My Lovely Blog

Being from Nashville, I understandably am a huge Tennessee Titans fan. With the Titans’ 6-0 winning streak, and the fact that they are the only team in the NFL that is still unbeaten, it is a good time for me in terms of football.

On the other hand, the NFL and the Dallas Cowboys have recently been put in a very bad light because of the actions of one player, Pacman Jones.

I am going to look at the situation involving the Cowboys and Pacman Jones from a PR perspective.

It all started in 2007 when Jones, who was playing for the Titans at the time, was suspended by the league for off-field issues involving a fight and a shooting at a Las Vegas strip club. Pacman took it upon himself to be his own PR practitioner and took out an ad in the Tennessean newspaper, reassuring fans that he would regain their trust and make up for his actions. He also said he planned to re-enroll in college and graduate.

The PR efforts were unsuccessful, as Pacman was traded to the Cowboys the following season.

A few weeks ago, on Oct. 8, Pacman was involved in a fight with his bodyguard in a Dallas hotel; however the bodyguard decided not to press charges against him. Immediately after this incident, both the league and the Cowboys had no comment.

The fact that both of these organizations had no comment on this incident, one of many in recent history for Pacman, is off-putting. Shouldn’t they have had something to say about the fact that this one man has shamed an entire league with his actions?

Owner Jerry Jones exhibited extreme spin control in the days following Pacman’s hotel incident. He was attempting to minimize the damage that this latest incident would do to the Cowboys organization and to himself for signing a known thug.

Jones was quoted as saying, “”If I suspended Pacman Jones over something like this, I would have had to suspend half the team over the last 20 years.” Um, yes, Jerry, but did you consider the fact that Pacman is coming off a season-long suspension and has been arrested six times?

Seemingly in a PR attempt to distract from the negative headlines involving Pacman, Jones made a trade on Oct. 14 to get receiver Roy Williams from the Detroit Lions.

Although this may have worked in taking people’s focus off of Pacman, it will be short-lived.

The Cowboys are currently in a public relations nightmare, which they got themselves into, and have not done a great job of getting themselves out of.

The actions of Pacman have hurt the image of the entire league in general. Two teams have given this man multiple chances, and it seems that the Cowboys have still left the door open for him if he wants to return after his stay at an alcohol treatment center