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April 25, 2006
Duke, the 2nd Dancer, 5WPR and Reputations In Crisis
PHOTO: Kim Roberts, 2nd Dancer in Duke Case
“I'm worried about letting this opportunity pass me by without making the best of it and was wondering if you had any advice as to how to spin this to my advantage.”
Comments from Kim Roberts, the 2nd Dancer in the Duke lacrosse case.
According to AP, the head of a New York public relations firm said his company will not be representing the second exotic dancer at a Duke men's lacrosse team party on the night another dancer said she was gang-raped and beaten by three members of the team.
Ronn Torossian said 5W Public Relations, known mainly for its representation of a few Hip-Hop music artists, would not be representing Kim Roberts on any sides in the lacrosse scandal, which has received nationwide attention in the media. Ironically, the above statement came only after Torossian released a private e-mail from his potential client, Ms. Roberts, to the entire media world. It seems 5WPR was more interested in publicity for itself in being considered for the assignment than in confidentiality.
Last week, in an interview with The Associated Press, Roberts said she sent an e-mail to the firm, which specializes in "crisis communication."
"I've found myself in the center of one of the biggest stories in the country," she wrote. "I'm worried about letting this opportunity pass me by without making the best of it and was wondering if you had any advice as to how to spin this to my advantage." The e-mail was signed "The 2nd Dancer."
Roberts, like the accuser, a divorced single mother who is black, took umbrage at the notion that she should not try to make something out of her experience. She is worried that once her name and criminal record are public, no one will want to hire her. Ironically, Ms. Roberts gave an exclusive interview to AP instead of saying no to the request.
"Why shouldn't I profit from it?" she asked during an interview with the AP. "I didn't ask to be in this position ... I would like to feed my daughter."
Defense attorneys for some of the lacrosse players said that Roberts initially told them that she doubted the accuser's allegations of rape, but said in the AP interview that she could never be sure because she was not in the bathroom where the alleged rape occurred.
"In all honesty, I think they're guilty," Roberts said. "And I can't say which ones are guilty ... but somebody did something besides underage drinking. That's my honest-to-God impression."
Roberts also acknowledged that she made a phone call to Durham County 911 during which she complained she had been called racial slurs by white men gathered outside the house where the party took place. She said she made the call because she was angry.
Roberts drove herself to the party and said she could have left anytime, but she said, "I didn't want to leave her with them."
PHOTO: 2nd Dancer in AP interview
Roberts then drove the accuser -- whom she had just met that night -- to a grocery store and asked a security guard to call 911. The accuser was described later by a police officer as "just passed-out drunk."
A few comments from the Reputation Doctor for the 2nd Dancer and 5WPR:
• Taking advantage of a tragedy for self gain is never a good thing. Spin is a four-letter word for a reason.
5WPR seems to specialize in entertainment PR and communications for consumer goods. Many PR firms say they do crisis communications, but few firms actually have enough experience in the crisis PR specialty to truly call themselves experts. As for the 2nd Dancer, Ms. Roberts, trying to profit from another person’s tragedy is absolutely disgusting. You should be ashamed of yourself for even thinking about it, but to put these thoughts and desires in an email was an even bigger mistake. Both 5WPR and the 2nd Dancer need to be reminded that reputation management and crisis PR in this case is serious business with lives on the line. There are true victims in this case and they do need crisis PR and reputation management to best defense their reputations. Sadly, the 2nd Dancer and 5WPR are now both negatively linked to a global crisis story only because they proactively put their own feet in their mouths.
• The 2nd Dancer should move on with her life and find a more acceptable career, and not seek to take advantage of a tragedy.
If the 2nd Dancer is truly seeking crisis PR and reputation management advice, here is some sound advice from the Reputation Doctor: learn some lessons from this tragedy and immediately seek a new career, consider gaining a sound education to better yourself and clean up your life. Seek excellence in your life and focus on improving your own situation through education, hard work and a life free of crime and inappropriate behavior.
• Confidentiality is crucial in the crisis PR and reputation management world and any true expert would have learned that fact on their first day of work.
As I said in a Fox News Channel interview last Friday on this subject, confidentiality is extremely important in crisis PR and reputation management. Any PR firm which releases an email to the global media from a potential client should have their head examined. Current clients must be questioning your confidentiality of their documents and emails. Other potential clients must question how you might also treat their requests. The PR firm itself created a crisis for its own reputation and those working for the firm. Learn from this example: trust and integrity are never, ever created by spin. Spin is a four-letter word for a reason. Spin is a lie. Excellent reputations are built with the bricks of truth, honest, accountability, transparency, humility and consistency. Taking advantage of a tragedy is never a good idea for anyone, especially a so-called expert. There are true victims in this case and they do need crisis PR and reputation management counsel. Their lives hang in the balance and their reputations continue to take hits on a daily basis. Winning a case in the court of law, but losing your reputation in the court of public opinion for the rest of your life is never a good thing. Think O.J and think again.
