ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the National Football League's (NFL) reactive conduct policies and the long-lasting, challenging stakeholder reactions to those policies. It also focuses in particular on the 2014/2015 NFL season, when the league was embattled with an onslaught of societal and moral transgressions committed by NFL players. The chapter explores the organizational crisis communication efforts extended by the NFL during times of reputational challenge and how the subsequent stakeholder response to those efforts further amplified reputational challenges. It focuses on Goodell's third update of the policy, which occurred during the 2014/2015 season. The chapter discusses the conceptual framework of crisis assessment and blame placement concerning reputational threats, as noted within Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT). It also focuses on the domestic violence reputational challenges the NFL faced in 2014/2015. The chapter analyses the Personal Conduct Policy and related materials issued by the NFL.
