The Bailey Blog

If you have watched ESPN SportsCenter lately, don’t worry, it only looks like America’s Most Wanted, you are on the right channel. In the three largest sports associations in North America (the NBA, NFL and MLB) and one of the most widely known races in the world, there are separate investigations underway to determine the involvement of its players, participants and referees in illegal or banned activities.

From a communication standpoint, this is a huge problem. There is major damage control that needs to happen from both the teams, athletes, as well as the leagues.

NFL: Michael Vick has been linked to an underground dog fighting ring and has allegedly participated in the wagering and slaughtering of the animals when they no longer performed well. This only adds to the player misconduct of last year when no less than eight players from the Cincinnati Bengals were arrested, Tank Johnson, formerly of the Chicago Bears was arrested on a weapons possession charge among other things and Pacman Jones of the Tennessee Titans was arrested after being involved in a fight that lead to a shooting outside of a club in Las Vegas.

NBA: 13-year veteran referee Tim Donaghy is being investigated by the FBI in connection with gambling on NBA games, some of which he officiated, and point fixing, both major no-no’s in any professional sport. To add to the matter, it has been alleged that this activity stemmed from his involvement with organized crime.

MLB: Barry Bonds just broke Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record and there has been a ton of publicity, record attendance and interest in the game has never been higher. Great news, right? Not exactly, the publicity isn’t all positive as the record seems to be tainted because of allegations that Bonds took steroids or other performance enhancing supplements to help his move to the top of the home run charts. Not only that, but suspensions by MLB of other players confirm that banned substances are being used in the majors.

To make matters even worse for Major League Baseball, there have been rumblings that MLB is covering up key information to keep the publicity going during the tumultuous times, increasing fan attendance and merchandise sales.

Tour de France: American Floyd Landis, 2006 winner, has been fighting for over a year to clear his name of doping during the 2006 Tour de France, but seems no closer today than a year ago as he awaits the arbitration ruling in his case. This year, several riders, and even entire teams were disqualified or fired from participation because of positive drug tests. One rider was even fired from his team for evading the drug test, citing that he was preparing for a race in Mexico.

All of these scandals have one thing in common – the leadership behind the organizations have a job to restore credibility to the fan base in order for there to be no doubt about the validity of wins and losses, or there will forever be doubt about foul play, cheating and substance abuse in these sports.

It will not be an easy job.

I’ve long believed that sports is the great equalizer, especially when a country is going through a series of hardships. Just look at America’s “Miracle On Ice,” when a team of fuzzy-faced college hockey players shocked the world in 1980 by beating a team of grizzled veterans from the Soviet Union. That game will forever be forged in the sports mythos of our country, not just because the dark horse Americans beat the best team in the world. It’s because our country needed a pick-me-up in the worst possible way — our economy was in the dumper, the Cold War was at its zenith and America was enduring the humiliation of a year-long hostage ordeal in Iran. But then came along the golden boys of Lake Placid … well, you know the rest of the story. Disney made a movie about it about two years ago.

Over the weekend, a similar story has risen from war-torn Iraq. The Iraqi national soccer team shocked the world by winning its first-ever Asian Cup, beating three-time champion and arch rival Saudi Arabia … sound familiar? They beat the Saudis 1-0 in a game that seemed as much about simmering hatred as it did about the scoreboard. The victorious Iraqis, who took to the streets (to the amusement of American soldiers), re-discovered national joy and hope after four years of war and occupation. Even native Iraqis in nearby Dearborn showed their patriotism by slowing traffic in metro Detroit.

Newspapers report that the Iraqis were the sentimental favorite going into the tournament because of the country’s tempest-like environment, plus this was the one sport where the villainous (and now deceased) Uday Hussein had the greatest stranglehold, as Iraq’s former commissioner of sports. His torture of athletes, even members of the national soccer team, made Sports Illustrated headlines just before the start of the Iraqi War.

For once, it was promising to see that the “shot” everyone was talking actually came from the foot of a talented Iraqi soccer play and not a firefight in the streets of Baghdad.

Sometimes it’s hard to measure someone’s influence on your life. Some people pass through in the blink of an eye — yet they still have a profound long-term impact. They are like the tiny pebble you toss into the lake…they make a quick splash, but they also create a ripple in the water that can cascade forever.

Joe Clinton was like that for me.

In the fall of 1980, Joe Clinton was the freshman basketball coach at Troy Athens High School. I was a short, skinny, slow third-string point guard who was low on talent and even lower on self-esteem.

Coach Clinton wasn’t a rah-rah kind of coach. He preferred guys who kept their mouths shut and just played hard. But, many of his words have stuck with me through the years.
He said if you miss a shot from 20 feet, back up and shoot from 22.

Translation for the basketball impaired? You are human, you will make mistakes. But, the important thing is to believe in yourself, believe in your talent and just keep going.

He also said the guys who shovel their driveway in the dead of winter so they can work on their games are going to become players.

Translation? Work your butt off and good things will happen.

I took his words to heart and played basketball whenever humanly possible. I never made all-state…heck, I never even became first string. But, I was one of only six guys in my graduating class to earn a varsity letter in basketball. More important, I’ve called on Coach Clinton’s words frequently in my professional career…today it’s more like “clear off your kitchen table and get some work done at midnight,” but the sentiment is still the same…work your butt off and good things will happen.

Playing basketball for Coach Clinton was one of the best experiences of my youth. I played with great guys who became lifelong friends…we won a lot of games and had a lot of fun. Most important, for me at least, there were lifelong lessons that have made me a better person, professional and parent.

Sadly, Coach Clinton passed away last week at the age of 59. He coached for more than 35 years in the Troy school system and won hundreds of games. Most importantly, he touched thousands of lives as a coach and a teacher.

