A Believable Apology

While apologies have become a dime a dozen, and most are either insincere, or filled with qualifications and excuses, this one has some substance to it. Here’s the background:

Last week, the National Football League’s commissioner suspended Baltimore Ravens star running back Ray Rice for the first two games of the coming season.

The penalty was met with overwhelming outrage. Rice had beaten his then-fiancé (they have since gotten married). Players have suffered much tougher penalties (at least four game suspensions; sometimes a full season) for what are perceived as lesser offenses.

Of course, this topic became national fodder for talk programs of all kinds. One of those programs is ESPN’s First Take. On Friday, July 25^th, Stephen A. Smith, a popular member of the show, made some (later) admittedly stupid and offensive comments. He left the impression that women should stop "provoking" these attacks they suffer.

You can imagine the explosion of reaction all over the media, both traditional and social, during the weekend. He was vilified, and for good reason, based on how he said what he said.

The very next Monday, July 28^th, First Take opened cold with Smith on camera, offering an apology.

Now, so many people have apologized for so many things lately (certainly since we entered the new era of instant, global communications), my opinion is their apologies have little value.

However, Smith, first by responding relatively quickly, and taking full responsibility, has done a commendable job. Indeed, he’s one of the few who did not apologize only to those who may have been offended. He assumed everyone not only was, but had a right to be offended. His apology sounds and looks sincere. 

Case Study: NFL Manages Its Message

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell

Eric M. Seidel, CEO

The Media Trainers, LLC

No matter whether you believe or support the National Football League or its players’ union (NFLPA) in their latest contract tug-of-war, the NFL’s message management is interesting.

The league is rolling in dough. It’s a $9 billion enterprise. Yet, the owners want money back from their last agreement with the players’ union!

Commissioner Roger Goodell’s reasoning: prevent a financial crisis.

Just how well Goodell’s argument will work with fans—it appears to be DOA in the unions’ judgment already—remains to be seen. The owners renounced the current contract back in 2008, yet serious talks are just getting started with a March 3^rd deadline before the existing deal expires.

This has all the potential of being a protracted situation that might even threaten all or part of the 2011 NFL season. If so, the real crisis will be for the players, fans and all the people in feeder jobs that support the league, players and the games.

Will Mike Vick Become a PETA Spokesman?

Credibility is earned by what’s said and who says it!

By Eric Seidel, CEO
The Media Trainers®

AdAge is reporting imprisoned NFL quarterback Michael Vick’s people are talking to PETA about Vick becoming a spokesman on behalf of the organization. Of course, Vick is serving time for engaging in dog fighting. I suppose both Vick and the animal protectors have lots of questions to consider before, or if, this becomes a deal.

Is it a good idea? Who has more to gain? Better yet, who has more to lose? Will Vick be sincere? More importantly, will he be perceived as being sincere? Does his history offer evidence that he can honestly change?

At a recent federal court hearing updating Vick’s financial obligations, the judge made a point of telling the imprisoned pro football player that he—the judge—was not yet convinced of any remorse on Vick’s part. He sent him back to his Leavenworth prison cell with that admonition to ponder.

Vick has had well over a year to begin apologizing and retooling his image. Instead, he’s remained silent while news stories about his questionable financial manipulations have filled the void.

It does appear that PETA, sometimes extreme and unrealistic in its causes, has more to lose in this situation. If Vick is not believable, then PETA appears to have been sucked in and used. Vick’s history does not offer strong evidence he can be convincing.

PETA’s director of youth outreach and campaigns, Dan Shannon, wants Vick to undergo psychological evaluation before any decisions are made:

"We're suspicious this may come from a place of simply wanting to repair his public image, rather than genuine remorse. He was dishonest all the way up the line until he finally had to admit to what he did, which is a hallmark of [antisocial personality disorder]. If he can't tell the difference between right and wrong, we can't get in bed with this guy. At this point, he hasn't chosen to submit to an evaluation. We hope the NFL will require that evaluation as a precondition of reinstatement. The bottom line is: Everybody knows he's going to
apologize, go on Oprah and Larry King and say he did wrong, that he learned his lesson. But there's no reason for anybody to take his word for that based on the pattern of dishonesty and the severity of cruelty he took part in."

That being said, one has to wonder if/why PETA really is seriouly considering it. As for Vick's side of this story, no one was willing to talk to AdAge.

And, finally, it’s of some interest to note that nothing about any discussions with Mike Vick can be found (at this writing) on PETA’s homepage or news page.

Screw up? Admit it!

Why do some executives find it so difficult to admit mistakes? Ego? Arrogance? Insecurity? Stubbornness? Probably some of each.

In the world of business, experience has shown that a quick and honest demonstration of contrition can go a long way toward getting things back to normal and preserving image and reputation.

Time is critical. Wait too long and when you ask for forgiveness, it will be denied.

For example, Matt Millen. He had an excellent reputation as a professional football player and, later, as a network radio and TV analyst for pro games. He played on three Super Bowl winners, Oakland, San Francisco and Washington. He had been one of the league’s better defensive players.

In 2001 he left the broadcast booth to be president and CEO of the Detroit Lions.
But, Matt Millen was abysmal as an administrator and judge of talent. He had no prior player development or front office experience. According to the Wall Street Journal NFL executives admitted in private that Millen "has made more bad draft decisions than anyone else in two centuries".

During his seven plus seasons in charge, the Lions record was 31-84. The cries for his dismissal were widespread and pretty much unanimous. The latest Lions team he left behind ended up being the first ever to complete a perfect 0-16 season.

After the third week of the 2008 season, Millen finally was fired. But, not until New Year’s holiday weekend, 15 weeks later, did Matt Millen finally talk about his dismal performance as a pro team manager.

He said the right things, shouldered all the blame, but probably much too late.

Millen said he’s "completely responsible" for the Lions' 0-16 record this season. "You can say something about the coaching, you can say something about the players, but inevitably, I'm responsible for them." Asked "Would you have fired you?" Millen answered, "Yeah, I would have." He admitted he was inexperienced as an executive and that he had to learn many things on the job.

NBC Sports exhumed Millen over the weekend as an in-studio analyst, an apparent attempt to resuscitate his broadcast career. Will it work? Only time will tell. But, based on the early comments spotted on some blogs, it will be, at best, a 90 degree climb up a very tall hill.

Here’s a sampling of comments:

"You gotta be kidding me...why is this knucklehead on TV and why on earth would NBC believe his commentary is respected by anyone who knows anything about football?"

"Considering NBC is televising the Super Bowl, our football party may be cancelled!"

"You don't speak to the media or fans in Detroit for three years and after you're canned you come out with this crap? Too little too late Matt."

"Too bad a descent football player will be remembered as a central figure in a 0-16 team. Guess he can always head over to the Bill Buckner Institute for bad breaks, in an attempt to recover."

"WOW Matt ......do ya think ??? The fans have been telling you this for years. Quite possibly the most ludicrous job of drafting outside of a fantasy league in the history of the NFL."

"Water is wet. The sun rises in the east. NO KIDDING, MATT!! You should have been fired after last year's collapse after a 6-2 start. You owe every Lions fan a refund."

For Matt Millen, more than seven years of ego, arrogance, stubbornness and an exceptionally atrocious record running a franchise have darkened his name and erased all the positives he enjoyed for more than twice that length of time as a player and on-air analyst.