When Crises Change the Game: Establishing a Typology of Sports-Related Crises

Abstract

In order to properly evaluate crises that occur in sports, scholars have previously called for a sports-specific crisis communication typology (Wilson, Stavros, & Westberg, 2010). Two studies were conducted to develop the resulting typology. Study 1 utilized a questionnaire to obtain a comprehensive list of sports-related crises that were later grouped into twelve crisis types and three unique clusters through the use of qualitative content analysis. Study 2 utilized a questionnaire completed by 282 college students to determine the levels of crisis responsibility attributed to each cluster of crises. The resulting typology provides the necessary foundation for crisis communication research that uses sports as a context by evaluating the level of organizational blame that exists when a crisis occurs.

The role of trust in sports organization crisis communication: the case of the Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal

“…Fans' perceptions of fair play were seriously undermined and the scandal deeply implicated the players/coaches. Based on Brown-Devlin and Brown's (2020) clusters of sports-specific crises, thus, a high level of crisis responsibility for the sign-stealing scandal can be attributed to the Houston Astros. Overall, crisis response is considered the main construct in this current study, and we refer to this construct as a sports fan's perception of whether the team adequately sends accommodative signals, such as an apology, admitting or taking responsibility properly for the scandal and taking action to solve it.…”

“…When a crisis strikes a sports organization, it often negatively affects its key stakeholders (Brown et al. , 2020) and causes harm by tarnishing a team's reputation or impairing its in-game performance (Brown-Devlin and Brown, 2020). There are three unique clusters of sports-specific crises: (1) environmental/individual crisis, (2) rules and norms violations, and (3) organizational mismanagement (Brown-Devlin and Brown, 2020).…”

“…Crisis response in sports When a crisis strikes a sports organization, it often negatively affects its key stakeholders and causes harm by tarnishing a team's reputation or impairing its in-game performance (Brown-Devlin and Brown, 2020). There are three unique clusters of sportsspecific crises: (1) environmental/individual crisis, (2) rules and norms violations, and (3) organizational mismanagement (Brown-Devlin and Brown, 2020). In the case of the Houston Astros, the MLB commissioner confirmed its sign stealing scandal as a player-driven incident (i.e.…”

Crisis and Risk Communication Scholarship of the Future: Reflections on Research Gaps

“…Brown-Devlin and Brown (2020) extend theory to understand how to manage sports-related crises, an understudied area that frequently challenges sports organizations and their multiple publics. Brunson et al (2020) introduce a futuristic scenario to facilitate medical countermeasure communication. By taking on a contemporary crisis communication challenge, this article illustrates how research-based simulations can advance practice.…”

Everyone Hates the NCAA: The Role of Identity in the Evaluations of Amateurism Transgressions: A Case Study of the Chase Young Loan Scandal

“…Social identity theory (SIT; Tajfel & Turner, 1979), which posits comparative group membership guides evaluative responses to relevant stimuli, is an apt theoretical framework for answering this call. Further, transgressions committed by individual athletes, as opposed to those merely occurring at the organizational level, were encouraged as contexts of inquiry (Brown-Devlin & Brown, 2020). Amateurism transgressions , which undermine the amateur status of athletes (Brown-Devlin & Brown, 2020), are especially featured and debated within American public discourse.…”