Before getting into the public relations aspect of Tiger Woods downfall it should be noted that for over a decade Tiger Woods epitomized the sporting world, taking the sport of Golf to heights unimaginable. Tiger displayed a dedication to the sport that was unprecedented and earned and demanded the respect of his fans, and peers. For years Tiger's presence was so prominent that any playing partner of his in the final round would crumble. Tiger Woods was the most recognizable and respected athlete in the world.
Two years ago everything changed for Tiger Woods as his infidelity was uncovered by his wife and the media. The finite details of his actions have been widely speculated upon by the media, and in fact are still the center of discussion amongst tabloid and infotainment media outlets.
Tiger's image and reputation were virtually destroyed and his silence only fueled the media circus.
The most important guideline when dealing with the media in a time of crisis is, shape your story or else the media is going to shape it for you. This message is applicable throughout entertainment, organizational communication, and sport. Communicating your message immediately and honestly is so important as an individual at a time of crisis because immediate response shows transparency. The public is more likely to forgive an individual athlete or entertainer because they can relate to a human mistake. It is harder for organizations or government because they are stereotyped as deceitful and misleading.
There are numerous pertinent examples of personifying an individual at a time of crisis in comparison to possible alternatives. Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens were both accused of using performance enhancing drugs. Pettitte personified himself by explaining why he resorted to performance enhancing drugs and further apologized. Clemens denied it, went to court, made up a word (misremembered?) and now is looking at jail time and a mangled image. Andy Pettitte went on to pitch for a few more seasons, lead his Yankees to a World Series ring and retire a potential hall of famer. Many athletes like Clemens, will speak through lawyers or not at all. This allows the media to vilify the individual and exaggerate on their devious behavior. The key component for any athlete overcoming a crisis is honesty, personification, integrity and most importantly succeeding at the sport they compete in.
In hindsight it is easy to analyze what an athlete should have done at a time of crisis. Many times the athletes crisis communication team gets it right and turns the focus to the athletes performance. However, there is the media relation aspect in which the athlete needs to confront the issue. Kobe admitted to have an affair, Pettitte admitted to HGH usage, Heatley apologized to the family of Dan Snyder and moved on. All of these athletes confronted their behavior and turned the attention to their professional career.
Perhaps the most scrutinized and debatable handling of a crisis was Tiger Woods. Tiger remained silent for months and let numerous women come out and admit to having an affair with Tiger. Literally hundreds of women allegedly slept with Mr. ElinNordegen. Many people externally and internally criticized Tiger for going into hiding and not confronting the issue. And furthermore, if the number one rule of media relations at a time of crisis is to shape the story so the media does not shape it for you; why did Tiger not AT LEAST release a statement? Why did Tiger's highly paid PR team advise him to remain silent?
It is simple. It is because no matter how much the media manipulated and fabricated Tiger Woods' actions, it was still not as condemning as the truth. As long as Tiger Woods remained silent, all his actions were "alleged" affairs. Some of his affairs had such explicit evidence that they could not be denied, however delivering a factual statement or a press conference would only make him appear worse.
It was not until a scripted press conference months after the story broke that Tiger Woods spoke to the media. In his statement Tiger acknowledged he had, "affairs"; thus validating at least a few of the potential mistresses claims. Tiger Woods feeble attempt to save his marriage was the catalyst in his disappearing act and ambiguous statements. However, from a personal standpoint Tiger must have known that know self-respecting woman would stay with her husband after what he had put her through.
So looking back at the Tiger Woods incident, two years later what would you have done differently if you were to advise Tiger? It is not that easy to decipher if Tiger Woods crisis communications team acted efficiently or not. Could the public relations team have acted ethically and still represented Tiger?
The PR team was pretty much up shit creek without a paddle. If I were to represent Tiger I would have had him release a statement within the first few weeks admitting to having an extra-martial affair. Notice I left the "s" off affair. I would have then have had Tiger do what he does best and golf. As the numerous allegations emerged I would keep Tiger in the spotlight, however avoid questions about specific details to the affairs. Tiger Woods made a mistake and cheated on his wife. That is the message I would convey to the public. As his public relations consultant my goal would be to transfer the spotlight from his affairs to his golf game. There are numerous external factors that would have made this very difficult, however the public relations team should have not kept the focus on Tigers personal life, they should have immediately tried to shift the focus to his golf game.
Would Tiger even have wanted this? Did he demand time to reflect and be alone? Did he care that sponsors dropped him? Did he think he could save his marriage? Where was golf on his list of priorities? All of these questions were unknown to the public and kept between Tiger and his Public Relations team. Therefore in hindsight.......I guess the best advice.......If you are one of the most recognizable and reputable individuals in the world.....THINK before you have sex with strippers, hookers, and porn stars! PLEASE THINK!....it makes our job in Public Relations much easier.
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