PMTPMT DB

Takes

Win
Take Slip·Mar 8, 2021·PR 101
#PMT-2021-0308-6453
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The Washington Football Team paid for Twitter bots to praise Dan Snyder

I started to notice that over the last two days, there were a shitload of accounts that had been created in October of 2020 that were all tweeting things about Dan Snyder. It'll shock you to find out that there are more than likely hundreds of bots that were all created around the same time to just heap praise on Dan Snyder. Dan Snyder, essentially, somebody in the Redskins organization paid for a shitload of Twitter bots to just do nothing all day but tweet praise for Dan Snyder.

It was later confirmed through investigative reporting (including from the Washington Post) that Snyder used bot farms and coordinated PR attacks.
Void
Take Slip·Nov 6, 2019·PR 101
#PMT-2019-1106-14128
Big CatBig Cat

If you are threatening to fight someone on Twitter, you must give your home address, not the team facility

My problem with what [Jermaine Whitehead] did. Not that he threatened people... My problem is he said meet me at this address and then gave the facility address. If you tell someone to meet you somewhere. It has to be your house, right? Man up.

This is a social critique of online confrontation etiquette.
Win
Take Slip·Nov 6, 2019·PR 101
#PMT-2019-1106-14131
Big CatBig Cat

NFL players can't just claim to have a broken hand on social media if it's not on the injury report

He's joking playing with a broken hand because that's something you like should actually be able to tell everyone like hey actually have a broken hand. They're making me play was he on the injury report? No, I don't know. So middle Freddie kitchens might be in trouble.

The NFL has strict injury reporting guidelines, and a player claiming a broken hand that isn't on the report would trigger an investigation.
Void
Take Slip·Jan 28, 2019·PR 101
#PMT-2019-0128-250
Big CatBig Cat

Jon Gruden uses helmet stickers at the Senior Bowl because he can't remember players' names

Jon Gruden clearly is doing this because he can't remember anyone so he's like... just marking everyone with a Raider tag because he was not going to remember who he liked or not.

Purely a subjective/comedic interpretation of a coach's behavior.
Loss
Take Slip·Jul 26, 2017·PR 101
#PMT-2017-0726-4242
Big CatBig Cat

Lucky Whitehead will sign with the Patriots and win a Super Bowl

It's very clear that Lucky Whitehead's probably going to sign with the Patriots and win a Super Bowl ring. And we're all just going to be like, 'What the fuck?' I hope that happens.

Whitehead signed with the Jets, not the Patriots, and did not win a Super Bowl.
Loss
Take Slip·Jul 17, 2017·PR 101
#PMT-2017-0717-4534
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Deontay Foreman should become a Second Amendment activist to resolve his PR issues in Texas

This is a very on-brand thing in Texas, to have a gun. Everyone's got a gun in Texas. Just become a huge Second Amendment guy. Deontay Foreman should go into the Houston Chipotle with an AR-15 strapped over your shoulder. ... Then I'm sure you'll get all the NRA people just absolutely 100% having their back.

OpinionFootballFireSarcastic
Foreman did not do this. He eventually had the charges dropped and played for the Texans.
Win
Take Slip·May 15, 2017·PR 101
#PMT-2017-0515-13628
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Robert Griffin III will definitely take pregnancy photos holding his girlfriend's stomach

Over under four and a half pictures of RG3 holding Greta's stomach on Instagram. [PFT]: Over. That's the easiest bet of all time. Smash that over... I would say like nine and a half is more like it.

RGIII and his then-girlfriend Greta did indeed post numerous pregnancy/family photos on social media following the announcement.
Void
Take Slip·Apr 21, 2017·PR 101
#PMT-2017-0421-19201
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Running backs are better when they are dumb because they don't feel pain

If you're a running back, guess what? I like my running backs dumb. They're better when they're dumb. There's a reason Barry Sanders retired early, and Emmitt Smith got the record, because Barry started realizing... When you're smarter, you can tell when your body's hurt, and then you're like, hey, I better not play football anymore. When you're dumb, you don't feel pain.

