The “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” Sports Story

Arthur Solomon, Public Relations ConsultantRecent happenings – the just concluded FIFA World Cup in Russia and the U.S. Supreme Court annulling the prohibition of national sports gambling – have led me to be more convinced than ever that the sports scene can be compared to “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic about good and evil:

• The “good” is evident throughout the year. Sports provide a mechanism for people to forget, at least for a few hours, about the problems in their daily life.
• The “evil” has a much longer shelve life: People struggling to make ends meet spend big bucks to buy a jersey with an athlete’s name on it, as if they had a personal relationship with a player.
• Also, recently, with a helping hand from government, it is now easier than ever for an individual to lose a paycheck at home instead of traveling to Las Vegas. (Money-saving legislation for gamblers because flying to Las Vegas is expensive, a cynic might say.) Now fans aren’t limited to the points spread or outcome of a game. They can, or soon, will be able to bet on each pitch, each inning, each running play or pass. Of course, telecast commercials on events will probably have a tag telling people to “wager responsibly and if you have a gambling problem call 12345678” (and bet how long it will take you to reach a person?).

Call me a cynic. But I believe sports gambling entities couldn’t give a hoot about how much money a person squanders. The same goes, in my opinion, for the networks and team owners regarding sports TV commercials and signage in ballparks urging viewers to have a drink or two, but always “drink responsibly.” (Choosy about which brew or liquor is being hawked? Not to worry. There are plenty of choices.)The sports moguls and sponsors obviously don’t care who gets hooked on betting or drinking, despite the facts that impressionable youngsters, as well as addicted adults, are a large segment of the TV audiences.In international sports, FIFA and the International Olympic Committee have a long history of ethical and criminal problems. The U.S. sports scene is no better, ranging from the lilywhite days of Major League Baseball, to the National Football League’s “non-concussion” concussion problems, to the horrendous sexual abuse scandals at Penn State and United States Olympic Committee’s affiliated governing bodies. And never should be forgotten is America’s participation in Hitler’s Nazi Olympics of 1936, which provided a world-wide propaganda platform for a despotic country, unmatched until President Trump’s praising of the authoritarian regimes of North Korea, Russia and China (and himself?). (He also appears to be a follower of the Neville Chamberlain appeasement playbook, which led to Word War 11.)The U.S. did not have a team playing in the World Cup. But it wasn’t because of any principled moral stand or because the games were awarded to the anti-democratic, totalitarian state of Russia, or for its nefarious national and international policies since the emergence of the Putin dictatorship. It was because the U.S. team failed to qualify for the Russia games, which Boris Johnson, the former United Kingdom Foreign Minister said reminded him of the 1936 Nazi Olympics in Berlin. The U.K. also said it would not send a senior member of its government to the games. But President Trump congratulated the Russian dictator on a “truly great World Cup,” despite the former KBG intelligence officer’s operatives interference in past and future (2018) U.S. elections, and the recent indictments of Russian’s for trying to disrupt the U.S. election process. (Not surprisingly, when Putin denied Russian interference at a July 16 press conference, Trump didn’t counter with “Fake News.”)The arrogant disregard of the actions of host countries by international sports organizations and their corporate sponsors was on display once again this summer, when FIFA let its just concluded 2018 World Cup be played in Russia. Just a few of the totalitarian regime’s undemocratic recent history are its anti-human rights actions during the Sochi Olympics, low-lighted by racist behavior of Russian fans and assaults during the Olympics by goons, its invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea, constant allegations of state-sponsored sports doping programs, evidence showing Russia has meddled in the U.S. (and others) elections and its refusal to cooperate in the decision awarding the 2018 World Cup to Russia. (Reminiscent of the Nazi Olympics in Berlin, despite calls for FIFA to rescind awarding its 21st World Cup to Russia and moving it elsewhere, and a devastating report by Human Rights Watch regarding Russia’s repressive policies, FIFA stood firm, granting Russia a month-long sanitized propaganda vehicle endorsed by Trump.)Of course, as in its Sochi Olympics, Russia’s World Cup had its Big Brother aspect. In order to attend a match, spectators had to provide “names, dates of birth, passport numbers, phone numbers, emails and home addresses,” according to a story in the June 5 New York Times.The same year that FIFA selected Russia for this year’s World Cup, it selected Qatar (another bastion of democracy, right?) for its 2022 contests. In an unusual breath of fresh air, FIFA voted to stage its 2026 games in North America, accepting a combined