Showing posts with label September 11. Show all posts
Showing posts with label September 11. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Major PR Mistake for Bud Selig

This past Sunday, September 11, MLB commissioner Bud Selig made a decision that outraged many baseball fans across the country. Today, he is embarrassed by it. And he should be.

In honor of the victims and first responders of 9/11, the New York Mets wanted to wear the first responders' caps for their prime-time ballgame as various NFL coaches had done on the sidelines earlier that day. But Selig shot it down.

The league warned the Mets about wearing the hats, and there is a report that it confiscated the hats after the pregame ceremony, in which Mets players donned the NYPD and FDNY hats. It is disputed whether the MLB actually would have punished them for playing in them, which would have made the league look even worse.

The Mets ended up wearing the official MLB 9/11 cap, which featured a small American flag on the side.

Selig, who has been looked upon critically from baseball fans throughout his tenure, is now facing hatred from many people.  He went and called the Mets earlier today, and criticized them for making the event public and throwing the league "under the bus." But really, he embarrassed himself.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Mendenhall's Remarks Cost Him Endorsment Contract

Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall probably wishes he could have taken back his remarks regarding the killing of Osama bin Laden. His consequence for his two tweets is losing his prime sponsor, Champion. Just this past Sunday, Mendenhall had signed a four-year extension with the apparel company, who he had endorsed since 2008, the year he was drafted. But that contract is moot following Mendenhall's remarks.

As a result of the public reaction toward the terrorist's death, Mendenhall tweeted: "What kind of person celebrates death? It's amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We've only heard one side..."

The second tweet is the one that probably cost him his sponsor, regarding the 9/11 attack: "We'll never know what really happened. I just have a hard time believing a plane could take a skyscraper down demolition style."

In a statement the brand sent to ESPN.com, Champion said while they respect Mendenhall's rights to have views on controversial topics, he is not fit to represent their brand because of what he said. In the statement, Champion said they were a strong supporter of the government's fight against terrorism, and called Mendenhall's remarks "inconsistent with the values of the Champion brand."

Occurrences such as this beg the question of whether teams should consider banning social media as a whole.