By Keshane Hinckley
In premier leagues like the NFL and the NBA, public relations (PR) professionals are needed. In these leagues, you have players making an extreme amount of money with fan bases of the millions. Mixing fans and money can lead to a recipe for disaster, especially when fans buy tickets and are not able to see the players they want to see. When fans buy tickets, they expect to get a great show or performance from organizations and players. However, with the current climate of the NBA and their Covid-19 protocol, the fans might not be able to get those performances and shows that they intended for. In the world of PR professionals today they have their hands full with trying to keep the players, organizations, and leagues in the fans’ good graces. The NBA has recently started back up, but before the start-up, there were a lot of discrepancies about their Covid-19 policy. Players are not forced to get vaccinated, but if they don’t there are obstacles set in place that will hinder their play and bonding with their teammates. In Kelly Ekert’s NBC sports article, she explains a little more of the things unvaccinated players have to do just to play and practice “Unvaccinated players, on the other hand, will be required to undergo testing on all days involving practice or travel, and they could be tested multiple times on game days”. So, players like Kyrie Irving, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal who are top players on their teams are going to have to be really careful because one wrong move can lead them to quarantine, which will result in not being able to play. However, PR professionals can do a lot to help players, organizations, and leagues keep the same fan base while going through tough moments like this. First, they can utilize social media to engage fans and keep them updated on their favorite player's status. Next, finding a way to connect with the fans outside of social media is important. Since they are coming to games, it’s imperative to keep them active within the arena. Finally, training these athletes to speak to the media about their vaccine situation is big. With the right answers and media training, it will help keep players and organizations in good graces with the fans. Even though roughly around 90 percent of the NBA is vaccinated, those who aren’t vaccinated can cause problems. Players like Kyrie Irving, who currently plays for the Brooklyn Nets are in a position, unlike any other player. The NBA is not forcing the vaccination, but the state of New York is. For Irving to practice or play in any home games, he must be vaccinated which hurts the team because he is a star player for the Nets. In the eyes of a PR professional, this can be tricky, but not all is lost. With unvaccinated players having options to participate with extreme restrictions it still gives a way for PR professionals to keep the fans happy with organizations and players. Source: Which NBA players are vaccinated, unvaccinated against COVID-19 https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/wizards/list-vaccinated-unvaccinated-nba-players-ahead-season
1 Comment
7/5/2023 09:06:31 pm
Our consultants focus on specific sectors, enabling them to understand what drives each market and identify the best possible candidates for any given role.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorBowie State University SPR Group Student Blog Archives
May 2022
Categories
All
|