bid from the United States, Canada and Mexico (because one country didn’t want to pay the bill?).And now that the 2018 FIFA games are history the international sports cabals and its corporate sponsors have once again done what it too often does -- provide a world wide propaganda showcase for a despotic government.When writer and philosopher George Santayana wrote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” he might as well have been thinking of the IOC or Trump’s praising of totalitarian dictators, (which was not uncommon among prominent journalists of major dailies, as well as public figures, in the U.S. prior to the outbreak of World War 11).For decades, the IOC’s creed was that politics should not interfere with its games, even though history shows politics has been part of the Olympics since the Nazi 1936 Games in Berlin and probably before.Ever since the Nazi Olympics, sports marketers have joined the IOC and FIFA in believing that democracy takes a back seat to international sporting events. (After all, a Coke is a Coke – including the Nazi Olympics of 1936, even though reports of Nazi concentration camps became known in 1933 – whether it’s sold in a democratic country or one ruled by a despot.) In addition to the 1936 Berlin games, and the Sochi Olympics in 2014, the IOC also awarded its games to the Soviet Union in 1980, Yugoslavia in 1984 and China in 2008. (Stay tuned for FIFA and the IOC, fueled with sports marketers’ money – much of it from American companies – to keep on selecting mostly totalitarian countries to host their games as citizens of democratic countries balk at footing the ever-increasing cost of playing host to a short-lived athletic event.)Too often the excitement surrounding sporting events, especially in the international arena, masks the true intent of despotic leaders who offer their countries as hosts to the world. It’s as if the “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” story is being performed world-wide on an athletic field.(I do think that international sporting events are the crème de la crème of the sports community. But when their games are awarded to totalitarian countries the callous disregard for political actions and human rights spotlights the uncaring attitude of sports cabals, whose only interest is to find a home for their properties, and for sports marketing sponsors who eagerly back games held in despotic countries. Of course. government policies can change; in some cases despotic governments transform to democratic ones. But history shows that the international sporting community is just as home in a totalitarian country as in a democratic one.)Now, the politicization of sports has reached a feverish pitch. Fueling the crisis is President Trump’s ongoing attacks on NFL players’ protests during the national anthem.Adding to the anthem controversy is the fact that NFL teams are largely composed of African-Americans and that the president has singled out some African-American athletes and broadcasters by name and called others in a blanket statement SOBs.Now, largely because of Trump’s recent alleged uber-patriotism (people should remember that he used several educational deferments to avoid serving in the military while millions of us, maybe you or a friend or family member, didn’t shirk in defending democracy by evading military service), the Mr. Hyde side of sports is now part of the DNA sponsorship level. (Even prior to Trump’s PR stunt of berating athletes who don’t stand at attention for the national anthem, check what happened to marketing plans at the Sochi Olympics to see how long-planned promotions had be canceled or changed because of protests.)Sports sponsors should admit that Pandora’s Box has been opened and closing it will be impossible. This year the football season and mid-term elections will coincide, providing a platform for Trump’s planned ruckus to cause more racial unrest by consistently calling peaceful national anthem protesters anti-American and anti-military. (Who knows, maybe his dictator friends in Russia, China and North Korea will give him some new totalitarian tips.)(As I’ve written previously, as a patriotic American, who volunteered to serve in the Army, unlike the president who used loop holes to avoid serving, I always stand for the “Star Spangled Banner” at patriotic events. But I never understood what playing the national anthem at a ballgame has to do with sports or patriotism. I wonder if the team owners and President Trump pay attention to the activities of spectators during the playing of the anthem. Some talk on their cell phones, others speak to nearby fans and many go to the bathrooms and concession stands, so they can return before the game begins.)For many years, sports marketers just shrugged their shoulders at the negative publicity that the events they were sponsoring received because they were rarely part of the story.For decades, sponsorship stories were relegated to ad trade books and advertising and marketing columnists of print pubs, which reported on the cost of “buys” and their advertising and public relations programs. (In those days, many marketing execs, who controlled the PR budgets, told me that my priority should be getting coverage in 1-the advertising trades, 2- the ad and marketing columns of major dailies and 3- consumer pubs.)Back then, negative aspects of the sports