Receiver George Pickens has left Pittsburgh, but he’s still making headlines there.
Word began to emerge on Wednesday that Pickens had canceled his planned appearance at a youth football camp set for Saturday, June 28.
The company that organized the event emailed the families of registered attendees to explain that Pickens, after confirming he’d still participate following his trade to the Cowboys, decided not to participate.
The email, which goes out of its way to repeatedly dump on Pickens, explains that the event has been rescheduled for July 20, with Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth (and potentially other Steelers players) replacing Pickens.
While the email from the company sponsoring the event (and charging at least $150 per child for the four-hour camp) has offered a refund for the cost of a Pickens autograph, free autographs from the Steelers players who attend, a full refund for the “Family Experience” package, and a 25-percent credit toward any future camp conducted by the company, one specific thing wasn’t offered — a full and complete refund.
Given that the camp was delayed from Saturday, June 18 to Sunday, July 20, it’s possible that the kids and/or their families can’t make it on July 20. It’s also possible that, given their registration for the “George Pickens Youth Football Camp,” they don’t want to attend if Pickens isn’t there.
Our free advice to the company? Do a little less crapping on Pickens and a little more offering of a full and complete refund to everyone who gave you their money.
Also, the company admits in its email that it knew about the cancellation last week. It didn’t alert the people who had purchased tickets until three days before the event, after it had lined up Freiermuth as a replacement.
Again, offer everyone a full refund. You’ve changed the date by three weeks, and you’ve replaced Pickens with Not Pickens. Everyone who bought a ticket to the George Pickens Youth Football Camp should be given a chance to get their money back.
And if that causes the company to lose money, they can take it up with Pickens. If they got him to sign a binding contract to participate in the event.