The National Football League’s PR game promises to be taken to a whole new level following a report by Politico indicating that the league has hired a former Rupert Murdoch chief of staff to be its new senior vice president of communications.
According to the report, Natalie Ravitz, who served as the News Corp and 21st Century Fox chairman’s chief of staff from 2012-15, will be brought on in this role.
“Ravitz, who had previously worked as a press secretary and senior adviser to Sen. Barbara Boxer and in New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s education department, will report to Joe Lockhart, a former Clinton press secretary who joined the league in January as executive vice president of communications.”
There couldn’t be a clearer sign that the NFL is looking to use PR tactics that have represented the political establishment in the United States over the past several decades.
The idea here is to spin the NFL’s decision-making process and policies to fit a well-coordinated narrative from the league office itself in New York City.
Bringing in a former top aide of Murdoch is a pretty strong indication that the league isn’t going to back down from the criticism it has continually received over the years.
According to Politico, Ravitz will oversee the league’s communication and public relations strategy.
Welcome to the big leagues, football.