scene were omitted from media coverage, even on the sports pages. “If it didn't happen on the playing field, it’s not a sports story,” was the journalistic rule. Now, sports have lost their protective journalistic covering and are treated like any other big business with a plethora of “gotcha” stories. Sponsors have become a frequent part of that negative coverage.Prior to joining Burson-Marsteller, I was a sports journalist and also worked for political and entertainment PR firms. One of my beats as a journalist was as a sports reporter. My editor once spiked a story I wrote about how a high school coach was instructing his players on dirty play by teaching techniques that could cause injury to the opposition. The article was killed not because the story was deficient, but because “the league will get mad at us if we use it,” I was told.Today, that story probably would have run on page one.Today, the evils of sports are covered on a daily basis.Today, it’s time for fans to be realistic about what transpires in the highly profitable business of sports.Today, sports fanatics should become realistic and acknowledge that franchise owners are in the business to make millions of dollars and that fan loyally only goes one way.Today, maybe younger people realize that wearing a jersey with a player’s name on it is as silly as rooting for a team just because it’s located in your city. Maybe that’s why NFL TV ratings have declined. And maybe that’s why MLB attendance was down 8.6% as this season neared its half-way mark, (according to a June 16-17 Wall Street Journal story).Today, sports’ Teflon coating has been breached. Because of the high cost of sports sponsorships, the shrinking TV audience and the politicization of sports, it’s time for sponsors to rethink their knee-jerk response of spending big sponsorship bucks on mega events.Some sponsors have already done so. Some sponsors don’t automatically re-up with sports entities. There have been studies showing that the same amount of dollars that are spent on a mega sports sponsorship could be better utilized in a more segment specific marketing approach. Maybe some sponsors read those studies.For many years, after changing the stale creative for a major sports marketing program enacted by another agency, I was asked to supervise it and did so for eight years, resulting in yearly client praise for gaining major publicity results with client identification. However, even during this publicity bonanza period, client surveys showed that consumers could not correctly identify the sporting event sponsored by my client. Eventually, when the sports entity wanted to increase the rights fee, the client dropped the promotion, telling me, “we actually don’t know if backing this event produced any greater sales than if we used the money for more targeted promotions throughout the year.”The avarice of the sporting business was superbly written about in an op-ed by author Joseph Epstein in the July 13 Wall Street Journal titled, “Don’t Take Me Out to the Ballgame – I can’t Afford It.” (As a young teenager, many were the days my friends and I would hop a train to a stadium to see a baseball game. A fairly good seat could be had for around $5.00. Today, as ticket prices have sky rocketed, you hardly ever see youngsters at ball games, unless they are accompanied by fathers or grandfathers. The result is that youngsters have found other interests, and as a sponsor once told me, “Going to a baseball game is like visiting a senior citizens home.”Baseball is, perhaps, the biggest offender of eliminating enjoyment from a sporting event, as TV viewers and radio listeners of the game know. Almost every pitch is “sponsored.” Eventually, if it isn’t already, a foul ball will become a promotion for an odor-eliminating product. Too bad, because I believe that baseball is the thinking person’s game, more like a chess match than other sports.)If it already hasn’t happened, it’s time for new sports marketing thinking. At the very least, it’s time for sports sponsors to research the efficacy of their sponsorship money instead of just resorting to the decades old, unscientific method of “counting the eyes” to justify dollars spent.And for the money-hungry sports industry and its marketing sponsors, it’s past time for its moguls to look in the mirror and honestly say if they would like their children to be bombarded with TV commercials promoting drinking and gambling. (Shockingly, the July 14 New York Mets telecast had a commercial promoting a July 21 Beerfest at Citi Field featuring more than 200 different beers, with unlimited tastings. Remember kids, drink responsibly and if you’re underage, hide it from the bartenders, stores that sell liquor and beer and, most of all, from your parents.)If hawking hard liquor, beer, gambling and junk foods on sports telecasts that are viewed during the day or in prime time by youngsters, and camouflaging popular athletes as experts to entice viewers to buy products, doesn’t register negatively with execs, maybe a story in the July 12 Wall Street Journal will. It said that World Cup rating on Fox’s networks has decreased nearly one-third from the 2014 tourney, joining declining audiences for this year’s Winter Olympics and the Super Bowl, “which had its smallest audience in nearly a decade.”[author]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.[/author]