Sports Conflict

A look at the conflict management process within sports

Derrick Vergolini

Article Overview

An article from the Sports Conflict Institute provides a brief overview of this particular organization’s process to determining and resolving sports team conflict.

This organization actually serves as a mediating team to be hired by a sports organization to analyze team conflict and provide insight as to how to go about resolving it.

The article firstly identifies typical issues that arise within sports organizations: Bullying and hazing Athlete retention Legal Issues Team rules violations (etc.)

Then the article identifies consequences if team conflict is not resolved: Culture erosion Damaged reputation (etc.)

Article Overview

This group implements tools such as a Conflict Management System and Team Accountability design to help guide the sport organization towards conflict resolution.

Their sample framework for analyzing and implementing a Conflict Management System is as follows: Goals Processes and Structure Stakeholders Resources Success and Accountability

Lastly, the article finds that there are three main types of return on investments for the sports organization: Economic Organizational Humanistic

Phases of Organizational Conflict

According to the text book, Organizational Communication: Approaches and Processes, by Katherine Miller there are five phases of organizational conflict Latent Conflict: Parties interact in interdependent relationship, making incompatible goals

impossible. Perceived Conflict: At least one of the parties realize that their situation is characterized by

incompatibility and interdependence. Felt Conflict: Parties personalize perceived conflict by focusing on the conflict. Conflict

management strategies begin being planned. Manifest Conflict: This is the communication aspect of the conflict amongst the parties. They

implement their own personal strategies when interacting about the issue. Conflict Aftermath: Whether the issue is resolved or not, there will be either positive or

negative consequences from the conflict. It affects the individuals, the relationship, and the organization.

Real-Life Examples

I’ll use several real-life sports conflicts to illustrate how these situations went about the five phases of conflict, and connect it with the ideology of the Sports Conflict Institute and determine: The type of issue The possible sample framework for a Conflict Management System The possible return on investments The possible consequences if this conflict was not resolved or ignored

Although the Sports Conflict Institute never necessarily mediated these conflict examples, I will give my personal insight as to how I think it would’ve been managed.

Deflate-Gate

In the 2015 National Football League AFC Championship game, reports were released that the New England Patriots intentionally deflated game footballs, which is a violation of NFL protocol. New England defeated the visiting

Indianapolis Colts and went on to win the Super Bowl two weeks later.

The idea of a deflated football (especially in colder weather) is for better grip and control of the ball for the quarterback, who in this instance is New England’s Tom Brady.

Deflate-Gate Phases of Conflict

Phase #1 – Latent Conflict There are several aspects to this phase of the conflict. Firstly, Brady felt that he was not going

to be as productive with the footballs inflated to regulation PSI, so he asked one of the equipment managers to deflate game footballs behind closed doors. Brady and the Patriots violating NFL rules show how their party is putting personal goals before compatible goals.

Phase #2 – Perceived Conflict The NFL, just like the rest of the public, begin getting word of the reports that the game balls

for the AFC title game were deflated in the second half, at the hands of the hosting New England Patriots.

According to the ESPN article cited, several Indianapolis defensive players got their hands on the footballs, and told their managers and coaches that they felt deflated. The Colts denied that they tipped off the league about the “potentially” deflated balls, though.

Deflate-Gate Phases of Conflict

Phase #3 – Felt Conflict Although not certain if New England is guilty or not, the NFL hires a team to conduct an

investigation on the incident. At this point, NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, would be planning potential penalties for the Patriots.

Phase #4 – Manifest Conflict Thanks to media and press conferences, both the league and the Patriots have been providing the

public their own sides to the argument throughout the investigation. After the Super Bowl, the league reveals it’s findings, and fines the Patriots organization $1 million

and suspends Tom Brady for the first four games of the coming season as a way to penalize them for the actions they were found guilty for.

Phase #5 – Conflict Aftermath About a month before the start of the new season and shortly after the administered penalty, Brady

and the NFL Player’s Association decide to appeal Goodell’s decision to suspend him. They argued that they lacked evidence to personally penalize him. This led to Brady winning his appeal, and getting his suspension lifted.

Deflate-Gate Sports Conflict Institute

This type of issue was a league rules violation that was initially fueled by rumors, and then heightened to a legal issue when it went to the appeals court.

There were plenty of potential consequences if the NFL just decided to let this conflict slip under the rug: Increased displeasure of fans, NFL staff, coaching staff, and league players, which would lead

to increased disengagement from all parties Damaged league reputation for not grabbing the bull by the horns to attempt to resolve this

issue Increasing the motivation of all NFL representatives to break the rules more often in efforts to

achieve a desired outcome.