Remember, do the right thing when your reputation is in crisis and seek the counsel of an experienced reputation management expert. It will be a major challenge, but ultimately the rewards of repairing your reputation will be great. Why? Because Your Reputation Is Everything! ™
About Mike Paul
Mike Paul is editor of The Reputation Doctor blog. The Reputation Doctor is a nickname given to him by various clients. Mike's blog is located at www.ReputationDoctor.com. He appears regularly on Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC, Court TV, ABC News, ESPN, CBS News, BBC, and others as a weekly contributor and expert in the global news regarding leaders, celebrities, corporations and other organizations with reputations in crisis. Mr. Paul is also president and senior counselor of MGP & Associates PR (www.mgppr.com), a leading strategic public relations and reputation management firm based in New York. For interview requests, speeches, senior counseling or other business opportunities with Mr. Paul, call 212-595-8500 or email info@mgppr.com.
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April 18, 2006
Duke’s Reputation Takes Another Pounding as Two Duke Blue Devils Are Indicted
PHOTO: Durham DA Mike Nifong
“This case is not going away.”
Comments from Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong after defense attorneys and others ask the district attorney to drop the case against the Duke lacrosse players.
According to the Associated Press, Police took two Duke University lacrosse players into custody early Monday morning, a jail official said.
This comes less than a day after a grand jury charged two players in indictments that remain sealed, a defense attorney said, and more than a month after a stripper told police she was raped at a party thrown by Duke University's lacrosse team.
"This is a tragedy," attorney Robert Ekstrand said Monday after the indictments. "For the two young men, an ordeal lies ahead. ... They are both innocent."
Ekstrand, who represents dozens of players, did not say which players were indicted or what charges they faced.
It wasn't clear if the players turned themselves in Tuesday, or if authorities had planned to arrest them.
A 27-year-old black woman told police she was attacked March 13 by three white men in a bathroom at a party held by the lacrosse team.
The racially charged allegations have led to near daily protest rallies. The school canceled the highly ranked team's season and accepted the resignation of coach Mike Pressler after the release of a vulgar and graphic e-mail that was sent by a team member shortly after the alleged assault.
An attorney for Ryan McFadyen, the player who sent the e-mail, said his client was not among those indicted. Butch Williams, who represents team captain Dan Flannery, also said prosecutors told him that his client was not among those charged.
Defense attorneys have urged District Attorney Mike Nifong to drop the case, saying DNA tests failed to connect any of the 46 team members tested to the alleged victim.
Nifong has said 75 percent to 80 percent of rape prosecutions lack DNA evidence. According to court records, a medical examination of the woman found injuries consistent with rape.
Defense attorneys have said time-stamped photos taken the night of the party show that the alleged victim was injured and impaired before she arrived.
The charges come two weeks before Nifong, appointed to the job last year after nearly three decades as a lawyer in the district attorney's office, is up for election. On Monday, he repeatedly declined to comment on the case.
Also Monday, school officials said the lacrosse coach was warned last year that his players had too many violations of the campus judicial code and he needed to "get them in line."
Duke athletic director Joe Alleva said the university's executive vice president reviewed the lacrosse team's disciplinary record last year, then discussed his findings with Alleva.
"He said there were too many incidents, but there's not enough incidents to make a drastic change in the program at this point in time," Alleva told The Herald-Sun of Durham.
Alleva then met with Pressler, telling the coach that "his team was under the microscope, and he had to do everything he could to get them in line and to not have any more behavior problems," he said.
The review by Tallman Trask III, Duke's executive vice president, was spurred by reports of "boorish behavior" by the lacrosse team, Alleva said.
Sue Wasiolek, Duke's dean of students and assistant vice president for student affairs, said the review showed the lacrosse team had a "disproportionate" number of violations of the campus judicial code. None was particularly serious, but administrators were concerned about the cumulative record and the fact that some players had several violations, she said.
About half the team had campus records for alcohol violations, disruptive behavior, disorderly conduct and similar infractions, Wasiolek said. "There was a level of concern and frustration," she said. "We just didn't seem to be turning a corner in terms of making a difference."
