Washington Wizards Return to Their Roots

By Katy Fincham

Today the Washington Wizards officially returned to their roots, unveiling their new look for the 2011 NBA season. After Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis took over the team last June, rumors had been swirling of Washington’s NBA franchise returning to the old Bullets name and patriotic colors. Avoiding the still controversial “Bullets” team name, the Wizards did indeed return to the nostalgic “stars and bars” uniforms.

During today’s press conference, the Washington Wizards announced that they would not only be returning to the iconic “stars and bars” uniforms, but they also unveiled two new secondary logos, which resemble to “old” look from the Bullets era and a modified version of their current Wizard logo.

“Our new look pays homage to the past while pointing to an exciting future,” said Wizards Executive Vice President of Business Operations Greg Bibb.

The Wizards did not change their look just for fun nostalgia reasons, but instead, their overall transformation is the final step in the unification of Washington sports at the Verizon Center, which includes the Washington Capitals (NHL) and Washington Mystic (WNBA). While the change is clearly the influence of owner Ted Leonsis, who now owns all three teams that call the Verizon Center home, I think it is the best overall move for the rebranding and marketing efforts of the Wizards. It brings all three teams together, while creating a fan base that spreads across three professional sports realms. The patriotic color scheme also helps in their marketing efforts, reminding fans of each team’s home in the nation’s capital.

All three teams are officially a complete package, which seems to be a refreshing and much needed boost to the Wizards franchise. As a DC-area native, I personally think this is an exciting move made by ownership, as well as a simple and smart rebranding effort made by Monumental Sports & Entertainment ownership group.

Katy Fincham is an Associate Account Executive at Maroon PR. Contact her at Katy@MaroonPR.com

What Should Lebron James Do?

By Andrea Kunicky

The NBA season tips off tonight, but the buzz among hoops fans is about LeBron James' new Nike commerical, which addresses the off-season controversy over his decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat. "What should I do?" the NBA star asks rhetorically.

The commerical - titled “Rise” - consists of James pitching the audience various scenarios of what James could have done and how he might satisfy critics who think he made the wrong decision last summer in deciding to leave the Cavs and sign with the star-studded Heat.



"We're celebrating his courage to forge his own journey even when others may have disagreed with his decisions," Nike's vice president of global brand marketing Davide Grasso, said in news stories.

The reaction from the release on YouTube has been overwhelming. Well, that ad "is pretty much perfect," says Royce Young of CBS Sports. It's "candid" and allows us "to see the human side to LeBron" that had all but disappeared lately. If James' goal here was to restore his brand, then "put it this way: Mission Accomplished."

While you can argue over James' image, CNBC's Darren Rovell noted that Nike shoes are "barely mentioned in the spot."

In my opinion, this was another great marketing tool for James. If people agree or disagree with his decision, James and his popularity is so great that we can’t turn our heads away from him. People might still be upset with where he decided to play but it seems this is his way of showing that he really doesn’t care what people think of him. It’s honest and rebellious. It’s a reflection of James.

TNT will show the video tonight during its coverage of the NBA season opener between the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics, so it will be interesting to see how the reaction is to this now controversial ad.

Andrea Kunicky is an Account Executive. Contact her at andrea@maroonpr.com.

Enjoying the Positive News of Professional Athletes

By Matt Saler

Enough is enough.

Too many times these days we are discussing the same old issues in sports: a player holding out for more money… a league turning a blind eye to its retired players, who can barely walk despite that league generating billion dollar profits… criminal allegations against athletes… steroids… whatever the case may be, negative news will always jump to the forefront of the headlines.

And I hate it. Bring the topic of religion into the picture, and in most cases, things get crazier and go in a thousand different directions in the court of public opinion. The other day, however, I came across a very interesting piece on NBA basketball player Amar’e Stoudemire in the The New York Times. It discussed Amar’e’s recent visit to Israel to learn more about his Jewish heritage and the history and culture of the Jewish religion. Some fans have mocked this in online forums, and others have questioned why Amar’e was converting. Religion is a very personal issue and some of these “fans” need to get a grip on their own reality before questioning someone elses.

What most probably do not know about Amar’e is that he is a very articulate guy who gives back through his Amar’e Stoudemire Each One Teach One Foundation. He has demonstrated in other ways that he is a class act off the court through his actions: After leaving the Phoenix Suns for the New York Knicks this past summer, he took out an ad in his local paper, The Arizona Republic, thanking his fans for their support while with the Suns.