Deflate-Gate Sports Conflict Institute

Potential Conflict Management System Framework: Goals: To make sure that all organizations within the NFL are following all rules within the NFL Processes and Structure: Precisely how the governing body of the NFL should go about

investigating to determine whether there was in fact a rules violation or not, and then how the NFL should go about penalizing a rule violation.

Stakeholders: The NFL, all of its teams, all of its players, all organizations’ staff members, and most importantly, the fans and corporate sponsors that pay money to keep the league moving forward are all vital parties.

Resources: This can refer back to the stakeholders. We can also refer to the investigative groups that get to the bottom of these sorts of conflicts, like Deflategate.

Success and Accountability: Only time would tell if this system is successful or not in keeping league rules in check and making all of those involved for enforcing and following the written (and unwritten) rules.

NCAA Football: Miami (FL) vs. Duke

On October 31, 2015, the Miami Hurricanes defeated the Duke Blue Devils on a wild pitch and catch lateral play off a kickoff as time expired, with a final score of 30-27.

Immediately following the game (and even during the play), there was speculation from all that the referees officiating that game missed several calls that would have blown the play dead and allowed Duke to win the game.

The refs confirmed the call after looking at it with instant replay review.

NCAA Officials later determined that the refs, in fact, were wrong in their call-making. The ball should have been ruled down and Duke should have won the game.

Miami (FL) vs. Duke Phases of Conflict

Phase #1 – Latent Conflict Although not necessarily intentional, this phase of conflict is expressed by the Miami players

that either were ruled down by the NCAA rulebook or broke the rules with a forward lateral or having bench players on the field, which both would have been penalties. These acts are incompatible with NCAA Football and the game rulebook.

Phase #2 – Perceived Conflict NCAA and Atlantic-Coastal Conference officials reviewed the play and the on-field referees’

decision prior to the game. They came to the conclusion that the decision on the field was incorrect and crowned a false winner (Miami).

Phase #3 – Felt Conflict This would be the aspect of the issue where the NCAA and/or ACC officials begin looking at the

consequences and plan how to address the conflict with the officials getting the call wrong.

Miami (FL) vs. Duke Phases of Conflict

Phase #4 – Manifest Conflict ACC officials released a statement saying that the referees, in fact, committed four errors

when making the final decision of the play that ended the game. The conference suspended the officiating crew for two games, however per league rule, the call could not be overturned, so Miami (FL) was still rewarded with the win.

Phase #5 – Conflict Aftermath In the Associated Press article cited, Miami was obviously still happy they got to keep the win

amidst the err in the call. Duke was upset that there is no way to reverse the ruling on the game, prior to the conclusion of it. Even with the instant replay process being implemented, the referees still got the call incorrect.

This was not the first time an incorrect call has falsely concluded the outcome of a game, in any sport. This should just be another example as to why the NCAA, and really, all governing sport organization leagues, should have a process where the outcome of a game can be changed when the on-field ruling is proven to be incorrect.

Miami (FL) vs. Duke Sport Conflict Institute

While not taken to the legal level that Deflategate was taken to, this issue was still a conflict of rules violation and a violation of the NCAA football game rulebook.

In the past, a governing sport organization may have been able to get away with not addressing a play with as much controversy as this one. However, with media publicity and speculation at such a high level nowadays, the NCAA and ACC were obligated to look into the conflict with the following potential consequences if they did not: Damaged reputation for NCAA officials and NCAA Football in general Unhappy fan base and unhappy staff Reduced productivity and performance from on-field officials – officials would have decreased

motivation to be certain to get the call right, knowing that the governing body would not be monitoring them and penalizing them if they did not do so.

NCAA Football: Miami (FL) vs. Duke

Potential Conflict Management System framework: Goals: To be certain that the correct call is being made during play, and that incorrect calls do

not falsify the outcome of a game or match Processes and Structure: On-field referees need to be of full focus and well-aware of the

rulebook during play, and the instant replay system must be there to confirm a call in question as it is now. The NCAA (and all governing bodies for that matter) must have a process in place for overturning an incorrect call that affects the outcome of a game, preferably onsite.

Stakeholders: The teams involved in the game, the governing bodies and their reputations, and the fans are all vital stakeholders.

Resources: Referees, instant replay, league officials, and a reviewing committee would all be great resources for this system.

Success and Accountability: Again, only time will tell, however with the addition of a process to have the ability to overturn an incorrect call prior to gameplay would greatly improve the process in place now.

Germany vs. Holland Soccer Friendly

On Tuesday, November 17, 2015, the German national football (soccer) team was scheduled to play an international friendly match against Holland in Hannover, Germany.

The match was postponed due to a ‘serious threat’ of an explosive device going off in the stadium. Officials searched and found no explosive device onsite.

