Human Relations in Sports
The Cincinnati Bengals finished a paltry 8-8 last season, in party due to the arrests of nine team members. Although Coach Marvin Lewis defends his coaching style and claims to have revamped his hard-lined disciplinary approach, the Bengals undoubtedly suffered from their athlete's run-ins with the law. The most recent mishap occurred when cornerback Johnathan Joseph was arrested for marijuana possession. If Joseph's arrest was an isolated incident, it may not have impacted the team. However, a string of arrests in only one season tainted the reputation of the Cincinnati NFL franchise and undoubtedly also hurt the image of professional football as a whole. The Bengals' problems also reveal universal human relations issues. Lessons learned from Cincinnati and the NFL can be applied easily to any organization. The main lessons evident in the Bengals crisis include leadership; teamwork; discipline; and restructuring.The National Football League is unavoidably hierarchical. Although rookie players command large salaries, they are expected to play by the rules and follow orders of their superiors. Their primary superior is the coach of the team. Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis is reputed to have become lackadaisical in his approach ove
As a firm, the NFL suffers from bad reputation for hiring a base of young, immature players. Unless the coach exerts authority he is unlikely to gain respect. Merely fining players for their offenses doesn't work ("Arrests Frustrate Palmer"). Moving players to other teams or favoring new draft picks over offending players sends a definite message that restructuring is preferable to coddling immature, selfish players. Arrests are a team problem because when an individual gets arrested, he faces suspensions from the NFL in addition to jail time. Effective management in turn depends on qualities like assertiveness and ascription to rules and boundaries. As sportswriters point out, discipline is essential in any human resources campaign. Missing the playoffs has enormous personal drawbacks for innocent team members. The NFL is no different from any for-profit organization. Furthermore, the team's reputation suffers too because fans lose faith in their team when nine of its members get arrested for avoidable offenses. Coaches like Lewis cannot be blamed for the personal recklessness of his athletes. While his approach might have earned his a friendly reputation in the locker room, Lewis' leniency might also have hurt the team.
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