Communitarianism VS Utilitarianism

When in crisis, each public relations professional faces a difficult decision; whether or not to be simply an advocate of their organization or maintain an objective stance. Oftentimes the reaction to a crisis has to be some sort of balance between these two, but in the case of the Dallas Cowboys' star player Michael Irvin and a fight with lesser known offensive lineman Everett McIver, there was no balance.

In a case study of the scuffle which put in Irvin's place on the team in jeopardy, it's essential to recognize the two possible resolutions the Cowboys camp could have come to. The first would be a communitarianism response, which is to place importance on each individual's well being and value truth above all else. Perhaps this would result in the punishment of both McIver and Irvin, but with the way that the team and media handled the situation, the world will never know. The decision made by the team was to keep the details hidden from the media, and they treated the incident as a family matter. By stonewalling the media, they were not serving everyone's best interest. They were valuing the future of the team over each individual player, because of the legal ramifications Irvin could face after another assault charge.

This reaction is indicative of a Utilitarian response. The theory of "the greatest good for the greatest number," fueled the Cowboys media relations team, coaches, and players "no comment" approach to the media.

Now here comes the big question: Which response was ethical?

If ethics is the issue, it is undeniable that the truth should be valued above all else. But in this specific case study, the truth is unknown. The incident could have been handled in house, because it truly was nothing more than horseplay that went a little too far. Jerry Jones and the PR staff could have valued the reputation of the team over the publication of a scuffle of no importance.

However, the way the fight was handled automatically points a finger of guilt. In public relations, I think that the main lesson to be learned is that "no comment," generally causes the media and public to assume the worst.

I cannot say that I condone the Cowboys' actions, but I definitely see the reasoning behind it. With the type of organization that a football team is, individuals forfeit their rights at the door. I'm sure that most players would agree that they will do whatever it takes to get them to the Super Bowl. The amount of secrecy that goes into a football team is high regardless of criminal charges.