Arthur Solomon, Public Relations ConsultantClunk!!! That’s the sound of the one-million, three hundred thousand and one advertising, public relations and media-created idols falling from their pedestals. While celebrated show biz personalities receive the most prominent media coverage for their transgressions, they have lots of competition from the sports world in the undeserved idols archives.Two of the most prominent “dad’s” whose personas were glorified by the media for generations are Bill Cosby and Joseph Paterno, the former Penn State football coach, who, according to a Washington Post story, said under oath when, “Asked if he’d ever had a man named Jerry Sandusky in his employ, Paterno responded, I did for a while, yes.” “Which is true;” continued the Post story. “Sandusky only worked for him for 30 years.” (Sandusky was convicted of sexually assaulting 10 boys and sentenced to a long prison term.)While the Cosby and Paterno sagas really are not important to the future of our country, another sex scenario, which is significant, is playing out in Washington D.C., where Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has denied accusations of sexual misconduct. If it wasn’t so important, it would be funny that a character witness for Kavanaugh, President Trump, has been accused of sexual misconduct and has been caught on tape bragging about it. Cosby, who on September 25 was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman, was often referred to as “America’s Dad” by PR-like entertainment reporters. Sports reporters referred to Paterno as “Joe Pa.”The sex scandals proves five beliefs that I have always preached to PR practitioners and clients: 1) despite the best work of PR crisis experts only the media will decide when a story is no longer newsworthy; 2) PR crises are never dead. They are merely dormant and can be revived by the media at will; 3) clients that use celebrities as spokespeople are always at risk of being dragged into the media spotlight when their spokespersons implode; 4) clients should demand that their agencies suggest alternate ideas before deciding to use a spokesperson; 5) in a crisis, there is no one size fits all solution. Each crisis needs original thinking and action.While the chronicle of Cosby’s misbehavior might be the most shocking and surprising, there have been countless undeserved media idols preceding “America’s. Dad,” in politics, business and sports. (Too many to list. Just read the dailies because new names emerge on a constant basis.)But if you had to name one entity that has always treated people as idols, despite their behavior, the sports communications community and media would arguably win hands down, especially those who cover football. But baseball writers are not far behind. Equally, if not guiltier, are people who work in sports marketing PR and advertising. And at top of the list are the sponsors of sporting events that make it all possible.Here’s why:For decades baseball writers behaved as if they were acting as Dr. Pangelous, in Voltaire’s Candide saying, “This is the best of all possible worlds,” as long as the stage was the ball field.Not written about was the malevolent behavior of ballplayers off the field. Arguably it wasn’t until Jackie Robinson broke the Major League’s color barrier in 1947, and was taunted by racist comments from other baseball players, that reporters began to write negatively of some athletes (but not all.) Ever since the first baseball stadium was constructed nothing was written about the dangers of the playing field. Outfielders saw their promising careers damaged by fences without padding or by sprinkler systems not properly covered. Even today, in certain ballparks, every time a ballplayer chases a ball in foul territory it is an accident waiting to happen. And yet, ballclub owners are never criticized for creating the red zones. And it’s only recently that fencing was installed in ballparks to protect paying customers from being seriously injured by a hard hit line drive.But it is the football media that seems to feels it is necessary to constantly praise as “fine, outstanding gentlemen” three National Football League team owners in particular – the N.Y. Giants Mara family, the Rooney’s, who own the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the New England Patriot’s Robert Kraft.All are probably fine charitable gentlemen, and might also be nice to stray cats and dogs, but media heralding them as idols is puzzling to me.Weren’t these the same gentlemen who remained silent for many years while their hand-picked commissioner denied that life-altering concussions were the result of the most violent sports event since Christians were thrown to the lions?Weren’t these owners the same people who condoned their commissioner’s decades-long slap on the wrists punishments for player’s illegal off-the-field, often violent, behavior and continues to permit NFL teams to draft unsavory college players?Isn’t the NFL the same league whose owners backed the then commissioner Pete Rozelle when he decided not to cancel games after the assassination of President Kennedy?There’s an old supposedly funny saying in the business world: “Don’t take it personally. It’s just business.” But it’s difficult to not take it personally when you are the target, especially in the football business, where so many of their employees have been permanently damaged while team owners, coaches and the media kept mum for decades and praised the “big hit.’As a former journalist who entered the PR business after New York dailies and a wire service went bust, I don’t believe in censorship; journalists should be free to write what they believe. So I’ll limit my advice to advertising, PR agencies, and sponsors: Keep your finger’s crossed when you anoint an idol. Your next idol might soon be a fallen one.And remember, there are so many celebrities hawking products that, to paraphrase an old saying, “you can’t tell the player without a product list.”
About the Author: Arthur Solomon, a former journalist, was a senior VP/senior counselor at Burson-Marsteller, and was responsible for restructuring, managing and playing key roles in some of the most significant national and international sports and non-sports programs. He also traveled internationally as a media adviser to high-ranking government officials. He now is a frequent contributor to public relations publications, consults on public relations projects and is on the Seoul Peace Prize nominating committee. He can be reached at arthursolomon4pr (at) juno.com and artsolomon4pr (at) optimum.net.
