Karen’s Public Relations Blog

It has been a while since I have written about a sports public relations nightmare.  From Marion Jones to Justin Gatlin in track and field, and Floyd Landis in Cycling and what about Brett Favre in Football?  There are so many cases to choose from.  However, what happens when one of the most recognizeable athletes of the Beijing Olympics– one that said is considered to be the greatest athlete of all time– is now looked upon as a PR Nightmare?

That is right, I am talking about swimmer Michael Phelps.  It appears that Phelps was caught in a photo of him smoking a bong.Here is the statement that Phelps gave to the press today:

“I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment.  I’m 23 years old and despite the successes I’ve had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again.”

I have said this many, many times on this blog– it is just absolutely amazing that some athletes that are highly recognizeable don’t realize that whatever they do or say could be posted online by anyone!  So, let’s take a look at this statement.  First, this statement was presented to the media by Phelps’ agent, not himself.  Hmm– might have been better if he was direct with the media, fans, and the rest of the athletic community.

Plus, what about the timing of this announcement? In crisis communication and reputation management, it really all comes down to the timing of when the message is communicated to the audience after a crisis or critical event.  I would say that this is very strategic on the part of Team Phelps.  Let’s see– what is happening today?  Just probably one of the biggest athletic events in the United States– the Super Bowl.  I believe that they wanted to announce this “personal reputation crisis” during a time where the sports media and everyone else will be focus on covering the Super Bowl and they would just sly this little incident in.  So as a result, they can say that they were “proactive” and “upfront” with the media, but in the end they were just being very strategic with the timing.  We will have to see what happens.

Like the famous saying goes about Vegas– the same can be said about the Internet.  “What is online, STAYs online!”  Michael Phelps needs to get his act together in my point of view– he is considered to be a role model for many young athletes and the face of swimming– excuses are not going to fly by with the fans and sponsors.  Phelps needs to recognize that his personal reputation and brand has taken a significant hit– and we will just have to see what happens.

Hope you all are having a great day!

Best Wishes,

Karen