I hope he knew the impact he had on me and many of the others he coached. It was certainly a life well spent.

My 13-year-old daughter just might have a future in sales, public relations or advertising.

She has learned the fastest way to make a sale is to identify how it benefits the prospect.

Here’s the story:

Most Friday afternoons, I get a slightly grumpy phone call, “Dad, can you drive me and my friends to the movies tonight?” Sometimes, I grudgingly oblige, but often I tell her to ask one of her friends’ parents instead.

But, last Friday, she changed her approach.

“Dad,” she said, surprisingly upbeat, “how would you like to watch basketball tonight?”

Now, if you know me even a little, you can probably guess the answer. Of course, I’ll watch hoops anytime!

What’s the catch? I had to drive an SUV full of loud, giggly, teenage girls to the game. My daughter got exactly what she wanted, but she did it by making it a win for me, too.

Successful marketing stresses customer benefits much more than product or service attributes. Take $5 pizzas from Little Caesars, for example…I’m not sure if they talk about how good the pizza is, or what a good deal $5 is…but they show families getting in and out quickly. When the DeVilling family is on the go between soccer, basketball, cheerleading, softball, track, choir, two jobs and two schools, we’re not buying pizza. We’re buying time.

If you look at your ad, your press release or your sales pitch and the customer benefits don’t jump out immediately, it might be a good time to bring in your PR firm or ad agency for a fresh perspective. Or, maybe I’ll run it by my daughter when I drive her to the game again this Friday!

This past week, the state of Michigan lost a true icon — Bo Schembechler. He is credited with winning the most football games in history of U of M, and helping turn the Ohio State game into arguably the most heated rivalry in collegiate athletics. His untimely death made national headlines, mostly because he died on the eve of the biggest Ohio State/Michigan contest in history — pitting the top-ranked Buckeyes against the second-ranked Wolverines.

To most sports fans outside of the Midwest, Bo’s passing marked the death of a good college coach, mostly known for his affinity for spiking headsets and a dismal bowl record. However to Michiganians, Bo was more. He ran a clean football program that produced dozens of All Americans and more than 100 NFL draft picks. His players remained loyal to him even after their playing days were over. Never one to play favorites, Bo was just as proud of the former player who went on to become a plant manager or successful salesman as the player who went on to NFL glory. As the story goes, Bo even escorted one of his former players to prison, encouraging the wayward man to display the same strength that he had once shown on the field.

Football aside, Bo was a humanitarian known for raising millions of dollars in the fight against cancer, following the death of his first wife, Millie, in 1992. The power of his celebrity put a face on the disease — not that of a grieving widower but a man adamantly dedicated to helping the afflicted. He genuinely cared about people. It’s been said that his legacy was defined by the size of his heart. Ironically, it was that stressed organ that ended his life prematurely. Our state has not only lost a coaching legend but a great advocate for humanity. Bo will be missed.

The city of Detroit has been experiencing a mini-renaissance over the last few years. It has made great leaps in the right direction with construction of new homes, strong media backing and heavy promotion of large-scale events like Super Bowl XL and the NAIAS, as well as many other notable events and projects.

Lately, it seems like the city’s renaissance mission is rubbing off on the Detroit Tigers, who clinched a playoff spot two weeks ago.

While the wild card team often gets the short end of the stick, and not much consideration for winning the World Series, it is still a monumental achievement. The last time the Tigers earned a playoff spot was almost 20 years ago (1987). The team improved by over 20 games this year, showing that it has more than just heart, it has talent and great leadership as well.

Making the playoffs is a just reward for a stellar regular season, but there is a reward for the city of Detroit as well. As Crain’s Detroit Business reports (subscription required), if the Tigers play every potential home playoff game, the team will have pumped nearly $72 million into the local economy.

The Tigers have already put nearly $36 million more into the economy this year, according to Anderson Economic Group, thanks to the nearly 7,500 more fans who passed through the Comerica Park turnstiles at every home game this season.

As far as I am concerned, the Tigers have already won over the city and set a great example as to what can be achieved when talent, leadership and a huge heart act as one.

Go Tigers!

The Yankees won last night 8-4 and lead the best-of-five series, 1-0.

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You’ve undoubtedly heard about the scandal surrounding the Duke men’s lacrosse team. An illicit party involved exotic dancers, alcohol and bad judgment.

A common theme in coverage about this case is the implied reputation of lacrosse players and teams (not just those at Duke) as being wild, whether on or off the field. As a former lacrosse player and current lacrosse coach, I can confirm that many people throughout the nation share this perception.

That line of thinking may or may not be correct, but the stereotype exists. Justified or not, that reputation affects lacrosse players, teams and coaches everywhere.

The allegation is that some Duke players committed a number of crimes that were sexual in nature and fueled by alcohol on a dancer, who is a single mother of two.

Obviously something happened at the party and the real story will unfold over time.

Beyond the simple “he said, she said” of this case lies many other issues. For example, the pressure on the district attorney to produce suspects, his upcoming re-election, the Durham, N.C. area’s class/race profile, DNA evidence, and many others.

Many times perception is reality, regardless of facts. Nobody knows yet exactly what happened at that party, but there has been a lot of speculation.

The important thing in this case, as well as the communications industry and marketplace, is to examine all sides of the issue to fully understand what is based in fact and what is not. We must realize that perception is reality, but it is imperative to understand the facts because only then can an educated opinion be formed.

This case is an example of reporters being challenged to cover the facts, without bias toward America’s suspicions. In our business, providing counsel to clients must reflect the same ethical process, no matter how difficult the situation.