This is a philosophical take on the psychology of professional athletes and cannot be factually proven.
Void
Take Slip·Feb 24, 2017·PR 101
#PMT-2017-0224-8306
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Jameis Winston telling women to be silent and polite is hypocritical because he was told he had the right to remain silent

Well, it's a bit hypocritical that people are jumping down Winston's throat. When he was told that he had the right to remain silent, nobody said anything about it. But now he's telling women that, and I guess that's not fair.

This is a joke linking his legal issues (Miranda rights) to his comments about gender roles.
Loss
Take Slip·Jan 30, 2017·PR 101
#PMT-2017-0130-1705
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

A real American stays inside on Sunday and watches the Pro Bowl

Hey, you know what it means to be a real American? You stay inside on Sunday and you watch the Pro Bowl. Yeah, you watch the Pro Bowl. You bet on the Pro Bowl. That's what an American does.

OpinionFootballMediumSarcastic
Watching the Pro Bowl is not a requirement or defining trait of American citizenship.
Void
Take Slip·Nov 30, 2016·PR 101
#PMT-2016-1130-3529
Big CatBig Cat

Johnny Manziel needs to get sued or arrested every few months just to let us know he's alive

Johnny Manziel is being sued because apparently he broke some bartender's nose. Good to know Johnny Manziel is still alive. We need him to get sued or arrested every few months to let us know that he's alive.

This is a humorous commentary on celebrity news cycles.
Loss
Take Slip·Nov 11, 2016·PR 101
#PMT-2016-1111-8904
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Tim Tebow only quit football because of the NFL's crackdown on Adderall

So the NFL starts suspending players for taking Adderall, and Tim Tebow quits football entirely to go to baseball. I think he's just on Adderall all the time... we think Tim Tebow's thing is he is just straight up on copious amounts of Adderall all the time. Because he keeps changing. I'm going to be a football player... then I'm going to be on ESPN... then I'm going to play baseball.

Fact ClaimFootballHotSarcastic
There is no evidence Tim Tebow has ever used Adderall or that it influenced his career transitions.
Loss
Take Slip·Oct 26, 2016·PR 101
#PMT-2016-1026-2460
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Brock Osweiler should donate $25,000 to charity for every interception he throws

My other piece of advice would be... He's got a lot of money. Start a charity where every time he throws an interception, he donates like $25,000 to a charity. And then people can't get mad at him for interceptions. Or else you're basically killing children.

Hot TakeFootballHotSarcastic
Osweiler did not do this, nor would it be a sound financial strategy given his interception rate.
Loss
Take Slip·Sep 7, 2016·PR 101
#PMT-2016-0907-17201
Big CatBig Cat

Chad Kelly should legally change his name to Swag Kelly

Legally change your name to Swag. No way that will ever backfire when you're out of the NFL selling car insurance in bumfuck Mississippi. You will be Swag Kelly for life and you're good.

Chad Kelly did not legally change his name, though 'Swag Kelly' remains his enduring nickname.
Loss
Take Slip·Jul 18, 2016·PR 101
#PMT-2016-0718-17271
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

NFL teams will view Johnny Manziel as a nerd for playing Pokemon Go

Manziel was at a club. ... But he was playing Pokemon inside a club. And this is a pretty bad look for Johnny. ... well now NFL teams are going to be like, we don't want to hire him. He's a nerd.

OpinionFootballHotSarcastic
While Manziel never returned to the NFL, it was due to a myriad of personal and legal issues, not specifically a reputation for being a 'nerd' because of Pokemon Go.
Loss
Take Slip·Jul 18, 2016·PR 101
#PMT-2016-0718-17273
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Johnny Manziel should drink more beer to fix his image and show he's a leader

My PR 101 to Johnny is, like, toughen up your image a little bit. Be a little bit of a bad boy. Have a couple beers. No big deal. Just kind of, like, let people know you're a regular dude.

