Kobe admitted to have an affair, Pettitte admitted to HGH usage, Heatley apologized to the family of Dan Snyder and moved on. All of these athletes confronted their behavior and turned the attention to their professional career.

Perhaps the most scrutinized and debatable handling of a crisis was Tiger Woods. Tiger remained silent for months and let numerous women come out and admit to having an affair with Tiger. Literally hundreds of women allegedly slept with Mr. ElinNordegen. Many people externally and internally criticized Tiger for going into hiding and not confronting the issue. And furthermore, if the number one rule of media relations at a time of crisis is to shape the story so the media does not shape it for you; why did Tiger not AT LEAST release a statement? Why did Tiger's highly paid PR team advise him to remain silent?

It is simple. It is because no matter how much the media manipulated and fabricated Tiger Woods' actions, it was still not as condemning as the truth. As long as Tiger Woods remained silent, all his actions were "alleged" affairs. Some of his affairs had such explicit evidence that they could not be denied, however delivering a factual statement or a press conference would only make him appear worse.

It was not until a scripted press conference months after the story broke that Tiger Woods spoke to the media. In his statement Tiger acknowledged he had, "affairs"; thus validating at least a few of the potential mistresses claims. Tiger Woods feeble attempt to save his marriage was the catalyst in his disappearing act and ambiguous statements. However, from a personal standpoint Tiger must have known that know self-respecting woman would stay with her husband after what he had put her through.

So looking back at the Tiger Woods incident, two years later what would you have done differently if you were to advise Tiger? It is not that easy to decipher if Tiger Woods crisis communications team acted efficiently or not. Could the public relations team have acted ethically and still represented Tiger?

The PR team was pretty much up shit creek without a paddle. If I were to represent Tiger I would have had him release a statement within the first few weeks admitting to having an extra-martial affair. Notice I left the "s" off affair. I would have then have had Tiger do what he does best and golf. As the numerous allegations emerged I would keep Tiger in the spotlight, however avoid questions about specific details to the affairs. Tiger Woods made a mistake and cheated on his wife. That is the message I would convey to the public. As his public relations consultant my goal would be to transfer the spotlight from his affairs to his golf game. There are numerous external factors that would have made this very difficult, however the public relations team should have not kept the focus on Tigers personal life, they should have immediately tried to shift the focus to his golf game.

Would Tiger even have wanted this? Did he demand time to reflect and be alone? Did he care that sponsors dropped him? Did he think he could save his marriage? Where was golf on his list of priorities? All of these questions were unknown to the public and kept between Tiger and his Public Relations team. Therefore in hindsight.......I guess the best advice.......If you are one of the most recognizable and reputable individuals in the world.....THINK before you have sex with strippers, hookers, and porn stars! PLEASE THINK!....it makes our job in Public Relations much easier.

Ethical Quandary

Lawyers? Public Relations Officers? they are clearly two distinct professions. However, there are some instances where they seem to have more in common than one might think. Ethics is a term that is not endearing to the practice of law or public relations. Both are accused of spinning the truth, and even lying in order to protect their client. That is the nature of the business whenever a clientele pays good money to hire a PR agency or an attorney. Even though the public perspective of public relations is built on an outdated co-relation between propaganda and misconception, there is no denying that individual clientele thrust an individuals ethical morals to the back burner.

And then there is Joe Paterno. 46 years of service, 409 wins, 5 undefeated teams, college football hall of famer, and the face of Penn State University for almost half a century. A resume and a reputation that makes life easy for any public relations team.

It is said that we are defined not by our mistakes, but by how we handle them and learn from them. It is true when an individual is in the spotlight their mistakes are exemplified, however they are also provided with Public Relations professionals that assist in exonerating those mistakes. Past examples have shown that no matter how cut-throat the media is towards an individual; time and a good public relations team can help repair any reputation. When it comes to sports, there are two factors that assist in altering an individuals public perspective from negative to positive after a crisis. The first is a public relations team helping to subliminally and externally restore the public perception that was established prior to the incident. The second relies on the athlete achieving a level of success that the public is used it.

Kobe Bryant and Michael Vick both successfully restored their image by utilizing a public relations team and achieving a level of success in their sport. Tiger Woods and his representatives have done a good job handling adversity and rearranging the public focus from his scandal to his golf game.....now if only he could win a damn tournament all would be forgiven!

This leads us to the next big scandal in sports. Penn State's former defensive co-ordinator has been charged with over 40 counts of child molestation. My focus is not on Jerry Sandusky. Public Relations can do nothing for Sandusky. My focus is directed at the hall of fame coach; Mr. Joe Paterno. Paterno has already hired a public relations team to do crisis communications for him in an attempt to maintain his legacy. The nature of the beast is that no matter how unethical a job might seem there is always someone willing to accept it. I guess that is one of the aforementioned similarities between lawyers and PR teams, and furthermore why the negative public perception of PR has persisted throughout time. When you align yourself as a Public Relations officer for a clientele; are you in turn aligning yourself with that individual, or worse condoning what that individual has done?

