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Siguenza on Sports

Adidas takes action

Some news on the sneaker front today related to the civil rights movement occurring right now. The Wall Street Journal reports that Adidas has announced plans to select people of black or Latin origin for at least 30 percent of jobs the company is creating. It’s part of a larger effort by the shoemaker to support diversity in the community after black employees shared instances of mistreatment internally.

The Wall Street Journal on Twitter

The practice of affirmative action is controversial, intended to give minorities more opportunity for representation within an organization (Kenton, 2019). However, federal law states that employers may not discriminate “based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin” (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, n.d.). Additionally, the Supreme Court of the United States has found the use of racial quotas to be unconstitutional (CNN, 2013).

For what it’s worth, human resources expert Ruth Mayhew (n.d.) says that recruitment initiatives generally yield “a diverse applicant pool” to select the most qualified candidates. Adidas will need a solid HR strategy to promote diversity while at the same time staying compliant with anti-discriminatory regulation.

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Mentorship Journal

#13 June 9: Brochure design – 45 minutes

Preview of the first draft of the ICC brochure. (Photo from Pexels)

Once upon a time, there was a man who decided to write a book. He came up with an idea and started putting words to paper. After some professional editing, he had the book published. And everyone lived happily ever after.

Only that is not the way the story ended. It is actually my own experience with the only book I have written and had published, Leather Compass (shameless Amazon link here). In a perfect world, it would be a bestseller with minimal effort on my part. Unfortunately, the book never gained traction outside of family and friends, which is just as well.

There is a myriad of reasons why the book didn’t perform as I hoped it would, the biggest being that I simply rushed through the process. After four years in development, I just wanted to be done with the thing and have it sold. In other words, I didn’t really take the time to cultivate it into a marketable product.

What I did learn from Leather Compass is that producing any kind of communication–printed, broadcast, spoken–involves a lot more than just slapping words and pictures onto a document and calling it good. There has to be a purpose to the message, one that is impactful, emotional, and compels the intended audience to take action. That is the approach I take to the brochure I am designing for the ICC.

I try not to rely too much on cliches, but when it comes to a project like this, it really is a marathon and not a sprint. I do not expect to get it right the first, second, or even third time. I do, however, expect that the more attempts I make, the better it will get.

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Siguenza on Sports

The game-changer

According to Jason Reid of ESPN’s The Undefeated, the NFL’s reversal on its response to player protests may have been triggered by the involvement of a particular athlete in a video pressing league officials to acknowledge the injustices that persons of color face in everyday life. The athlete? Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

NFL on ESPN via Twitter

“(T)he importance of Mahomes’ involvement in the video can’t be overstated,” said Reid, citing league insiders. “He’s not only the game’s top black star. He’s the face of the entire NFL.”

As a Chiefs fan myself, I’ve had the luxury of watching Patrick Mahomes change things practically overnight, bringing a half-century of what honestly felt like comical ineptness in Kansas City to an end with his mystifying style of play and picking up accolades (Super Bowl MVP, regular-season MVP) and endorsements (Helzberg Diamonds, State Farm) along the way. Now here he is, as Reid suggests, changing the NFL even further through his assertion in the video that “Black Lives Matter.”

Scott Silva via YouTube
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Mentorship Journal

#12 June 8: Brochure design – 1 hour

This infographic was created with Canva, which I also plan to use to design an ICC brochure. Data in infographic from Fitzpatrick, J. (2017, June 15). NHL Lockouts & Strikes: A History. Retrieved from https://www.liveabout.com/nhl-lockouts-and-strikes-history-2778706

During my conversations with the partners of the ICC, it was established that some kind of document is necessary to promote the forthcoming product. Given my experience in that arena, they asked that I create a brochure they may present to interested parties. I have been given some guidelines with which to work in designing this marketing piece.

Today was the first chance I had to start the process. I took the weekend to focus on my projects for the Communication & Fundraising in Sport class, which I am halfway through. The course runs seven weeks and I am always amazed at just how fast time flies in that. The same goes for the mentorship, I am now at just over two weeks on this project. My work with the ICC goes through December. That will be here before anyone knows it.

One thing I forgot to do at the end of last week was to make my pick for the highlight of that time period. Really though, the only thing that I did was the market research and web host pricing. Since both were essentially a comparison of different options, they get to share the award. Even though I go into detail about the projects I am given throughout the week and my thoughts about them, I still want to make it a point to summarize what I remember and like the most about what I’m doing. This gives me a reference point as I continue to explore what interests me professionally. That I chose the comparisons this week and the news release the week before suggests a pattern. We shall see how this week plays out.

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Communication & Fundraising in Sport

Trouble in Iowa City

This week’s class topic is about sports teams and crisis communication. And wouldn’t you know it? A public relations crisis is exactly what’s brewing now with a sports team twenty-five miles down the road from me. To fill you in, former members of the University of Iowa football team who are of the African-American race recently took to social media to share instances of being treated differently within the program because of the color of their skin. Chris Doyle, the Hawkeyes’ longtime strength and conditioning coach, was named specifically as an aggressor in the accounts. This weekend, he was placed on administrative leave by the program, pending an investigation (Fornelli, 2020).

