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Crisis management professionals not impressed by Ben's approach
By Bob Cohn, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
[url="http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_678302.html"]http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbu ... 78302.html[/url]
This time, there was no funky hairstyle or emotionless, eyes-on-the-page public apology.
Instead, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger issued a three-paragraph, 119-word statement even briefer than his 74-second, mulleted mea culpa before the cameras a few weeks ago after a Georgia prosecutor declined to charge him in connection with a college student's rape accusation.
Roethlisberger, suspended 4 to 6 games by the National Football League last week for violating its personal conduct policy, said Monday he will not appeal the penalty and promised to "comply with what is asked of me — and more."
He took accountability for the "consequences" of his actions. He apologized again to his teammates and Steelers fans, and pledged to "not put myself in this situation again."
By releasing a statement instead of immediately addressing his situation in person, Roethlisberger emulated Tiger Woods and other celebrities publicly tangled in unseemly circumstances. But the statement will likely do little to restore the two-time Super Bowl winner's tarnished image, according to those in the tarnished image-restoring business.
"Minimally positive," said Jonathan Bernstein, head of Bernstein Crisis Management in Sierra Madre, Calif., and author of the book, "Keeping the Wolves at Bay."'
"It really means nothing," said Mike Paul, who heads MGP & Associates in New York (slogan: "Because Your Reputation is Everything").
Dennis Ross III, president of Ross Crisis Management in Atlanta (slogan: "Winning Strategies for Unexpected Events"), said Roethlisberger's statement "did not do any harm, which in his case and what he's been dealing with, is actually a plus."
A Steelers spokesman said the statement "came from Ben" and "those were Ben's words."
Ross said celebrities typically do not pen their apologies, instead offering input to a team effort. In Roethlisberger's case, "It looks like he had a strategic communications copywriter write it," Ross said. "I guarantee it, 99 percent."
Paul called the text "boilerplate legal apology language" and did not hedge even 1 percent.
"He definitely didn't write it," he said. "No question about that. It was definitely written by a committee of PR people and got reviewed by attorneys."
Ross, who has a book coming out in the fall, "Character is the New Swagger," said he liked one part of the statement: Roethlisberger's vow to comply with what's expected, "and more."
"I thought those were the two most important words, because it opens the door and allows the public to give him an opportunity to show us what 'and more' " means," he said.
The statement says "all the right things," said Bernstein. " 'I'm gonna learn from this, I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure it doesn't happen again.' It's more or less humble. It just doesn't sound like a real person."
With some preparation, a "real person" speaking the words probably would have helped Roethlisberger's cause, the experts said.
"Well-written statements have lost their effectiveness," Ross said. "For a person to be able to look at you ... it goes further than the written word."
It's like if your kid gets in trouble at school, Paul said, "and Johnny is slick enough to think he can get away with texting dad and saying he's sorry. It's not gonna fly. Dad wants to look him in the eye. Dad wants to read his emotions, to see if he's being humble, to see if he's throwing words around.
"I would have liked to have (Roethlisberger) speak to me directly."
By Bob Cohn, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
[url="http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_678302.html"]http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbu ... 78302.html[/url]
This time, there was no funky hairstyle or emotionless, eyes-on-the-page public apology.
Instead, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger issued a three-paragraph, 119-word statement even briefer than his 74-second, mulleted mea culpa before the cameras a few weeks ago after a Georgia prosecutor declined to charge him in connection with a college student's rape accusation.
Roethlisberger, suspended 4 to 6 games by the National Football League last week for violating its personal conduct policy, said Monday he will not appeal the penalty and promised to "comply with what is asked of me — and more."
He took accountability for the "consequences" of his actions. He apologized again to his teammates and Steelers fans, and pledged to "not put myself in this situation again."
By releasing a statement instead of immediately addressing his situation in person, Roethlisberger emulated Tiger Woods and other celebrities publicly tangled in unseemly circumstances. But the statement will likely do little to restore the two-time Super Bowl winner's tarnished image, according to those in the tarnished image-restoring business.
"Minimally positive," said Jonathan Bernstein, head of Bernstein Crisis Management in Sierra Madre, Calif., and author of the book, "Keeping the Wolves at Bay."'
"It really means nothing," said Mike Paul, who heads MGP & Associates in New York (slogan: "Because Your Reputation is Everything").
Dennis Ross III, president of Ross Crisis Management in Atlanta (slogan: "Winning Strategies for Unexpected Events"), said Roethlisberger's statement "did not do any harm, which in his case and what he's been dealing with, is actually a plus."
A Steelers spokesman said the statement "came from Ben" and "those were Ben's words."
Ross said celebrities typically do not pen their apologies, instead offering input to a team effort. In Roethlisberger's case, "It looks like he had a strategic communications copywriter write it," Ross said. "I guarantee it, 99 percent."
Paul called the text "boilerplate legal apology language" and did not hedge even 1 percent.
"He definitely didn't write it," he said. "No question about that. It was definitely written by a committee of PR people and got reviewed by attorneys."
Ross, who has a book coming out in the fall, "Character is the New Swagger," said he liked one part of the statement: Roethlisberger's vow to comply with what's expected, "and more."
"I thought those were the two most important words, because it opens the door and allows the public to give him an opportunity to show us what 'and more' " means," he said.
The statement says "all the right things," said Bernstein. " 'I'm gonna learn from this, I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure it doesn't happen again.' It's more or less humble. It just doesn't sound like a real person."
With some preparation, a "real person" speaking the words probably would have helped Roethlisberger's cause, the experts said.
"Well-written statements have lost their effectiveness," Ross said. "For a person to be able to look at you ... it goes further than the written word."
It's like if your kid gets in trouble at school, Paul said, "and Johnny is slick enough to think he can get away with texting dad and saying he's sorry. It's not gonna fly. Dad wants to look him in the eye. Dad wants to read his emotions, to see if he's being humble, to see if he's throwing words around.
"I would have liked to have (Roethlisberger) speak to me directly."
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