That fans pay for autographs is no surprise. The custom of promoters bringing in sports celebrities to draw and crowd and earn money by charging an entry fee and/or charging an autograph fee has been in place for years.
I remember waiting with a friend in my Dad’s car back in the mid 1960’s in Windsor, Ontario, across from Detroit, for probably two hours on a mid-week winter evening, at a Canadian Tire, I think it was.
The attraction was Bobby Hull. He and his Chicago Black Hawks were scheduled to play the Red Wings in Detroit the next night.
He met with people for hours in a long line, and when we finally went through at the end of the line, he spoke with my Dad about farming, and signed my friend’s puck. No charge.
Of course, Hull was paid by the store for his appearance, but there was no “extra” charge to the fans.
Things are a little different today, of course.
A recent Canadian Press story out of Edmonton reported that some Edmonton Oiler fans were upset that the team’s two young star attractions, Sam Gagner and Andrew Cogliano, both 19, were signing autographs at a local “show”, but for a fee.
The fee was charged by those organizing the event.
The CP story reported that the players had little to say when asked about the fee. According the report:
Cogliano said the signing was part of his contract with AJ Sportsworld, but declined to comment further after being told not to talk to media.
Gagner, looking at the table in front of him and slumping his shoulders when asked why they're charging fans, declined to answer.
As someone who has been an advisor to coaches and athletes for many years, the thing that I found surprising about the story was not that there was a fee involved (people can certainly decline to attend these events if they don’t like the idea of paying for autographs), but that the young athletes, according to the story, seemed unprepared to answer questions about the issue.
Just as it’s fair game to charge for autographs, it’s fair game to be asked questions about it.
If you’re old enough to earn close to a million dollars a year (soon to be much more than that), as these players earn, and old enough to sign a contract with a promotion company that charges a steep price for your signature, you’re also old enough to be prepared to address any related questions thoughtfully and honestly.
If these young athletes were indeed “told” not to talk with the media, the question is why?
And if they weren’t prepared to answer questions candidly and openly about their role in the event, perhaps they should not have agreed to participate.
Or, better still, someone (an agent, the team’s public relations staff—someone) should have helped prepare them for the reaction of the media, and the fans.
Media reports indicate the players did try to explain what happened a day later, but the damage had already been done. Not irreparable, of course, but unnecessary damage none the less.
No preparation and “No comment” is rarely, if ever, a good approach to building trust with your audience.
