The New York Jets' Rex Ryan needs to take his feet out of his mouth. Usually, when you hear the saying that someone has their foot in their mouth it means that they are saying things that are not very intelligent. However, in this instance, Ryan has figuratively put both of his feet in his mouth to intentionally avoid addressing what will become known as Foot-Fetish Gate.
According to Deadspin.com, a woman who looks very similar to Ryan's wife Michelle has been posting videos onto YouTube about feet fetishes. In addition, if you listen to one of the videos posted the voice sounds similar to Ryan's. The YouTube account ("ihavepretty feet") that originally contained these videos was so popular that YouTube allegedly terminated the account for terms of service violations.
Foot-Fetish Gate was on the Cover of today's New York Daily News. According to NJ.com, when Ryan was asked about the videos in a press conference today he stated, "This is a personal matter and I'm not going to discuss it. This is a personal matter, I hope you can respect the fact I don't want to discuss it."
Ryan should have followed the way Dave Letterman handled his social media situation when Letterman was blackmailed about his personal conduct last year. On December 2, 2009, I blogged about how well Letterman handled his social media crisis and stated that Tiger Woods should follow David Letterman's social media crisis playbook. David Letterman came out publicly very quickly on his show and admitted what had happened. Letterman's honest response made the story die very early in the news cycle with no apparent professional consequences.
In contrast, Tiger Woods for months refused to address his personal problems that became public soon after Thanksgiving 2009. Woods' handling of his social media crisis has derailed his career, cost him millions in sponsorship dollars and destroyed his marriage. The final chapter on Brett Favre's sexting scandal has not been written yet so it is too early to properly review his social media crisis response.
From the facts I have seen so far, it does not appear that Rex Ryan or his wife have engaged in any activity that could cause him legal problems. Therefore, I would advise Rex Ryan to come clean and make this a non-story quickly. Ryan may want to take a page from Hugh Grant's personal incident from 15 years ago when Grant was caught with a hooker. Grant did the talk show circuit and made light of the matter. Grant's career did not suffer because he apologized and acted sincere and audiences have embraced him ever since. If you win football games people generally don't care what you do in your spare time. Even then, the U.S. is a very forgiving country. For example, Michael Vick has resurrected his career due to his recent on the field play and his positive contributions to his surrounding community.
Since Ryan and his wife may only be guilty of poor decision making he should do a 180 as soon as possible and give a press conference that honestly addresses Foot-Fetish Gate before this weekend's NFL games begin. Nobody cares what Ryan and his wife do in their spare time as long as the Jets win. However, if the Jets lose this Sunday and don't make or go far in the playoffs Ryan and/or his wife's off the field activities may be further questioned. Personally, I can't wait to see and hear what the Chicago Bear fans will say to Ryan at this weekend's game. Are you ready for some football?
To learn how to properly handle a social media crisis you may contact me at http://www.shearlaw.com/.
Copyright 2010 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
Showing posts with label NFL Sexting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NFL Sexting. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Brett Favre, Sexting, and Social Media Crisis Management
Brett Favre, the NFL, and the Minnesota Vikings have a social media public relations crisis that needs to be resolved immediately. This matter was allegedly caused by Brett Favre's innapropriate use of social media and electronic communication devices.
According to Deadspin, in 2008 while Brett Favre was playing for the New York Jets he contacted Jets hostess Jenn Sterger mulitple times in order to spend some "personal time" with her. It appears that Ms. Sterger was not interested in spending "personal time" with Favre. On Deadspin.com's website it is also alleged that Favre may have tried to have inappropriate contact with other females who had some type of professional relationship with the Jets organization. The messages allegedly left by Favre on Sterger's voice mail appear to be very troubling. In addition, it is alleged that Favre sent pornographic photos of himself electronically to Sterger.
On December 2, 2009, and on December 10, 2009 I discussed how Tiger Woods should handle his social media crisis. Unfortunately, Woods did not follow my advice and he lost his family, his reputation, millions of dollars in endorsements, and the ability to focus on his professional career.
As of this writing, Brett Favre has not publicly addressed in detail this matter and has reportedly only apologized to his teammates for being a distraction. Favre has said little to the media regarding the allegations against him. However, Favre has not stated that he is innocent of these allegations.
If Favre directly addresses this matter he has to be careful about what he says because there may be legal issues in addition to the NFL personal conduct policy issues that need to be resolved. At first glance, it appears that any possible legal issues may only be civil and not criminal in nature. One possible legal issue may be sexual harassment. However, this situation is fluid and may change depending on the facts uncovered.
Therefore, I advise Favre to do what I advised Woods to do: sit down with your legal counsel and tell them exactly what happened so your legal team can draft and execute a strategy that will keep your reputation intact. Favre's relationship with his family, fans, sponsors (Ex: Wrangler), the NFL community, etc... depends on Favre working closing with his legal team to resolve this matter. If there is a possibility that Favre's accuser has evidence that may damage Favre's reputation it may be in Favre's best interests to reach a confidential settlement with his accuser so Favre can keep his image intact. I would hate to see Favre experience the same type of downward spiral that has engulfed Tiger Woods.
This matter should be a wake up call to everyone to watch what you post on the Internet. In particular, you should be careful about what you write in an email, what you say in a voice mail or text message, and what you post on a social media site such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, etc...
To learn how to protect your social media profile you may contact me at http://www.shearlaw.com/.
Copyright 2010 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
According to Deadspin, in 2008 while Brett Favre was playing for the New York Jets he contacted Jets hostess Jenn Sterger mulitple times in order to spend some "personal time" with her. It appears that Ms. Sterger was not interested in spending "personal time" with Favre. On Deadspin.com's website it is also alleged that Favre may have tried to have inappropriate contact with other females who had some type of professional relationship with the Jets organization. The messages allegedly left by Favre on Sterger's voice mail appear to be very troubling. In addition, it is alleged that Favre sent pornographic photos of himself electronically to Sterger.
On December 2, 2009, and on December 10, 2009 I discussed how Tiger Woods should handle his social media crisis. Unfortunately, Woods did not follow my advice and he lost his family, his reputation, millions of dollars in endorsements, and the ability to focus on his professional career.
As of this writing, Brett Favre has not publicly addressed in detail this matter and has reportedly only apologized to his teammates for being a distraction. Favre has said little to the media regarding the allegations against him. However, Favre has not stated that he is innocent of these allegations.
If Favre directly addresses this matter he has to be careful about what he says because there may be legal issues in addition to the NFL personal conduct policy issues that need to be resolved. At first glance, it appears that any possible legal issues may only be civil and not criminal in nature. One possible legal issue may be sexual harassment. However, this situation is fluid and may change depending on the facts uncovered.
Therefore, I advise Favre to do what I advised Woods to do: sit down with your legal counsel and tell them exactly what happened so your legal team can draft and execute a strategy that will keep your reputation intact. Favre's relationship with his family, fans, sponsors (Ex: Wrangler), the NFL community, etc... depends on Favre working closing with his legal team to resolve this matter. If there is a possibility that Favre's accuser has evidence that may damage Favre's reputation it may be in Favre's best interests to reach a confidential settlement with his accuser so Favre can keep his image intact. I would hate to see Favre experience the same type of downward spiral that has engulfed Tiger Woods.
This matter should be a wake up call to everyone to watch what you post on the Internet. In particular, you should be careful about what you write in an email, what you say in a voice mail or text message, and what you post on a social media site such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, etc...
To learn how to protect your social media profile you may contact me at http://www.shearlaw.com/.
Copyright 2010 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
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