Kelby Jones Kenneth Plowman Comms 336 Case: From Blazer Mania to Jail Blazers Background The Portland

Trail Blazers have been members of the National Basketball Association since 1970. In the 43 years since the team joined the league, they have been very successful and adored by their fans. From 1976 to 1995, every Trail Blazer home game was sold out which led the team to move to a bigger stadium to better accommodate their fan following. Around 2001, fan loyalty and interest began to waver as Trail Blazer players began making headlines for the wrong reasons. From 2001 to 2005 there were a large number of reports involving members of the Portland Trail Blazers team and organization involved in inappropriate and even unlawful conducts. These reports involved, but were not limited to, underage drinking, cocaine abuse, marijuana possession, domestic abuse, player altercations and animal abuse (Roberts, 2009). In response to the misconduct of the Portland players, team owner Paul Allen issued a statement in which he condemned unacceptable behavior and threatened fines, suspensions, and even to release players if necessary. Team management followed through with these threats and also established a 25point pledge to fans which included selecting future players based on character, establishing a code of conduct for the players, creating a player development program, and educating players as to why playing for the Trail Blazers was special. Even after these changes in the organization, attendance dipped to its lowest average in over 10 years, and the team had its third worst performance since inception with 27 wins and 55 losses. Key Publics and Messages 1. Fans of the Portland Trail Blazers a. Self-Interests

i. Any fan of an NBA organization wants to see his or her team be successful. Most fans measure this in terms of how many championships the team wins. Unfortunately, it is not possible for every team to win a championship every year. Because of this, fans want to see players on their team be grateful for the opportunity to make millions of dollars for playing a game. They also want to see players on their team work hard to get better and to respect what it means to play for their organization. b. Third Party Influencers and Opinion Leaders i. Trail Blazer fans are influenced by their favorite NBA players (past and present) as well as fans of other NBA organizations. If a fan really likes the way their favorite player plays and works on their game, they will trust what they say. They also hear what other fans associate with the organization, and if its negative, might not want to align themselves with that organization. c. Current Relationship with the Organization i. At this time of player misconduct, fans were not happy with the team. The Trail Blazers were not winning very many games, and the players were not acting grateful for the fans. This caused record low attendance at home games and an overall feeling of fans distancing themselves from the organization. d. Primary Message 1: The Portland Trail Blazers care about the community and will do their part in helping it thrive. e. Secondary Messages i. 25-point pledge to fans (New Era = New Blazers Pledge). ii. Hefty fines, suspensions, or release for players who engage in unlawful or inappropriate conduct. iii. Owner Paul Allen issuing rare statement regarding player behavior 2

iv. Problematic players traded f. Primary Message 2: The Portland Trail Blazers are a special team to play for.

g. Secondary Messages i. Team visits St. Marys Home for Boys (make it better). ii. Players involved in community outreach. iii. 1977 NBA champions. iv. Six players in the NBA Hall of Fame (Who are the,) h. Primary Message 3: The Trail Blazers are beginning a rebuilding phase and will soon be back to their winning ways. i. Secondary Messages i. 71 percent of Blazer respondents said team was headed in the right direction. ii. New management and coaching staff put in place focusing on the long term future. iii. Quotes from NBA personnel explaining the potential of the team. 2. Corporate Sponsors a. Self-Interests i. Any sponsor of a professional sports team has one goal. That goal is to make money. They believe that by sponsoring a team, they are paying for their company name to be associated with that team. This includes advertising (stadiums, commercials, etc.). It expects a high return on investment when it comes to sponsoring these teams, and do not want its company associated with organizations which are not being run properly. b. Third Party Influencers and Opinion Leaders

i. Corporate sponsors are influenced by their customers and what their attitudes are toward the company. If a customer associates a company with a poorly run sports organization, business will decrease for that company. c. Current Relationship with the Organization i. There were not any notable sponsors who decided against renewing their sponsorship of the team, but needless to say the negative connotation regarding the organization couldnt have helped. d. Primary Message 1: The Portland Trail Blazers will once again obtain the love and admiration of its fan base. e. Secondary Messages i. 25-point pledge to fans (New Era = New Blazers Pledge). ii. New coaching staff and management put into place to help team start winning again. iii. Problematic players traded. iv. Community outreach (Make it Happen). f. Primary Message 2: The team will start winning again, and when it does, your return on investment will increase due to the publicity and attention the team creates. g. Secondary Messages i. Quotes from NBA analysts saying the team is on the rise. ii. New coaching staff and management put into place to help team start winning again. iii. Study saying that 71 percent of those following the team believe it to be on the rise. Big Idea/Slogan Portland, Oregon is known by a lot of different nicknames. The nickname that applies mostly to the Trail Blazers is Rip City. The nickname Rip City was coined by the teams legendary play-by-play 4

