Former NBA superstar and current Fox Sports analyst Gary Payton has been suspended due to an event that happened this past January. According to media reports, a woman is suing the former basketball player for assaulting her at an event earlier in the year.
How will these allegations impact Payton’s brand and marketability? Fox has not announced when the suspension began, but Payton has not been in a new broadcast since February. In that time, Donny Marshall and Corey Maggette have been the featured in-studio duo for NBA analysis. So, what’s going on, and has Payton made the right PR moves?
First, Payton has denied the claims. With limited evidence and nothing concrete proving his guilt, this is definitely the right move. People sue famous people All The Time, so it’s entirely plausible this event is just a money grab. That being said, there could be more information coming out on this. If it turns out that Payton is guilty, then he’ll be in trouble no matter what he says at this point.
Second, it doesn’t appear that any other networks are terribly worried about covering this story. So, either the allegations have little merit, or the media believes people just won’t care. Regardless, Payton gains little from admitting anything and loses nothing by arguing his innocence.
Of course, the fact that Payton has been, apparently, off the air for more than a month with nobody noticing might very well be worse for Payton than these allegations. In TV, you are only as valuable as your marketability. If you are gone and nobody notices…that means the network can do what they want with you…nobody seems apt to complain.
