Vick plea deal - ‘win-win’ PR strategy?
Was Michael Vick’s plea deal a savvy PR move for the NFL quarterback? I asked Mike Paul, president/senior counselor MGP & Associates PR.
“I think it’s a win-win situation for him,” says Paul. A lengthy court battle would have been worse, and the government was likely to win, he adds.
But won’t the public think he got off easy with a plea bargain?
“Yes and no,” Paul says. “If he were my client I would explain what someone who is involved with dogfighting usually gets for something like this…We treat our stars differently, we’re more harsh…because they’re our heroes.”
But don’t hold your breath for Vick to return to the NFL after the jail sentence.
“How many people have come back to play two years later?” Paul notes. “I don’t think that statistic is very high.”
But there’s a way for Vick to win back some points: when the official announcement is made, he should address everyone — the NFL, the Falcons, the fans, sponsors, the animal rights activists.
“If they’re not thinking about all those different audiences,” he warns. “And they may not - because they’re thinking legal first. They’re going to have another missed opportunity.”
So what else should Vick do now?
“He can start a blog,” Paul suggests. “He can talk about all the things he’s done wrong.” And stop apologizing to family members.
“Yes, I’m sure that you’re sorry you hurt your mom,” he says. “But guess what? You have much further responsibilities…and it starts with… the fans that you hurt, who pay money to see you in the stands.”
Reaching out to animal rights groups would be a good step, but don’t expect them to befriend Vick so soon, he adds.
Sitrick and Company is said to be repping Vick, but the agency declined comment when I called.
It would still be hard not to think of him as a rat-bastard, but he could make a very sizeable donations to various animal rights groups (publicized by third parties, not by himself) in an attempt to offset the harm he’s done. Moreover, I don’t think it could be a one-off deal; he’d have to dedicate a portion of any further money he makes in the future to animal rights causes, and maybe then he could be seen as something other than scum by many.
Michael Vick has emotional problems that have, as yet, been undiagnosed. But he’s not the first athlete to tumble from his throne. We all sat in horror more than a decade ago and watched a great fighter, Mike Tyson, completely implode when he bit off part of the ear of another fighter. Just because these men are great athletes does not mean we should put all of our faith and hope in them. We are all flawed. It’s just that Michael Vick’s flaws have been broadcast to the world. I think it is important that he owns up to what he did and acknowledges that it is wrong. Hopefully, while he is in jail, he will get real counseling and help in understanding his self-destructive behavior. I hope he returns to the NFL. The only thing we Americans like better than a super-athlete is a disgraced athlete on the comeback trail of redemption.
[...] No attention-getting post about What Michael Vick Taught Me about Crisis Communications (Ragan’s Grapevine eNewsletter). No generic PR article tarted up with an unconnected headline Michael Vick: When Good Athletes Turn Bad - How to Handle a PR Nightmare. No play-by-play analysis: Vick’s Plea Deal - a Win-win PR Strategy? [...]