Fans and public relations experts agree: The Bucs did a lousy job of handling the departure of a highly regarded veteran player.
By SCOTT BARANCIK
Published March 13, 2004
The local football legend handed his boss an autographed helmet and the cleats he wore during a record-breaking play. With television cameras rolling, the two burly men embraced.
"I love you, man," the departing player said.
Few goodbyes are as gooey as the one last year between Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and running back Emmitt Smith, pro football's all-time rushing leader and a 13-year Cowboys veteran.
But public relations executives say the Tampa Bay Buccaneers - who dropped defensive captain John Lynch and left him to announce the news tearfully from San Diego on Thursday - could learn a thing or two from the Cowboys and Jones.
"I thought it was pretty much a PR disaster," said Jeff Tucker, chief executive of Tucker/Hall in Tampa. General manager Bruce Allen "didn't have the courtesy to try to stand with John and say, "Thank you for all the hard effort.' "
Added Beth Leytham, president of the Leytham Group in Tampa: "Frankly, it's PR 101 when one of your best-loved players is going to be cut loose: You do it in a thoughtful, proactive manner."
Bucs public relations manager Zack Bolno and Lynch agent David Dunn did not return calls for comment Friday.
The circumstances of the Lynch and Smith departures were not identical. Smith reportedly left the Cowboys voluntarily, while Lynch was sacked against his will. And from George Foreman to Michael Jordan, few professional athletes know when to quit.
But when it comes to saying goodbye to a beloved player and teammate, the PR experts said crass and class are easily distinguished.
This wasn't the first indelicately handled personnel move from a team led by media-shy owner Malcolm Glazer.
Case in point: Tony Dungy. Until he read it in the newspaper, the former coach said he had no idea the Bucs planned to fire him if he were to lose a 2002 playoff game to the Philadelphia Eagles. The team lost, and Dungy was canned.
"I don't know why we expect them to behave any differently," said Robert McMurrian, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Tampa. "It's just like, "Well, your time's up, we're contractually right, see ya.' "
PR executive Tucker said he would have recommended that the Bucs hold a joint news conference with Lynch, discuss their remarks ahead of time, and publicly thank the five-time Pro Bowl safety for his 11 years of gutsy, dedicated play.
"It's part of the world of professional sports that people get cut or traded," Tucker said. "But I think most times senior management knows that there's a right way and a wrong way to handle those kinds of situations, and this was not handled right."
Less than an hour after Lynch's tearful radio farewell ended, Allen, the Bucs' recently hired general manager, did hold a news conference. Owner Glazer did not show. By the time coach Jon Gruden arrived, the TV crews had dismantled their lights and cameras.
"There's going to be a backlash when decisions of this magnitude are made," Gruden said.
There were signs of that backlash from angry fans on talk radio and sports Web sites Friday.
"I hope one day that John and (wife) Linda along with their children will get a better send-off than what he received on Friday," said one writer on an online guest book at the St. Petersburg Times' Web site, sptimes.com.
"I was a rabid fan and now I cannot support a team that showed such disrespect for the most respected player on the team," wrote another.
Then again, the Bucs may not pay any tangible price for its PR missteps. As of the start of this year, more than 100,000 fans were on the waiting list for season tickets.
"You listen to the talk shows, and everybody's calling in angry with the way John Lynch was let go," said McMurrian, the marketing professor. "But I heard nobody say they were giving up their season tickets."
- Times staff writer Roger Mills and researcher Kitty Bennett contributed to this report. Scott Barancik can be reached at barancik@sptimes.com or 727 893-8751.
SHARE YOUR VIEW: You can join in an online discussion of John Lynch's departure from the Bucs at www.sptimes.com
