Aug

27

Brett Favre and Packers fumble PR snap

Filed Under Crisis Communications, Sports PR 

I grew up watching Detroit Lions football, but sadly I can only truly remember a couple of seasons with Barry Sanders. As a little girl, I elected to also watch and root for another more successful team in the NFL. First, it was the San Francisco 49ers with Steve Young and than it morphed into the Green Bay Packers and Brett Favre (at that age, I didn’t really grasp the concept of division rival). Anyways, I still try to watch Green Bay games even to this day because there is something about watching the crazed, frozen fans at Lambeau Field cheering on their beloved team with visions of Brett Favre running through snow dancing in their heads. As much as I hate to admit it, both Favre and the Packers fumbled their PR snap in the recent fiasco.

Green Bay Packers PR Fumbles

Apparent lack of anticipation. If you had to pick one player in the world who would retire and then decide to return, who would you pick? I’m sorry, but Brett Favre has to be on your list of top ten choices. As a member of their PR and management staff, it would seem like a great idea to discuss the possibility of Favre deciding to return before the 2008-2009 season and then developing a game plan in case it actually happens. By not having a game plan, the Packers staff had to call a timeout while public opinion was already forming before they could take this any further.

Weren’t clear and consistent. When Favre indicated that he wanted to return, Packers GM Ted Thompson stated that the team was committed to Aaron Rodgers as their starting quarterback. The Packers said that they would welcome Favre back into the fold as a player, but then at the same time offered him a $20 million marketing deal to stay retired. Management was satisfied with Favre returning as a back-up QB, but Favre understandably wanted a starting position. When it became clear of Favre’s desire to return as a starting QB even if that meant playing for another team, the Packers did their best to stall trading him and they had refused to release him. Had the team had a game plan to follow, they would have been able to be much more consistent and clear with the media and their fans. Consistency is key if you want to garner any credibility with your fans, especially with such a passionate fan base in Green Bay.

Shunned an icon. The situation was treated poorly and as a result, the team’s biggest icon was shunned. I can certainly understand head coach Mike McCarthy wanting to stick with Aaron Rodgers (even though I think Favre is the reason the team made it as far as they did last season); that’s his call as a head coach. However, the team did not handle this fiasco well with the face of their brand. I mean, the Packers brought up tampering charges against the Minnesota Vikings based on phone calls and texts made by Favre, which NFL commissioner Roger Goodell later dismissed.

Didn’t appear to be sincerely concerned. An article by John Sprecher says it best,

When Packers general manager Ted Thompson responded to Brett Favre’s interest in returning to the team by sending him a text message stating, “I’m on vacation, I’ll get back to you,” it was apparent to the football consuming public that Brett Favre was not his priority, but almost his nuisance. And public perception is reality, so be prepared to appear and be concerned about your crisis or suffer the ire of your consumers.

Brett Favre PR Fumbles

Before this incident, Favre was beloved by Packers and NFL fans alike (even division rival teams’ fans admired the guy). Now some fans have become embittered, others grew frustrated with the situation, and even NFL players turned on him.

But how in the world does one of the most beloved sports figures of all time, a man who epitomized toughness and grit turn so soap opera-ish so fast? His PR tactics have gained him little if any sympathy, even from his peers. In my travels through camp so far, not one coach I’ve talked to agrees with his stance and the players have been split 50 percent somewhat sadly against Favre, 25 percent adamantly for Favre and 25 percent absolutely blasting him for the PR route he’s taken.

“I don’t care, it’s Brett Favre, give him his helmet back,” said one Bears player over beers the other night. “I don’t care what happened or how it’s gotten here, it’s freakin’ Brett Favre!”

“Don’t let him back in the building,” said a Rams veteran after practice on Sunday. “He’s made it all about Brett. I’d be pissed if I was in that locker room and he’s made it all about him all this time. Man, I’d want to move on. Enough already, it’s been about is he coming back or not for damn near four years. I’d be sick of it.”

Didn’t return to the Packers. The first PR fumble is that instead of waiting for Rodgers to have a bad game and stepping in and then taking the QB reins, Favre refused to play back-up. Instead of going to a playoff contender, he’s now the QB for the NY Jets who went 4-12 last season. While Favre can certainly help them improve this season, he would have had a much better shot at getting that Super Bowl ring staying with the Packers.

Went on the attack. According to Jay Glazer, a senior NFL writer at FoxSports.com, the legendary Favre verbally attacked the Packers’ management on TV.

However, legend or no legend, if in any other business an employee, even the top sales manager of all time, calls his boss a liar three times on national television, and then reveals conversations with his boss that were believed to be private and then threatens his bosses … seriously, how many of those folks would still be employed? How many players in this league would come through unscathed, especially in the wallet?

If I had been advising Favre during this scenario, I would have advised him to release a statement about the situation, personally deal with the team management and the league’s office, and stay out of the public eye as much as possible. Yes, you want Favre to earn his spot back with the team, but attacking the hand that feeds you and riling up the media and public isn’t really the best way to do so. Favre is the face of the franchise and him badmouthing the team and leaving for the Jets has left a PR scar on his personal brand.

In Conclusion…

Even as Lions fan, this fiasco has left a sour taste in my mouth as I no longer hold the Packers organization and Brett Favre in the same high regard I once did (I had previously likened it to the relationship the Detroit Red Wings had with Steve Yzerman throughout his career). Fortunately, the decisions have been made and Favre is playing for a new team allowing the Packers to focus on developing Rodgers. After 16 years with the Packers, Favre will always be a cheesehead and the Packers have also expressed interest in offering Favre that marketing deal once he retires for good.

Hopefully this situation will encourage other sports teams to evaluate their game plan should one of their star former players decide to un-retire because of the possible negative implications. The first step in crisis communications is planning and preparing in case of a crisis and this is situation was no different.

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