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Nebraska: The Rumor Mill Strikes Again
Well, well, well. It was about that time, wasn’t it? Since the “big” story broke that Bubba Starling was not at practice on Saturday, it was only a matter of time until some rumor came through the pipeline. This is Nebraska, after all.
So what happened this go around? For those of you who missed it, Peter Gammons (@pgammo) tweeted:
“Bo Pellini going off on and threatening Bubba Starling is great news for the Royals.”
Almost immediately following, a resounding, “Huh?” could be heard across the state. Members of the sports media were stunned and left asking, “What on earth did we miss?” To which I reply - Nothing at all.
Although, some do believe there is some weight to the story. Dirk Chatelain (@dirkchatelain) believes there may be some validity:
“Let’s remember, though, Peter Gammons isn’t a message-board hack. If he’s tweeting it, he’s hearing from someone prominent”
Dirk’s not wrong by any means. There definitely could be some validity to Peter’s statement. How much validity, however, lies within the narrow 140-character max because Gammons provided nothing beyond it. No sources, no additional information, no follow-up tweet. Peter sent that message out and took off to let the masses wonder. And because we are in Nebraska and we care immensely about our team and program, we responded. Unfortunately, our response has only made the situation that more confusing.
I’ve talked about the Nebraska Rumor Mill before, and the same rules apply today just as they did to Bo’s supposed “interest” in the Miami job - It’s just a rumor until someone backs it up. For all we know, Peter Gammons could be on to something. However, he could be completely blowing smoke (or just incorrectly reporting information he received). Until then, it’s best to let a rumor be just that…a rumor.
Because ultimately, we have an entire team of hard-working guys to focus on. Those are the stories that matter.
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Actress and Omaha-native Gabrielle Union explains her love for the #Huskers in ESPN’s Fan issue.
Go Big Red!
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NEBRASKA FOOTBALL: Adi Kunalic - More Than "Just a Fan"
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NEBRASKA FOOTBALL: The 81,067-seat Elephant in the Room
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Why ESPN Should Care Enough to Comment
So, ESPN has decided not to comment on indefinitely suspending college football writer Bruce Feldman.
Bad move, ESPN.
A common misconception that still surprises me that people buy into is that if you ignore a PR crisis, it will go away. Twitter alone kills that theory, yet major companies, such as ESPN, continue to live by it. It’s honestly shocking.
When the story broke last night about Feldman, his name immediately began trending on Twitter. By this morning, #freebruce was trending. And contrary to what some may believe, this isn’t the doing of just a bunch of sports reporters nationally. This is the response of readers, fans and the people that pay ESPN for things such as Insider and their magazine. This response stems from those who watch and trust ESPN, but are now questioning their ability to handle a problem. It’s difficult to build a strong, trustworthy brand, but it’s easy to kill one. ESPN is on its’ way to the latter.
Do I believe this will affect ESPN greatly in the end? It probably won’t. People will continue to watch their programming. People will even continue to subscribe to their magazine (all 10 of us). So maybe ESPN feels they don’t need to respond because they’re big enough to not have to. Maybe they really do believe if they say nothing, it will eventually just go away.
And maybe it will. But if I were ESPN, I wouldn’t bank on it. The second this all became an ordeal, I would have released a simple statement. It wouldn’t have needed to be anything major, just something to say, “We released Bruce for these reasons and believed it was in the best interest of the company.” Send it to the media, call it a day. Heck, maybe even put a person in charge of just answering questions that are called in. It didn’t need to be big, and ESPN had the control to make it what they wanted. However, as time progresses, the story will just get bigger and their response will appear much less genuine. ESPN, the “worldwide leader in sports,” needs to remember the viewers and readers that made them what they are. It’s more than just the right thing to do, it’s the wisest business strategy for a brand I’d assume would like to continue evolving.
So in the end, why should they care? It’s as simple as this: why shouldn’t they?
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NEBRASKA FOOTBALL: Pelini's Big Red Machine is Revving its Engine
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NEBRASKA FOOTBALL: An Open Letter to Bo Pelini
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NEBRASKA FOOTBALL: Predicting the Blackshirts – Weakside Defensive End
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Big Ten Preseason Rankings – Legends Division: Part Two