The truth is if you agree to work with Tiger Woods, you do not have to condone adultery; if you work for Michael Vick, you do not condone animal abuse. Contrary to some public perception, Public Relations workers are capable of morality and ethics. It is all subjective to the individual. Many PR officers would ethically not have been able to represent Michael Vick, Kobe Bryant, or Tiger Woods. Our ethical morality defines what we can and can not do within the industry. There are limitations for some while others can overlook the moral quandary and take the humanistic element out of play, leaving "the job to be done".

Personally, I could work with Tiger to rebuild his reputation, I could work with Vick, and I could work with Bryant (only because I dont think anyone believes he actually raped her). Even with the limited information that has leaked to this point, I could never do public relations work for Joe Paterno. Interesting to note that Tiger had a boatload of affairs, Vick mutilated and tortured defenseless animals, and Kobe at least engaged in an extra-marital affairs, yet the one person I would not represent ethically is the guy who "did nothing". And why would I not represent him? Because he did "nothing".

Former assistant coach Mike McQueary had reported to Paterno that he caught former defensive co-ordinator molesting a child in the locker room shower. After finding out that the defensive co-ordinator was a raging pedophile that was having sex with ten year old boys on campus property, Paterno sprung into action and banned Sandusky from having any children on campus.....Wait What? Yes, that was Paterno's obligation fulfilled. Paterno did not inform the police or take any further action against Sandusky. For some reason hundreds of thousands of screaming, protesting morons still support him daily around Penn State and the United States. No matter what on field accomplishments, or off field philanthropic work Paterno achieved during his tenure at Penn State, his lack humanity and ethical fortitude will forever define him as a coward and a failure as a human being.

Salt in the Wound

So, you are a Cleveland basketball fan as the millennium turns. After losing 4 straight first round play off matches from 94-98, frustration starts to build. Not to worry though, the future looks bright in Cleveland as the Cavs have 4 first and second team all rookie team members and an executive of the year!

Here we go; the 99' season! The year of the Cavs! ..........Well....sometimes things don't always play out the way we anticipate. The Cavs end up 11th in the Eastern Conference. All is not lost however, as the Cavs have 2 draft picks in the top 11. Those picks are used on Point Guard Andre Miller and Shooting Guard Trajon Langdon!

The Cavaliers nose dive has been averted and the saviors of the franchise are on boa.......but, but they finished 11th again next year!? ok fine! another lottery pick at least. With Chris Mihm on board an NBA championship is all but assured; right?

Well another 11th place finish and yet another lottery pick leads to..... DeSanga Diop? really? Well it could be worse the Toronto Raptors selected Michael Bradley in that same draft. This is it though, their abundance of lottery picks leads the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals ......or at least back to the glory days of the mid 90's where they were losing in the first round. What? they finished 14th in the East?

Yao Ming may have hoarded the publicity but it would be sixth overall pick Dajaun Wagner that would lead Cleveland to the promise land. Somehow, after all those lottery picks the 2003 version of the Cavs managed to lay an egg and produce 17 wins.

All around Cleveland, proverbial thuds were being heard as the team bounced off rock bottom and kept falling. Faith had been lost in the coach, the General Manager, the players, and a little extra emphasis for that scouting staff that seemingly managed to set the franchise back a decade!

Just when all looked lost....again.....all those years of futility, all those lottery picks that contributed to the team about as much as the Hot Dog vendor at the main entrance to Quick and Loans Arena on the corner of Huron Road and Ontario Street all those failed coaching experiments seemed to .......fade into the abyss AS WITH the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft the Cleveland Cavaliers selected from St. Vincent/ St. Mary's High school LeBron James.

The Savior, the franchise, the chosen one, the kid who played his High School ball down the street in Akron Ohio had landed and Cleveland Cavaliers basketball was born......yes born....not re-born....i don't consider multiple first round defeats as a sports franchise establishing themselves.

The Cavaliers turnaround was not immediate, however vast improvements in James rookie and sophomore seasons had them on the cusp of the playoffs. James success seemingly upset the Cavaliers managerial staff as they drafted Luke Jackson 10th overall the following year in an attempt to push the franchise back towards the basement of the Eastern Conference. However, King James excelled past his endless expectations and could not be stopped as he put the Cavaliers, the fans, and the city of Cleveland on his back.

Endless personal achievements were matched by developing playoff success. No matter who owner Dan Gilbert and General Manager Danny Ferry surrounded James with he was a one man show winning Rookie of the Year, 2 MVP's, a scoring title, 6 All-Star game appearances, and 2 All-Star game MVP's.

