The list of women who run communications for NFL teams went from one to zero on Wednesday when the Houston Texans fired Amy Palcic, their VP of Communications. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Palcic was terminated because she was no longer a “cultural fit” with the organization.
Texans fired VP of Communications Amy Palcic, telling her she no longer was "a cultural fit", per sources. Palcic was the first and only woman to have full PR responsibilities for an NFL team. She was the winner of the 2017 Rozelle Award for best PR staff. She is widely respected
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 11, 2020
It’s a highly suspect move. Palcic is one of the most highly-respected people in the business at her job, she and her staff won the won the 2017 Pete Rozelle award, presented annually by the Pro Football Writers of America, to the NFL’s best PR staff, and she was instrumental in coordinating J.J. Watt’s Hurricane Harvey fund in 2017, which raised $41.6 million in relief for the Houston area.
Reaction was swift, voluminous, and universal in favor of Palcic from the football journalists who have associated with her in the past.
Can’t say how I really feel about this bc it would be inappropriate to do so publicly, so I’ll just say that this disgusts me. Amy is as good as they get & has been for 2 decades. Actions speak louder than words..good to know what the @Texans stand for. Stay strong, @amypalcic https://t.co/YPvftp5H3w
— Sage Steele (@sagesteele) November 11, 2020
If Amy Palcic isn’t a “cultural fit,” then the Texans’ culture is absolutely rancid. https://t.co/wYzqfblXe7
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) November 11, 2020
The Texans have turned into one of the worst organizations in football since Bob McNair died. @amypalcic was the best. She certainly was too good for what the Texans deserve. https://t.co/WHByVtvl9j
— Charean Williams (@NFLCharean) November 11, 2020
the BS “cultural fit” the @HoustonTexans are talking about is that Amy cares more for the players than the organization does. anyone in the NFL knows she’s one of the best at her job, hence the Texans couldn’t cite her performance. but bad organizations always find a way to lose. https://t.co/awWSjdz4lq
— Donté Stallworth (@DonteStallworth) November 11, 2020
This is a stunning move.
Stunning.@amypalcic is one of the best media-relations people I’ve met in my 36 years covering the NFL. Top 5. https://t.co/x6U3nA5nn5— Peter King (@peter_king) November 11, 2020
Given the Texans’ history of conservative politics, this particular journalist posited that this tweet from Palcic last Saturday in support of Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris may have had something to do with the “cultural fit” nonsense.
I have to wonder if this is when the Texans decided that the highly-respected Ms. Palcic was no longer a "cultural fit." https://t.co/kPzWnVtvr0
— Doug Farrar (@NFL_DougFarrar) November 11, 2020
(For the record, every time I dealt with Palcic and the Texans’ media arm, she and they were nothing but professional, accessible, and helpful).
Unfortunately, the Texans don’t have a good PR person to handle the fallout from this move… because they just let her go.