Why Crisis Terminator Only Caters To Artists & Athletes

I am often asked why I decided to start a crisis management firm that only caters to artists and athletes. The answer became very apparent this past week. Artists and athletes are a complicated mix of talent, ego and insecurity. Not everyone understands nor knows how to work with that mix. In less than 7 days we saw two athletes and two artists make headlines, all who are in desperate need of crisis management.

1. Dallas Cowboys Running Back Ezekiel Elliott

This week he was cleared of domestic violence charges. He was accused of abusing his ex-girlfriend. It was also revealed that he sent her text messages that he was afraid of failing a drug test. He denies the text. Speaking of drugs, while the team was in Seattle for a preseason game he was “sightseeing” at a marijuana dispensary.

2. NBA Champion of the Cleveland Cavaliers Iman Shumpert

Arrested this week in Atlanta for a DUI and possession of less than an ounce of marijuana and failure to maintain lane.

3. Rapper Desiigner

He was involved in a road rage incident that led to him along with 4 others being arrested and charged with three misdemeanor counts of menacing and drug possession. Here is his hit song “Panda.” Video contains profanity

4. Rapper Bobby Shmurda

He has been in jail since late 2014. He is accused of murder, attempted murder and selling drugs. This week he accepted a plea agreement as he was looking at life in jail. Under the agreement, he will face a minimum of seven years in jail (minus the time served) and he avoids a trial.

Here is his hit song. Video contains profanity.

I am a strong believer that these four people did not have a “run of bad luck” one day and get into trouble, in some cases, the worst trouble of their lives. I do believe there were signs along the way that were ignored. It is important that artists and athletes seek crisis management BEFORE a crisis ensues. It is also important to be mindful of the people you keep in your inner circle. You can not have “yes people” around you. Who is the voice of reason? While we would like to think the artist or the athlete should be the voice of reason, that is rarely the case. Of all the places you could visit in Seattle, who thought a marijuana dispensary was the place to go? With the advent of Uber and Lyft, why is a multi millionaire NBA player driving drunk? Why is someone driving around with drugs? A better question is, “why are you using drugs?” The “living like a rock star” image is getting old to record labels, sports teams and advertisers. The public is placing a greater demand on accountability because of the impact the actions have on kids who look up to the artists and athletes.