Here’s where we get to do a little role play: for this post, we must act as if we are part of the athletics department at Iowa and the information is just coming in. At the outset, we have to think like journalists and the general public and determine the points that will most likely need addressing. The first obvious question here would be, what is Hawkeye Football doing about the accusations levied by its former black players? Given the situation that the United States is currently in with regards to racial discrimination, minimizing the concerns would be a grave mistake. A crisis plan could then look something like this.

Situation: Former players say they were not treated respectfully during their time at Iowa.

Crisis Communication Plan:

  • We’ve already identified the situation, so the next step is to bring in the staff person in charge of crisis communication.
  • The administrator, as they’re called, will compile what is known about the situation then assemble the crisis communication team.
  • A conference will take place to determine the next steps and who will carry them out.
  • The response is planned (Special Olympics, n.d.).

External communications in the response should include a traditional press release to the media, a website post and e-mail to fans and donors, and social media content. Now the media and the public will have their own reaction to the response, which may be negative. Here’s how we would prepare for that.

Situation: Fans are unhappy with the response to the incident.

Crisis Communication Plan:

  • Administrators must decide whether the reaction warrants further intervention. If it does, the steps in the first situation should be implemented.
  • It may be necessary to conduct news conferences to provide additional developments on the situation, plus more external communication like e-mails. Only those employees authorized to speak on the matter should do so.
  • Decide whether visuals will be needed for communication purposes. The images must be of an appropriate nature.
  • Consider further initiatives that demonstrate the concerns of the community are being heard (University of South Florida, n.d.).

Last, we anticipate that a conclusion will eventually be reached on the future of Chris Doyle, one way or the other. Based on past experiences, this is how that will be handled.

Situation: Administration is ready to announce Chris Doyle’s status.

Crisis communication plan:

  • The crisis communication team will notify the media of an impromptu news conference, to be held at a specific time in a specific location. News organizations will carry the event live via traditional broadcast and web streaming.
  • The information will be sent in a news release to media plus shared with the general public through the athletics website, social media, and e-mail.
  • Hold a final meeting with the administration and crisis communication team to evaluate the methods used and revise as needed (University of South Florida, n.d.).

These are very basic–and interchangeable–steps for the University of Iowa to take, and they already have through the release of a statement from head coach Kirk Ferentz, posted below. Still, there will be much more to come on this in the days ahead.

Hawkeye Football on Twitter

References

Fornelli, T. (2020, June 7). Iowa strength coach Chris Doyle refutes allegations of negative experiences made by former players. Retrieved from https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/iowa-strength-coach-chris-doyle-refutes-allegations-of-negative-experiences-made-by-former-players/

Special Olympics. (n.d.). Crisis communications. [PDF File]. Retrieved from http://media.specialolympics.org/soi/files/resources/Communications/Guides/CrisisCommunicationPlan.pdf

University of South Florida. (n.d.). Crisis communications. [PDF File]. Retrieved from https://www.usf.edu/pdfs/Crisis-Communication-Plan.pdf

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Reflection

Week 4

At least I think this is the end of the fourth week. Everything has become such a blur. I don’t even know how we’ve arrived on the sixth of June, to be completely honest.

You might have noticed that the website looks different than before. I ended up changing the WordPress theme to satisfy a requirement that photographs be credited to their creator. Not that they weren’t credited before. It’s just for some reason the previous theme would not let you include a caption on the blog post itself. I should also point out that most of the photos you see on here I have taken myself using whichever model iPhone I had at the time. As a communications expert, I have also made it a point to use a royalty-free service like Pexels for those photos not by me. One thing I do need to get clarification on is the social media posts embedded into my content–WordPress can link directly to the sourced material.

Also this week, I finished the second half of the text by Leonard (2012) on fundraising in sport, which focused on the different events that an organization has and the planning that goes into it. Leonard mentions banquets, golf outings, and car washes but now that I think about it, an 8K race would be another good thing to consider. I say that because, in my current role, I help with the coordination of what’s known as The Return of the Turkey Trot. Talk about time flying, we’ll have to start thinking about whether there will even be a race this year and what it will look like.

Finally, a lot of people’s minds are still on what’s happening in the world right now, and I was really glad to be in on the live Go Time chat yesterday that addressed the issues we face and how they affect sport. The situation continues to evolve in the wake of George Floyd’s death, Roger Goodell issued an apology later in the evening for the NFL’s handling of player protests, now the football program at Iowa is dealing with accounts by its African-American alumni of mistreatment. And so it’s a very unique time to be a part of this class because we’re watching organizations and athletes respond in real-time to everything going on.

Reference

Leonard, R. (2012). Fundraising for sport and athletics. Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology.

