Comments on: Morals Clauses in the age of Social Media http://sportsbusinessdigest.com/morals-clauses-in-the-age-of-social-media/ Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:49:39 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Watch what you tweet, you might get sued. | Forbes Avenue http://sportsbusinessdigest.com/morals-clauses-in-the-age-of-social-media/comment-page-1/#comment-9609 Watch what you tweet, you might get sued. | Forbes Avenue Sat, 01 Aug 2009 17:06:39 +0000 http://sportsbusinessdigest.com/?p=1207#comment-9609 [...] The point of this whole matter though, is that its easy to not realize the power and responsibility individuals now harness due to social media and the internet.  Companies have been defamed, using much worse language, for years.  But until the advent of the internet, most of this was word of mouth, or at least not as easily disseminated to so many people, so companies either didn’t worry about it, or never knew about it.  But now, now that people have blogs, and twitter, and facebook, and followers and message boards?  People really need to be careful about what the say.  And that advice applies to the housewife in California or the Football Star in Buffalo. [...] [...] The point of this whole matter though, is that its easy to not realize the power and responsibility individuals now harness due to social media and the internet.  Companies have been defamed, using much worse language, for years.  But until the advent of the internet, most of this was word of mouth, or at least not as easily disseminated to so many people, so companies either didn’t worry about it, or never knew about it.  But now, now that people have blogs, and twitter, and facebook, and followers and message boards?  People really need to be careful about what the say.  And that advice applies to the housewife in California or the Football Star in Buffalo. [...]

]]> By: Emmett Jones http://sportsbusinessdigest.com/morals-clauses-in-the-age-of-social-media/comment-page-1/#comment-7499 Emmett Jones Mon, 22 Jun 2009 01:59:55 +0000 http://sportsbusinessdigest.com/?p=1207#comment-7499 I agree, no sponsor ever wants to use any sort of morals clause, but I think they need to be in every agreement, not just the agreements with athletes who have had trouble in the past. Just because you never know when even the squeaky clean athlete will make a misstep (ala Michael Phelps). Will the money you get make up for the damage to your reputation? highly unlikely. You hope that the liquidated damages clause acts as a deterrent to the athlete in the first place, and if its not, then you know that you at least get some sort of compensation, even if its nominal. Hopefully, you argue "arms length dealings" in any court/arbitrator over the liquidated damages amount. Of course, like you implied, its all going to be up to the courts discretion. Definitely a something, even if a little, is better than nothing argument. I agree, no sponsor ever wants to use any sort of morals clause, but I think they need to be in every agreement, not just the agreements with athletes who have had trouble in the past. Just because you never know when even the squeaky clean athlete will make a misstep (ala Michael Phelps). Will the money you get make up for the damage to your reputation? highly unlikely. You hope that the liquidated damages clause acts as a deterrent to the athlete in the first place, and if its not, then you know that you at least get some sort of compensation, even if its nominal.

Hopefully, you argue “arms length dealings” in any court/arbitrator over the liquidated damages amount. Of course, like you implied, its all going to be up to the courts discretion. Definitely a something, even if a little, is better than nothing argument.

]]> By: Darren Heitner http://sportsbusinessdigest.com/morals-clauses-in-the-age-of-social-media/comment-page-1/#comment-7453 Darren Heitner Sun, 21 Jun 2009 14:19:04 +0000 http://sportsbusinessdigest.com/?p=1207#comment-7453 A sponsor using a moral/liquidated damages clause against one of its endorsers, is a reactionary measure. Often times, you cannot erase the damage that has been done with monetary compensation, and it is very hard for any court/arbitrator to place a value on a tweet. What needs to be realized is that many companies will see TO's tweeting behavior and use that as a warning not to get involved with the celebrity/athlete. Moral and liquidated damage clauses can only go so far in protection of a brand. These clauses are last ditch safeties that no one ever wants to have to use. A sponsor using a moral/liquidated damages clause against one of its endorsers, is a reactionary measure. Often times, you cannot erase the damage that has been done with monetary compensation, and it is very hard for any court/arbitrator to place a value on a tweet. What needs to be realized is that many companies will see TO’s tweeting behavior and use that as a warning not to get involved with the celebrity/athlete. Moral and liquidated damage clauses can only go so far in protection of a brand. These clauses are last ditch safeties that no one ever wants to have to use.

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