Streamed live 10 AUG 2016:
Welcome to IF I DID IT where we analyze and solve PR kerfuffles from the world of MMA and beyond. This week we look at Conor McGregor's war of words with the WWE, the epic fail of a Red Sox bobblehead give away, Ozzy Osbourne's sex addiction and more. This week's kerfuffles include:
At 0:27 - You're UFC Moneyweight Champion Conor McGregor. During a UFC 202 conference call, you put the WWE on blast, "For the most part, I think these guys are pussies, to be honest. They're messed up pussies if you ask me." After the WWE Universe exploded with a Twitter tsunami, you replied, "I didn't mean no disrespect to the fans. What I meant to say was that I'd slap the head off your entire roster. And twice on Sunday's." Are you setting up an angle in case you lose your Nate Diaz rematch? And if not, should you be?
At 8:23 - You're Red Sox Player David Ortiz. According to the Boston Globe, the Red Sox cancelled a bobblehead giveaway with your likeness your team president called ‘inaccurate and racially insensitive'. The article claims you agreed with the decision "in unprintable language". Tell us what they didn't print?
At 14:50 - You're starring in the upcoming Fast 8 movie. Last Sunday, your castmate Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson laid the smackdown to an unknown male lead in a Facebook post: "Some conduct themselves as stand up men and true professionals, while others don't. The ones that don't are too chicken shit to do anything about it anyway. Candy asses. When you watch this movie next April and it seems like I'm not acting in some of these scenes and my blood is legit boiling — you're right." Do you chalk this up to movie promotion or do you need to respond, lest some smell your candy ass as the one the Rock was cookin'?
At 20:05 - You're Ozzy Osbourne. You were busted cheating on your wife with your former hair colorist Michelle Pugh in a four-year affair. The reason? Sex-addiction. In People Magazine, Pugh poo-pooed your claim, asserting you were in a ‘very real relationship'. Your rep rejected her reply, reaffirmed your rationalization and retorted with the reclamation you're a sex addict engaging in ‘intense therapy'. Are you done with the PR or cannot bear, living with something, that just isn't fair?
At 28:37 - You're Dutch Gymnast Yuri Van Gelder AKA "Lord of the Rings". Last Saturday, you celebrated qualifying for the Olympic men's rings finals by leaving the Olympic Village for an unauthorized night of drinking...which resulted in your being dissed and dismissed from the Olympics by your own team, thus falling into the PR Crack of Doom and becoming the Lord of the Pints. How do you rescue your rep after losing your precious?
At 32:58 - You're Donald Trump. Candace Smith of ABC News tweeted a quote you made at a North Carolina rally: "If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks. Though the second amendment folks, maybe there is." Your opponents claim you were dog whistling assassinating Hillary or her judges to gun nuts. Time to rethink your reboot, move on, or stick to your guns?
At 6:37 - CURVEBALL (KEEPING IT UNDER WRAPS)
At 40:45 - TEACHABLE MOMENT: You're a member of the Russian Paralympic Team. All you ever wanted, all you ever needed, was gold in your arms. But on Sunday, the International Paralympic Committee suspended your team from the 2016 Paralympics with its president saying, "The anti-doping system in Russia is broken, corrupted and entirely compromised...The Russian government has catastrophically failed its para-athletes. Their 'medals over morals' mentality disgusts me." Uncertain if you'll ever be able to compete and realize your dream, is there any PR you can safely offer or should we just enjoy the silence?
At 50:17 - EUGENE'S LOST BATTALION
Enjoy!
