Bad Blood: Who Will Look Good in the End?

The Arizona Cardinals again in the news for negative reasons

The various allegations include a burner phone scheme to circumvent a suspension, along with discrimination toward a Black employee and two pregnant women. 

Serious situation for a business and its leader’s professional and personal reputation.

ESPN’s NFL reporter Adam Schefter reported on the story:

Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill is accused of gross misconduct, including cheating, discrimination and harassment, in an arbitration claim filed Tuesday by former Cardinals executive Terry McDonough to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

McDonough maintained that both he and former Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks were left with no choice but to follow Bidwill's plan to use burner phones to communicate with former Arizona general manager Steve Keim while Keim was serving a five-week suspension after pleading guilty to extreme DUI in Arizona.

Response: “…the Cardinals strongly denied the allegations, calling them ‘outlandish.’”

"We are reluctantly obliged to provide a public response along with broader context for some disappointing and irresponsible actions by Terry McDonough," external public relations adviser to the Cardinals Jim McCarthy said in a statement. "Claims he has made in an arbitration filing are wildly false, reckless, and an opportunistic ploy for financial gain.

"Our position was consistent with many efforts we've made to accommodate Terry during his time with the team, despite difficulties in his personal life and his often volatile demeanor toward colleagues," the statement from McCarthy said. "

“That's why we are saddened to see that Terry is now lashing out at our organization with disparagements and threats that are absurdly at odds with the facts. This unnecessary and vindictive action by Terry was intended to malign his co-workers, our owner Michael Bidwill, and our team with outlandish accusations."

Who is Telling the Truth? Part 1

Normally, when allegations break publicly and a scandal emerges, the facts and truth are on the side of the whistleblower. Normally, however, doesn’t mean always, which is what the Cardinals, through McCarthy, are angrily stating.

It’s nasty on their end too, with McCarthy mentioning that McDonough has personal problems and is unprofessional and immoral towards his colleagues. Both sides are throwing haymakers at each other and look bad furiously shoveling dirt in the direction of the other.

Is this a case of one-side’s flawed conclusions from perceptions, mutually flawed conclusions or is one “side” being fully or mostly truthful and the other “side” further damaging their reputation by lying about the egregiousness of their actions?

Can I Tell You Something?

This organization keeps landing in the news for the embarrassing reasons. It’s become a pattern: from former general manager Steve Keim’s DUI to the leaked, wild language in star quarterback Kyler Murray’s contract to this latest negativity involving the owner and former franchise vice president.

Who is Telling the Truth? Part 2

People can speculate — and I often do myself — yet in this story more has to be revealed before we can determine whos’ dirty and who’s not, if anyone is clean.

All we do know is that not everyone can be telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. As a judge once told me, “I deal in lies every day. I just have to figure out who’s telling them.”

Clearly, McDonough and Bidwill are angry. They both might be wanting to discredit the other. Maybe they are both responsible for wrongdoing.

Who has the evidence and proof? Or do they both? McDonough, Bidwill and the Cardinals brand (again) are in the mud. Maybe it’s time for some new, more ethical blood in that professional football franchise and company.

Someone could come out victorious when all is litigated and reported on in conclusion yet the greater likelihood might be which one — Bidwill and the Cardinals or McDonough — emerges less guilty and reputation maligned.

Michael Toebe writes “Reputation Notes” and is the founder at Reputation Quality, a practice that serves and assists successful people and organizations in further building reputation as an asset and responsibly, ethically protecting, restoring or reconstructing it.