Conflict Management

1. Conflict Management
A look at the conflict management process within sports
Seth Stillman

2. Article Overview
-Numerous Articles provide a bread overview of this particular organizations process to determining
and resolving sports team conflict involving False Calls and assumptions.
-This organization actually serves as a mediating team to be hired by a sports organization to
analyze team conflict and provides insight as to how to go about resolving the issue.
-The Article first identifies typical issues that arise within a sports organization
-Personal issues
-Athlete retention
-Legal Issues
-Team Rules violations, etc.

3. Article Overview-This Organization and the NFL itself implements tools such as Conflict Management System and Team Accountability
The organization and the NFL’s framework for analyzing and implementing a conflict management system is as follows:
-Goals
-Processes and Structure
-Stakeholders
-Resources
-Success and Accountability

4. Organizational Conflict
-Referring to the text book, Organizational Communication is the approaches and processes, by Katherine Miller that states five
phases of organizational conflict.
1) Latent Conflict: parties interact in independent relationship, making incompatible goals impossible.
2) Perceived Conflict: At least one of the parties realize that their situation is characterized by incompatibility and
interdependence.
3) Felt Conflict: Parties personalize perceived conflict by focusing on the conflict. Management strategies begin being planned.
4) Manifest Conflict: The is the communication aspect of the conflict amongst the parties. They implement their own personal
strategies when interacting about the issue.
5) Conflict Aftermath: Whether the issue is resolved or not, there will either be positive or negative consequences from the conflict.
It affects the individuals, the relationship, and the organization.

5. Real Examples
-I am going to use many real life sports conflict to illustrate how these certain situations went about the five phases of
conflict and then connect it with the ideology of the Sports Conflict itself to determine the following
1) The type of issue
2) The possible framework for a Conflict Management System
3) The possible return on investments
4) The possible consequences if this conflict was not resolved or ignored

6. The Deflate
-In the 2015 NFL AFC Championship game, it was released that star quarterback, Tom Brady, was intentionally deflating game
footballs. Which violates the NFL protocol.
-New England ended up defeating the Indianapolis Colts and went on to win the super bowl two weeks later.
-It is said that a deflated football provides a better grip and offers more control over the ball for the quarterback. Which would be
Tom Brady for the New England Patriots.

7. Deflate Phases of Conflict
Phase #1- Latent Conflict
-The deflate situation provides several aspects to this phase of conflict. Tom Brady thought he was not going to be as
consistent as usual with the game ball at their regulated PSI. Therefor, he asked equipment managers to deflate game
balls behind the scene. This shows how the Patriots are putting personal goals before compatible goals.
Phase #2- Perceived Conflict
-The NFL, Media and all of the public began getting information regarding the deflate scandal
-ESPN cited an article that had many Indianapolis Colts players stating that during the game, they reported that the ball
felt deflated. They then denied that they got robbed because of the “potentially” deflated balls though.

8. Deflate Phases of Conflict
Phase #3- Felt Conflict
-Although not proven guilty if New England did deflate the game balls, the NFL did indeed hire a team to put together an
investigation on the situation. Which proceeds to Roger Goodall planning potential punishments for the organization.
Phase #4- Manifest Conflict
-Thank to the media and public, both parties the NFL and the New England Patriots have been providing the public their
own sides to the argument throughout the investigation.
-After the Super bowl, the League reveals its findings and fines the Patriots as an Organization $1 million and suspends
star quarterback, Tom Brady, for the first four games of the 2016 NFL season.
Phase #5 Conflict Aftermath
-Right before the season began, Brady and the NFL Players Association decided to appeal Goodell’s decision to
suspend Brady. The argue was a lack of evidence.

9. Deflate Conflict
-This issue was a league rules violation that was initially fueled by rumors, and then heightened to a legal issue when it
went to the appeals court.
-So many potential consequences if the NFL decided to not take action:
-Displeasure from the fan base
-Damaged reputation for not attempting to even somewhat resolve the issue
-Increasing and almost promoting NFL Players to break the rules more often in efforts to receive a better outcome.

10. Framework
-Goals: To ensure all NFL Organizations are following all league rules
-Processes and Structure: How the governing body of the NFL, should go about investigating to determine whether there
was in fact a violation or not, and then how the NFL should proceed to punish the individual or organization.
Stakeholders: The NFL, its teams, players, staff members, fans, sponsors, etc, that all pay money to keep the league up
and running are all vital parties
Resources: We can refer to the investigation groups that get to the bottom of these sorts of conflicts.
Success and Accountability: Only time will tell if this system works or not in keeping the league together and moving
forward down the field.

11. NBA Playoffs
-In the 2015/2016 NBA Playoffs, The Oklahoma City Thunder faced off against the San Antonio Spurs when a wild last
play of the game caused commotion
-Dion Waiters of the Thunder violated an NBA rule by reaching over the out of bounds line and creating contact during
inbound with Spurs guard, Manu Ginobili, which caused the ball to get stolen.
-Right after the game, it was addressed in the press conference that the refs missed the call.
-The refs confirmed the call after looking at it with instant replay review
-NBA commissioner, Adam Silver, later on released a statement saying that nothing can be changed but the NBA refs did
indeed miss the call.

