An interesting part of the Woods discussion centered on whether he was instructed by his advisors to take the course of action that he followed or if he was advised to act differently, but did what he thought was best.  I believe that his advisors most likely told him accept responsibility and apologize at an early stage (which would be the appropriate thing to do), but that he ignored is because he believed that he was truly invincible.  What we saw last week, which was hardly a press conference, was Woods’ realization that he could not escape the media and slightly gave in to the public’s desire to hear him speak.

As advisors, all we can do is suggest the way we believe our clients should act.  At the end of the day, we are employed by the athletes (the principals); if they don’t want to listen, they do not have to.  But if they are not going to listen to us, then why pay us in the first place?  That’s what Gilbert Arenas figured.  The guy negotiated his own 6-year, $111 million contract.  Would an agent have done any better?  Maybe not.  But would an agent possibly helped Arenas after Arenas was found storing guns in his locker and drawing a weapon on his teammate?  Quite possibly.  Arenas acted very stupidly thereafter, but eventually came to his senses, hired an attorney from Washington D.C. and accepted full responsibility and apologized.

That’s the key: Accept responsibility and apologize as soon as possible (unless you are being charged with killing somebody – Stallworth).  The problem comes when an athlete is employing all of these different “advisors” who are pulling the athlete in different directions.  Another thing I think is important is that even though social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter allow instantaneous communication between an athlete and the entire world, the 4th Estate (traditional media) cannot be forgotten.  Tiger Woods basically gave the media the middle finger throughout his career, so why would they do him any favors at this point.  Make the media your best friend, or else they will look for any opportunity to pin you and your clients.

Since speaking on the panel, I have read one article that makes me shake my head sideways and one that makes me shake my head up and down.  The sideways: Elijah Fields Got Paid, Kicked Off Pitt Football Team. The up and down: Anything Worth Doing.

The post about Fields shows the potential harm that sites like Twitter can cause for athletes.  One act of stupidity can kill a career.  The other post is about the damage control used by Jeremy Jeffress’s agent after he received a 100-day suspension for substance abuse.  While Joshua Kusnick and I have had our differences in the past, this particular post on his blog is brilliant.  Here are some parts of his piece:

The first step in repairing a damaged image is to apologize but only if its sincere. The second step in this process was finding a place for this player to get help for his problem.

And that’s the game plan when something goes awry. 1.Get everyone calm. 2.Contact the media and apologize 3. Get help. 4. Apologize more. 5. Live up to all the promises you have made. It doesn’t take dangerous gypsy magic to rehabilitate an image, just genuine contrition and the desire to right your life.

No one is perfect.  Apologize, be sincere, mean it, and act on it.  For the most part, the public will not forget, but they will forgive.

Athletes Overcoming Their Indiscretions from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

I know it’s going back in time, but with everything that’s going on, I couldn’t help but think back to my most hated athlete of all time: Leonard Little. After leaving a birthday party drunk in 1998, Little crashed into and killed Susan Gutweiler in St. Louis. When tested, his blood alcohol level measured 0.19, which exceeds the statutory level of intoxication of 0.08 in the state of Missouri. Little received a measly 90 days in jail, four years probation and 1000 hours of community service. Six years later, Little was again arrested for drunk driving and speeding. Police filed a statement saying Little had bloodshot and watery eyes, smelled of alcohol and failed three sobriety tests. Because of Little’s 1999 guilty plea to involuntary manslaughter in his drunken-driving crash case, prosecutors charged him as a persistent offender. This made it a felony case. Little was acquitted of driving while intoxicated, and was convicted only of the misdemeanor speeding charge. Little killed someone and served 90 days in jail; with only a slap on the wrist Little apparently didn’t learn his lesson, for good reason I guess. Severe crimes, with virtually no punishment. Talk about Law and Order.

Recently, we have had the privilege to read about athletes gone criminal with the likes of Michael Vick, Donte Stallworth and Plaxico Burress. Let’s just review. Vick just finished up close to a two year sentence for heading a dog fighting ring. He served his time and is now looking for a second chance in the NFL. In Vick’s case I believe the punishment fit the crime.

