Describe The Relationship Between Athletes And Athletes

During controversies associated with athletes and their brands, relationships between athletes and their fans are crucial to being successful. However, with a high profile crisis such as those like Ray Rice, Tom Brady, Tiger Woods, and many other athletes, relationships between the athlete and fan can become strained and fragmented. With the marketing of an athlete as a brand, fans create and build relationships to connect with a particular athlete. The relationship that fans (also known as consumers) establish with their favorite athlete takes time to mature. Therefore, for fans to build a relationship with a brand (or athlete, which will be used interchangeably) there are certain steps that the brand and the consumer must achieve. According to Bee and Kahle (2006), for a fan to associate with a brand, a fan must 1) have compliance, 2) identify (identification), and 3) internalization (p.105). Within each of the three steps, there are guidelines that both the athlete and fan must meet to achieve success as a brand and relatable for fans. The brand must have 1) social effect, 2) attractiveness, and 3) creditability. The fans, on the other hand, must benefit from and believe the social effect, social anchorage, and creditability (Bee and Kahle, 2006, p.105) of the

In “negative consequences […] consumers may refrain from attending an event or avoid wearing sport-related clothing to avoid public embarrassment or ridicule” (Bee and Kahle 106-07). In a crisis, a fan (consumer) will lose all interest and trust in the brand because of the negative image that the athlete portrays. This conflict between a current negative image and a previous positive image will leave the fan confused about what is the true image that the athlete wants his fans and the media to see. Therefore, leaving the fan with the choice to distance itself from the negative publicity that the brand has