As the end of 2011 nears we have witnessed some of the worst college sports stories heard in recent years – from the Penn State and Syracuse sex scandals to the less horrific, yet still terribly unfortunate, stories that unfolded at Miami, Ohio State, and other colleges. In all of these examples, crimes to some degree were committed (from child molestation to breaking NCAA rules and/or laws), and in each case the universities responded in their own unique ways to the allegations. Of course, looking back now is like playing “Monday morning quarterback,” but it’s still worthwhile to do so if we want to handle future troubling issues in better and more effective ways (AHPS).
It appears that in most cases the immediate response by these universities has been to either deny, spin, or deflect. Of course, that’s understandable – especially when taking into consideration the tremendous value of some of these “brands.” It goes without saying that negative public image can (and often does) correlate with many important factors, including alumni gifts, future student enrollment, and apparel sales (to name a few). On the other hand, the denial response – while having great potential upside – also brings with it the increased risk for the drip-drip-drip negative and scandalous review by the NCAA, the media, and fans. Of course, none of this is unique to athletics, as we have seen politicians and others take the same “nothing to look at here” approach to allegations that have later been proven true.
The short-term gain in deflecting stories and/or getting rid of a sacrificial lamb may appear to work, but in the end more often than not the foundational problems still remain (i.e. the casual athletic culture). So while the “nothing to see here” response may seem attractive at first, it actually behooves college administrators to take a more in-depth and measured view of the totality of the problem and overall tone of the athletic department culture. Yes, this is certainly a more riskier PR move than telling people everything is fine, but this approach is more responsible and far better in the long-term (especially in these days of data left behind in email and text messages, sure to be exposed by somebody eventually).
Human beings make mistakes regularly — we have all said or done things we wish we could take back or do differently if given another chance. My article here today is not about being perfect, nor is it designed to come off as some righteous way of living. No, my goal is to simply remind people who run colleges about the importance of damage control – especially as it applies to handling tough situations respectfully, professionally, and thoroughly
If any college adminstrators are listening, here are a few tips to consider:
- When a negative story breaks, the first move should not be anything that sounds like “nothing to see here.” Of course, this does not mean to immediately assume all guilt, either. The best and most responsible answer is to simply state the issues are being taken very serious and that a university response will be forthcoming.
- Check out the allegations and see if they are true. If you learn rules/laws have been broken, take some time to look through the eyes of the victim, or if it is an institutional charge that impacts competitive fairness, try to see how the problems at your school could impact the overall interest and success of the game.
- Admit when you are wrong. Yes, this is very difficult for people to do, but when people take ownership of a problem and a sincere apology given, most people are very quick to forgive and forget.
- Take appropriate measures to correct/fix the problem – which may include removing people with big names and reputations. Again, this may not be easy to do, but in some cases it is warranted in order to truly remedy a situation.
- Go above and beyond to help the victims, or to make right whatever systemic problems that may have negatively impacted others. Show that you are serious, and not just sorry that you got caught.
- Think about the overall welfare of your institution, not just the athletic department. While sports are certainly a big part of the overall college experience for most students, it will be the perceived value of their degrees that help them the most in the future — not the wins and losses of the football team.
Damage control is not the most favorite or easiest part of a college administrator’s job, but it is becoming an extremely important part of it. In this day and age of electronic messages and pictures, empirical data seems to be around every corner when it comes to covering up or denying rule and law breaking. It is for these reasons, along with it simply being the right thing to do, that college administrators work diligently to do a better job of responding to crises in the future than some have done in 2011.
www.drstankovich.com