Given Manziel's history with substance abuse, advising him to drink was objectively bad PR advice, even as a joke.
Void
Take Slip·Jul 13, 2016·PR 101
#PMT-2016-0713-14873
Big CatBig Cat

Miko Grimes' antisemitic comments can be 'solved' by starting a foundation Twitter account to blame interns

Just start a Twitter account in the foundation's name, the Miko Grimes Foundation account. Then you can say an intern was tweeting and dropping hard J's on everyone's face... when shit hits the fan... boom, intern tweeted it we fired him it's been taken care of.

This is a satirical suggestion on how to evade accountability.
Void
Take Slip·Jul 1, 2016·PR 101
#PMT-2016-0701-4578
Big CatBig Cat

Johnny Manziel's NFL suspension is a PR victory because it keeps him relevant

He got suspended by the NFL for four games. And you know what? That's a great thing for him to have happen because Johnny Manziel, for the first time in a few months, is being talked about in the same sentence as the NFL... It's all good news when the NFL is suspending you because that means you still have a little bit of relevancy.

This is a subjective interpretation of PR value, though Manziel never actually played in the NFL again.
Loss
Take Slip·Jun 29, 2016·PR 101
#PMT-2016-0629-3220
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Johnny Manziel should claim he has diarrhea to fix his reputation

The PR coming out of this is he just says when he comes back that he's got massive diarrhea from Mexico... if you just say explicitly like I've got diarrhea to your boss, your boss is going to be like, yeah, okay, don't go down that road with me. Johnny comes back... and he tells everybody, hey, guys. Sorry. The Montezuma's revenge.

Manziel did not use this specific excuse, and his NFL career never recovered.
Loss
Take Slip·Jun 24, 2016·PR 101
#PMT-2016-0624-18458
Big CatBig Cat

Johnny Manziel should retire from football and play baseball to pull a 'Michael Jordan'

Retire from football, play baseball, come back to football, win three Super Bowls, call it the Michael Jordan.

Manziel never played professional baseball and never returned to win a Super Bowl.
Loss
Take Slip·Jun 10, 2016·PR 101
#PMT-2016-0610-18924
Big CatBig Cat

Cam Newton's next celebration should involve converting to Islam and refusing to stand for the anthem

Cam X, Cameron X, converted to Islam, doesn't stand for the national anthem. His touchdown dances to pray, and then he hands the ball to a black kid. I mean, there we go.

Cam Newton did not do this. This was a joke about how to maximize 'pissing off' old white fans.
Loss
Take Slip·Jun 8, 2016·PR 101
#PMT-2016-0608-18937
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

NFL owners might have murdered Roger Goodell and faked a hack to test public reaction

I think it's more probable than not that this was an idea that was floated by the owners just to see – just to kind of like gauge the reaction and see what public sentiment would look like if Roger Goodell were to die. ... Expect Roger Goodell to maybe actually be murdered by – I don't know. Let's call it the Rooneys and the Maras over the course of the next couple of months.

Roger Goodell remained alive and the commissioner for many years after 2016.
Push
Take Slip·Jun 6, 2016·PR 101
#PMT-2016-0606-1065
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Aqib Talib can extend his career by seven years by capitalizing on his shooting incident

Tlaib may have just extended his career by like seven years. Because now he can get that really sappy E30 with Jeremy Schaap... A second chance is worth like two more contracts. So smart move on Tlaib's part, getting shot, because now he gets like an opportunity to prove himself again.

Talib played through 2019, so he got about 4 more years, though not primarily due to this incident.
Void
Take Slip·May 18, 2016·PR 101
#PMT-2016-0518-15378
Big CatBig Cat

You can get away with almost any crime by claiming you have CTE

If you ever played even a down a football or any kind of contact sport, you can get away with almost any crime just saying you have CTE at this point.