This is just days after the massive terrorist attacks happened in Paris, France, with one of the sites being just outside of the stadium where France and Germany were playing an international friendly. Allegedly, the terrorists initial plan was to enter the stadium with the explosive devices.

This is the scene inside the stadium during the ISIS attacks.

Germany/Holland Phases of Conflict

Phase #1 – Latent Conflict The French Intelligence Agency tipped Germany about the potential attack threat, which

conflicts with goals of keeping the public safe, especially when large crowds gather together at a stage like a soccer game. The party potentially planning the attack has interdependent goals that conflict with the compatible goals of society.

Phase #2 – Perceived Conflict As Germany receives this information that there is a potential for a terrorist attack at this

soccer match, they realize that there is a massive security and safety threat to all involved with the game – not just the soccer teams and stadium officials, but the large fan base that would be gather inside and around the stadium.

Phase #3 – Felt Conflict German officials would begin quickly planning how to handle this conflict. They do not want to

cancel the match if there is no serious threat, but it appears that there is, so they must act in a way to keep the general public safe.

Germany/Holland Phases of Conflict

Phase #4 – Manifest Conflict German officials must communicate their plan of conflict resolution quickly. They cannot

simply eliminate the terrorist threat because they do not know from whom or where it is coming from. So, several hours before the start of the game, officials communicate that the match is postponed, and calmly evacuate the stadium in the most efficient way possible to keep everyone calm.

Phase #5 – Conflict Aftermath The aftermath for this conflict is still unfolding. Sport venue security has heightened globally

in the past decade and a half following the terrorist attacks from September 11, 2001. The terrorist group ISIS has been extremely active in the past several years, and is clearly not afraid to target sporting venues, as we unfortunately experienced with the Paris attacks on November 13.

Government officials will be actively finding ways to increasingly heighten security a major venues like Hannover Stadium in Germany. Safety is a number-one priority at this point right now, considering the uncertainty and serious threat that a terrorist group like ISIS is posing.

Germany/Holland Sport Conflict Institute

This type of issue is not necessarily listed by the Sport Conflict Institute, but this is certainly one of the most important types of conflict to resolve in the best way possible. This is a public safety type of conflict. It could also be seen as an off-field distraction.

There are major consequences if a conflict like this is not resolved in the correct manner: Loss of lives or putting the public in great danger or risk of harm Decrease in fan base or attendance if the public feels unsafe attending a sporting event Loss of revenues would result from decrease in attendance Players and team staff may vow not to participate in sport if they feel unsafe in doing so

Germany/Holland Sport Conflict Institute

Potential Conflict Management System framework: Goals: To keep not just the players, team staff, and venue staff safe and secure, but to keep and ensure

that the attending fans are safe and completely out of harms way when attending a sporting event Processes and Structure: Virtually all major sporting venues have some kind of security protocol in place.

However, there needs to be a global protocol that requires all major venues follow to ensure safety within vicinity. This would include things like: metal detectors, identification checks, pat downs, questioning (if necessary), etc.

Stakeholders: Everyone is a stakeholder in this type of situation. Human lives are at stake. From players and personnel, to the fans. If a terrorist attack were to happen inside of a stadium, that country’s government would be in serious trouble.

Resources: Law enforcement, government officials, trained security guards, and technology are all resources that would play a huge role in keeping harm away from major venues.

Success and Accountability: Success is measured simply off safety. No one will get preached if there are no reports of security breaches inside these sporting venues, however this just means that the job is being done correctly. Those in charge of keeping the public safe are held accountable, and the public is held accountable for not having these motives to harm others, no matter who they are.

Review

There are many different types of conflict that arise in sport. Smaller scale: team issues, or even person-to-person issues within an organization Large scale: global issues like venue security, especially preventing terrorist attacks

The five phases of organizational conflict listed in the text book are apparent in virtually all situations where conflict arise. The matter in which they are solved, however, differ from each issue.

Conflict is inevitable, even in the sports industry. Interdependent goals will always conflict with organizational goals.

Conflict isn’t necessarily bad. It motivates us to continue to improve the way we approach things, and keep one step ahead of what is next to come.

Works Cited

Miller, Katherine. Organizational Communication: Approaches and Processes. 7th ed. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.

"Conflict Management Systems | Sports Conflict Institute." Sports Conflict. Sports Conflict Institute, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.

"Timeline of Events for Deflategate, Tom Brady." ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, 3 Sept. 2015. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.

Reynolds, Tim, and Joedy McCreary. "ACC Suspends Officials for 2 Games after Miami-Duke Ending." College Football AP. Associated Press, 1 Nov. 2015. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.

Morgenstein, Mark, and Jason Hanna. "German Stadium Evacuated before Match with Netherlands - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, 17 Nov. 2015. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.