PR Theory and Publics II

Case Study: Knockout Boxing

by Selwyn Jerry Boston

MA Public Relations,

London College of Communication (UAL)

December 2010

Selwyn Jerry Boston

PR Theory and Publics II: Knockout Boxing

Selwyn Jerry Boston 1

December 2010

Abstract

This paper will briefly analyse the public opinion on women in boxing, the

sport in the United Kingdom in general, assess the role the British media

plays on the debate and using Gregory’s ten point planning model, devise a

strategic method to implement a successful campaign for the ban against

boxing in the UK. To conclude, the paper will draw on the persuasion ethics of

three models that could be used for this PR campaign, and make a

recommendation on which one of the strategies could be of definite use for

any future PR activity.

Introduction

Best practice in public relations calls for “input research” (Singh & Glenny,

2004, p.142) when a public relations campaign is being planned. Without it,

PR practitioners can be “reduced to taking, at best, educated guesses

regarding the problem and potential intervention programs” (Stacks, 2002,

p.4). The input research results guide programme planning decisions as to

which model of persuasion could be used to change public opinion on views

that are already firmly established. Many authors have promoted consensual

dialogue as the good towards which public relations ought to aim. This

includes proponents of two-way symmetric communication (Grunig & Hunt,

1984), those who see public relations as the ‘ethical guardian’ of the firms

they work for (L’Etang, 2003), and those who promote Habermas’s

communicative ethics (Leeper, 1996). Engaging in consensual dialogue is

oriented towards reaching understanding, rather than winning an argument.

The success does not depend on the presence of coercion, but on

opportunities for all involved to participate in the conversation and raise

issues of concern. Discussion and exploration of multiple perspectives to

reach understanding and consensus can result in creative

reconceptualisations that would produce win-win outcomes. The debate in

this paper looks at a case study to ban professional boxing, and also raises

the question of whether amateur boxing should also be put in the firing line,

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Boxing in Britain

Many responses to the articles written about the inclusion of women boxing

in the Olympics appear to be for than against. Some supporters of the sport

call it progress claim that if it were outlawed there would be more injuries

caused by illegal boxing, undertaken without strict medical controls.

Steve Smith from Norfolk, UK replied to an article in Journal of Neuroscience

Nursing by Peter Hagell (2000) that “people should be allowed to make their

own choice whether to participate in contact sports such as boxing, but in

order to do so, they need to be fully informed and aware of what the risks

are--even before they begin training. There is a need for levels of awareness

about neurologic disability, its effects, and the expectations for recovery to

be raised within the general public, who often shrug their shoulders and say

"it won't happen to me."

Boxing promoter Frank Malloney does not believe there is a future for women

in boxing looking at it from a commercial point of view. He does not think that

people will want to pay to see women get hurt in the boxing ring compared to

their male counterparts.

The role of the media on the debate

The British media is both for and against boxing. Their debate lies on the

freedom of choice for individuals to participate in whether it is non- or contact

sports. This shows cognitive dissonance especially with the media’s

knowledge of the dangers in participating in contact sports like boxing. The

incidents of Michael Watson and Paul Ingle are just samples in the long list of

horrific injuries suffered by professional boxers that are reported by the

British media. There is a cognitive dissonance in the role the media plays in

its report on boxing. Fatalities and progressive changes in the sport - whether

it is regarding women’s boxing being included into the Olympic games or the

BBC’s first broadcast of competitive women’s boxing - both have received

extensive coverage in the mass media.

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Gareth Davies wrote in an article for The Telegraph (2009) that if the answer

is ‘no’ to women boxing, “we simply suppress the right of those individuals in

society who can, and do want to take part in the sport.”

A recent article by Rachel Dixon at The Guardian (2010) clearly endorses the

BBC’s announcement to broadcast women participating the sport almost as

feminist analyst focusing on the imbalance of the activity. Even professional

boxers like Amir Khan show a slight disapproval of women boxing, yet he

happy with the social progress of the sport.

