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He certainly stirred up a hornet’s nest.
On Wednesday, the NFL announced a new policy requiring players to stand for the national anthem or wait in the locker room.
Newsday’s Robert “Bob” Glauber interviewed Jets owner Christopher Johnson after this decision in Atlanta.
“I do not like imposing any club-specific rules,” Johnson told Newsday. “If somebody [on the Jets] takes a knee, that fine will be borne by the organization, by me, not the players. I never want to put restrictions on the speech of our players. Do I prefer that they stand? Of course. But I understand if they felt the need to protest…There will be no club fines or suspensions or any sort of repercussions. If the team gets fined, that’s just something I’ll have to bear.”
I’m sure the NFL wasn’t thrilled to hear this. They finally came up a resolution to help fix an issue that is hurting their business, and Johnson follows that up with this statement.
Surely there were people who loved Johnson’s position, but the bigger problem are the people he agitated with this stance.
“As a life long Jets fan who as seen Namath live playing for the Jets. Thats how long. I’ve traveled to jets away games to see them, I’ll never do it again. since they obviously don’t need my money I won’t spend a penny on the Jets. This makes me sick. I didn’t watch a play last year and I won’t again,” commented a Jets fans named Johnny under an article about Johnson’s statement on a popular website.
Conservative talk show host Mark Levin said, “I will not watch the Jets because of Christopher Johnson. They better bring Woody Johnson home from the UK.”
Obviously these are two right-leaning people. Surely, there are people with a different political bent who loved what Johnson said. We all know this is a polarizing issue.
But from a business standpoint, and I’m strictly talking business here, not politics, what Johnson said might hurt his business.
Not only might he lose some customers over this, but he might also have to pay player fines. If you are a player who supports the kneeling movement, why not kneel since your boss is picking up the fine? Go for it. You are getting a free pass.
“I never want to put restrictions on the speech of our players,” Johnson said.
How is that possible? Forget the anthem issue for a second, what if a player was guilty of gay-bashing or racism, you think that would be tolerated? No way, and there is no way it should be.
So that statement by Johnson doesn’t hold a ton of water.
To me, Johnson made a mistake. He has the right to his feelings, but why say that right after the league reached a compromise on this third-rail issue? Some people might say undercut Roger Goodell and the other owners with this statement.
He also undercut his own ticket office. You saw what that man said above. If you don’t think there are other people who feel that same way, you are kidding yourself.
To me, if I’m Johnson, who is kind of new at the media game, I would rarely talk to the press. Hey, it’s not written anywhere that owners need to speak. Seattle Seahawks owner Paul Allen never speaks. Late Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis almost never spoke.
But when Johnson does speak, he is best served to meet with his PR department, his right-hand man Ira Axselrad and team president Neil Glat. Think through your position with a fine-tooth comb, don’t shoot from the hip. Being an NFL owner is a powerful position, and every word you say is evaluated to the nth degree.
What I’m saying is that Johnson shouldn’t do interviews whenever a reporter happens to walk up to him at a league meeting or on the practice field. Interviews need to be scheduled, and before he does them, he needs to have a skull session with team officials.
Look, I’m not questioning the man’s intelligence. He’s very bright, but he’s new to being an outfront NFL owner and he’s new to doing media interviews.
He needs to be a little more careful with what he says, like saying, “I think people are going to look back 20 years from now and say that this is the moment that the Jets shifted into a new gear and became a great team,” Johnson said about drafting Sam Darnold. “I think we’ve got a real future with this kid, and he isn’t even 21 yet. We might have a long time with this young man. I hope so, because right now, I think he is really our future.”
Be careful, man.
May 25, 2018
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