I’ve written frequently and emphatically over the past few months about sports reform. Don’t expect significant change to come from sports institutions. Why? Those enterprises are invested in the status quo. Pro, college…no matter the sport… same thing: institutional elites—all of them and all the time—will talk big and then act small … with an historic exception: the integration of Major League Baseball, a shining example of executive (Branch Rickey) and institutional (the Dodgers) leadership.
But sports reform can happen (and often does) through a combination of media coverage and public outrage. When things get hot, institutional elites are pushed—often shamed—into acting. We saw that outcome earlier this year in response to the Veterans Administration debacle. Now it’s the NFL’s turn to be the target of populist indignation.
Hurry for America!
But the jury is still out about whether the Rice incident will propel major change—in the NFL and beyond. It should. It needs to.
What are the odds? They’re good, actually. Why?
Long ago I learned that big change requires a precipitating event (the Rice matter in this case)—a tipping point. But a precipitating event, by itself, isn’t enough. For meaningful change you need a history of predisposing factors, too, i.e., a series of similar events and circumstances that serve as a foundation for change. We have that foundation thanks to the NBA (Sterling, Atlanta Hawks) and the NCAA (athlete law suits), among others.
I don’t expect things to cool down. Only at issue is the scope of change.
What a shame it would be if next steps focus exclusively on the NFL and the issue of spousal abuse. Both are important, of course, but what happened in the Rice case is symptomatic of extensive ills facing American institutionalized sports.
What’s the problem?
It’s leadership. The people in charge of sports leagues, associations, and teams—pro and major college, alike—are really good at marketing, making money, and growing their respective programs in size and scope. Just listen to them talk: it’s often about achieving new money-related targets, such as becoming a $25-billion dollar operation for the NFL and growing in financial stature (akin to pro league in revenues) for The Big Ten.
That’s fine, as far as it goes: we need people in charge who know how to run and grow a business. But it’s not enough. People today want more than “good at business” in sports leadership. They don’t seem to be getting “more,” though. What’s going on?
When people and institutions don’t or won’t do what needs to be done—and that’s the plight facing Commissioner Goodell and the NFL—it raises fundamental questions.
Do they care? Do they know how?
Courtesy: onecybertech.com
Think about those questions in relationship to what everyday people face in their lives. If any of us cares enough about something (say, to stop drinking alcohol excessively) there’s still the important matter of having the skills and capacity to respond. We can solve certain problems quickly and easily. Other issues confound and frustrate us. They’re difficult to understand, let alone resolve. Then we look at other people, and see how easily they address the same issues, as we clunk around, acting and looking foolish.
That’s what we have now. Many of the people running our athletic programs aren’t adept at addressing social issues. Head injuries. Diversity. Spousal abuse. It’s a long list. Those aren’t dollars and sense issues only. They aren’t about expanding a league or negotiating a new TV contract. And you can’t pass them along to a marketing or PR specialist.
Time and time again the current generation of sports leaders is behind the 8-ball, reacting not leading change. Take head injuries for example. And many social issues end up as contested matters, in the court system, with sports leagues and teams defendants in legal actions.
Doesn’t that tell you something?
What America needs is a new generation of sports leaders and administrators, across the board, college and pro. And we don’t need these matters delegated to a vice president for public or community relations, either. We need CEOs who CARE about these issues, think about them constantly, and want to make a difference. It’s who they, what makes them tick.
The current crop?
They don’t “get it.” They aren’t getting the job done. They aren’t the right people.
Period.
