It is so odd to me that despite how fast news and opinions spread across social media that you still find universities, businesses, and government agencies slow to respond to a media crisis. They don’t have the luxury of waiting anymore! In all honesty, by the time the investigation involving the Ohio State University head coach Urban Meyer is released, most Americans will have already decided what they’re going to believe, and that will affect the Buckeyes reputation one way or the other.
While Meyer sits on paid administration leave pending the investigative, the victim, Courtney Smith, and her husband, Meyer’s former wide receivers coach, Zach Smith, have both given interviews. Courtney shared text messages which displayed Meyer’s wife, Shelly, knew about the abuse. Zach Smith gave an interview to ESPN stating that Eugene Smith, Ohio State’s athletic director, knew of the pending investigation in his domestic violence case. At the time of publishing this article, Eugene Smith still had not issued a statement.
This is a public relations nightmare! At some point, you have to stop passing the buck and take accountability for your role regardless of how big you think it is. America has a long and horrifying history with domestic violence. The fact that both Courtney and Zach state that Meyer and Eugene Smith knew of the case will draw questions about how far up the ladder word of the domestic violence case traveled.
Here’s how Ohio State should’ve tackled the media crisis from the beginning:
1) Be honest. If Urban Meyer is not prepared to answer the question, then say, “I am not prepared to answer that question.” If the media catches you in a lie, they will dig deeper to expose it.
2) In the event that Urban Meyer does lie, have a press release ready to issue to all media outlets explaining the inaccuracy. Be proactive, don't wait until facts are unearthed to respond.
3) Take accountability. Admit that there were errors on your end and explain that you are reviewing all protocols to ensure that this does not happen to anyone again.
Get in front of the story, or else you're always playing catch up. All anyone, fans included, wants is to see accountability. The faster that you step in front of the camera and admit that you’re evaluating the incident, the less your reputation takes a hit.
