A case Study of Todd Bertuzzi Sucker Punch

1. Todd Bertuzzi Sucker Punch
Violent Incident Sparks Debate Among NHL Fans And Critics
Presented
by
David Makacha

2. What is the Case all About?
 Hockey Sport
 Todd Bertuzzi-Vancouver Canucks hit opponent player
 Victim- Steve Moore- Colorado Avalanche
 3 weeks earlier, Steve Moore had caused Concussion on the
Canucks Captain and got away with it.
 Bertuzzi hit him deliberately or was it Revenge?
 You live by the sword, you die by the sword- the unwritten
Hockey rule (Usinger, 2014)

3. Is violence part of what fans pay for?
www.raesidecartoon.com

4. Is violence part of what pple pay for?
 Hockey Does not Condone Violence
 Section 6 penalizes Violent activities e.g. Kicking, fighting,
Elbowing
But Hockey is physical contact game -Emotions
 Ref decides contact punishable or not.
 I don’t think fans pay to watch violence
Fans may enjoy that drama, at times they fight among
themselves

5. Was this incident to be expected as a part of
the game, or did this go beyond what is
acceptable?
 Violence Not New to Hockey
 This one went beyond expectations
 Injury NOT expected
Fans might have expected revenge, but not of that
magnitude

6. From a PR POV was the league punishment commensurate with the
action? Was the apology sufficient, sincere (in your estimation) and
effective?
 I think the punishment was hash enough for the offense
 $502 000 fine + Suspension on 13 games and Stanley Cup plays offs,
 Painful enough to deter would-be perpetrators
 Team was also fined- more discipline to players
 Apology not Sincere - too informal (I am sorry for what happened
out their)
 Apology not sufficient, he could have visited Steve in person to
apologize in person – not press statement
 Not effective as he was fined and the Victim later sued him

7. Key Audiences
1 Steve Moore and his Family- the primary victims.
• Loss of Family Income
• Bodily Harm, Career could end, Life threatening Injury
2 Vancouver Canucks- Bertuzzi’s team
• Repute affected by Bertuzzi’s Contact
• They are held responsible for Bertuzzi’s behavior
3 National Hockey League (NHL)
• Responsible for Hockey Management
• Responsible with enforcing Hockey Rules
• Responsible for Solving Disputes

8. PR Theory in Use
 Bertuzzi Could be using the Excellency Theory
 He realized his actions had wronged his audiences
 He asked for forgiveness to maintain that mutual
Relationship
 By asking for forgiveness he is trying to evade lawsuits and
repute damage a benefit of excellence theory
 Or He could be using another theory……………..

9. Image Restoration Theory
 Image Restoration theory (William L. Benoit in 1996)
 when organizations or individuals’ repute are at risk due to a crisis they take
action to defend or restore their repute.
 These strategies are denial, evasion of responsibility, reduce offensiveness,
corrective action and mortification
 Bertuzzi chose mortification strategy
 He confess and ask for forgiveness.
 Audience choose to forgive or unforgive
 Repute is maintained or lost

10. Did the League act appropriately or should
they have done something else
 I think the action was appropriate
 $502k, 13 games + cup playoffs suspension,
 The punishment was painful & loud to send messages to other
violent players
 Time for tolerating violence in the league was over
 This could have been a huge lesson to many players
 However, they should have also punished Steve Moore

11. The End
THANK YOU!
Tatenda !

12. Reference
 Usinger, M. (09-05-2014). Steve Moore didn't deserve a
dime from the Todd Bertuzzi hit. Available from
http://www.straight.com/blogra/722351/steve-moore-didnt-
deserve-dime-todd-bertuzzi-hit