Stallworth is receiving 30 days in jail, probation, and community service. He killed a man while driving drunk. Talk about a blunder in the law, its Leonard Little all over again. I keep hearing legal experts defend such a lenient punishment, saying that he cooperated with the law, that he has a clean record, and that the family wanted this issue quickly resolved. I don’t care if this guy was a saint, how does he not only get a DUI, but also kills a man and only gets 30 days in jail? How can anyone justify this? Vick gets 2 years for running a dog fighting ring, and Stallworth gets a month in jail for killing a human being.

Now to the last pending case: Plaxico Burress. Burress suffered an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound when his pistol began sliding down his leg; apparently in reaching for the gun he inadvertently pressed the trigger, causing the gun to fire. The following Monday, Burress eventually turned himself in to police to face charges of criminal possession of a handgun. Plaxico didn’t have a New York license to carry a concealed weapon. The minimum punishment for unlawfully carrying a handgun is 3½ years. Even Mayor Bloomberg has chimed into this ordeal saying that if Burress doesn’t face the fullest extent of the punishment that it would be making “a mockery of the law”. Bloomberg makes it sound like it’s a pretty straight forward penalty, carry an unlicensed handgun and go to jail for 3 ½ years. So how is it possible that Plaxico does not receive that same penalty? It seems like the only the person doing something about these athletes is Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner. While he doesn’t have a say in the legal system, in the NFL he’s the judge, jury and executioner and doing one heck of a job.

Oh, by the way, the man responsible for stealing Lance Armstrong’s bike is facing 3 years in prison. Going to jail for stealing a bicycle. At least someone is facing the wrath of the law. With the majority of today’s athletes receiving little to no punishment for such crimes, it’s no surprise that some of these guys make bonehead mistake after bonehead mistake. It’s time for the rich and famous to receive the same punishment as the average citizen.

Law and Order from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

• Madieu Williams signed a 6-year, $33 million with the Minnesota Vikings, making him one of the highest-paid safeties in the NFL. Wait, who? I consider myself to be a pretty big football fan. To pay a guy that I have never even heard of one of the highest paid contracts for his position seems like something only the Vikings organization would do. I guess it makes sense then.
• The Cleveland Brows signed former #3 receiver on the Patriots, Donte Stallworth to a 7-year $35 million deal. Seems like quite a bit for a guy who has been overshadowed by a guy like former Gator wide receiver, Jabar Gaffney, who appeared lower on New England’s depth chart. Although, the deal seems low, if compared to the Vikings deal listed above.
• Apparently, teams are impressed with Cincinnati’s 2007 defensive lineup. The San Francisco 49ers just inked DE Justin Smith to a 6-year, $45 million contract. The guy was a high draft pick and has been consistently solid in the NFL. Looks like a good deal for both sides.
• The Falcons dropped Dunn and picked up former San Diego Chargers backup, Michael Turner. The deal is for another term of 6-years, paying a total of $34.5 million ($15 million guaranteed). Personally, I feel like it is a lot of money to pay a guy who has not yet proven his ability to take a majority of a team’s snaps in the backfield. If he does not perform up to expectations, he could always be cut, so his agent did a nice job of squeaking that $15 million guarantee in there.
• At 26-years-old, Ben Roethlisberger is looking to play for the Steelers well into his 30s. Pittsburgh agreed with his agents on an 8-year, $102 million contract. The real eye catcher is the $36 million guaranteed, eclipsing Peyton Manning’s guarantee in his deal.
• Alan Faneca is the highest paid O-Lineman after the Jets gave him a 5-year, $40 million deal. $21 million of it is guaranteed. Not bad for a guy that many would place out of his prime, at the age of 31-years-old.
• Oh, and some guy named Randy Moss is sticking it out with the Patriots after signing a 3-year, $27 million deal. Good call, Schackman.

Midweek NFL Contract Rundown from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules