Clippers Case Study
According to the study, how did the NBA respond to the leaked recording from Donald Sterling?
Following the release of the audiotape of Donald Sterling and his girlfriend’s private chat, which provided evidence against Donald Sterling for being racist, the NBA had to take swift action to address the issue because the Clippers began losing sponsors. The league felt that the comments made by Sterling in the audio recording and his racist behaviors were destabilizing the NBA’s efforts to enhance diversity, harming the owners of the NBA, damaging the relationship between the NBA and its fans and creating a bad relationship between the Clipper’s team members and players. One of the measures the NBA took to respond to the leaked recording was imposing a $2.5 million fine on Sterling and a permanent ban from the NBA and the Clippers (Shreffler et al., 2015). Another measure was terminating Donald Sterling’s ownership of the Clippers, thus forcing Sterling to pass the Clippers’ ownership to his wife.
What were the league’s crisis management strategies?
According to Frandsen & Johansen (2020), crisis management is the application of strategies that help an organization deal with an unexpected or disruptive event that may harm the organization or its stakeholders. The main elements of crisis management include a limited decision time, the element of surprise, and a threat to the organization. For example, in the Clippers incident, the threat to the organization was the loss of sponsors, harming the organization’s relationship with stakeholders, and creating a bad image for the organization. The element of surprise in the case was the video leakage that was released without anyone being informed about its existence. The organization was also expected to respond to the issue quickly to prevent losing sponsors. Immediate action was also necessary because the players had removed the Clippers logo from their jerseys and started warming up in clothes worn inside out to avoid revealing the tram’s logo. The Clippers’ case was a major crisis for the club because the incident occurred unexpectedly and negatively impacted the team.
One of the most vital things in crisis management is communication. Effective communication should be maintained in all six stages of a crisis. The first stage is a warning. This stage includes informing those affected by the crisis about it so they can stay prepared for the impact of the crisis. For example, the warning in the Clippers case was informing the NBA about the leaked video. The second stage is risk assessment, which includes determining the risks that arise from the crisis. The risk assessment in the Clippers case involved determining the impact of the audio on the team’s reputation and sponsorship. The third stage is a response, which includes specific actions triggered by the crisis. For instance, the reaction in the Clippers’ case was the withdrawal of sponsors from the Clippers team, wearing Clippers’ jerseys inside out during training and removing the Clippers logo from the team’s jerseys. The fourth stage is management, which involves reducing the negative impact of the crisis. Management in the Clippers case included firing Sterling before the NBA could find another effective measure to address the issue. The fifth stage is the resolution, which includes implementing the crisis management approaches. In the Clippers case, the resolution included imposing a heavy punishment on Sterling, including a fine of $2.5 million and a permanent ban from the NBA and the Clippers. The fifth stage is recovery, which includes resuming operations. For example, recovery in the Clippers case included putting the team under the management of Sterling’s wife and welcoming national interviews on television to save the team’s face.
The main crisis management strategies used by the Clippers were establishing resilience and assigning crisis management tasks appropriately. The league built resilience by responding to the issue crisis as soon as it emerged. Adam Silver and the NBA began deciding how to address the crisis. After four days, Adam Silver instituted the punishment for the Clippers and Donald Sterling. The league assigned the crisis management tasks appropriately by ensuring that those involved in the crisis management’s decision-making had the skills and expertise needed to address the issue. For example, Adam Silver and the NBA were able to devise an appropriate punishment for Sterling within four days. Silver also communicated the punishment and maintained transparency throughout the crisis management process.
What is your understanding of racism in American sports, and how do you think professional sports could help promote social justice?
Racism in American sports includes denying players from minority groups an opportunity to play and join professional leagues. In some instances, players from minority groups may be denied the chance to play in major leagues despite having the required skills and expertise needed to play in the leagues. Racism in American sports also includes offering less pay for players from minority groups. Racism is prevalent in professional sports, where players compete for opportunities to join major leagues and win sports awards to improve their image and attract brands that pay them to act as their ambassadors. Racism in American sports is mainly promoted by players and team managers. For example, players from marginalized groups may be discriminated against by players from minority groups, especially if they are immigrants. Players from marginalized groups may also face discrimination from fellow tea mates during the game, where they are denied a chance to play in major positions. For example, in football, players from minority groups may be denied the opportunity to participate in penalties despite having the right skills and expertise due to discrimination. Therefore, it is important to create awareness of the negative impact of discrimination in professional sports and encourage a culture of diversity and inclusion.
Although racism in American sports has been a major issue in professional sports for a long time, professional sports could help promote social justice. McInerney (2015) defines social justice as the view that everybody deserves equal political, economic, and social opportunities and rights. One of the ways through which professional sports can promote social justice is by mobilizing communities to fight against discrimination. Professional teams can mobilize communities to fight against discrimination by creating slogans, sharing them on their social media platforms, and writing them on team players’ jerseys. Team members may also dedicate a game to a cause aimed at fighting discrimination and social inequalities. Another strategy that professional teams can use to promote social justice is setting a good example to fans by signing up players from diverse backgrounds and encouraging people from different backgrounds to join the team. Professional teams can also donate money to help fight social injustices in the community. For example, they can donate money to pay for scholarships for poor students in the community to prevent inequality in access to education. Professional sports can also promote social justice by mentoring young players from different backgrounds and enrolling them into professional sports clubs to allow them to pursue a career in sports and earn an income that they can use to provide for themselves and their families.
References
Frandsen, F., & Johansen, W. (2020). Reframing the field: Public crisis management, political crisis management, and corporate crisis management. Crisis Communication, 59-102. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110554236-003
McInerney, C. (2015). Exploring the meaning of social justice. Challenging times, challenging administration. https://doi.org/10.7765/9781526103314.00010
Shreffler, M. B., Presley, G., & Schmidt, S. (2015). Getting clipped: An evaluation of crisis management and the NBA’s response to the actions of Donald Sterling. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526432773.
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Question 
This week’s assignment:
Choose one of the following assignments:
1) You have just been named athletic director at a high-profile university. It comes to your attention that your institution may be in violation of Title IX based on the lack of participation opportunities available for female student-athletes, but the institution does not have the resources to add another sport. What actions would you take as the newly hired athletic director? Would you consider cutting a sport during your first or second year in the position or asking the student body to help fund an additional women’s sport by asking the president or board of trustees to raise student fees? Additionally, you notice that some of your athletic facilities are not compliant with ADA regulations and are outdated. How would you address these issues?
2) Read the case study “Getting Clipped: An Evaluation of Crisis Management and the NBA’s Response to the Actions of Donald Sterling” (Shreffler, Presley, & Schmidt, 2015) in the journal Case Studies in Sport Management. The case study can be accessed at the Human Kinetics website: https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/abs/10.1123/cssm.2014-0027. Here are links to an external site. According to the study, how did the NBA respond to the leaked recording from Donald Sterling? What were the league’s crisis management strategies? What is your understanding of racism in American sports, and how do you think professional sports could help promote social justice?
Pedersen, P. M. (2018). Contemporary Sport Management (6th ed.). Human Kinetics Publishers. https://online.vitalsource.com/books/9781492567127
Chapters: 17-18
Weblinks Week 5
www.ncaa.org – http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/inclusionLinks to an external site.
www.thesportsdaily.com – http://thesportsdaily.com/the-importance-of-promoting-diversity-in-sport/Links to an external site.
www.workinsports.com – https://www.workinsports.com/blog/social-and-emotional-benefits-of-playing-sports/Links to an external site.
www.forbes.com – https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacglover/2017/07/24/foul-play-brand-management-in-sports-in-the-era-of-social-media-part-1/#3da59a6c56d6Links to an external site.
www.forbes.com – https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacglover/2017/07/26/foul-play-brand-management-in-sports-in-the-era-of-social-media-part-2/#3f97127c3559Links to an external site.
Links to an external site.