Carolina Panthers’ Fox Finally Speaks Up

The rumors swirling around Carolina Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers are rampant. Blogs all over the Web purport that the 29-year-old Panther star is ready to say goodbye to Charlotte and join (insert random NFL team here). In short, who really knows?

The communication lines between Peppers, his agent and the Panthers organization have been fuzzy and scrambled, enough so to lead people to make their own assumptions.

A native of Wilson, N.C., Peppers has lived in North Carolina for his entire life. After wrapping up a successful two-sport career at UNC, he went on to become a first-round draft pick for the Panthers in 2002. In his eight seasons in Charlotte, Peppers has become known as one of the most athletic and versatile players in the NFL. Today he is the highest-paid non-quarterback in the entire league.

Still, in January Peppers and agent Carl Carey confirmed early speculation that Peppers wanted to play for another team for the upcoming season.

Then, for more than two months, Panthers head coach John Fox kept quiet and never mentioned the statement. Now, finally, Fox has publicly stated his preference — to get Peppers a more lucrative contract, franchise him and keep him off the free-agency market.

To add fuel to the fire, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick talked extensively about Peppers on a Boston radio station last week, while Patriots owner Bob Kraft has remained coy in his comments.

“We never negotiate in the paper,” Kraft told the Charlotte Observer during the annual NFL owners’ meetings. “We like to try to execute and not talk about it. So we don’t talk about it.”

The self-imposed gag orders set by both the Panthers and Peppers’ potential suitors has left NFL followers high and dry. As a result, those involved have gone to the media independently, leaking leads and painting an abstract image of how negotiations are going. Business ramifications aside, Peppers’ stature among Panther fans and football enthusiasts calls for increased transparency so as to avoid damaging reputations. Until that happens — cross your fingers — we’ll stay tuned to the blogosphere and pipeline of leaks.

Photo via Flickr

Seven months after the tragic death of 17 year-old high school football player Atlas Fraley, the causes of his death are still unknown.

The Chapel Hill High School senior returned home after a scrimmage and called 911 and said his whole body hurt. Emergency Medical Services arrived at his house, recommended that he drink  fluids and left.

Fraley died soon after.

Donald Strickland, the attorney for Fraley’s family, is asking whether Fraley would still be alive if EMS had taken him to the hospital.

It’s a tough question to answer, and unfortunately for now, no one seems to want to answer it.

Medical examiners are giving no definite explanations for Fraley’s death and refuse to comment on the case. Also, the county is not releasing the paramedic’s peer review of their actions.

County and state officials said they needed the autopsy results to complete their investigation. Now that they have them, it is in the county’s best interest to be as transparent as possible with the public as they continue their investigation.

Fraley’s death is sad, unfortunate and — depending on the investigation’s findings – may have been avoidable.

In a tight-knit community like the one Fraley lived in, those working in the state, county and Emergency Medical Services should strive to maintain an open dialogue with the public and ensure that no questions are left unanswered.

Photo via Flickr

Creative Sparks Across the State Ignite New Energy Sources

Algae into engine fuel. Hog manure into electricity. One-man hydroelectric power plants.

North Carolinians are coming up with some new environmentally-friendly ideas to produce electricity and fuel within the state. These entrepreneurs are propelled both by President Obama’s promise to increase renewable energy and N.C’s recent law ordering an increase in the mix of energy production. Legislators have set the bar high. The goal is that 3 percent of total utility sales in 2010 will be renewable, growing to 12.5 percent by 2012.

To top it off, the N.C. Green Business Fund is offering up grants of up to $100,000 to promising technologies. With this incentive, more than 300 ideas have already been submitted this year.

Right now, these small ventures are creating little of the state’s energy, but they are going to be important factors in the coming years. To diversify the state’s energy sources and increase green energy, we’re going to need these projects to grow and multiply.

Solar farms and turbine-powered hydroelectric plants dot rural locations rarely noticed by the passerby, so how is word getting out? It’s important that entrepreneurs take advantage of green blogs and social media tools so their ideas can take flight. It’s only fitting; a modern social movement has the ear of modern social networking. An aggressive approach might yield results in a race to achieve the 12.5 percent goal by the end of Obama’s term.

Photo via Flickr

Skittles Experiments with Twitter

In what many have dubbed a giant social experiment, Skittles changed their website last week into a glorified Twitter feed. The branding scheme relinquished any control Skittles had over their brand, allowing users to post comments or tweets directly onto their homepage.

In the end the experiment “failed” and Skittles took changed their homepage first to their Facebook page, then to their Wikipedia page.  The Twitter feed is still available on the Skittles site but it is no longer the homepage.  It is difficult for me to call the branding decision a failure.  Why? It was a bold move for such a large brand to make and while the implimentation was not spectacular, the idea was so kudos to Skittles for the courage to try something new and for starting a new conversation.

It is clear that social media and online branding will be a big part of any company’s marketing and public relations in the future, and Skittles’ social experiment, whether hit or miss, may just have been a bit ahead of the curve.