Some professional athletes handle scandals and unfortunate news well, and others just don’t. With the Winter Olympics in full swing, I can’t help but notice how some Olympic athletes are doing a good job in navigating potentially negative press, while other athletes – Olympic or not – have crashed and burned in their attempt to avoid the unfavorable limelight.
Two athletes that come to mind are Lindsey Vonn, the American Olympic alpine ski racer, and Tiger Woods – we all know who he is. While their news-generating situations are extremely different, they provide great examples of how to manage news well and how to manage it poorly. (Guess which one managed it poorly!).
Vonn, who received lots of favorable pre-Olympic press, hurt her shin pretty badly just before arriving in Vancouver for the Winter Games. Rather than keeping her injury a secret, potentially performing poorly in competition and then having to explain what went wrong afterward, she stepped up to the plate and contacted the media to discuss her situation. She was upfront about the injury and how she wasn’t sure if she could even compete.
I was very impressed with this tactic. Not only did she quickly and honestly acknowledge the situation, she managed the medias’ and the fans’ expectations – and that’s half the battle. Letting everyone know that she was injured and that she might not be able to compete – or if she did compete, she might not perform well – was the right move in this situation.
On the other hand, everyone by now should be familiar with Woods’ suspected extramarital affairs and his unwillingness to
speak to the media. News recently broke about remarks he’ll be providing from the TPC Sawgrass Golf Course in Florida this Friday. According to Examiner.com, he’s expected to discuss his affairs and other personal problems that contributed to his recent scandal.
Now I’m not a proponent of spilling your personal guts on national TV just because you’re a celebrity and you’re in the midst of a scandal, but I do think there is a lot to be gained by addressing the situation early – a la Hugh Grant. Woods’ apology message on his Web site just didn’t cut it for many of the media, his fans, his sponsors or the general public. And his silence seemed to make matters worse with rumors running rampant. Now he’s making public remarks, and he’s chosen to do it during the middle of the Olympics when many of the sports media are out of the country and occupied. Brilliant move on his publicist’s part, but it still screams slime ball. I’m not impressed. Not one bit. I think Woods’ scandal is a perfect example of how not to manage a “crisis.”
So the moral of this story is to be upfront and honest, manage expectations, and don’t be shady. The media and the public will respect you more for being forthright out of the gate.
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Public relations is the management function which evaluates public attitudes, identifies the policies and procedures of an individual or an organization with the public interest, and plans, executes and evaluates a program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance. Vonn was exercising good public relations.