Why the NFL Should Run Crisis PR for Everybody

Everyone knows the NFL’s replacement officials have been a train wreck. The NFL also knows it. After being destroyed in the media after Monday night’s fiasco, including rare lead segments on The Today Show and GMA, it would seem odd the league would issue a statement on Tuesday that mostly defended the refs. But I think it was brilliant, and here is why: 1) The NFL knows we’ll watch the games regardless of the officiating. It was laughable that talk radio hosts or "guy-in-mom's-basement" fans could organize boycotts. I ironically think the controversy over the replacement refs is getting more eyes on the games; and 2) The public wasn’t the target of the NFL’s Tuesday statement. Instead of caving like babies to the demands of the referees, the NFL let them know on Tuesday that they would still “dig in”, even if the owners were getting killed by the public. The NFL had a serious point that part-time officials should not be collecting free pensions, and at the very least, Tuesday’s statement sent a message that the refs should be prepared to negotiate on that issue. We live in a nation of over-reactors who were screaming, “Oh my God! Settle with the refs right now!” While caving can make people feel better in the short-term, that kind of thinking can start to erode the core culture of a successful business. The NFL didn’t become a $10 billion enterprise for being a bunch of knee-jerks, which is why I view the league’s statement as external action to continuing internal contract negotiation issues. To paraphrase a famous Right Guard deodorant commercial - The NFL was sweating on Tuesday, but brilliant crisis PR prevented the regular officials from seeing how much sweating was going on.