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Crisis Response: What to do when a crisis hits

  • Writer: Gary-Alan Hopkins
    Gary-Alan Hopkins
  • Apr 29, 2021
  • 2 min read

Table of Content



What is a crisis?

A person talking to the media surrounded by media outlet microphones
Spokesperson addressing the media about a crisis that happened to a athlete.

Knowing how to effectively handle a crisis is an important skill for any communication professional. However, today we will be discussing how to effectively manage a crisis within a sports team.


A crisis can happen anywhere, to anyone on the team. For example, I remember reading about Tiger Woods' car accident that happened outside of Los Angeles on February 23, 2021. Another example of a crisis situation involving athletes was when Michael Vick got caught for dog fighting. Players, coaches, team managers and owners can all be subject to crisis situations that either effect their personal and professional lives and/or the whole team.


Here is a link from NESN that highlights what Michael Vick and his crisis management team did to help restore his image.



How do you deal with a crisis when it arises?

A club's communication department will be the one's working on preparing a crisis response to the media. A spokesperson will be chosen to deliver and speak to the media on behalf of the team. The spokesperson must be calm, collective and an excellent communicator.


  • Identify the crisis - to effectively how to handle a crisis when it arrives you need to make sure you understand the situation and the circumstances surrounding it.


  • Handling the crisis response - can the club or company handle the crisis in-house or would it be better handled by an outside PR company such as the case above with Michael Vick. Know the limitations of your department.


  • Be prepared - don't rush to push information to the media. Gather the details and check for accuracy before going public with the response. Any misinformation that isn't caught prior to going public can complicate any prepared response. Make sure everything has been combed through before going public.


  • Avoid inflammatory language - when preparing a response be sure to review it for any possibility of political charged words or anything that could offend another person or group of individuals.


  • Reflect - the team managers and club should review current policies and revise anything that can be detrimental to the club's image or that could cause future crisis.



Conclusion

Today we looked a what a crisis response is for an athlete or team, examples of some recent crisis and tips for preparing a crisis response for an athlete or team.


As always, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this week's post but before we part I want to hear from you.


What are five athletic crises that you recall? How were they handled? Were they handled in-house or by an external public relations firm? How effectives was the crisis response?


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