Bob Stellick believes McSorley can still rescue his situation. “A very strong approach would be to accept responsibility, understand where the media are coming from and not engage them,” said Stellick who used to run the communications department for the Toronto Maple Leafs and now has his own company specializing in marketing and communications strategy in pro sports. “He can’t win this battle by lashing out.”

Once with a team, McSorley should make an obvious commitment to the community. “He has to work hard with the organizations to do good stuff,” Stellick said. “He has to go into each market with messages: ‘I am not proud of what I did. I accept responsibility, I am looking to put this behind me and watch me play tonight.’ He has to buy into that. If he does that, I think he would have a decent chance.”