Redskins No More When A Vacancy Arose On The School Board

Redskins No Morewhen A Vacancy Arose On The School Board For Gooding P

Redskins No Morewhen A Vacancy Arose On The School Board For Gooding P

Redskins No More When a vacancy arose on the school board for Gooding Public Schools, Scott Rogers decided to throw his hat into the ring for consideration. A former college professor who had retired to the small Midwest town, Scott was hoping to help the historically “good old boy” board focus more on educational pursuits than its traditional emphasis on high school athletics. Shortly after Scott was appointed to the board, a local family with Native American ancestry came before the board to ask that the name of the Gooding High School’s athletic teams be changed from the Redskins. The family found the use of Redskins as a team name to be offensive. “The use of the word Redskin is essentially a racial slur,” said Scott, “and as a racial slur, it needed to be changed.” The request set off a firestorm in the small town of 7,000.

The school’s athletic teams had competed as Redskins for 50 years, and many felt the name was an integral part of the community. People personally identified with the Redskins, and the team and the team’s name were ingrained in the small town’s culture. “We went through months of folks coming to the school board meetings to speak on the issue, and it got totally out of control,” Scott says. “Locals would say, ‘I was born a Redskin, and I’ll die a Redskin.’ They argued that the name was never intended to be offensive and that it honored the area’s relatively strong Native American presence. The local family that raised the issue was getting all sorts of national support, and speakers came in from as far away as Oklahoma to discuss the negative ramifications of Native American mascots.

Local groups argued back that these speakers weren’t from Gooding and shouldn’t even be allowed to be at the board meetings.” Scott felt strongly that the name needed to be changed. In meeting after meeting, he tried to explain to both his fellow board members and those in the audience that if the name is offensive to someone and recognized as a racial slur, then the intent of its original choosing was irrelevant. If someone was offended by the name, then it was wrong to maintain it. Finally, Scott put forward a motion to change the name. That motion included a process for the students at Gooding High School to choose a new name for their athletic teams.

The board approved the motion 5–2. The students immediately embraced the opportunity to choose a new name, developing designs and logos for their proposed choices. In the end, the student body voted to become the Redhawks. There was still an angry community contingent, however, that was festering over the change. They began circulating petitions to recall the school board members who voted for the change, and received enough signatures for the recall to be put up for an election.

“While the kids are going about the business of changing the name and the emblem, the community holds an election and proceeds to recall five of the seven members of the board,” Scott says. The five recalled members include Scott and the other board members who voted in favor of the name change. The remaining two board members, both of whom were ardent members of the athletic booster organization, held a special meeting of the board (all two of them) and voted to change the name back to the Redskins. That’s when the state’s Department of Civil Rights and the Commission for High School Athletics stepped in. They told the Gooding School Board there could not be a reversal of the name change and that Gooding High School’s teams would have to go for four years without one, competing only as Gooding.

Over the course of those four years, new school board members were elected, and the issue quieted down. At the end of that period, the students again voted to become the Gooding Redhawks. “You know, the kids were fine with it,” says Scott. “It’s been ten years, and there’s an entire generation of kids that don’t have a clue that it was ever different. They are Redhawks and have always been Redhawks. It was the adults who had the problem. There’s still a small contingent today that can’t get over it. A local hardware store still sells Gooding Redskins T-shirts and other gear. There is just this group of folks that believe there was nothing disrespectful in the Redskins name. Once that group is gone, it will be a nonissue.”

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Discussion of Crisis Communication Theories: Apple "Bendgate" Case Study

Crisis communication is fundamental for maintaining organizational reputation and stakeholder trust during challenging times. One noteworthy theory related to crisis communication is the Technology-Image Expectancy Gap Theory. This theory explains the disconnect between a company's perceived technological expectations and its actual capabilities or issues, which often leads to consumer dissatisfaction and reputational damage. An illustrative example outside of "Bendgate" relates to the Yahoo data breaches of 2013 and 2014. Consumers expected secure handling of their personal information, but the company disclosed breaches that compromised user data. The gap between anticipated security standards and actual breach incidents severely damaged Yahoo’s credibility, exemplifying how gaps in perceived versus actual technology can precipitate a crisis.

Regarding Apple's crisis management efforts before, during, and after "Bendgate," the company’s response demonstrated varying degrees of effectiveness. Prior to the crisis, Apple’s reputation was robust, built on innovation and premium quality. However, the emergence of "Bendgate" — where consumers alleged their iPhone 6 Plus models bent under normal use — challenged the company's technological image. During the crisis, Apple initially downplayed the issue, asserting that the bending incidents were rare and not indicative of a broader problem, which was perceived by some as dismissive. This response arguably worsened public perception, as users felt their concerns were ignored, leading to increased media scrutiny and social media backlash. In the aftermath, Apple attempted to manage the crisis through transparent communication, offering free replacements for affected devices, and emphasizing the company's commitment to quality. While these measures mitigated some damage, critics argued Apple could have been more proactive or empathetic initially, which might have curtailed negative sentiment.

Furthermore, crisis communication research underscores the importance of timely, transparent, and empathetic responses in managing such situations. Apple’s delayed acknowledgment contributed to suspicion and eroded consumer trust temporarily. However, post-crisis strategies, like issuing apologies and offering solutions, align with best practices advocated by scholars such as Coombs (2012), who emphasize the significance of owning mistakes and engaging in corrective action. Ultimately, although Apple’s handling of "Bendgate" was not perfect, their efforts to clarify and address consumer concerns helped restore some confidence. This case underscores that effective crisis communication hinges on promptness, honesty, and the organization’s ability to demonstrate accountability, critical principles supported by crisis communication theories.

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