Her office contacted Pressler several times before the formal review, and the coach "did not take our concerns lightly," Wasiolek said.
"He said he would look into these violations and he would take action where appropriate," she said. Pressler declined comment on the report of the review. Trask could not be reached for comment.
PHOTO: Duke Lax Blue Devils
A few comments from the Reputation Doctor regarding the recent indictment of the two Duke Blue Devils:
Like everyone else, I hope the full and honest truth is uncovered in this case. The truth will bubble to the top eventually and it is best for the truth to come out sooner rather than later.
Remember this: in the court of public opinion, there is a new verdict/opinion each and every day and it can be very damaging to a reputation. In the court of law, it may take many months for a final verdict from the courts and it still fills many people with doubt after a final court decision. Just look at the O.J. case as an example.
The reputations of all in the Duke case currently have mud all over them and many reputations are already in crisis because all those involved have experts in one court, but no one, thus far, has true experts in the other.
The court of public opinion is where valuable reputations are built, maintained and repaired and attorneys are not the experts in that court.
Only seasoned crisis PR and reputation management counselors are experts in the court of public opinion, especially in high profile cases like this.
Remember, do the right thing when your reputation is in crisis and seek the counsel of an experienced reputation management expert. It will be a major challenge, but ultimately the rewards of repairing your reputation will be great. Why? Because Your Reputation Is Everything! ™
About Mike Paul
Mike Paul is editor of The Reputation Doctor blog. The Reputation Doctor is a nickname given to him by various clients. Mike's blog is located at www.ReputationDoctor.com. He appears regularly on Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC, Court TV, ABC News, ESPN, CBS News, BBC, and others as a weekly contributor and expert in the global news regarding leaders, celebrities, athletes, corporations and other organizations with reputations in crisis. Mr. Paul is also president and senior counselor of MGP & Associates PR (www.mgppr.com), a leading strategic public relations and reputation management firm based in New York. For interview requests, speeches, senior counseling or other business opportunities with Mr. Paul, call 212-595-8500 or email info@mgppr.com.
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April 12, 2006
Duke Lacrosse Group Hires Clinton Attorney for Crisis PR and Reputation Management?
PHOTO: Bob Bennett - PR Spokesman?
“It is unfortunate that members of the Duke community, players and families are being judged before all the facts are in," Bennett said in a statement. "A lot of innocent young people and the families are being hurt, and unfortunately this situation is being abused by people with separate agendas. It is grossly unfair, and cool heads must prevail.”
Comments from former Clinton attorney Robert Bennett, recently hired as a PR spokesman for the Committee for Fairness to Duke Families, a group paid for by supporters and family members of the Duke lacrosse team.
As reported by the Associated Press, a small group of boosters and others close to the Duke University lacrosse team have hired President Clinton's former lawyer as part of an aggressive public relations effort to argue that the players did not rape a woman at an off-campus party.
Bob Bennett, a former federal prosecutor and Washington attorney who represented Clinton in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case, is serving as a spokesman for a group calling itself the Committee for Fairness to Duke Families.
He is not expected to represent any players, but he has joined the chorus of those who fear for the reputation of the team and the university.
"It is unfortunate that members of the Duke community, players and families are being judged before all the facts are in," Bennett said in a statement. "A lot of innocent young people and the families are being hurt, and unfortunately this situation is being abused by people with separate agendas. It is grossly unfair, and cool heads must prevail."
The group has asked to meet with Duke President Richard Brodhead. Neither Brodhead nor Bennett returned calls for comment.
No charges have been filed while District Attorney Mike Nifong presses on with his investigation of allegations that a stripper was gang-raped at a team party March 13. Earlier this week, lawyers for the players said that DNA tests failed to connect any members of the 47-man team to the alleged attack.
The players' parents -- initially silent -- have also started to speak out. Brian Loftus, who has two sons on the team, wondered Wednesday why Nifong was continuing with the case.
"I don't understand it," said Loftus, of Syosset, N.Y.
As he has for days, Nifong refused a request for an interview. He is running for another term in May and took part in a candidate forum Wednesday evening, where he reiterated he believes a crime occured based on a medical exam of the alleged victim.
"The fact is, I didn't pick the crime. I didn't pick the time," Nifong said at the forum. "But I'm going to do the case right, because you deserve that."
PHOTO: Duke Lacrosse in Crisis
Meanwhile, attorney Bill Thomas, who is representing one of the team's captains, said Wednesday he is positive that Nifong plans to present the case to a grand jury that is meeting Monday.
