Case 2: In a public statement, Phelps admitted that his November inhalation of loco weed represented "bad judgment." But then he used his age as an excuse: "I'm 23 years old" and acted "in a youthful and inappropriate way," he carped. (No doubt, dude—but you've got $100 million in endorsements at stake.) Fortunately for Phelps, there's still a little time. "I would like to see him tell his fans, many of whom are children, that he made a big mistake—and he should mean it," veteran PR man Sam Chapman tells BrandFreak. "The key to successful crisis communications is being authentic." Put that in your pipe and ... y'know.
I disagree with Chapman. If the key to successful crisis communication is being authentic, then Phelps saying he made a mistake would be lying and that would not be authentic. However, his response was authentic. Yes, he is an Olympic gold medalist and record holder, but he is also a 23-year-old. What does the public think most other 20-something-year-old males are doing when they go out at night? If it's not what Phelps was doing, then it's probably drinking & driving. But I digress... these "children" that are his fans probably don't even know what a bong hit is nor are they watching Entertainment Tonight or reading Perezhilton.com. If they do know what it is (or reading perezhilton.com), then their parents/guardians have bigger fish to fry.
2 comments:
What should Phelps have done? He should have told the world to eat shit. A pothead beat the rest of the entire world. In my opinion he should be awarded the Medal of Honor. Anything the rest of the world has to say about swimming is null and void for at least 10 years. America wins even though our best swimmer smokes weed. How does that make you feel, France?
He is a very public figure and although he is 23 and is doing what many other 23 year olds are doing he has a greater responsibility to be discreet. It's easy for famous people to go out and do what "normal" people do on a daily basis and then apologize once they realize a picture has been taken. Why apologize for something you obviously enjoyed doing before you were confronted with it by the media. I feel like it was right for him to apologize, not because he felt like what he did was wrong.... I believe he will do that again... but because he was an IDIOT for allowing someone to capture that moment in a picture, after all... a picture is worth A THOUSAND WORDS!
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