Wayne Rooney’s “alleged” use of Jenny Thompson’s unique escort services last year has generated a storm of media content since the News of the World and Sunday Mirror printed parallel ‘exclusives’ yesterday. Amid the paper talk, Rooney faces the real prospect of divorce and loss of millions in sponsorship income.
Much as salacious revelations of infidelity have affected Tiger Woods on both a personal and commercial level, the Rooney story could prove a disaster for the 24-year-old striker. How can he survive and come through the scandal with reputation intact? Rant sought expert help from the ‘dark side’ of the PR industry on how to survive a sex scandal…
Denial
The most obvious reputation protection strategy is to issue a denial, rejecting the allegation in its entirety and then offering no further comment on the charges. PR 101: never repeat the lie. This strategy is obviously predicated on either the rumour being entirely false or a guarantee that credible evidence is not available. Plausible deniability is the watchword.
Bill Clinton’s efforts in 1998 to enact a denial strategy foundered on Monica Lewinski’s semen-stained dress.
Conversely, David Beckham instigated a denial strategy when Dutch model Rebecca Loos claimed a four-month affair. Without further evidence, the case became Beckham’s word against Loos’ with a reasonable outcome for the former Manchester United star.
Apologise and face your demons
The overwhelming evidence presented against Tiger Woods ensured an inevitable admission of guilt. Essentially the golfer’s only strategic choice. The US’ more puritanical outlook on sex pushed Woods towards a containment strategy, involving greater media access, a very public apology and time in a high-profile sex clinic.
The strategy failed to save Woods’ marriage and cost the player millions in sponsorship revenue but has generated enough credibility to ensure that when the 34-year-old returns to form, the brands will come running back even if his wife has long disappeared over the hills.
It’s hard to envisage Rooney confessing his sins on the Jeremy Kyle show and then entering a clinic to cure himself of sex-addiction but should more girls come forward then it presents a potential strategy.
A campaign including at least partial admission, ‘treatment’, followed by a long-term series of profile pieces highlighting Rooney the re-born family man could begin to rebuild the player’s reputation.
Deposition your accuser
Credibility is key for both accuser and accused. Rooney’s containment strategy could include briefing against his accuser, Jenny Thompson, to ensure the prostitute is seen in the dimmest possible light. While an admitted call-girl, who has reportedly chased sexual encounters with dozens of footballers, lacks certain credibility, Rooney is not fighting from a position of strength. The player’s admission in an earlier biography that he used prostitutes as a teenager creates a perceived pattern of behaviour in the public’s mind.
However, a long-held public suspicion of WAGs that chase footballers could aid Rooney and his advisers if they choose a – surely misguided – strategy of fighting back.
Litigate
Rooney could issue libel claims against both the News of the World, Sunday Mirror and every other media outlet that has published a written account of the accusation. UK libel law requires two conditions are met. Firstly, the allegation against Rooney must be false for the player to win a case. The burden is on the accuser, Thompson, to prove sexual encounters have taken place.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, Rooney must also prove that his reputation is lessened by the defamation.
There are certainly enough inconsistencies in the accounts given to the two papers who secured a – presumably paid – interviews’ on Sunday for suspicions to be raised about the story’s veracity. However, even if Thompson could not prove her account, it is hard to imagine a scenario where Rooney’s reputation could be defended.
After all, has Rooney really been defamed if a previous admission of prostitute use is on the record?
Auld Slapper, the 48-year-old grandmother accused by the News of the World of sleeping with Rooney in 2002 lost a libel suit against the paper last year. While the Rupert Murdoch owned newspaper did not prove its accusation true, Auld Slapper lost the case when her previous employment as a prostitute came to light.
Head-in-the-sand
Finally, Rooney could do essentially nothing and let the story play out, while failing to enact any of the above strategies. To date Rooney has neither publicly admitted the accusation, nor denied it. The player has not filed a suit in the high court for defamation.
However, Rooney could retreat behind a ‘personal, private matter’ no comment strategy, allowing the newspapers and Thompson to repeat their accusations ad infinitum. While key sponsors Nike and Coca Cola have already said that this is Rooney’s private responsibility, failure to take control of the media agenda leaves Rooney open to months of negative press.
Should do a Woods – spill the beans good and proper, go public, apologise – do some charity work (he does loads as it is), therapy, and then go on to destroy the EPL and Europe with United, by delivering the season of his life. A couple more top class England performances and no one would give a shit.
Taking up Buddhism also seems to work.
thanks for this
Third solution. Get that story about Gerard out asap.
Hah, are you taking the piss?
This prozzy bitch needs evidence if she is to take it further. Allegations can be survived. John Terry got done because he paid for the abortion, and they found the receipt.
The woman is already being discredited by stories about her “intentionally targetting” footballers in order to shag ’em, ruin their lives and ultimately sell the story to a newspaper. Rooney could take Tiger Woods angle and portray himself as a victim of a cunning, workshy harridan bitch who was out to get rich and famous by shagging footballers. He needs to come out asap and deny the allegations if this is to happen though. The longer he leaves it the more guilty he looks.
Rooney’s brand bollocks will be affected to a degree because he has a history of using prostitutes, so there is already a narrative established in the mind of the public. And of course he was recently pictured smoking and drinking on his holiday’s, which, apparently, is a terrible thing for a footballer to do. So its easy for the media to fabricate a false image of him “going off the rails” when really, its all in order.
A lot depends on what Colleen does next. If she decides to leave him and a messy divorce follows (doubt it), then these stories won’t leave the press for fucking ages, and Rooney will be dragged through the mill ala Terry. This would surely affect his performances on the pitch.