announcer Bill Schonely (Trailblazers). In order to bring the tradition of winning back into the picture while keeping focus on the future of the team, Rip City Rising could be an effective slogan. Questions for Discussion 1. How can an organization such as the Trail Blazers restore its credibility and respectability with the fans? A. I believe that the first step to gaining credibility and respectability is winning. Obviously winning isnt something that can be done overnight. An organization who has dealt with issues like the Trailblazers needs to show that its taking steps to change into a winning organization. They really need to market that and back up their promises. They could even go as far as to make goals regarding team success and make those goals public knowledge. This brings the fans into the team experience and makes them feel as if theyre involved in the team rising back up to greatness. They could also do things such as ask for fans input on certain issues and if those statements are reasonable, they could follow through with them. Another thing that fans like to see is the team involved in (not court-ordered) community service and other activities that will help the community grow and thrive. By involving players in these activities, fans will begin to feel as though the players are grateful for them and want to give back. It also gives the corporate sponsors more opportunities to get their name out into the public. 2. What was the organizational response to the bad publicity? A. The Trailblazers organization took many steps in response to the bad publicity. The first step taken was by the teams owner Paul Allen. Allen issued a rare statement regarding player behavior which promised that the issues would be tackled head on and that players involved in inappropriate conduct would be suspended, fined, or even released. The second step taken was for new management and coaching staff to be put in place. This new staff created a 25-point pledge to the fans which involved selecting future players based on character, establishing a code of conduct for the players, creating a player development program, and educating players as to why playing for the Trail Blazers was special. They also traded problematic players which caused the issues to decrease. 3. What other player actions in basketball and other sports have sparked controversy lately? 5

A. There is always going to be controversy in sports. Its part of what makes sports so entertaining. Recently Lance Armstrong, an incredibly popular and successful biker, was caught doping and was forced to return all of his prizes. An MVP in Major League Baseball named Ryan Braun tested positive for using steroids, but had the case thrown out due to evidence tampering which enabled him to keep his prize. A professional soccer player in Europe was suspended for biting an opposing player which he was guarding. Controversy is happening everywhere in sports. Open up the sports section of the newspaper on any day and you will find it. 4. How effective is a 25-point pledge to fans by the players? A. A pledge to fans is only as effective as the actions that follow it. Players can say theyll do anything, but if they dont follow through, their reputation is diminished and if anything the fans become more distant. When this 25-point pledge was put in place, many players admitted to never even reading the document (Quick 2003). This is a perfect example of how a pledge could not be effective. The players need to make the pledge, publicize it, and then follow through on what has been promised. Conclusion The Portland Trail Blazers are one of the most recognized franchises in the NBA. It has had success and knows what it takes to have it again. Unfortunately, there were some poorly made personnel decisions which led to a high amount of team talent but almost no team chemistry. The team signed players who couldnt work well together and fed off each others inappropriate actions. Team ownership didnt recognize this in time which led to a serious crisis from which the team continues to try and remove itself to this day. While it hasnt completely removed itself, the team has come a long way in a positive direction by analyzing its situation, understanding what the core problem was, and creating a plan to negate the bad publicity. This is a perfect example of what a few years of bad publicity can do to an organization and the hard work required to restore reputation and create an environment in which it can thrive.

Works Cited Make it Better. (December 20, 2012). Trail Blazers Visit to St. Marys Home For Boys Provides best Christmas of my life. Retrieved May 20, 2013 from Make It Better: http://blogs.trailblazers .com/PublicProfileRoot/MyBlog/tabid/99/EntryID/4537/IamaUserID/579/Default.aspx. New Era = New Blazers Pledge. Retrieved May 20, 2013 from www.nba.com: http://www.nba.com/media/blazers/Pledge.pdf. Quick, J. (November 9, 2003). Blazers Code of Conduct: Can it make a difference? Retrieved May 20,2013 from The Sunday Oregonian. Roberts, M. (2009, November 29). Thugs R Us: Looking Back at the Infamous Portland Jail Blazers Era. Retrieved May 20, 2013, from Bleacher Report: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/299192-thugs-rus-looking-back-at-the-infamous-portland-jail-blazers-era Scarborough sports marketing breaks down nba demographics. (2001, Ocotber 30). Retrieved May 20, 2013 from Sports Business Daily: http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/ 2001/10/Issue-34/The-Back-Of-The-Book/Scarborough-Sports-Marketing-Breaks-Down-NBADemographics.aspx. Trailblazers. (September 10, 2003). THE SCHONZ: 2011 HALL OF FAME CANDIDATE. Retrieved May 20, 2013 from NBA.COM: http://www.iamatrailblazersfan.com/PressRelease Display/tabid/297/ItemID/2550/Default.aspx. Who are the hall of fame players for the portland trail blazers nba basketball franchise?. (2010). Retrieved from http://nba-franchises.findthedata.org/q/25/2625/Who-are-the-hall-of-fame-players-for-thePortland-Trail-Blazers-NBA-basketball-franchise