What Were They Thinking?: Crisis Communication: The Good, the Bad, and the Totally Clueless

NFL Boss Roger Goodell: Scoring Big Points Under Pressure

In the first few months of his first year as the National Football League commissioner, Roger Goodell demonstrated the kind of solid and highly credible media savvy that is often lacking with corporate executives who are under significant pressure—particularly those in professional sports. In 2007 Goodell faced a series of major scandals in the NFL, including the Michael Vick dog-fighting debacle, Pacman Jones’s endless stream of criminal problems, and the New England Patriots/Bill Belichick “videogate” cheating scandal. In every case, Commissioner Goodell was a stand-up leader. He didn’t duck any of these challenges. He made tough decisions and handed down stiff penalties. He didn’t wait to communicate ; he was proactive, and when he got the opportunity to speak with the media on a national stage on NBC’s Sunday Night Unlike Bud Selig of Major League Baseball, National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell believed that he had to face the media and the American public (especially football fans) and candidly address the scandals that the NFL’s stars were embroiled in—even if it acknowledged what many already perceived. What were they thinking?. The media and the public respect honest and forthright information; on the other hand, they are brutal to those who try to hide, stonewall, or deny what we already believe to be true. The Lesson. 218 NFL Boss Roger Goodell SCORING BIG POINTS UNDER PRESSURE Adubato_final_book 5/20/08 4:32 PM Page 218 Football, he took every question and challenge head-on. That’s good crisis communication in action. Costas and Goodell During Goodell’s interview with NBC’s Bob Costas before the September 16, 2007, game between the New England Patriots and San Diego Chargers, Costas was on his game. He asked very tough questions of Goodell, who didn’t flinch. Goodell stayed cool, calm, and under control at all times. Costas, who is as tough and knowledgeable an interviewer as there is in sports, never threw Goodell off point. Goodell was not just disciplined and “on message,” he was candid and highly responsive. Costas asked Goodell about the penalties and fines he handed down to the Patriots, including a $500,000 personal fine to Bill Belichick, a $250,000 fine against the club, and the forfeit of a first-round draft choice in the next year’s draft if they make the playoffs (which was pretty much a lock). Costas cited NBC’s Cris Collinsworth’s commentary before the Goodell interview suggesting that Belichick should have been suspended for several games, particularly the next Jets game (against whom the Patriots had “spied” in the first place) and the first playoff game. Without missing a beat, Goodell responded: “I don’t agree with that and I respect Cris a great deal. But, I don’t think that’s appropriate here. My job here, Bob, is to make sure that all thirty-two teams are operating within the same rules [and] on a level playing field. That’s what I tried to do here with this penalty—is to make sure that all teams are playing by the same rules.”1 Goodell’s answer was direct and straightforward, concise and to the point. He didn’t get defensive and didn’t take any cheap shots at Collinsworth. His body language never changed—he never showed anger or frustration. He respected Collinsworth’s opinion, but he simply disagreed. Goodell did NFL BOSS ROGER GOODELL 219 Adubato_final_book 5/20/08 4:32 PM Page 219 what few media performers are able to do, which is to disagree without being disagreeable. Further, Goodell was prepared and disciplined enough to go back to his main message, which is that all thirty-two NFL teams must operate within the same rules. No matter what Costas asked Goodell, after the commissioner ’s initial response, he found his way back to his main point. Some might call that spin, but I call it great media communication . Goodell was able to reframe the discussion while still being credible. Someone as good as Costas is often able to bait sports executives and others into saying stupid things they wish never came out of their mouths. That’s because most people, when dealing with the media, have absolutely no game plan, or if they do, they don’t have the discipline or awareness to stick with that regardless of the situation. Roger Goodell did, and it...