Knockout Boxing PR plan

Analysis

Although boxing is seen as a blood sport with long-term fatalities reported

between male professional boxers, a number of women are becoming more

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interested in taking it up either as a hobby or a profession. A recent survey

by Sport England revealed that 40% of boxing clubs run classes specifically

for women. Out of the 149,000 people who participate in boxing once a

month, one quarter are women. About 20,500 women box every week,

compared with 156,300 who play football.

Objectives:

- To initiate a four year campaign to raise awareness of the fatal dangers of

boxing

- To challenge the public and media’s proponent view of women in boxing by

bringing in tighter restrictions on amateur boxing

- To lobby with the Government to bring in a complete on professional boxing

- To persuade the Department of Culture and Sport to overturn it’s funding

and decision of including a women’s boxing squad at the 2016 Olympic

Games in Rio

- To campaign for the national and local provision communal centres for

young people

Publics (primary and secondary):

Primary - Boxers (registered professionals and hobbyists)

Gyms and boxing clubs (boxing trainers)

Academics and health opinion formers (neurosurgeons)

MPs

Medical (doctors, nurses)

Parents and Schools

Media

Secondary: British Medical Association (BMA)

World Medical Association (WMA)

Royal College of Nursing (RCN)

Schools Amateur Boxing Association (SAMA)

Message:

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Knockout Boxing accepts that on the positive side boxing is good exercise

and it fulfils the dreams of many youngsters. In a negative context, people

get hurt while participating in the sport, and these injured people sometimes

have to live with long-term fatalities or die. At least 140 boxers, including two

women, have died worldwide due to injuries sustained in training or in bouts

since 1990. One should ask the question: “Is it ethical for the Government to

allow the continuation of such a brutal, combative sport that puts the athlete

at risk?”

Case Study: Muhammad Ali

When Muhammad Ali was first diagnosed with Parkinson's Syndrome, he had

to go through a series of tests at the renowned Mayo Clinic, and then at a

number of other highly respected institutions. The results indicated an

astonishing amount of abnormalities, all of which seemed to be boxing

related. It was found that Ali had a hole in the membrane separating the two

sides of his brain. While this type of abnormality is often congenital, being

punched in the head repeatedly, if not causing such a condition, can certainly

exacerbate and worsen it. Further complicating matters, Ali was shown to

have a series of degenerative changes in his brain stem; a part of the brain

that is linked with dopamine production, a neurotransmitter that is lacking in

those afflicted with Parkinson's-like afflictions. Ali's brain stem was shown to

be significantly damaged, and his attending physicians, in a statement

released at Muhammad Ali's request, stated that they believed Ali's brain

damage to be boxing-induced.

Excerpt from: “Muhammad Ali's Battle Against Parkinson's Syndrome: Is

Boxing to Blame?” by Jason Medina (2007)

Case Study: Lonnie Ali

Lonnie married Muhammad Ali in 1976 at the time he had just been

diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. As the condition progressed, it caused

tremors, muscle stiffness, slowed body movements, unstable posture, and

difficulty walking. A former heavyweight boxing champion of the world,

Muhammad didn't take easily to the idea that his body could fail him. The job

Selwyn Jerry Boston 6

of convincing Muhammad that he needed to listen to doctors fell largely to

his wife, who immediately slipped into the role of caregiver.

Lonnie Ali: “Your day never begins or ends, because it's a 24-hour thing,

seven days a week. [The person you're caring for] never leaves your mental

consciousness even when you are away getting some respite. You're always

thinking, is he okay?”

Everyday Health (2007)

Strategy:

The Knockout Boxing group aims to use counter arguments with logical and

rational points, highlighting the benefits of boxing as an exercise and fatality

as a competitive sport, and a moral narrative in the bid to ban competitive

boxing.

