Image is Everything

In my last quarter of undergrad, I took a crisis communication class that ended up landing in the top 5 of the most interesting courses I ever took at Ohio State. This week, in one of my graduate classes, we discussed how crucial crisis communication is for a business. Any organization, no matter how big or small, must have a crisis communication strategy in place or else failure of that organization is imminent. In the last decade, we have seen some of the world's biggest corporations crumble, not because they messed up in their operations but because they failed to clearly communicate with their publics about what went wrong and what they are doing to correct the problem.

As I began reading the chapters and engaging in class discussion, I got to thinking: why aren't athletes trained in crisis communication, or at least surrounded by people who are?

Athletes are their own business. Each is branded based on their market value within the world of sports. This goes beyond endorsements to the image these figures present the fans and where they make these images fit the best. Like in business, there are those who are:

• Your typical small business in the wrong market either because of too many fish in a big pond or not having what it takes to stand out: any 7th round draft pick that gets cut before the season, only never to be picked up again or stuck in the UFL
• Your niche market: Joshua Cribbs, Daniel Gibson
• The up and coming businesses that will change the market: Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, Peyton Hillis
• Your fad market: Allen Iverson
• Your sketchy market that sounds great in their sales pitch but really are out to scam you (like those check cashing places and Safe Auto): Ron Artest
• Your big businesses we love to love that really got their marketing campaign right: Shaq, Michael Jordan
• Your big businesses that got so big it was only a matter of time before their egos became too big for their markets: Tiger Woods, LeBron James

Each category is what makes the U.S. business moedl one of the world's most powerful and what determines athletes' positions in sports hierarchy. For both worlds, it's the one that usually fails in connecting with their publics that takes a bigger fall when a crisis occurs.

Let's first look at Tiger. The media has finally gotten over all his drama, for the most part. However, he is going to forever be a topic we'll hear about and think "oh no, why are we talking about him again." But he is a perfect example of an athlete who definitely did not know how to handle an image crisis. When Tiger came on the scene, he became one of the most fascinating athletes to walk this earth. If it wasn't for him, golf would undoubtedly still be an obscure topic to most Americans. He didn't just make himself America's hottest brand; he made the golf market relevant to the overall picture. People only started watching golf to see what Tiger would do. People that don't even golf would buy Nike golf products to look like Tiger. That is the goal every athlete wants: be the biggest and the best. Isn't that the same goal of business-people? Hmm..

If I had to compare Tiger to a billion-dollar corporation he is Enron. Before the whole scandal, I had no idea what Enron was all about. In fact, I didn't even know it existed, mostly because, at the time of its downfall, I was 13. But most people past a high school education would tell you they've heard of Enron. They could probably also tell you Enron was an energy company in Texas. That's where the knowledge of the company stops. It's a big mystery that was only cracked when scandal struck. The same goes for Tiger. Everyone knew Tiger was a biracial golfer that was freakishly good at the sport. But that's it. Every now and then there would be mention of his family, but, usually athletes and their families aren't hot topics in mainstream and celebrity news unless they have a unique angle.

Last year, Tiger found his angle.

I'm not going to re-summarize the story that's been summarized hundreds of times before; we all know what went down. But what is the most interesting part is not the situation but how long it took Tiger to face the public to talk about it. Even in his monotone apology three weeks after the Thanksgiving incident did he never come out and say exactly what went down.

Here was this person, invincible in our eyes, that, overnight, became one of the most hated people in the country. Enron was the same way. It was one of Forbes' most innovative companies, yet no one really knew what it did. All people needed to know about Tiger and Enron was that they were badasses in their business strategy. So when each fell, everyone was stumped and curious.

It really makes you think: how can we trust something we know so little about? Why do some of the most loved people end up being the most shady?


If I had to compare LeBron to a billion-dollar corporation, he is BP.

