Dallas Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban today wrote that he has been fined by the NBA over a recent post on his weblog. Mark writes...
Im sure this fine for a blog entry is a first in professional sports, and in a lot of respects its amusing and will be fun for others to write and talk about, but it begs a bigger question.
Do the customers and fans of the NBA or other leagues, feel it makes the league appear stronger , weaker or unaffected when a player, owner, coach, GM, executive publicly criticizes the league ?
Are you as a consumer more likely to purchase, watch, recommend our products, or are you more likely to reduce your attachment and purchase of our products ? How does it affect how you interact with us ?
Since this involves a public relations issue, I thought I would bite on his invitation and respond.
Every organization that has a significant profile - whether it's in sports or in another industry - will always be subject to public criticism from within. It doesn't matter if it comes from a blog, an open letter or a comment in the media.
In the end, the public will evaluate the criticism based on who else is validating it and their views of those parties. If an individual is regularly railing against a league because of some personal beef (often the case with players), then it will probably have little impact on the league's image and will be viewed as one person's bellyaching. However, if a chorus of criticism arises that is deemed valid by those who cover the league in the press - it carries a different weight.
In the end, it all probably has little impact on sales. Those who are hooked on NBA basketball will probably remain fans - unless the league owners/players disenfranchise them directly by taking their fun away, as every league at one time or another has done through strikes/lockouts.
