LEARNING THE HARDAWAY

I know it seems like I’m picking on the NBA a lot in the early postings here, but there has been so much…unfortunate news coming from the hardwood lately.

In the public spectrum, there are dumb things to say aloud, there are things that are atrocious to say aloud and then there are things that make people say, “What the hell was s/he thinking?”

And then there’s Tim Hardaway.

For those of you under a rock in the last week, the former NBA All-Star offered up some love on Valentine’s Day for John Amaechi, the ex-player who came out of the closet in a book released today.

In a homophobic diatribe on Dan LeBatard’s Miami radio show, Hardaway, among other things, said that he “hated gay people” and would have asked that a teammate be traded if he found out he was gay.

As Howard Wasserman said on his blog (http://sports-law.blogspot.com), Hardaway is “another example of how free expression plays out in sport”.

Let me first off agree with Wasserman in saying that I respect Hardaway’s honesty and guts. While I in no way condone his views, Hardaway has every right to speak his mind in the public media. He held steadfast to his views, and many cite that his views more than likely reflect the bulk of the NBA.

However, Hardaway is also now finding out the Blackstonian concept of free speech: you can say what you want, but don’t have protection on the consequences.

Obviously, the backlash against Hardaway has been one of furor. Out of the limelight for years, the former All-Star became the most hated man in sports last week in an instant.

From a PR standpoint, in all honesty, Hardaway is screwed. Although they are his feelings, malicious words such as the ones in his interview pretty much did irreparable damage; he is now going to forever earn the stigma of a hateful and intolerant person.

Of course, Tim had to issue several apologies since the incident. Initially, however, Hardaway’s damage control was laughable. As noted on an NBA themed blog (http://nba.aolsportsblog.com), the guard appeared sorry that he made the comments out loud, not that he was sorry for their meaning; the blog notes that “Hardaway’s apology is as brief as it is meaningless”. Hardaway has since changed his tune, saying that he “no longer hates gay people”, but few will likely buy his sudden change of heart as sincere and rather as an attempt to save even a centimeter of face. In several interviews, Amaechi said he isn’t buying it either, and that any apology would be too late.

Facing a PR crisis of its own, the NBA acted quickly and effectively. Commissioner David Stern announced that Hardaway would no longer represent the league in an ambassador role (which was fairly obvious even without Stern acting at that point). In addition, Stern indicated that the league was considering gay-tolerance training to future rookies.

In another interesting angle to the Hardaway story, the author of http://deadspin.com/sports/nba believes that ESPN is to blame for all of the controversy. It was ESPN who printed an interview with Amaechi in its magazine and announced his shift in sexuality on its television programs, and it was also ESPN whose radio show carried the Hardaway interview and rebroadcast it on Sportscenter over and over. While I don’t think it would be possible for ESPN to conspire this mess, I’m sure they weren’t holding back on sparking a little controversy to draw readers to their Web site, viewers to their programs, etc.

To sum it up, Tim Hardaway had every legal right to say what he did last week. However, the damage to his reputation is more than likely irreparable in this 21st century society.

Un-TY-ing Chicago's Hands

You may have missed this somewhere in the John Amaechi madness that overtook the NBA headlines last week (which I'll save for a post down the nightmare, as Amaechi has managed to play the fans like a fiddle)...
Bulls rookie forward Tyrus Thomas has the tremendous upside of an NBA youngster. Sick athleticism, a strong jump shot, high expectations after being taken No. 2 overall in the 2006 NBA Draft.
Thomas evidently skipped the part of the rookie manual on what to say to the media.
Last week, after earning an invitation to take part in the slam dunk contest at the NBA All Star Game (which most would argue that the dunk contest and night-before festivities are more interesting than the game), Thomas made cardinal mistake No. 1 in the sports.
He told the media how he actually felt.
Thomas said something akin to that he was only entering the contest to get a check (the winner gets somewhere between $30,000 and $40,000, and all participants I believe take home a grand regardless) and, win, lose or draw, was representing himself and his monetary desires instead of the league, the Bulls, etc.
While most people know that what Thomas said was essentially true (the dunk contest has not been able to attract prime competitors in recent years due to lack of interest and, according to Shaq, the paltry prize), there was a mild uproar regarding his comments.
Within a day, the Bulls took action, fining Thomas and issuing a public statement in which Thomas apologizes, retracted his comments, said he was proud to be representing the league and the Bulls and whatever else Chicago's PR team could drum up for him.
Yeah, the Bulls took the only recourse possible in a situation like this from a publicity standpoint, but I know I'm not buying it...and I can imagine that other sports fans are not either. I guess an apology was necessary to stop the bleeding, and the fine (although I don't believe that was right either) showed that the Bulls were not going to tolerate his stupidity.
However, Chicago's fine and release tactic pretty much made Thomas's comments are as fabricated as they come. It's not likely that Thomas would go back on his original feelings a day later without someone in the office telling him to wise up and go along with it. He already said he was there for the money; there's no way he would all of a sudden roll out of bed and say, "You know what, I'm going to show the pride I have for the Bulls by throwing down a reverse 360 windmill."
I remember back in 1996, when the umpire collapsed and died on opening day in Cincinnati and then-Reds owner and legendary sports nutcase Marge Schott complained about the game being ruined, then sent flowers to the deceased ump's family. Yeah, it was a nice gesture, but the damage was done, and no one believed Schott acted on her own instinct.
As for the Bulls, maybe they should better "educate" their rookies on how to avoid public mishaps like this.
Or maybe it's what they wanted all along....
If anything in the case of Tyrus Thomas, the Bulls may have done what the NBA hasn't been able to in recent years: stir up interest for the All-Star game. If it is true that any publicity is good publicity, the NBA must be loving this. I'm sure there are people out there who had no idea of the names of any of the contest's participants, and some will probably now tune in to see what Tyrus Thomas will do.
That's all for now. Be nice

JC

GROUNDBREAKING

Well, you gotta start somewhere....
I am a fourth-year PR student at UGA, and this is the origin of the blogging project for my Campaigns class.As a dual sports studies major and ESPN freak, I think I'm going to aim to discuss public relations/media relations/image/etc. issues in the world of sports: mainstream, local, individual athletes, teams, whatever strikes my fancy I guess.
We all know that athletes are not the most graceful individuals at times, and the bodies that oversee them don't always help along the way.
Likewise, some in the sports world go above and beyond to keep a good name. I'll analyze it all along the way.
That's all for now. Be niceJC