Vick is back

Michael Vick has recently been re-signed by Nike as an endorser. Never before has an athlete been dropped by the Nike label and then re-added. Many question why is Nike doing this seeing how polarizing a figure Vick his. Others see it as people moving on from the horrendous crimes he committed just a few years back. Me personally I have no issues with the athlete being re-signed. Vick has served jail time and is continuing efforts with various groups. Also this is a America, the land of second chances. I see those who are screaming for Vick to suffer more extreme punishments to by hypocrites themselves.  This country is quick to forgive  and so far since being released from prison Vick has done and said the right things. He is no angel but one cant deny he is an talent in the NFL.

Dodge Drama

In another attempt to not talk about what I love soo dearly ( NBA and NFL) I will attempt to blog about my other love interests. The LA Dodgers are pretty much have a hollywood soap opera on there hands. You have an owner and estranged wife fighting for control of the team. You also have the MLB itself trying to recapture control of the team after declaring the team bankrupt. The storied Franchise is also in last place in its own division and playing 4th fiddle in a city already filled with tons of stars. Needless to say this team, this brand, needs an image boost. Too much going on at one time for one franchise. This  issue probably wont be resolved for a while either. Too parties have their hands in the Dodgers honey pot and more want in. My has this storied franchise taken a turn for the worst

NBA and its Gay and Lesbians PSA

I decided to change up a little bit. Most of my entries have been about the upcoming lockouts that the NBA and NFL may face. Also ive been discussing the " Big Busines," of the NCAA. So todays entries wont really be me discussing a whole lot..Just links to other sites that explains NBA PR campaign. In the early 2000's the NBA was kinda dealing with an image crisis with some of its stars athletes. So in 2005 the NBA launched NBA Cares, which is a outreach program to inner city youth. Players from all of the NBA leagues( NBA WNBA, D-League, and some of its International ambassadors) participate in this in an attempt to give back. The NBA has also started a campaign aimed at stopping anti-gay slurs. A couple of its better known stars were caught on camera this past season saying gay slurs and the NBA in both instances acted quickly to show it is not a homophobic league. Once again below is the link to the NBA cares website and to some of the  NBA PSA for anti gay slurs..ENJOY

NBA Cares : http://www.nba.com/nba_cares/mission/welcome.html
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z7EOG8z_e0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxZgVPf69zY, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUF5QcSwKes

Ohio State and its current scandal

Ohio State has come under alot of fire in the last couple of weeks because of the scandal involving players selling memorabilia and allegations they had received other benefits from boosters that are not allowed by the NCAA. In the wake of this recent scandal  a star player has left the school and its head coach who once had a squeaky clean image even wrote a book about ethics in collegiate sports has stepped down.

Some think if ex-coach would have came clean earlier about what he knew and didn't know that maybe he would still have a job today.  Or if when allegations came out about players receiving improper benefits he took stricter actions. Or if there was away to keep shady boosters away from student athletes that this could be avoided all along.

Now the program will in the eyes of the public prove it was a few rouges out there that did what they want or the program and the school will be viewed as "cheaters'" or dirty. Not only would it be in danger of losing top recruits if its image doesn't change, but if  issues like players receiving such things aren't addressed it could lose scholarships, wins, and ultimately money if actions aren't taken.

Should professional athletes be censored by there respective organizations?

It usually happens every two weeks, and major sources like ESPN and Fox Sports play these sound bites over and over and over again. Its professional athletes speaking on highly controversial topics and making highly controversial remarks. This is a PR and organization nightmare when a uncontrolled message or thought is broadcasted putting the organization into a negative light.

This week David Tyree, the wide reciever from the NY Giants who helped the giants win the superbowl  a couple of years back is the newest case of atheletes saying things that put organizations in a bad light. His remarks about Gays and marriage has brought him unwanted PR as well as the Giants and has warranted an apology from GLAAD as well as other Gay and Lesbian rights groups.

More and more athlestes are starting to tweet, blog, vlog, and etc and its getting harder to control messages that dont leave bad tastes in the public mouths. I do know there are instances in college where coaches have banned players from twitter. Also the NBA and NFL have rules where the players cant tweet 1 before the game and 1 hour afterwards.  But what about press interviews? What about live chats? Should there be stricter guidelines for atheletes by organizations for when they open there mouths? or is that stepping on someones first amendment rights?

The PR storm the NBA and NFL are about to face!

 After both a successful NFL season with record ratings, and an amazing NBA playoffs that also saw ratings increase both sports are about to experience lockouts that could destroy alot of good will that both of these sports have built up over the years. While most of us dont know the full details of why there is a work stoppage the image that both leagues are broadcasting is a bad one to the public. Most people look at as Billionaires vs Millionaires and in the end the rich will still get richer.

If there is a prolonged work stoppage this could be trouble for both leagues. Both should take a look how MLB strike 94-95 is still effecting the league. Fans were reluctant to come back and not trusting of both the owners and the players. Its still battling trying to get attendance numbers back to what they once were.

The NFL is already starting to struggle with image issues with players tweeting about being compared to slaves, and former players complaining about the lack of health care after retirement. The NBA took its first  hit when superstar Lebron James let out a soundbite that made it seem he thinks he better then the general public.

Hopefully both leagues will be able to put labor issues aside and get back playing so we can forget about the things they say and focus on the great things on the court they are able to do.

Changing of the guard at WVU

Dana Holgorsen the hot shot coordinator who led some of the most explosive offenses we have seen in the last decade is taking over as the head coach at WVU. Hologorsen was the coach in waiting but due to allegations of a smear campaign of Holgorsen by former coach Bill Stewart, Holgorsen is taking over a little faster then expected.

As much as I love WVU  the program has became a something of a media circus the last couple of years. 4 years previous to this WVU was at a cross roads when then coach Rich Rodriguez decided to leave the program he has taken to prominence to take the job at Michigan. This became a huge PR nightmare for both the school and Rodriguez as both were acusing the other of breach of contract, mishandling student athletes and etc.

Then school then hired long time loyal asistant Bill Stewart.Stewart kept controversy to a minimum while in morgantown and had a 28-12 record in his tenor. His only fault was not leading WVU to a BCS game. To help WVU get back to the success it had experienced on Rodriguez  the school hired Dana Holgorsen as the coach and waiting to coach stewart back in December.

Holgorsen who is known to get "rowdy" at times has been kicked out of a few establishments thru out his coaching career. It is reported that Bill Stewart was on a mission to find more dirt about Holgorsen partying ways in order to get him fired. Most recently however thou Holgorsen was kicked out of a casino in the Charleston area.

Also there was allegations of Coach Stewart paying reporters and private investigators to find out more about Holgorsens partying ways.

With all this going on with the football season right around the corner one of these guys had to go. Hopefully the new coaching staff will be able to renergize the program and get the BCS births that the alumn and boosters are dying for. Just hope the AD made the right choice