Calacus Weekly Hit & Miss – Mikel Arteta & Dak Prescott

Every week we look at the best and worst communicators in the sports world from the previous week.

HIT - MIKEL ARTETA

Controversial Premier League Covid-19 regulations are currently the subject of much dispute.

The regulations on Covid suspensions were agreed by the 20 clubs, who voted them through at a board meeting last year, but they have been widely scrutinised, with postponement requests by clubs having led to the rescheduling of more than 20 fixtures over the past few weeks.

Tottenham recently released a strongly worded statement criticising the decision to postpone their North London Derby against Arsenal on January 16, calling for clarity and consistency in the application of the rules.

This came after the Premier League accepted that the Gunners had been unable to meet the minimum requirements for Sunday's clash, as they didn't have the requisite 13 outfield players fit and available for the much-anticipated contest.

Applications are considered related to circumstances beyond just Covid, if they contribute to an overall lack of players and a goalkeeper from the squad list. The Premier League medical team scrutinises all requests in detail and pushes back if they feel there is insufficient clarity on the status of players’ fitness.

However, criticism was forthcoming after it was revealed that Arsenal’s request included four players away on international duty at the African Cup of Nations. The Gunners also loaned out Ainsley Maitland-Niles to Roma and Folarin Balogun to Middlesbrough in the days leading up to the clash.

Spurs reacted by saying: “The original intention of the guidance was to deal with player availability directly affected by COVID cases, resulting in depleted squads that, when taken together with injuries, would result in the club being unable to field a team.”

Their statement mirrored the belief of many critics, that clubs were abusing the rules by applying to postpone matches with the intent to deal with player availability unrelated to Covid.

In response, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta staunchly and articulately hit back at the criticism. He said: "We didn’t have the players necessary to put [together] a squad that was able to compete in a Premier League match. That is 100% guaranteed.

"I think this situation is a no-win situation. When we played the first three games of the season, while other teams were postponing matches, and we played and we tried to play, we were killed.

“People said ‘don’t be naïve’ because you have that many players out – don’t play with your kids. Now we postpone the match for all the right reasons, believe me, and as well you get those reactions. But I think they are normal."

Simply outlining the facts – Arsenal’s Premier League opener, a 2-0 defeat to Brentford in August, was not postponed after a Covid-19 outbreak at the club – Arteta made an eloquent, justifiable case to suggest that his club had simply co-operated with the laws as set out in front of them.

“What I’m telling you is what we’ve done. When other teams have come to us and said we cannot play and we need the game to be postponed, we have never, ever publicly questioned any of that.”

Signalling his belief, that Spurs’ decision to publicly question his clubs intent was unfair, Arteta continued: “That’s why we have the Premier League, the FA, and the regulators to consider and to find out and to do the due diligence necessary – which is a lot – to postpone the match and maintain the fairness of the competition.

"We will defend our club with teeth and nails. We’re not going to get anybody damaging our name or trying to lie about things that haven’t occurred. When we make mistakes we’ll put our hands up, but we will defend our club in a really strong way."

The Spaniard’s graceful style of leadership communication has become something of a rarity among Premier League managers in recent times. For instance, fans will certainly not forget Jose Mourinho’s personal jibes towards Antonio Conte, which included the Portuguese labelling the Italian a ‘clown’, mocking his hair, and citing his alleged involvement in the match-fixing scandal involving his former club Siena – it is not uncommon for Premier League managers to lower the bar when it comes to their public communications.

This is what makes Arteta’s refusal to react in kind – in the face of Arsenal’s greatest rivals launching a public rebuke towards the club – so refreshing.

The key to great leadership has always been having refined, high-level communication skills, which Arteta exhibited in his press conference.

In today’s sporting landscape, when communication channels and the stressors of media attention are rapidly increasing, effective leadership communication is a key foundation to building success.

Through his carefully considered leadership communications this week, Arteta demonstrated that he and Arsenal are well on track to achieving just that.

