Club sponsorship and value conflicts

[Roadrunner]

The club is desperate for sponsorship $$, everyone knows that, especially with two interrupted COVID years. For all those saying they shouldn't have Qatar as a sponsor, where do you expect to get alternative sponsorship money from? Are you putting your hands up to replace the $$?

True, Captain, but you must admit that it becomes problematic when we host a Pride game. Qatar Airlines and Pride are at 100% opposites on this issue and surely we are hypocrites if we don’t see it. The question is : what do we do about it? Do we choose one over the other? Having both just doesn’t sit well with some of us. For me it boils down to this- if hosting a Pride game is very important, then we can’t have Qatar as a sponsor. Keep your money.

Alternatively, don’t host a Pride game, if money is what you’re after.

[KTigers]

My guess from looking at the club's total sponsorship revenue and the number of major sponsors they have the deal with Qatar
Airlines is probably worth between $1M and $1.5M a year. This is a guess though. Basically the club breaks even, some years
they make $500K, some years they lose $500K. So how do you replace up to $1.5M a year? You can try and find a replacement
sponsor. Trust me this will be extremely difficult in the current climate. Or you can to the AFL and ask for a bigger distribution
(they could easily say no) or you can cut spending within the club. Cut the number of office and admin staff.
Or you can cut spending in the football department. How does everyone feel about cutting that? Or you can increase the price
of the membership and seat packages. Or you can do a combination of some or all of these? The other issue if the club ditched
the Qatar Airlines sponsorship on "ethical grounds" you are saying to all new potential sponsors that they better be well behaved
if they want to sponsor the Swans. Many companies would immediately assign the club to the "too hard" basket.
I'm not saying the club shouldn't cut ties with the airline (and by proxy the Qatar government), I'm just saying this is a very
complicated issue.
Everyone has principles of course. But when they start costing you serious money then usually they start becoming a little
"flexible".

[liz]

True, Captain, but you must admit that it becomes problematic when we host a Pride game. Qatar Airlines and Pride are at 100% opposites on this issue and surely we are hypocrites if we don’t see it. The question is : what do we do about it? Do we choose one over the other? Having both just doesn’t sit well with some of us. For me it boils down to this- if hosting a Pride game is very important, then we can’t have Qatar as a sponsor. Keep your money.

Alternatively, don’t host a Pride game, if money is what you’re after.

I am struggling with the logic of this argument. The club does host a Pride game and it appears to be important to it. They also accept a much needed sponsorship. So they already have both.

By accepting the Qatar Airlines sponsorship they play some role in promoting the air transport business but they are not promoting or aligning with every single value of every entity connected with the business. And, as already stated, they are not prevented from promoting their own values, even those that don't align with entities connected with the business.

I get that there is some kind of tension there, but you dig deep enough and you would find tension in pretty much every commercial arrangement that exists on the planet.

[monopoly19]

Of course the Swans don’t need to align with every single value of their sponsors, but the Qatar Airways situation is vastly different given how vocal the club is on inclusivity. Saying things like “all money is dirty money” is such a cop out. There’s a difference in being able to guarantee every action of a company is ethical, and accepting money from the Qatari government.

In their recent member survey the Swans literally asked about value alignment with their sponsors & our attitude towards the sponsors. They clearly care, as they should. We’ve also seen sponsors drop clubs/athletes for behaviours which indicates the values relationship is two-way (although I’m doubtful Qatar Airways would ever take such a stand).

The sponsorship is a real problem for me.

[TheBloods]

Of course the Swans don’t need to align with every single value of their sponsors, but the Qatar Airways situation is vastly different given how vocal the club is on inclusivity. Saying things like “all money is dirty money” is such a cop out. There’s a difference in being able to guarantee every action of a company is ethical, and accepting money from the Qatari government.

In their recent member survey the Swans literally asked about value alignment with their sponsors & our attitude towards the sponsors. They clearly care, as they should. We’ve also seen sponsors drop clubs/athletes for behaviours which indicates the values relationship is two-way (although I’m doubtful Qatar Airways would ever take such a stand).

The sponsorship is a real problem for me.

all money is dirty money is not a cop out , its the truth . You want to be sponsored by a global corp then guess what , they are doing something that is harmful in some way whether you know about it publicly or not . They are all full of board members who donate to all kinds of awful causes , they donate to politicians who are against gay rights , climate change , healthcare , you name it . There is no difference between Qatar and the rest , they just dont hide it . Not saying its better , im saying its no different

[Roadrunner]

I am struggling with the logic of this argument. The club does host a Pride game and it appears to be important to it. They also accept a much needed sponsorship. So they already have both.

By accepting the Qatar Airlines sponsorship they play some role in promoting the air transport business but they are not promoting or aligning with every single value of every entity connected with the business. And, as already stated, they are not prevented from promoting their own values, even those that don't align with entities connected with the business.

I get that there is some kind of tension there, but you dig deep enough and you would find tension in pretty much every commercial arrangement that exists on the planet.

Liz, we’re promoting a specific airline here, as one of our sponsors. The government which owns this airline has a view diametrically opposed to ours on this issue. Thus the point of the Pride game is in 100% conflict with the advertising boards we display so prominently at the SCG- we’re not promoting airline travel in general, we’re promoting Qatar Airlines!
That’s fine- we don’t have to align with every single value of our sponsors, but if we promote our values which are radically different, at the same time, then there is a major conflict. The only way to avoid it is to drop one or the other,
Otherwise we’re hypocrites. Our Board needs to decide which is more important to the Swans: it seems they want to have their cake and eat it too! I’m not saying we should be holier-than-thou but a line should be drawn- all money is not the same.