BP is one of the most notable and profitable businesses in the world, and, unlike Enron, most people could tell you some facts about BP and why they use them for fuel. LeBron is one of the most notable and profitable athletes in the world. Unlike Tiger, people could tell you all about his life story and why they love him. Within months of each other, BP and LeBron Inc. managed to go from these humble, yet massive market powerhouses we love and respect to these entities we love to hate. The key similarity between the two, besides the obvious letting-people-down thing, was that they ran from their disasters, instead of admitting they were wrong.

While the oil spill was terrible for the environment, the public might not have been so pissed at BP for letting this happen had the CEOs immediately apologized and said they were doing everything they can to fix the problem. Instead, they were off on a sailing trip, amongst other ritzy activities. LeBron leaving Cleveland was going to suck regardless. Not only were fans losing the biggest superstar in Cleveland sports history, but Northeast Ohio was about to lose its biggest economic stronghold (See video below).

Hastily made Cleveland Tourism video

The part about his decision that angers people the most was "The Decision." Like most educated people, I get business. I understand that in order to capitalize on your wealth, you need to go where you think you will get the highest return on your investment. Athletes are traded or sign contracts with different teams all the time; people change careers all the time. Sometimes, we lose co-workers we love because a better opportunity awaits. Sometimes, we lose our superstars for the same reason.

Another key similarity between LBJ Inc. and BP: they continue to make money off consumers, because we can't live without them. Everyone says they hate BP, but they'll still get gas there because they need it. Nobody likes LeBron except for fans of the Heat, but people need to know what will happen next. Interesting fact about the Heat/Celtics game was that the city with the most viewers behind Boston and Miami was Cleveland. We may not like LeBron, but we can't stop watching, just like the way we can't stop driving our cars. 

Whatever happened on the business side of basketball that made LeBron want to leave is still a complete mystery. All he had to do was issue a statement, maybe even a small press conference saying he was leaving and why he was leaving. Instead, he created a PR spectacle that was so ludicrous that it earned him twice as many haters as he would have had if "The Decision" never took place. Now, he wants to work with Nike and create a commercial basically telling Cavs fans "What do you want from me? I had fun but, oh well, I'm going to do what I want, I don't know why you are so mad."

Let me say this again:

IT IS NOT WHAT YOU DID IT IS HOW YOU DID IT! Stop pretending you are a good person when you have yet to admit the biggest mistake you have made in your career thus far. Maybe your choice wasn't necessarily the mistake but your method sure was and that is something Nike is not going to be able to fix for you.

That commercial was not image repair but image reaffirmation, that LBJ just doesn't get it.

If a person, famous or not, or an organization, big or small, is up front about their image rather than trying to hide it, less people will feel betrayed if an "oops" occurs. Also, waiting to react to a situation is a great way to lose respect. People don't like uncertainty. We must constantly be in the know about everything important to us. If we feel like we are being fooled, we need to know the truth. That's what crisis communication is: communicating the truth about mistakes, as fast as possible, and letting the audience know what is being done to rectify those mistakes.

Maybe athletes don't have PR representatives for crisis communication. Maybe this is because they are supposed to be people, not entities, and should know what to do in the event they mess up. But the truth is, they are entities. They are not just the people we see on the court, the field or the green. They are the apparel and the sports drinks they endorse. They are the movies and TV shows they make cameos in, the same way corporations use product placement for their brands. They make money off the consumer, not just their talent. 

The more these entities try to fake their images, or fail to admit their mistakes, the greater the reprucussions when the dirt comes out. Tiger ended up admitting his infidelity and apologizing, even if it was forced and totally unbelieveable. In the year since, he has yet to win a PGA tournament and his earnings have plummeted. Enron's top executives also apologized and were incarcerated. Following its bankruptcy, it never regained its position in the corporate world. BP, on the other hand, still remains in business, because we can't live without them, even if they never fully admitted their failure. LeBron also has yet to apologize to his fans and admit the way he humiliated them on national TV was wrong. Time will tell what happens to his career. But, to me, LeBron saying he still has a soul is like saying I don't drink for 14+ hours in Columbus for OSU gamedays. What's the point in trying to pretend you're something you're not?