MISS – DAK PRESCOTT

Match officials play an integral role in sport across the board.

Nevertheless, they remain the most criticised individuals on the field of play, with verbal abuse, physical threats and even death threats all commonplace when an official takes to their whistle.

Match officials contend with a range of hostile behaviours from players, coaches, and fans ranging from verbal abuse to physical assault.

Most fans will have witnessed a situation where an official is hounded for making an unfavourable call.

Whether it is a professional footballer insulting the referee’s appearance, or parents of junior tennis players threatening officials at a local tournament, abusing the officials has become a ‘part of the job’ they have dedicated their life to.

So it comes as no surprise that Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was forced to apologise for comments that forgave fans throwing objects at NFL officials after the Cowboys’ 23-17 playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers on January 16.

The official bumped into Prescott as the clock was running down which took valuable seconds away from the Cowboys final play.

After the whistle, Cowboys fans began throwing debris onto the field, forcing the officials to race toward a tunnel exit.

After initially being told fans hurled trash at Dallas players, as defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence had needed his helmet to deflect a bottle, Prescott backed fans for making officials their targets.

He commented: “Credit to them then. If they weren’t at us, and if the fans felt the same way as us and that’s what they were doing it for, yeah I guess that’s why the refs took off and got out of there so fast. I think everybody is upset with the way that this thing played out. As I said, I’m sure a fan would be the same [and] feel the same way we do.”

He was more responsible in other comments, when under the belief that players were the targets, saying: “That’s sad. I mean you’re talking about a team, you’re talking about men who come out each and every day of their lives and give everything to this sport, give everything to this game of football. Nobody wants to succeed more than we want to succeed. 

“I understand fans and the word ‘fan’ for fanatic. I get that too. But to know everything we put into this day in and day out, try our hardest, nobody comes into the game wanting or expecting to lose. For people to react that way when you’re supposed to be a supporter and be with us through thick and thin, that’s tough.”

The quarterback immediately received plenty of pushback for his comments, with the National Basketball Referees Association calling on the National Football League to discipline Prescott for his postgame comments.

In a statement, they said: “The NBRA condemns the comments by Dak Prescott condoning violence against game officials. As an NFL leader, he should know better. We encourage the NFL to take action to discourage this deplorable behavior in the future.”

Two days after the incident, Prescott apologised for his remarks on social media, tweeting: “I deeply regret the comments I made regarding the officials after the game on Sunday. I was caught up in the emotion of a disappointing loss and my words were uncalled for and unfair.

“I hold the NFL Officials in the highest regard and have always respected their professionalism and the difficulty of their jobs. The safety of everyone who attends a game or participates on the field of a sporting event is a very serious matter.

“That was a mistake on my behalf, and I am sorry.”

In the aftermath, it was reported that the Prescott had been fined $25,000 by the NFL.

He certainly had a right to be aggrieved that valuable time was lost in the dying moments as umpire Ramon George properly spotted the ball.

But for one of the NFL’s biggest names to condone violence against officials, seconds after decrying the same behaviour under the belief it was directed toward his fellow players, underlines his failure to grasp the impact such words could have, legitimising dangerous misbehaviour at a moment when he most needed to be a role model and a voice of reason.

Hurling objects from the stands is becoming a worrying trend at sports matches around the globe.

Recently we have seen a Copa del Rey derby match between Real Betis and Sevilla suspended after an object hit Sevilla’s Joan Jordán on the head, while Lucas Digne and Matty Cash were struck by a missile thrown by Everton fans after Aston Villa scored in their Premier League match at Goodison Park.

Thankfully, there were no serious injuries as a result of the hurled objects.

Whingeing about the officials is one thing, but suggesting hooliganism to be an acceptable form of response to them is another.

Prescott should have denounced the misbehaviour immediately, regardless of who were the targets.

Instead, as the face of the world’s most valuable sports team, his comments dragged the Cowboys' franchise into the gutter alongside the impudent individuals who brought shame on their team.