[Ludwig]

all money is dirty money is not a cop out , its the truth . You want to be sponsored by a global corp then guess what , they are doing something that is harmful in some way whether you know about it publicly or not . They are all full of board members who donate to all kinds of awful causes , they donate to politicians who are against gay rights , climate change , healthcare , you name it . There is no difference between Qatar and the rest , they just dont hide it . Not saying its better , im saying its no different

This is basically right.

If you want to be involved in professional sport, you will have to compromise your moral standards somewhere along the way. You wouldn't want to scratch he surface too deeply in the corporate world. You're bound to find something that will make you look the hypocrite.

In our world, no corporations, no AFL. I don't like the formula, but I know that's just the way it is.

[Roadrunner]

This is basically right.

If you want to be involved in professional sport, you will have to compromise your moral standards somewhere along the way. You wouldn't want to scratch he surface too deeply in the corporate world. You're bound to find something that will make you look the hypocrite.

In our world, no corporations, no AFL. I don't like the formula, but I know that's just the way it is.

Ludwig, that may be true, however here we’re promoting conflicting values AT THE SAME TIME, by displaying the Qatar advertising in a Pride game.
Of course, no corporation is perfect, nor are we. But neither can they all be placed in the same bucket- some are worse than others!

[Goal Sneak]

Qatar Airlines policy is based on religious beliefs. Should the Swans (and AFL in general) avoid all muslim association? Should players whose religious beliefs don't align with the inclusivity message be dropped for Pride Round?

[Ludwig]

Ludwig, that may be true, however here we’re promoting conflicting values AT THE SAME TIME, by displaying the Qatar advertising in a Pride game.
Of course, no corporation is perfect, nor are we. But neither can they all be placed in the same bucket- some are worse than others!

The reason I think TB is basically correct in his call is that we are always left with some kind of compromise to make. Fair enough if you believe the Qatar sponsorship is a bit too much of a conflict for you, but others that are less upsetting to you are not bad enough. There's going to be another corporate sponsorship that does things you either aren't aware of or don't care all that much about: Pollution, sweat shops in Bangladesh, corruption, fraud, military activities, etc.

I personally think we should either drop the Qatar sponsorship or drop the Pride game. The conflict is too great. To tell you the truth, I didn't think about it until someone brought it up. I simply wasn't paying attention. And I wouldn't be surprised if the same applies to other corporate affiliations of the Swans that I'm also not paying attention to. So where does it stop?

[monopoly19]

Qatar Airlines policy is based on religious beliefs. Should the Swans (and AFL in general) avoid all muslim association? Should players whose religious beliefs don't align with the inclusivity message be dropped for Pride Round?

How do you think the Swans would react if one of our players publicly said that homosexuality should be illegal? I think they’d have a pretty strong negative reaction to that. Is the player allowed to think it, yes; but it’s in opposition not only to club values but also broader societal consensus here in Australia. Players are free to choose not to align themselves with clubs/associations that don’t match their values.

[Goal Sneak]

How do you think the Swans would react if one of our players publicly said that homosexuality should be illegal? I think they’d have a pretty strong negative reaction to that. Is the player allowed to think it, yes; but it’s in opposition not only to club values but also broader societal consensus here in Australia. Players are free to choose not to align themselves with clubs/associations that don’t match their values.

I imagine it would go down like Israel Folau all over again.

We can't afford to drop a major sponsor but we can see having their brand associated with pride round isn't right. It's a shame that the most viable option seems to be not hosting a pride round. That seems even worse to me.

[monopoly19]

Ha ha , you would be shocked then at what goes on and behavioural reports the club keeps under wraps . Some of our players are no angels when it comes to gays and especially to women and people of colour , drugs ! I know this to be a fact .

45 blokes on our list , theres always going to be some bad eggs . Should we delist all of them ? There wouldnt be a very good team left let me tell you

Why do you think I said publicly? If that type of behaviour became public then the club would rebuke it (see: Elijah Taylor). The Swans are very publicly choosing to align themselves with a brand that does not share some of our core values, which is confusing and hypocritical.

[KTigers]

The club predictably enough wants to have its cake (the sponsorship money from Qatar Airlines) and to eat it too (be involved in
the Pride game). No one should be surprised about that. That is what high profile organizations do. The club is not alone.
The sponsorship thing is a slippery slope when you start looking at these companies.
Weren't VW involved in that emissions scandal a few years ago? Has every flooded homeowner up north got their payout from
QBE. I won't even start on about the "official cryptocurrency partner". That one is a total doozy.
I guess if you think the Qatar Airlines sponsorship and involvement in the Pride game is a bit too much then you should
contact the club about it. If enough people do I'd say they will listen. I don't think they are totally tone deaf. Hell, they
appear to have turned down the volume of the "game day experience" tho' that probably won't cost them much money.

[TheBloods]

Why do you think I said publicly? If that type of behaviour became public then the club would rebuke it (see: Elijah Taylor). The Swans are very publicly choosing to align themselves with a brand that does not share some of our core values, which is confusing and hypocritical.

So it makes a difference whether its public or not ? By keeping these players and stopping them from going public or leaking to the press , they are just as culpable and are saying its acceptable . So our hands arent clean either way . We might as well take the money we can get and put it to good use . Putting on an event for the gays does some good does it not ?