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Siguenza on Sports

Fromm fumbles

For the second day in a row, an NFL quarterback was a major topic of discussion on social media for controversial comments. A quarterback who has yet to play a down in the league. Jake Fromm was drafted by the Buffalo Bills earlier this year from the University of Georgia, where he helped the Bulldogs to three SEC championship games as well as a spot in the national championship game, according to 24/7 Sports, who added that during his time there, Fromm sent texts to a female acquaintance about who should be able to buy guns. This morning, the acquaintance released those texts to the public.

https://twitter.com/ashleymp20/status/1268392579193876482
@ashleymp20 on Twitter

The logical first question here would be, How do we know it was Jake Fromm who sent those texts? Well, he confirmed it himself a few hours later when tweeting an apology.

Jake Fromm on Twitter

Now that we’ve established that, a host of other questions can come up, like What was he thinking? Why did this woman wait so long to come forward with this? That question has been asked.

There’s also a legal question of whether the acquaintance violated Fromm’s right to privacy by sharing the messages. It appears she has not, judging from the interpretation of U.S. law by Vinay Desai and Eloise Gratton of the law firm Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. Say Desai and Gratton, “once a transmission is sent and received by another person…that message is no longer protected” (2018, para. 11). As is said often on football telecasts when the quarterback is intercepted, that’s one throw Jake Fromm wishes he could have back. It’s also a reminder that everyone should watch what they text.

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Mentorship Journal

#11 June 4: Conference call – 1 hour

What the partners of the ICC see when they chat with me on Zoom.

Today was my weekly conference call with Liston, Josh, and Dr. Tiell to go over the project. A guest joined us on the call, somebody who is interested in partnering with ICC to deliver the program that he is working on. After the meeting was finished, Dr. Tiell sent an e-mail to all parties about the timeline for nailing down any joint efforts.

This was just a regular phone call today, meaning we dialed a central number that happens to be here in Iowa and discussed our plans with each other that way. Most of the time, meetings are conducted via Zoom. It is as close to face-to-face communication as we are going to get, being in different parts of the country. Other methods of reaching out include e-mail, text messaging, and WhatsApp. The last method is essentially text messaging, except that it is performed through downloaded software, so SMS rates do not apply if you are using WiFi (Svetlik, 2018).

There is a downside to a lack of physical contact, as I have learned through the whole working from home during the pandemic. You often feel disconnected from what is happening. Not everyone checks e-mails as regularly as I do, so it can take a while to get a response if you reach out to someone that way. Even picking up the phone can be hit or miss because you hope the other person will answer, otherwise you have to leave a message and wait for them to get back to you just like with e-mail.

Overall, however, the ICC’s communication methods work pretty well. They keep me in the loop on the status of the project, and I happily return the favor.

Reference

Svetlik, J. (2018, July 10). What’s the difference between WhatsApp and texting? Retrieved from https://home.bt.com/tech-gadgets/internet/social-media/whats-the-difference-between-whatsapp-and-texting-11364277942163

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Mentorship Journal

#10 June 3: Finalize market comparison – 45 minutes

Much of the information about the ICC's efforts is confidential, as they are still in the development stage. (Photo by Markus Winkler for Pexels)

It’s almost complete, the analysis of programs in competition with the ICC’s project I have been working on. While not a particularly taxing project, I always take great satisfaction in the finishing of a task with great implications. This task will allow us to fairly price out the intended offering.

I feel somewhat bad that I am not able to go into great detail about what is planned. However, I must respect that the ICC is still in the development stage of its process, and revealing too much information can have an adverse effect, which I do not want to happen. It’s kind of like going to Coca-Cola and having insider knowledge on its flagship beverage’s secret formula, which the company to this day has not disclosed.

This is Wednesday, so tomorrow we will have our weekly meeting via Zoom to go over the project. I will send over my findings from the analysis ahead of the meeting so that we can potentially go over it and I can answer any questions they might have. As I said in the previous post, I do not have the answers to everything, but I want to make sure that I have as much information as possible to help them through the process, thus why I take my time as much as I can. Like in the fable The Tortoise and the Hare, “slow but steady wins the race.” A quite apropos reference, considering that Olympians are the focus of this project. More to come after tomorrow’s meeting.

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Siguenza on Sports

A Tale of Two QBs

Assuming that the NFL will have a season in the fall, it stands to reason that the issue of player protests over racial injustice will be a primary storyline. Speaking today to Yahoo Finance, Drew Brees made his thoughts known on kneeling during “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Yahoo Finance on Twitter

As you can probably imagine, there is a mixture of condemnation and support for the New Orleans Saints quarterback, though the ratio as they call it skews more toward negative reaction to Brees’ comments. Meanwhile, the Green Bay Packers’ counterpart to Brees, Aaron Rodgers, created a post on social media that was better received, though people on both sides of the issue are making their opinions known on his account as well.

Aaron Rodgers on Instagram

The differences in response between Brees and Rodgers make the contest between the Saints and Packers scheduled for the third Sunday night of the season at the Superdome all the more interesting. Again, that’s assuming there is a season and that it starts before Sept. 27. Until then, we’re left with humorous Twitter takes like this one pointing out the general narrative about each team’s quarterback.

Max Meyerson on Twitter