Tactics:

- Lobby with MPs in bringing in tighter regulations or a complete ban on

boxing

- Television debates with sport professionals for and against boxing

- Radio interviews with leading health and academic opinion leaders

- Feature articles in opinion forming newspapers

- Provide counter arguments – for and against boxing

Stakeholders:

Internal: International Olympic Committee

Department of Health

Department of Culture, Media and Sport

British Medical Association (BMA)

World Medical Association (WMA)

UK Parliament

External: British Broadcast Corporation (BBC)

Michael Watson, former professional boxer

Working-class youth (male and female aged 15-21)

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Political leaders: Hugh Robertson MP, Minister for Sport and the Olympics

MP, Department of Health

Paul Flynn, Labour MP

Opinion formers: Professor Vanessa Nathanson, BMA

Professor J Pearn

Peter McCabe, Chief Executive, The Brain Injury

Association

Channels

The media can be used as a “magic bullet” to send out uniform and direct

message to everyone. This may not have an immediate effect but using mass

communication with the right message through the mainstream media and

sport organisations could influence people to do just about anything. Here are

a few channels the group intends to use:

Newspapers: Claire Stocks, Olympic Sports Editor, BBC Sport

Rachel Dixon, The Guardian

The Daily Mail

Television: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Breakfast News

Sky News

Radio: BBC Radio 4

BBC Radio 5 Live

Magazines: British Medical Journal

Sport organisations: Sports Council

Sport England

UK Sport, funding agency

International Boxing Association

Paul King CEO, Amateur Boxing Association of England

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Timescales:

Year 1 (2011): Campaign launch, employ PR agency, evaluate public

opinion, conduct factual research, speak with former professional boxers,

engage with other pressure groups against boxing, media briefings

Year 2 (2012):, Meet with sport organisations, media campaign, peaceful

protest at London 2012 Olympic boxing matches with pressure groups

against the sport

Year 3 (2013): Start lobbying with MPs and PM, media campaign – press

breakfasts, briefings and reports

Year 4 (2014): Campaign review, present campaign results to Parliament,

media campaign

Resources:

Knockout Boxing has recently appointed Mr Dominic Palumbo as chief

executive and currently has a budget of £350,000 set aside for the assistance

of a public relations agency to execute the campaign.

Evaluation:

Depending on the progress of the campaign, Knockout Boxing will require

reports from the successful agency:

- evaluating the success of the use of theories to the campaign

- comparing the number of boxers (male and female) before and after the

campaign

- disseminating a report on the progress of the campaign to organisations

campaigning for the boxing ban

- a compilation report on the level of education, persuasion and acceptance

of young people about the pros and cons of professional boxing

- evaluation of short and long-term public opinion during the campaign and

the percentage of awareness before and after the campaign

- budget evaluation for stakeholders

Review:

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This will be done in the year of the campaign. Using print, broadcast and

online media, the campaign will be reviewed and presented to the

Department of Media, Culture and Sport for reconsideration of a bill to ban

boxing presented to the House of Commons.

Persuasion theory recommendations

Putting the debate into perspective, boxing is a sport that seems to attract a

large number of working-class youth but what these youths often fail to note,

however, is that professional boxers are at risk of suffering high numbers of

life-altering non-fatal injuries.

There are a number of approaches to persuasion as suggested by Fawkes

(2007) that “Knockout Boxing” could use to achieve its key objectives in

changing the public’s attitude to the boxing.

Rhetorical Perspective: Aristotle’s Model of Communication

Fig. 1

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Source: Ehninger, Gronbeck and Monroe

This is one of the earliest definitions of communication that derived from the

Greek philosopher-teacher Aristotle (384-322 B.C.). Aristotle’s speaker-

centered model received perhaps its fullest development in the hands of

Roman educator Quintilian (ca. 35-95 A.D.), whose Institutio Oratoria was

filled with advice on the full training of a “good” speaker-statesman.

This model features few elements but the main concepts of rhetoric are skills

that can be utilised to achieve persuasive effects.

- Ethos: a trustworthy speaker

- Logos: the logic nature of the message

- Pathos: the emotional response of the audience from the speaker style

- Kairos: timing - knowing when to emphasise on the language

As cited by Toth (1992) to use Sproule's (1988) 'managerial rhetoric' clearly

connects to public relations, greatly focusing the use of the media to

communicate to mass audiences rather than persuading one individual.

