REPUTATION MANAGEMENT IN THE DIGITAL AGE: TOP TIPS FOR ATHLETES AND THEIR ADVISORS
Written by Alex Harvey
Most high profile athletes have commercial partners lining up to tie them into sponsorship and endorsement deals, eager to use their global image to promote their brand, and willing to paying handsomely for the privilege.
What we continually see, however, is that brands (and clubs) are just as mindful to protect their own commercial values when an athlete’s reputation is called into question, often being able to rely on “morality clauses” to terminate their contract.
It is therefore crucial that athletes recognise how important their reputation is to their earning potential, particularly in sports where off-field commercial income can be more valuable than playing contracts and match-winnings.
This article highlights some key considerations for athletes (and their representatives) seeking to maintain and protect their reputation in the digital age.
(1) Social Media
Social media platforms provide athletes with endless opportunities to interact with fans, develop their personal brand, and enhance their value as a commercial asset. Athletes must, however, recognise the risk that social media presents, with every tweet and Instagram post quickly reaching huge audiences and being monitored closely by clubs, governing bodies and sponsors alike.
Case Study: Sergi Guardiola had his playing contract with Barcelona terminated less than a day after signing for the club because of previous social media posts. The posts, which were offensive to both the club and to Catalonia, were allegedly written by a friend as a joke.
Case Study: Brazilian footballer Kenedy was sent home from Chelsea’s 2017 pre-season tour of China after he posted two videos on Instagram captioned “Damn, China” and “Wake up China. You idiot”. The FA investigated the matter and Chelsea disciplined the player, who left the club in the following transfer window.
What can you do as an athlete?
Be aware of your club’s social media policies when entering into an employment/player contract, as breaching those policies may sour your relationship with those who employ you. As an example, many football clubs have short ‘blackout periods’ before and after matches during which players cannot post on social media.
Consider engaging a specialist to carry out a social media audit on legacy content before signing up with commercial partners or entering into a new employment contract.
Ensure that family, friends and team-mates are aware of the implications of posting harmful content on social media. Wayne Hennessey is currently being investigated by the FA after his team-mate, Max Meyer, posted a photograph on Instagram which appears to show him making a Nazi salute (an allegation which Hennessey has strongly denied).
(2) "On-Field” Integrity
There are various forms of "cheating" within elite professional sport, from diving in football to taking performance enhancing drugs or match-fixing. Each will draw varying degrees of criticism and have vastly different consequences. In the most severe cases, governing bodies are known to take decisive action (imposing sanctions such as bans) to protect the integrity of their sport, whilst clubs and sponsors will move quickly to distance themselves from the offending athlete - Lance Armstrong was famously dropped by 8 sponsors in a single day. At the other end of the spectrum, even minor blips can weaken an athlete’s negotiating position when entering into commercial deals.
Case Study: Steve Smith and David Warner were both banned for a year by Cricket Australia following the ball tampering scandal last summer. The players also lost lucrative playing contracts with the IPL (reported to be worth more than £1m each) and were each dropped by various sponsors including Asics and LG.
Case Study: Maria Sharapova was banned from tennis for two years by the International Tennis Federation after testing positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open. The ban was later reduced to 15 months after it transpired that she had been taking the drug for health problems and was not aware that it had been added to the World Anti-Doping Agency's banned list earlier in 2016.
What can you do as an athlete?
The onus is on you and your advisors to be aware of, keep updated, and understand the regulatory framework under which you are bound; including the integrity regulations of your club, league and governing body.
Have a crisis management plan in place for when things go wrong and engage PR specialists to ensure that the correct message is being portrayed to the public. Any existing sponsors will inevitably want you to mitigate the damage and issue a public apology.
Consider appealing against governing body decisions. Nike initially suspended its $70m sponsorship deal with Sharapova, only to later lift the suspension when she protested her innocence and appealed the length of the ban. There are numerous bodies, such as the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which specialise in resolving sporting disputes in a private setting.
(3) “Off-field” Scandals
With public interest in professional sport at an all-time high, athletes must recognise that they will be judged not only on their on-field performances but on their behaviour and private life too. Time after time we have seen sport stars engulfed in off-field scandals, ranging from infidelity to pub-brawls, and athletes should appreciate the damage that this can have on their reputations and, ultimately, their commercial value.
Case Study: Ben Stokes was arrested following a fight outside a Bristol nightclub and was heavily criticised after a video of him impersonating Harvey Price went viral on social media. New Balance promptly terminated his sponsorship deal and he was later charged by the ECB for bringing the game into disrepute.
Case Study: Tiger Woods lost a reported $25m in sponsorship and endorsement deals once his private life was laid bare. Brands (including Tag Heuger, AT&T and Accenture) moved quickly to distance themselves from the golfer, clearly feeling that he did not align with their commercial values.
What can you do as an athlete?
Ensure that you are well-represented when entering into commercial deals as the precise wording of the contract can have huge implications. Without going too much into the legalities, here are a couple of key points for you to consider:
Sponsors will want to protect themselves by insisting on a broad right to terminate if you bring their brand into disrepute - known as morality clauses. You should try to keep this clause as narrow as possible and limit the brand’s choice of remedies if you are in breach.
You should push back on terms which allow the sponsor to terminate if you are arrested. Instead, insist that they can only terminate if you are charged (or even convicted). It is also reasonable to carve-out driving offences, as these should not be deemed serious enough to terminate the contract.
(4) Defamatory Statements
Although most reputational damage is self-inflicted and easily avoided, there are instances where an “innocent” athlete must defend their reputation from false allegations. Where somebody makes a statement about an athlete (either spoken or written) which is false and which causes harm to their reputation, the athlete may have a legal claim against them in defamation.
Case Study: Rafa Nadal successfully bought a defamation claim against the former French Minister for Health and Sport after she alleged that he had tested positive for a banned substance in 2012. Nadal (and his lawyers) recognised the dangers that such an allegation could have on his brand deals and moved swiftly to defend his reputation.
Case Study: West-Indian cricketer Chris Gayle was awarded £173,000 in damages after winning a defamation claim against Australian publisher Fairfax Media. The newspaper alleged that he had exposed his genitals to a female masseuse, which Gayle strongly denied.
What can you do as an athlete?
You and your advisors should take a pro-active approach to reputation management and take swift, robust action to prevent false allegations from spreading.
Succeeding in a defamation claim proves to the public (and commercial partners) that the allegation against you was false, which maintains and protects the value of your image.
Bringing a defamation claim will also show that you are serious about protecting your reputation and might dissuade others from making false allegations in the future.
Make sure you obtain legal advice when considering an action in defamation, as the matter would need to be dealt with in court.