"We are convinced one or more of these young men is going to be charged," Thomas told WTVD-TV in Durham.
The family of Devon Sherwood, a freshman goalie and the team's only black member, said the DNA results should have ended the investigation of the highly ranked team. The Blue Devils played for last year's national title and were considered a favorite this season before Duke canceled the season.
"I'm just glad that that ordeal is over with and hopefully as we progress with the case, it will show that all of the players will be exonerated ... of any wrongdoing at all," said Sherwood's father, Chuck, of Freeport, N.Y.
Sherwood was not tested because he is black, and the alleged victim, a black woman, had said her attackers were white.
PHOTO: Reputations: Built Over a Lifetime, but Gone in Seconds
Concern about how Duke -- an expensive, private school with tough admissions standards -- has been portrayed during the investigation isn't limited to those with close ties to the lacrosse team.
At a campus vigil Wednesday, the dean of Duke Chapel, the Rev. Sam Wells, said the event -- which included readings from Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Christian and Jewish texts -- represented "the diversity of Duke."
"A lot of time, in the last few weeks, Duke has been portrayed as one thing: rich, white, male," Wells said. "You won't see that today."
Adam Schlossmann, a Duke junior from Pittsburgh who passed by as the event was ending, said descriptions of Duke as a racist and sexist institution aren't close to the truth. "'The university has a culture of rape' -- that is just ridiculous," he said of one report. But he's leery of the decision to hire Bennett and start an active campaign to defend Duke's image.
"No matter who you put on to defend Duke, the fact is (the lacrosse players) are being portrayed as a microcosm of what Duke is," he said.
But his friend David Bartz, a Duke senior from Winston-Salem, said just sitting back and not saying anything isn't any better.
"You should have some way to counter," he said, "to offer another portrayal of the school."
A few reputation management tips from the Reputation Doctor for Bob Bennett:
• The court of law is not the court of public opinion.
Bob Bennett's comments already show he is not an expert in the court of public opinion. He needs to learn in the court of public opinion verdicts come in every day from the public and the media. The law does not lead in this court.
• Crisis PR and and reputation management are professions equal to the legal profession, but not the same.
Attorneys believe they should take the lead in all communication situations. However, they are not trained to communicate before the media and don't realize their reputations and the reputations of their clients can be severely damaged without proper training in the court of public opinion. Seasoned crisis PR and reputation management consultants make as much or more than top attorneys for a reason: they are very good at what they do and their expertise is worth the investment.
• Resign as a PR spokesman before it is too late. Stick to law.
Reputations take a life time to build, but can be lost in seconds with inexperienced counsel in the court of public opinion. Because you have chatted with the media with big legal cases in the past from a legal perspective does not qualify you as a PR spokesman. It makes as much sense as a PR counselor defending a client in the court of law or an attorney actually trying to perform surgery on a patient because they saw ER a few times on T.V.
Remember, do the right thing when your reputation is in crisis and seek the counsel of an experienced reputation management expert. It will be a major challenge, but ultimately the rewards of repairing your reputation will be great. Why? Because Your Reputation Is Everything! ™
About Mike Paul
Mike Paul is editor of The Reputation Doctor blog. The Reputation Doctor is a nickname given to him by various clients. Mike's blog is located at www.ReputationDoctor.com. He appears regularly on Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC, Court TV, ABC News, ESPN, CBS News, BBC, and others as a weekly contributor and expert in the global news regarding leaders, celebrities, corporations and other organizations with reputations in crisis. Mr. Paul is also president and senior counselor of MGP & Associates PR (www.mgppr.com), a leading strategic public relations and reputation management firm based in New York. For interview requests, speeches, senior counseling or other business opportunities with Mr. Paul, call 212-595-8500 or email info@mgppr.com.
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April 4, 2006
Duke University’s Reputation in Crisis
PHOTO: Duke's Logo
“They need presidents, they need administrators, they need faculty, to tell them that it was wrong behavior and that they are not going to be coddled because they are athletes, because they come from privileged backgrounds, because they have money.”
Comments from Duke graduate student Michelle Christian complaining that Duke University officials continue to downplay the alleged rape and beating of an African-American woman by three players on the Duke lacrosse team.
Duke University's highly-ranked lacrosse team was recently suspended from play while many of the team's members face an ongoing rape investigation.
The police inquiry stems from allegations made by an exotic dancer who says that she was raped, choked and beaten by three members of the lacrosse team during a private party held by team members. The woman said that the incident occurred on March 13 in a university-owned home that is occupied by three of the team's four captains.
Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong, one of the officials investigating the incident, said that the dancer, a single mother attending North Carolina Central University, was paid $400 to perform at what she believed would be a small bachelor party. When she arrived at the house, however, the party was significantly larger than she had anticipated and had as many as 40 men in attendance, Nifong said.
According to a police statement made by the three team captains who lived in the house, all of the party's attendees were Duke lacrosse team members.
PHOTO: Duke University President Richard Brohead, left, and Director of Athletics Joe Alleva field questions from the media after announcing the university's suspension of future men's lacrosse games until there is clearer resolution of the legal situation involving team members at Duke University in Durham, N.C. on Tuesday, March 28, 2006. The action follows allegations of a sexual assault of a woman hired as a private dancer to a party attended by team members March 13.
The Duke administration has been mired in controversy regarding its handling of the incident. Much of the criticism the university has faced involves its decision, as of March 31, not to conduct its own investigation into the matter. Instead, the Durham Police Department has handled the incident.
Forty-six of the 47 lacrosse team members were subjected to DNA tests by court orders. The 47th member of the team was excluded from the DNA test because he is black and the woman -- who is also black -- said that her three attackers were white. She has also said that during her time at the party several of the men shouted racial slurs at her.
In an unrelated incident, which also occurred on March 13, a different black woman called 911 after a white man allegedly shouted racial slurs at hear near the Duke campus.
According to several news reports from the area, the racial implications of the attack have illuminated the tensions between Duke and the city of Durham, N.C., where the university is located.
Slightly more than 11 percent of the undergraduates at Duke University in the 2004-05 academic year were black. Based on the 2000 census 44 to 45 percent of the residents of Durham are black.
PHOTO: Demonstrators listen to a response from Duke University's President Richard Brohead following a news conference held to announce the university's suspension of future men's lacrosse games until there is clearer resolution of the legal situation involving team members at Duke University in Durham, N.C.
Additionally, tuition for Duke can run above $40,000 a year, while roughly 15 percent of Durham residents live below the poverty line. Even before the alleged incidents on March 13, the Princeton Review listed Duke as the fifth worst university in the nation with respect to town-gown relations.
According to crime statistics published by Duke in accordance with the Clery Act, there were eight incidents of forcible sexual assault there in 2004. Statistics for the 2005-06 year have not yet been compiled. Duke has 6200 undergraduate students.
A few reputation management tips from the Reputation Doctor regarding the Duke crisis:
• Duke’s president should be repeating a much stronger statement daily regarding zero tolerance for rape, racial slurs and inappropriate and illegal behavior on campus by any student or employee at Duke.
President Brohead has been much more protective than proactive in his overall communication regarding the alleged rape and beating by several members of the Duke lacrosse team of an African-American woman. He is learning the hard way that a tone of compassion towards the woman harmed, as well as an unwavering and blunt attitude in communicating a zero tolerance policy for all in non-legal terms are both needed in a national, public crisis like this.
• Duke University needs to understand in a national crisis the court of public opinion is more important than the court of law.
Duke officials, their attorneys and PR staff are leaning so heavily on the law they don’t even see the University’s reputation covered in mud. Labels like rapist and racist are not easy to repair. Sadly, the court of public opinion has already spoken and the leaders are asleep at the wheel.
• Duke needs a seasoned crisis PR firm to help them through the crisis.
Currently, Duke has not hired a crisis PR firm to help them through the fire. They believe it is best handled internally. Unfortunately, the Duke PR staff and current consultants are not experts in handling this type of crisis. This crisis is a racial, class, sports, university and legal crisis. The longer they wait to get help from true professionals in crisis communications, the more reputational damage will be done.
Remember, do the right thing when your reputation is in crisis and seek the counsel of an experienced reputation management expert. It will be a major challenge, but ultimately the rewards of repairing your reputation will be great. Why? Because Your Reputation Is Everything! ™
About Mike Paul
Mike Paul is editor of The Reputation Doctor blog. The Reputation Doctor is a nickname given to him by various clients. Mike's blog is located at www.ReputationDoctor.com. He appears regularly on Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC, Court TV, ABC News, ESPN, CBS News, BBC, and others as a weekly contributor and expert in the global news regarding leaders, celebrities, corporations and other organizations with reputations in crisis. Mr. Paul is also president and senior counselor of MGP & Associates PR (www.mgppr.com), a leading strategic public relations and reputation management firm based in New York. For interview requests, speeches, senior counseling or other business opportunities with Mr. Paul, call 212-595-8500 or email info@mgppr.com.
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