That Looks Like an FPA Endorsement
When he spoke with FSB.com upon launching the Fantasy Players Association, president Scott Atkins said the group would not set out to endorse certain fantasy sites, games or products. In that case, he should avoid lines such as this one from a recent DraftSharks.com media release.
“… President Scott Atkins calls Draftsharks.com new look ‘the best fantasy football site, bar none — and I’ve seen a bunch.’”
It’s a fairly innocuous quote, attributing Atkins with calling the redesigned Draft Sharks site the most attractive out there, and we know how press releases tend to work. The company producing it gets all the info together and seeks out someone it knows within the industry to say something nice about the subject of the release — the more credible the source the better.
Without the FPA, Atkins’ credibility would rest on his experience as a fantasy and/or status as a host on The Fantasy Sports Channel. Each is a fine credential but also not unique from a fair number of other individuals within the industry.
The fact that the release mentions Atkins’ FPA presidency (confusingly, but it’s there) speaks to it being pinned as a badge of credibility.
As stated earlier, this is a pretty minor endorsement, but what’s to keep any operator from any other site or game from reading it and thinking, “Cool, I know Scott. Maybe I can get him to put out a good word for my product.”
The same could just as easily be applied to any of the 11 other individuals on the FPA’s board. Such requests will only increase if the association can build its stature and tenure within the industry.
The point here is not to go after Atkins. FSB.com admires the goals of the FPA, and Atkins seemed to go out of his way to build its integrity in selecting his board and launching the initial site. If the FPA is to achieve its goals, however, it will have to be careful about endorsing or aligning itself — or even seeming to do so — with certain fantasy sites and companies.
Tags: fantasy sports, fantasy sports business, fantasy sports industry, fpa, scott atkins
