Creating Separation From the On-Field Product: Roger Goodell’s Image Repair Discourse During the Ray Rice Domestic Violence Case

Abstract

This analysis examines National Football League (NFL) Commissioner Roger Goodell’s image repair strategies during the Ray Rice domestic violence crisis. After receiving criticism for only suspending Rice for two games, the attacks against the NFL and Goodell substantially increased when TMZ released a previously unseen video of Rice knocking out his then-fiancée Janay Palmer in a Revel Casino elevator. Facing these new attacks, Goodell relied on a separation strategy that included acknowledging the NFL had a domestic violence problem, shifting the blame to Rice, and highlighting the NFL’s new domestic violence policy which was the most stringent in professional sports. Goodell also used mortification to enhance his separation strategy to suggest that he was responsible for the insufficient punishment of Rice, which shifted the blame to Goodell and away from the NFL product and NFL owners. Unlike other CEOs who only gain notoriety during an organizational crisis, Goodell was already disliked by players and the public prior to the Rice scandal, which may have enhanced his attempts to shield the league from the scandal. Implications are drawn concerning how the public’s perception of an executive can influence the effectiveness of image repair discourse and how a separation strategy can bolster an organization’s defense.