On Nov. 22, a civil jury in Dublin found Conor McGregor liable for sexually assaulting a woman in a hotel room and awarded her about $260,000. Since then, brands associated with the mixed martial arts star have kicked him to the ground. In other words, his reputation is in tatters. What should he do?

It’s not like the Irish fighter had a pristine rep to begin with. Accusations of assault, sexual and otherwise, have been hurled against him for many years. In fact, his bad-boy cred was part of his appeal, especially with young fans. McGregor (pictured) “built his brand on his patriotism and brash persona,” a recent BBC piece put it. He also had a PR campaign in place to manage the ripples.

But the general agreement now seems to be that he’s crossed a line. Accusations are one thing, a jury verdict quite another. A jury verdict against you is a third-party endorsement that you’re in the wrong. This has led to headlines such as “There’s No Defending McGregor This Time, Lads” (Gript Media) and the BBC’s “‘People Want Nothing to Do With Him’: How Ireland Turned Away From Conor McGregor.”

Proximo Spirits

It’s also hitting him in the pocketbook. Proximo Spirits said McGregor would no longer be the face of Proper No. 12 Irish Whiskey, which he helped found and later sold to Proximo. IO Interactive, creator of the Hitman video game, cut ties with him. Retailers are pulling McGregor-related products from their shelves.

The Irish Sun even reported that elbow benders have been avoiding the fighter’s Black Forge pub in Dublin to the advantage of nearby drinkeries.

McGregor is 36 years old, has a life ahead of him and needs to restore his reputation, such as it is. First of all, he should step back and think about what he’s doing. People need to see him make major changes. He should lie low for a while and work on cleaning up his act. He needs to party less and apologize more. There comes a time to put away childish things.

Octagon Prowess

While known for his prowess in the octagon, McGregor hasn’t fought since 2021. He says he wants to get back to that. He should. As former UFC fighter Matt Brown put it in an MAAFighting podcast, “Get the f*ck out of the clubs. Put down the straws and get back in the gym.”

Another big potential move: McGregor has said he will appeal the verdict, which is certainly his right. That makes it hard to apologize. But he should consider giving up that fight and admitting culpability. That would be a start down the road to reputation redemption.

Photo Credit: Fred Duval/Shutterstock

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter on crisis communications. Each week we highlight a crisis story in the news or a survey or study with an eye toward the type of best practices and strategies you can put to work each day. Click here to subscribe.