Balance Theory

Fig. 2

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Proposed by F. Heider (1958)

The group will use the example of married couple - Oliver and Pam. Pam (21)

has taken up boxing as a sport and hopes to be one of the young women

participate in the 2016 Rio Olympics. She is also a mother of two young

children and this puts a lot of pressure on her husband Oliver who wants her

to give up boxing. This causes a heavy strain on their marriage which

resulted in separation.

Theory of Reasoned Action

Fig. 3

Source: Theory of Reasoned Action, Fishbein & Ajzen, (1980)

Selwyn Jerry Boston 12

Aimed at professional boxers and hobbyists, the group will use this theory to

evaluate the beliefs through to changing the behavioural intentions. We first

want to find out why these people want to be involved in such a combative

sport, produce case studies, facts, and figures of fatalities in order to

persuade them to change their behavioural patterns. These people could

then become resourceful as campaigners against the sport. We could use five

arguments for and against the sport:

Arguments for boxing:

1. Professional and amateur boxers are not being forced into the ring. For

many of these young men, boxing is ‘their life’ and they know nothing

else. They know the risks involved and they accept that before

stepping into the ring.

2. According to Dr Whiteson, former chief medical officer for the British

Boxing Board of Control, injury is part and parcel of the sport. Chronic

injuries and tragic cases are rarely.

3. Banning the sport could send it underground where fewer controls and

restrictions would make injuries more acute.

4. Boxing is no more dangerous than some other sports, for example

rugby, ski jumping or even sailing.

5. Amateur boxing is good as an exercise for example boxercise classes

for are good for a aerobic and muscle-toning workout.

Arguments against boxing:

1. Cuts and bruises are the most common injuries that lead to stitches

and dental work being required. Body blows can lead to internal

bleeding and broken ribs, but the most serious risk comes from the

possibility of either catastrophic or gradual brain damage.

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2. Boxing at any level is not safe. Doctors may be able to treat injuries

and prevent complication leading to death, but prevention is the best

way to avoid damage being done.

3. Countries like in Sweden (1970) and Norway (1981) have banned

boxing putting health concerns before individual choice. Surely the UK

government should consider putting the health concern of the

population first like such countries.

4. A number of tragic cases in which boxers have been fatally injured or

killed by blows to the head have been reported.

5. The state should not be seen to fund such a brutal and combative

sport. Duelling was banned, so should boxing.

Elaboration Likelihood Model

This model by Petty and Cacioppo (1981). suggests two ways to persuade

audiences: central and peripheral routes. Fig.4 (Source: Kenrick, Neuberg,

& Cialdini, 2002)

The central route can be used to provide the audience with arguments in the

message, using reason and evaluation – carefully scrutinise the message

content in debates using mainstream media for example television

programmes, radio, or complete debates published for print and online

Selwyn Jerry Boston 14

media. The next step would be to evaluate both positive and negative sides

to the debate, and change public opinion.

The peripheral route is typically used when personal relevance is low and: i)

expert or emotional sources are used; ii) positive mood is created; iii)

premessage expectations are disconfirmed; iv) the mere exposure effect is

used. The peripheral route can be used to get health experts (neurosurgeons)

and families of former boxers that may have been fatally injured or died in

the ring to give their stories to the mainstream media – print broadcast and

online media.

Conclusion

The Knockout Boxing public relations campaign plan is structured using

Gregory’s ten point planning model including persuasion theories from

Aristotle (4th century BC), Heider (1958), Fishbein and Ajzen (1980), and

finally Petty and Cacioppo (1981). The group will always have to analyse

public opinion, timing to see when it is right to launch a campaign, make sure

the structure and content of the message is clear, and use the right channels.

Here are two more theory suggestions that could be used for future PR

activity:

High Involvement Learning Model

By supplying factual information and giving adults and children the

opportunity to be actively involved in the campaign, Knockout Boxing may

improve the public’s understanding and reaction to boxing as a competitive

sport.

