Arsenal–Tottenham is one of the nastiest rivalries in sports. If you don’t follow English football, think Eagles–Cowboys, Yankees–Red Sox, or Ohio State–Michigan, and then crank it up a notch or ten. London neighbors. More than a century of history and hatred.
Which is why it was a really, really big deal earlier this week when Thomas Frank, Tottenham’s manager, was photographed holding a coffee cup with an Arsenal logo on it.
Social media lost its mind.
By all accounts, it was an accident. Spurs were away at Bournemouth. Arsenal had just played there over the weekend. Frank grabbed a cup from the away dressing room without noticing it belonged to his club’s biggest rival. Asked about it, he responded the only way he could: “Of course I wouldn’t do that. That would be really stupid.” He added that with Spurs not playing well, it would be “absolutely stupid” for him to focus on something so trivial instead of the football.
Fair enough. Especially when the Arsenal sit 22 points clear at the top of the table and Spurs are mired in 14th.
Your workplace could have its own version of this moment. The trade show photo. The LinkedIn post. The Instagram story that lives forever in screenshots. There’s your employee—company badge on—wearing the wrong quarter-zip. Holding a competitor’s tote bag. Standing a little too close to a rival’s booth. Marketing panics. Leadership fumes. Someone asks whether “this is a problem.”
Start with the obvious question: Was it intentional? Most of the time, no. Swag is everywhere. People grab what’s clean, warm, or nearby. That’s not disloyalty. It’s human.
Next question: Was there any real harm? Did a customer complain? Did a deal fall apart? Or did only internal pride take a hit? If the damage is theoretical or ego-based, you’re already flirting with overreaction.
Then ask the most important question: What culture are you reinforcing? If you treat honest mistakes like acts of betrayal, employees learn to hide things—or to stop using judgment altogether. A quiet reminder about branding expectations is reasonable. Discipline usually isn’t. Sure, if an employee is deliberately promoting a competitor or repeatedly ignoring guidance, that’s a different conversation. But earn that conclusion with facts, not outrage.
Not every rival logo is treason. Sometimes it’s just the wrong cup in the wrong locker room. Sometimes a coffee cup is just a coffee cup.
And for the record…
Is Travel Time to and from a Medical Appointment Covered by the FMLA? — via Jeff Nowak’s FMLA Insights
Back in Business: New NLRB Members and General Counsel Sworn In — via Employment Law Worldview
Bringing alcohol to the home of a recovering alcoholic — via Ask a Manager
