Open letters to fans, prior to anticipated difficult seasons, could be an optimum avenue for exploring [inoculation]. 

Josh Compton & Jordan Compton

College sports coaches and administrators can use open letters to repair images and weather crises, especially during losing seasons. Our rhetorical analysis uses Benoit’s typology of image repair to reveal three primary strategies: evading responsibility, reducing offensiveness, and corrective action. We take note of how open letters distributed via electronic media channels widen the audience of such letters, but also, complicate issues of timing and of targeted audience analysis. We offer four implications for scholars and practitioners. 

Compton, J., & Compton, J. L. (2012, August). College sports, losing seasons, and image repair through letters to fans [paper presentation]. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Chicago, IL, United States.