Task 1: The behaviour of the modern professional sports person is coming under increasing scrutiny. They are expected to portray good behaviour at all times, whether on or off the sports field. This is because there is an increasing interest in sport, and sports people, and the media coverage is huge. Along with this coverage, sports people are gaining larger salaries and sponsorship deals than before, so they are now under more pressure to act as role models. Any bad behaviour they commit is picked up on and dissected in the media. Bad behaviour can be breaking rules, cheating, unsporting behaviour, drug taking or even a lack of commitment or passion.
All of this will be picked up on. Sports people now know this and these outside influences can affect their performances or alter the way they approach certain situations. The sport that has seen the biggest rise in interest recently is football. Football is the most popular sport in Britain and it takes up the most space, of all sports, in the media. Football also has huge amounts of money involved in it with television and sponsorship deals. For these reasons footballers are almost constantly under the spotlight.
This has huge implications for their behaviour. Up until quite recently it would have been seen as ok for footballers to lead a ‘normal’ lifestyle, they would have been able to have a punch up on the field or go out drinking. But now all of this is frowned upon as they have been thrust into becoming role models. They are supposed to be live the perfect life style.
The Essay on Sports Public Relations Staff Media Day
Public Relations in Athletics " If industry is to be successful in dealing with public opinion... it must learn the language of the people, it must consider the study of public opinion as important as any phase of its operations. It must recognize that public opinion can be measured, and utilize the increasingly scientific methods developing today for gauging it' (Ross) PR today, has undergone a ...
