Lack of Communication in Sports Relationships

There is an obvious lack in communication in many sports including the NFL.  It seems as though Roger Goodell notices this with the Brett Favre situation. 

This article is also published on Associated Content and can be found HERE

Sports just as life consists of many relationships. A professional athlete has a relationship with his teammates, coaches, owners, and even fans. With relationships come arguments, conflicts, and departures. Even the smallest disagreement or bash against a teammate can be taken out of context by the media and snowball into a franchise changing event. In the cut-throat world of professional sports where ego’s are high and the pay is even higher, more time should be spent on the relationship between an organization and it’s players and coaches.

Sports & Relationships
Sports relationships are very similar to a marriage. Just as in marriage, commitment is required in sports as well. When an athlete signs a contract with a team that player enters a new relationship. At the beginning of the relationship both sides couldn’t be happier to be together. The “puppy love” stage of a relationship sets in and neither side can do anything wrong. Jokes are taken with a grain of salt, and each is constantly saying “whatever you want”, “I just want whatever makes you happy”. As the relationship continues on and both parties get a little more comfortable with each other, they feel more open to discussing issues. If there is good communication these issues can be easily resolved with a simple conversation. Here is an example from both the sports side and personal relationship side of problems that should be solved with simple communication

Personal Relationship Example: Your ask your new girlfriend to hang out with you and your friends. While hanging out with your friends she’s a little too “friendly” with one of your buddies. Since you are still in the early stages of the relationship and she is someone you want to continue a relationship you calmly have a discussion with her the next day about what happened and how it made you feel. Since you approached the situation is a positive manner it can be resolved with both parties still happy.

Sports Relationship Example: Your teams new hotshot draft pick has yet to start a game halfway through the season. The organization desperately wants to keep him happy but develop him properly at the same time. The coach sits down with the rookie and explains why he hasn’t started and agrees to give him an increased role during the later stages of games as the season progresses. Because the meeting is done face to face both parties are happy and have a clear understanding of the situation.

When Conflicts Appear
Very few athletes stay with one sports team for their entire career. This is not a coincidence. The key to keeping a player happy is to nip problems in the bud as soon as they appear instead of letting them work themselves out, which rarely happens. When a player first has an issue they may just talk to a teammate or a trainer about what they think the team needs to be more productive, or a personal problem they have with another member of the organization. Unless this issue fixes itself, it usually continues to get worse. This is the time in your new relationship where your girlfriend/boyfriend starts smoking or drinking heavily in the relationship and you let them know that you don’t appreciate it. This problem is most likely not going to go away anytime soon unless a change is made. In the case of the athlete if what they think should happen is not happening, they may feel disrespected. Like the NFL running back who’s team just selected a first round running back in the draft when they had no indication from the organization that they were going to go in that direction. The players feelings for the team and organization are suddenly negative and will continue to downfall. Next the player goes to the media to display their feelings. The media swings the upset feelings of the player into the player wanting a trade and to leave the team. All because of a lack of communication before the draft of the team, they are now facing some tough decisions and situations.

How Increased Communication can Help in Professional Sports
As hard as an organization may try to keep all parties happy, they are not always successful. Communication is often lacking or can be easily misinterpreted. To be cautious, professional help should be sought in sports organizations to keep communication lines open and clear. A human resources department can only go so far. Someone such as a relationship counselor may add the stability needed to be the glue that holds the organization together.

Example
A relationship counselor would have worked wonders in the situation with NFL QB Brett Favre. Brett Favre and the issues surrounding him and the Green Bay Packers is reminiscent of a cheap soap opera. For years Favre has left the Packers in the dark in the offseason as to whether he would return to play the following season. Favre finally retired after the 2007 NFL season even though he had plenty of fuel left in the tank. The future hall of fame quarterback then decided less than a month before the preseason would start that he was ready to return to the NFL. This is only the beginning of where problems began to occur between Favre, the media, and the Green Bay Packers. Now the relationship is in shambles. Both parties are coming up with excuses, a possible new partner (Aaron Rodgers for the Packers, a new NFL team for Favre), and bringing up past problems. Brett Favre now feels he cannot trust the organization and may want out of Green Bay.

Conclusion
If you take a look at the most successful franchises in all of sports you will see many similarities. Besides at least one all-star player and a decent coach you will see that the organization knows what they’re doing. Players want a team that works together, is well respected, and of course that wins. Players don’t take pay cuts to play for a team that doesn’t return phone calls about contract negotiations, or ignores a players concerns. To create the “well oiled machine” that fans, players, coaches, and owners want, there must be a strong presence of communication.