“Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” – Abraham Lincoln
More often than we might even care to notice, we find people in the public eye susceptible to making situations regarding their behavior even worse by how they handle, shall we say, the fallout.
In the wake of Lance Armstrong’s half-baked confession on the Oprah Winfrey Network, and the debacle that is former Notre Dame football player Manti Te’o, I thought it would be interesting to pick the respective brains of some professional athletes locally and get their take on what the pitfalls can be regarding the importance of honesty and full disclosure when speaking publicly.
“It all starts with how you conduct yourself off the court and whom you surround yourself with,” said Pacers forward David West after a recent game. “You must be careful and make wise decisions to eliminate the possibilities.”
West agreed that there are so many aspects of social media today that can place an individual in an unfavorable light, even when they have not done anything wrong. “The key is to not place yourself in potentially bad situations, and be honest with people when you do make a mistake.”
I only had to look close to West’s locker to find similar sentiment from point guard D.J. Augustine, who echoed West’s comments 100 percent.
“As athletes, we are certainly used to being under the microscope, and we recognize the 24/7 media world we live within, so taking care of your personal business off the court in a proper manner is the key,” added the first year Pacer.
While West and Augustine make compelling cases for sensible behavior as a deterrent to problems, many athletes today fail in their quest to stay on that path, and how they handle the public relations aspect of it all can be equally if not more troubling.
From Armstrong’s poorly orchestrated attempt to salvage his credibility to Te’o’s pathetic confession to Katie Couric, we have seen the worst recently in terms of how to handle situations that were self-created and more importantly, totally avoidable. It is indeed human to err, but the compounding of the situation by being evasive or in some cases totally dishonest creates a second and totally unnecessary train wreck for these once beloved individuals.
That being said, what should we think of those who look to preserve their earning power and restore what is left of their credibility with such on-air antics? Should we give Armstrong more credit than T’eo who initially would not face a camera, or are they both to be categorized as simply unbelievable at this point due to the way they have chosen to handle things publicly?
When does the ability to prosper financially and maintain an elitist lifestyle take a back seat to reputation and simple honesty? One thing is for certain, the respective brands that both of these individuals strived to develop for personal gain is possibly broken, and has been discarded by any potential company that might have sought to endorse them and line their pockets.
More importantly, they have fallen from the grace of the throngs who worshiped their athletic accomplishments and in many cases, albeit foolishly, live vicariously through them.
Regardless, I wish both men the best as I too have made mistakes in my life. Hopefully the cold gray light of dawn will hit them someday in a manner that provides an opportunity for reconciliation, and a long overdue reality check that prompts a total disclosure of their actions and a simple apology. Obviously, no P.R. mogul can do that for them.
Danny Bridges can be reached at (317) 578-1780 or at Bridgeshd@aol.com.
Danny Bridges is an award-winning journalist and a longtime sports columnist for the Indianapolis Recorder. He covers college, professional sports and especially all things IndyCar racing. He can be reached at 317-370-8447 or at bridgeshd@aol.com.