Also, Colleen is a strong brand in her own right and could quite easily make a shitload of money off this by doing sit down interview with Hello magazine, with lot’s of cushions and candles in the background, where she talks about how hurt she is and how she can’t believe it blah blah blah. If she’s decided enough is enough and wants a divorce, then as United fans we should worry IMO.
Wait and see the next move
Still doesn’t alter the fact that there is still some truth in this and regardless of the Prozzie Bitch wanting to become a WAG Rooney should still have kept his fucking cock in his pants then he wouldn’t have this problem.
At the end of the day Rooneys the cunt to blame he could have should have said no.
To tell the truth… this is just one more nail in the coffin, of my interest in the whole fuckin game.
Thats the problem Alf its for money now not for the love of the game and that at all levels from the ruling powers down to the players.
Come on Alf, this kind of shit has always gone on. Don’t buy the media’s “all our English lion are at it!”
I’m not justifying what he did (because I don’t give a fuck unless it affects his performances on the pitch), but as a nation we set stupid ideals for our English lions. We want them to pay their taxes, fight for queen & country and go to bed at half 7 every night. Other countries laughed their arses off at the way we handled the John Terry shite.
Neeed I remind you that Saint Sir Ryan Giggs is a drunken wifebeater
No, it’s not just this Sid… the whole Glazer thing really started it for me… then Ferguson taking the piss out of the fans…
I’m just getting sick of the whole fuckin circus.
Alfonso Bedoya said:
No, it’s not just this Sid… the whole Glazer thing really started it for me…
There are dicks on Twitter spouting “in Fergie we trust” I stopped trusting him when he bought Ralph Fucking Milne !
Ah, right, same here really
Those couple of weeks back in January when the Bond prospectus was released and we lost 1-0 to Leeds were fucking grim. I’m not still properly over it. The awful feeling has dimished a lot, but its still there
if only we still had alan smith eh sid
You want Doyle to replace Berbatov, right
So why not get Smith on the phone
‘ prozzy bitch needs evidence if she is to take it further. Allegations can be survived. John Terry got done because he paid for the abortion, and they found the receipt.’
Sydney- get your facts right, no receipt was found. In fact the total opposite. Terry and Perroncel are suing every paper that ran the story as nothing has ever been proven and both claim it didn’t happen. You may want to read more abt things before making ridiculous claims.
Rb – I very much doubt that is true. Your source on the claim of litigation?
As one of the above posters put it, a handful of good performances for England, a good season and some silverware with United and all will be forgotten.
Why?
Because at the end of the day, he’s one of the few players in the England team (and the United team to a certain extent) that really is up there with the best.
Score a few goals in Euro 2012 qualifying? Your the new hope and all will bow before you.
Get United to the Champions League final? The likes of Oliver Holt and the rest of the hacks will slather headlines all over the paper such as “Roo Returns” and “Roo Cant Keep a Good Man Down”…you know, the usual bollocks.
If I was Rooney, Id take the “head in the sand” option and let the media go fuck itself. Who the fuck needs to explain themselves to those fucks?
Explain himself to Fergie, as he plays for United.
Explain himself to Capello, as he plays for England.
And finally, explain himself to Coleen.
To be honest, I dont give a fuck. As long as he remains the same on the pitch…
Link?
Obviously they didn’t find a receipt… in Terry’s back pocket FFS… My point is a child/abortion can be proven, which provides substance to allegations
the other 3-some girl has been paraded today; the two slags look quite good actually
LOL – Fegal has asked Rooney to stay with him, ffs, according to the sun mind
another good Rooney performance for Engurland
Heard an interesting comment from Mark Chapman on ESPN about footballers as role models.
He basically said its up to parents to point what is right or wrong to their children, not blame someone in the public eye.
What I find baffling is that entertainers like musicians and actors behaving in an appropriate way never seem to get the same criticism. Its accepted as part of the industry. Aren’t they role models to some people too?
Why should sportsmen/women then be expected to behave perfectly?
Bill – good point. Footballers and politicians are held to a higher standard by the tabloids than other members of society. Why so? It’s lazy parenting to suggest that childrens behaviour is predicated on what ‘role models’ in the public eye do.
Ed, here’s the source on the suing/litigation: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/aug/22/john-terry-vanessa-perroncel-sex-scandal
“She is suing everyone who ever published an especially unpleasant story about her. Perroncel and her lawyer, Charlotte Harris, sifted through the press clippings, ordered them in terms of the most offensive, most damaging and most outrageous, and began addressing them, one by one. “I felt better when I started the legal action,” she says. But beyond that, she has to find ways to move on, to redefine herself; and interviews like this are, perhaps, a starting point.”
Yep it does get a bit boring with the media poking their nose into people’s private business all the time.
This kind of stuff happens at all levels of society, and is clearly wrong, but when its the News of World and other such tabloids blowing the whistle then it becomes a bit laughable.
News Of The World – the moral compass for western 21st century society – you’re having a laugh!
Look… I’m not defending the tabloids… they’re not fit to wipe your arse with… however. the whole culture of celebrity is completely out of control.
People who have done something of substance… footballers, politicians, musicians,etc… achieve their celebrity status more or less unwillingly, and are therefore entitled to expect consideration regarding their privacy.
The likes of Perroncel, Jordan, Thompson, have no celebrity status beyond what they’re willing to sell… their entire reason for being a celebrity is the result of promoting themselves as “open books” of salacious interest… their privacte lives “IS” their product… and therefore fair game to exploit.
And any idiot who involves themselves with them makes themselves equally fair game.
If this ruins Rooneys marriage, he can piss and moan about the press al he likes, but it’s his own bloody fault.