Social Judgement Theory

Knockout Boxing could use this for future public relations activity. The

latitude of the audience will have to be considered before trying to convince

them with the group’s ideas. According to Sherif, if the gap between the

group’s ideas and that of public opinion is too wide, then the desired

assimilation effect will not happen. Having a credible speaker who is well

Selwyn Jerry Boston 15

prepared, able to provide arguments in favour and against the sport, clear in

conveying the message and has complete handle of the language can stretch

the audience’s latitude of acceptance.

Publics:

Adults and children, men and women

Political leaders, for example MPs against combative sports

Opinion leaders, for example neurosurgeons

Professional boxing and sport organisations

Celebrity endorsement for example former boxers

Message:

Boxing kills. It may not be sudden, but if fatally injured, the participant will be

left with gradual health deterioration.

Tactics:

- Use injured children, women and men who participate in boxing as part of

our media campaign

Channels:

Local and national media

Specialist medicine and health magazines based in the UK

Online media and social networking sites

Appendix 1

Opinion I: United Kingdom

This is an interesting question that raises all sorts of issues. In the United

Kingdom, opinion is divided between those who want the sport banned and

those who believe that it should be properly controlled and funded from

Selwyn Jerry Boston 16

boxing funds; i.e., the consequences of boxing should be funded from within

the sport and not by society at large. I favour the latter because I deplore the

modern "nanny" society--you cannot eat this, you cannot drink that and you

must not do anything that may harm you! Everest would never have been

climbed and airplanes would never have flown if someone had not taken a

risk. Boxing is a controlled sport and should be left alone. Drunken driving

should be banned. Encouraging the wearing of helmets and hard hats is a far

more urgent campaign as far as I can see. Let us keep the nanny police at

bay!

Christine Eberhardie London, UK, The Telegraph (2009)

Appendix 2

Opinion II: United Kingdom

Boxing is definitely a risky business. You get knocked down, you stand up,

and down you go again. But sometimes you win. It's a bit like life. We've seen

the joy of London's Eastenders when Frank Bruno won their hearts, despite

defeat by Tyson. We saw the horror of Ivander Holyfield losing his ear to that

same demon. Of course, we've also witnessed great tragedy. We watched the

creativity of Muhammad Ali, inspiring so many to turn from war, and now we

are appalled at his sorrowful decline. So what's the answer? The BMA and the

RCN have reached stalemate. The BMA has a point: It isn't safe enough. Ali

was allowed to compete long after he was unfit; fights go on after injury is

sustained; and medics can't get to the ring when they're needed. The RCN

has a good point too. What about freedom of choice? But choices should be

informed. Matilda Sequeira, nurse practitioner at the Royal Hospital for

Neurodisability, has this to say, "Brain injury acquired through sport is (too)

often seen by nurses at this hospital."

Steve Smith Norfolk, UK, The Telegraph (2009)

Appendix 3

Opinion 3: Barbaric Boxing Should Be Outlawed Like Dueling &

Cockfighting

The great, mercury-like Muhammad Ali was famous for eluding punches. But

he didn't elude them all. Ali has been reduced to a Parkinsonian shuffle, his

Selwyn Jerry Boston 17

once fast tongue slurred. Practically all the other, more mortal pugilists take

a harsher beating that Ali ever did in any of his fights. Over 360 boxers died

since 1945. Brain damage and other severe injuries are uncountable.

Boxing should go the way of dueling. Like dueling, the participants in boxing

agree to commit acts upon themselves that would be considered crimes in

other venues.

Virtually all professional boxers are born into poverty. Like drug dealing, crap

shooting, and prostitution, boxing seems like an easy route to quick money,

but it is bad choice. Laws protect people from themselves who make bad

choices. Because boxers pay a price themselves but so does society in

healthcare for old boxers. Other sports have deaths and severe injuries, but

they are unfortunate by-products not the intent.

Youdebateit.com (2010)

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