Prof on Super Bowl spectacle and how the NFL plays the public relations game

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — When it comes to a winning public relations strategy, the NFL lives by its own playbook, says a Purdue University sports communication expert.

"The NFL is the Teflon league, as it seems to have an incredible ability to thrive even when faced with multiple controversies on and off the field,” says Josh Boyd, an associate professor in the Brian Lamb School of Communication. "While performance-enhancing drug use harmed baseball's image, football’s image has not been tarnished by the concussion controversy or players’ behavior off the field.”

Boyd studies corporate rhetoric and public relations issues management and teaches sports communication. He says part of this fan forgiveness is that football by nature is a violent sport and people are willing to overlook problems because it's part of the game they love to watch.

Boyd also can talk about:

* The idea of spectacle

* Treatment of the NFL as almost a “religion of sport”

* NFL’s public relations surrounding the game

Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu

Source: Josh Boyd, 765-494-3333, boyd@purdue.edu.