This is a hyperbolic social commentary rather than a testable fact claim.
Void
Take Slip·Apr 18, 2016·PR 101
#PMT-2016-0418-11438
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Johnny Manziel should buy a house instead of renting to avoid party damage headlines

My PR 101 advice to Johnny would be—this is basic stuff—buy a house, don't rent. Interest rates being what they are these days, you're getting some bad financial advice so just look to buy, don't look to rent.

Subjective PR advice.
Void
Take Slip·Apr 18, 2016·PR 101
#PMT-2016-0418-11440
Big CatBig Cat

Johnny Manziel is actively trying to be a dickhead to stay in the news

He's actively trying to be a dickhead now. That's the thing that's shocking with Johnny Manziel... Now I think he's going out of his way to be like, I'm going to stay in the news. I'm moving in with Josh Gordon. I'm getting in a weird car accident. He's trying to do this.

Subjective interpretation of a person's motives.
Win
Take Slip·Apr 6, 2016·PR 101
#PMT-2016-0406-18248
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Greg Hardy's best possible legacy move is to be completely forgotten

The best thing that Greg Hardy could do is be forgotten. That's as good as it's going to get for his legacy. Why don't you get a horse and go live in the mountains someplace and don't bother anybody for a while?

Hardy never successfully rehabilitated his image and eventually left the NFL for MMA, remaining a pariah.
Void
Take Slip·Apr 4, 2016·PR 101
#PMT-2016-0404-18618
Big CatBig Cat

J.J. Watt is rattled because he tweeted at me out of nowhere

Here's why I think and I know that J.J. Watt is rattled. This was a totally unsolicited tweet from him... He just tweets me out of nowhere and he says, I thought we were friends now, man... You don't tell someone to have a great day unless you're, like, rattled.

Subjective interpretation of social media interaction, though Watt famously didn't get the joke for years.
Void
Take Slip·Apr 4, 2016·PR 101
#PMT-2016-0404-18619
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

J.J. Watt should commit a small crime like animal abuse to fix his bad boy image

J.J. needs to kind of break out of this goody two shoes, like vibe that he's putting out... I think he just needs to go out and commit a small crime, like animal abuse, you know, a crime. Nobody really cares about something like that. Maybe start a small fire. That would kind of give him that little bit of a bad boy edge.

This is a satirical suggestion.
Win
Take Slip·Apr 4, 2016·PR 101
#PMT-2016-0404-18620
Big CatBig Cat

J.J. Watt could fix his image by doing 'dizzy bat' and falling on his face

He needs to play a round of drunken dizzy bat because you always fall on your face... Not only is he like, okay, he's a regular guy... He also will fall on his face and will laugh about that. And if he can laugh at himself after that, I mean, he's right back in everyone's good graces.

Watt eventually did lean into more self-deprecating humor and his popularity with the general public remained high.
Loss
Take Slip·Mar 18, 2016·PR 101
#PMT-2016-0318-2741
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Chris Jones should be immune to traffic tickets because of his Combine incident

I feel like if you're the guy whose dick broke through his shorts just because he's running too fast you got to get a carte blanche on driving with a suspended license... I've got to side with Chris Jones on this and not the Police Lives Matter crew.

Hot TakeFootballHotSarcastic
Having a wardrobe malfunction at the combine does not legally grant immunity for driving with a suspended license.
Loss
Take Slip·Mar 4, 2016·PR 101
#PMT-2016-0304-855
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Chris Jones should embrace his NFL Combine wardrobe malfunction and market himself as the 'big dick guy'

I think he needs to just run with us and totally embrace it and always be the guy with a big dick... show up to press conferences wearing like extremely tight [jeans]... capitalize on it and market himself as the big dick guy. Like he's, there's money to be made out there.

Chris Jones did not follow this PR advice, opting instead for a standard, elite defensive tackle career path.