12. Thunder vs Spurs phases of Conflict
Phase #1- Latent Conflict
-Although it may have not been intentional, this phase of conflict is expressed by the Oklahoma City Thunder that the refs
did indeed cost them the game.
Phase #2- Perceived Conflict
-The NBA officials reviewed the play post game and came to the conclusion that they were wrong for not blowing the
whistle on Dion Waiters which may have crowned a false winner.
Phase #3- Felt Conflict
-This where the NBA officials begin looking at the consequences and plan how to address the conflict with the officials
getting the wrong call.

13. Thunder vs Spurs phases of Conflict
Phase #4- Manifest conflict
-The NBA commissioner, Adam Silver, released a statement saying that the game officials committed an error when not
blowing the whistle on Dion Waiters for going over the line during the inbound and creating contact. The NBA refs were
not to ref the next series
Phase #5- Conflict Aftermath
-In the press, The Thunder were of course still happy they got to keep on moving to the Western Conference Finals.
-This was not the first time an incorrect call has false crowned a team in the NBA or any sports. This is another example
of how the NBA and all sports organizations should be allowed to change the outcome of a game due to an error made
by the game officials.

14. Thunder vs Spurs phases of Conflict
-This issue was not taken to the legal level of the Deflate but this issue was
still a conflict of NBA rules
-Due to the high level of social media use and media publicity, the NBA was
obligated to at least release a statement about the issue that took place in
the Western quarter finals.
If they didn’t take action, they would have to deal with:
-Damaged reputation
-Unhappy Fan base
-decreased motivation from officials and players

15. The False Call at Comerica
-In 2011, Jim Joyce an MLB official called the runner safe with two outs in the bottom of the 9th when Detroit Tigers
pitcher, Armando Galarraga was robbed of a no-hitter.
-All of Comerica Park was on their feet with one out to go as Armando Galarraga was about to make history, just before
Jim Joyce completely botched the call.
-The ballpark, media, fans, players, coaches, etc, all erupted.

16. False Call Phases of Conflict
Phase #1- Latent Conflict
- Jim joyce completely blew the game and caused history to be made, which conflicts with goals of keeping the public
safe as riots were likely to happen after the game
Phase #2- Perceived Conflict
-As the Police Department of Downtown Detroit received a call that there was a game blown by an umpire and there may
be a riot in the streets after the game, they realize this isn’t a joke and actions need to be taken even if there are no riots,
just to be safe.
Phase #3- Felt Conflict
-Detroit Police officers quickly began planning how they would deal with this situation if it were to happen.

17. False Call Phases of Conflict
Phase #4- Manifest Conflict
-Detroit Police officers must communicate with one another and make a gameplay. They cannot simply act last minute, it
is their job to protect the people of and in Detroit.
Phase #5- Conflict Aftermath
-The aftermath of this conflict wasn’t as bad as they planned. A few fights and cars tipped over but no fires or anything of
that Caliber. More so, umpire Jim Joyce, was absolutely humiliated and ripped by the press and by the whole city of
Detroit.

18. Review
-There are several different types of conflict that arise in sport
Smaller: Team issues, or individual issues with the organization
Large: Global issues like security
-The five phases of organizational conflict listed in the book are apparent in all situations when conflicts arise in the sports world.
-Interdependent goals will always conflict with organizational goals.
-Conflict is usually bad in the moment, but it creates more progress later on and creates better structure to move forward.

19. Questions
-What is going through an officials head after he/she blows the game?
-Who makes the first call when a potential attack/riot may take place?
-Should we feel bad for officials when they blow a game?
-When its all over with, does one move on or hold a grudge at the falsely accused call?

20. Work Cited1) By the ninth inning, they're on their feet, readying for the 21st perfect game in major league history.
Joyce had witnessed such history just a few weeks prior, when he worked second base for Oakland pitcher
Dallas Braden's perfect game. He knew Braden had a perfect game as it was being thrown, just as he knew
-- sometime around the seventh inning -- that Galarraga had one going, too. (2011, January 9). Missed call
haunts umpire. Retrieved October 26, 2016, from http://www.espn.com/espn/otl/news/story?id=5993137
2) By Topice-LearningPollsSCI TVSports Conflict NewsRecommended Reading. (n.d.). Sports Conflict
Institute | Prepare for Optimal Performance™. Retrieved October 26, 2016, from http://
beta.sportsconflict.org/
3) Brady’s Deflategate appeal denied by court. (2016, July 13). Retrieved October 26, 2016, from http://
www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/17045257/new-england-patriots-qb-tom-brady-deflategate-appeal-denied-2nd-
us-circuit-court