In modern day professional sport an athletes success is judged by the amount of rings on his finger, banners in the rafters, parades and trips to visit the commander in chief (or I suppose the Prime Minister but that hasn't been an issue since 1993). When it comes down to it, the all-time greats in any professional team sport are determined not by personal statistics, but by playoff success and the ability to personify the logo on your chest.

LeBron James found this out the hard way. In just his fourth year in Cleveland, LeBron lead the Cavaliers to the NBA finals before being disposed of in four games by the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs being a team that exemplified that team first identity. The name on the back of the jersey can never surpass the logo on the front. For as great as names like Jeter, Brady, Jordan and Gretzky are they never became more important than the team and further more had strong supporting casts to help drive them through times of adversity.

James never had that supporting cast in Cleveland. The aforementioned names all carried their teams to numerous championships, however in order for an athlete to carry his team to victory; he secondary role players to carry. For seven seasons James gave his heart and soul to the city of Cleveland. He was embraced by Clevelanders on and off the court.

After five straight playoff appearances that same familiar frustration began to build in Cleveland. After leading the Cavs to the finals in his fourth season James and the team lost in the conference semi-final twice to the Celtics and in the conference final to the Magic once in the following three seasons.

After losing in six games to the Celtics in the 2010 playoffs James symbolically took off his Cavaliers jersey in frustration as he left the court. He would never put a Cavaliers jersey on again. James, along with several other big names from the 2003 NBA draft class had hit free agency and the speculation began. The city of Cleveland simultaneously inhaled as Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade aligned in Miami. There was much speculation that James would align himself with the fellow superstars, or maybe even pursue the glitz and glamour of New York or New Jersey.

There were so many questions to be answered, so many potential scenario's that could play out. Every analyst, player, manager, and fan had their own ideology of where LeBron should sign. Clevelanders feared the worst, but intrinsically thought that their hero, their savior, their King would not leave them. All the speculation climaxed with ...."The Decision".

" In this fall, this is very tough, in this fall I'm going to take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat... I feel like it's going to give me the best opportunity to win and to win for multiple years, and not only just to win in the regular season or just to win five games in a row or three games in a row, I want to be able to win championships. And I feel like I can compete down there"

LeBron had already been heavily scrutinized for the way he had handled his free agency. The process had been so drawn out and speculated upon that hostility was starting develop. LeBron did his part to further entice criticism and seemingly put himself above every other athlete that had ever been a free agent. Free agency can be a stressful time for an athlete and for this reason many do not talk to the media or tease where they plan on signing and for how much money. This was not the case for LeBron who constantly reminded fans how big of a deal it would be if he signed with there team. The ultimate loser in this was the Cavaliers and the city of Cleveland as James had subtly hinted he wanted to stay in Cleveland and dedicate himself to bringing a championship to Cleveland.

The professional reality is that players switch teams all the time. Sports after all is still business and players are going to explicitly do what is best for themselves. James entire reputation and personal brand suffered irreparable damage that could have been avoided through a good public relations plan. From a basketball, business and narrative stand point the transfer from Cleveland to Miami was logical. However, sometimes the means surpass the ends. James egotistical comments were finalized by the public relations plunder of the year in sports; "the decision"

So why was the decision viewed as such a negative public relations move? Why did the decision turn one of sports more idolized figures into the number one sports villian?.....well number two....I still love you Tiger. I mean from a basketball standpoint the transition made sense

, from a business standpoint the transition made sense, from a narrative standpoint the decision made sense.

LeBron's tarnished image could have been avoided simply by improving his community relations and a bit of image consulting. "The decision" put James on such a proverbial pedestal that not even 7'7 Manute Bol in heaven could see him. In fact James only informed the Cavaliers management of his decision minutes before the live television program aired. James and his public relations team did not consider that his hour long television show was essentially giving the finger to all those other teams that LeBron publically considered signing with. If LeBron wanted to sign in Miami he should have done so at the same time as Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade. He should have also done so at a press conference with the other two superstars. If LeBron James wanted to donate money to the Boys and Girls Club of America, he could have done so by donating a portion of his massive new contract.

As a television show "The Decision" was boring, and redundant, as a public relations tactic, it was catastrophic. If LeBron's career has taught sports anything to this date it is that no matter how talented and individual is they have to incorporate proper public relations strategies in order to achieve and maintain there desired personal brand and reputation.

For all the parties involved life goes on. The Heat made it to the NBA finals before the basketball Gods looked down on James and the Heat and cursed them - or maybe it was the public relations God's? Anyway, it was some external force, there is no way LeBron and his "superteam" just were not good enough. Maybe there is a reason why superstars do not align themselves with other superstars. I doubt Crosby, Ovechkin, and Stamkos are collaborating.

The Cavs....oh the Cavs........Well they went back to where they are most comfortable. They finished last in the Eastern Conference again. But dont worry Cavs fans; Your beloved owner "GUARANTEE(s) THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER 'KING' WINS ONE."