Being a resident of New York, the epicenter of culture in the United States, has clearly helped Amar’e look within himself to learn more about his history, and I commend him for that.
I enjoyed the NY Times piece and also Amar’e’s take on his Jewish heritage, as shown in a recent interview with Israeli TV (video below). Hopefully our society can get to a point where we stop caring so much about the scandalous details of an athlete’s life and look at a lot of the good that they are doing in society. Many have a very cultured life outside of their sport that fans do not know about.

It’s time to stop always dwelling on the negative and start stressing the positive.

Mazel Tov, Amar’e.



Matt Saler is a Senior Account Executive. Contact him at matt@maroonpr.com.

King of Public Relations

By Chris Daley

I just searched “LeBron James” on Google and the top hit under “News for LeBron James” is a headline from FOXNews.com, "LeBron James – Public Relations Genius." There are 4,473 “related articles” to this one headline with thousands of other related articles to follow. In a sense, I would agree that King James is a public relations genius. For this week anyway.

Here are a few reasons why:

• Timing is everything: This could be considered one of the slowest weeks in sports on the calendar year. I can’t think of a better time of year for this type of announcement to take place.

• Controlling his message well: I’m surprised that his decision has not leaked out yet. The people surrounding him that may know his final decision are doing a great job of keeping this thing under wraps for the big unveiling. Although we still have a few hours before 9 p.m. EDT.

• Charitable Component: Adding a charitable component when you have this much influence over the public is always nice. Having all the proceeds from tonight’s program on ESPN donated to the Boys & Girls Club of America is a nice touch.

• Taking advantage of the situation: King James and his camp are doing a great job to launch other marketing tools around this announcement which include a revamped LeBronJames.com and creating the twitter handle @kingjames that has over 310,000 followers in two days. I’d be curious to know how many people signed-up for his newsletter the past few days and what that database would be worth to potential advertisers.

Although I’m not an NBA fan, I am a fan of public relations and I would agree that someone in his position is taking full advantage of his situation. LeBron deserves this type of attention. He’s worked very hard to get to this point.

That said, I’m now curious to see how he handles his next public relations situation which could be making an impact in a brand new city, and leaving one that will have a lot of people angry.

Chris Daley is an Account Executive. Contact him at chris@maroonpr.com.

Manute Bol Remembered as Humanitarian, Hero

By Pete Deluca

This weekend marked the passing of one of basketball’s most iconic and definitely tallest figures to ever play the game - Manute Bol.

Before Michael Jordan’s championship run, I remember the only reason I was interested in the NBA was because of Bol. Standing 7-foot-7-inches tall, he was like nothing the sports world had ever seen. He looked like a monster, and in a league full of giants everyone was looking up at him. As one of the most recognizable players of his era, he drew a crowd everywhere he went and packed stadiums throughout his career.

His defensive stats were unreal – more so considering that he did not even touch a basketball until he was 16 years old. After being drafted in 1985, Bol went on to set the record for most blocks in a rookie season, which included league records for shots blocked in a half (11) and in a quarter (8). He finished his 10-year NBA career second in career blocks-per-game (a mark that still stands today) and is the only player in league history with more blocked shots (2,086) than points (1,599).

Fans flocked to arenas to see Bol and marveled at his height and shot blocking ability. However, he was much more than a sideshow – he was the embodiment of the “American Dream.” Bol rose from a small tribe in a primitive section of Sudan to a mainstream figure of American pop culture. He was thrown right into the lime-light and emerged as an NBA legend.

But it was his actions off the court that made him a true superstar. Bol always kept his war-ravaged home country in mind and worked tirelessly with nonprofit organizations to improve Sudan throughout his career. He started the Ring True Foundation, which raised over $3 million for the Sudanese refugee camps he frequently visited. In retirement, he assembled schools across Sudan to educate Muslim and Christian students under one roof and worked with local politicians to promote fair and safe elections.

Bol passed away in Virginia on Saturday, June 19 from kidney problems and a rare skin condition. He proved himself as force both on and off the court. He was a hero, a humanitarian, and a giant – in both height and heart.

Pete Deluca is an Associate Account Executive. Contact him at pete@maroonpr.com.