Written by By Robert Boland & Jeff Chatterton
As a sports lawyer (Bob) and a crisis communications advisor (Jeff) who have worked together before, and will again, LSU Women’s Basketball Coach Kim Mulkey and her pre-emptive attack on The Washington Post and noted sports journalist Kent Babb, who was authoring a forthcoming story on Mulkey as her defending National Championship team moves through this year’s NCAA Tournament is an important case study. Mulkey fired off her attack at an NCAA Tournament press conference, saying she was prepared to sue, a week before the story ultimately appeared on Saturday, March 30, 2024.
Now that the Washington Post story, “The Kim Mulkey Way,” https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/03/30/kim-mulkey-lsu-griner-reese/ has run what mistakes can we say Mulkey made, what could she have done better and what can anyone in a possibly negative spotlight do better.
The two us have seen our share of crises and have particular experience in sports with Bob having either conducted or been a part of more than 50 investigations in sports, many of these involving coaches, as Athletics Integrity Officer at Penn State and now in private practice over the last year at Shumaker, LLP and Jeff heading up his own crisis communications firm, Checkmate Public Affairs, and as author of the best-selling book, Leaders Under Fire.
“There are some simple rules I give my crisis clients when dealing with a pending and possibly negative media story, or stories” says Chatterton.
Mulkey suspected that Babb wanted to crucify her in part for the way she interacted with one of her former players – WNBA star Brittney Griner. When Griner played for Mulkey, it’s rumored that Mulkey advised Griner to keep her sexuality a secret (Griner is an outspoken member of the LGBTQ+ community.)
Whether right or wrong? It doesn’t matter… Mulkey is facing heat NOW for what she may or may not have done in the past. And it’s the way she’s dealing with it, that can make her situation worse.
In the world of crisis communications, especially within the tumultuous waves of the sports and venues industry, navigating through storms without capsizing requires a hand on the rudder. Where may have Mulkey gone wrong?
Eight Chatterton Rules
1. Be Who You Are, Not Who You’re Not
First up, it’s always better to showcase who you are instead of denying who you’re not. Infamous denials have a way of becoming more memorable than any assertion could. Mulkey’s preemptive defense against an unpublished story turned the spotlight brighter on her, sparking unnecessary curiosity. A simple affirmation of her values might have been less sensational.
2. Respect the Role of Reporters
Journalists are just doing their jobs, and it’s important to remember that. It’s not personal; it’s professional. Engaging with them with respect rather than defiance could turn a potentially adversarial relationship into a more neutral, if not positive, one.
3. Threats Can Backfire
The adage about threats only digging you deeper rings true. Threatening legal action before the fact not only highlights the issue but also makes it irresistibly intriguing to the public and media alike.
4. Let Calmer Heads Prevail
In moments of potential conflict, showing calmness can be disarming and beneficial. An angry reaction often plays into the hands of those looking to provoke. However, responding with a smile and maintaining composure can demonstrate confidence and control. Whether faced with a genuine query or an unfounded attack, a calm demeanor invites trust and respect, frustrating provocateurs, and lending credibility to your stance.
5. Understand the Time and Place
Every moment spent addressing controversies like the one Mulkey anticipates with The Washington Post is a moment not spent on priorities, like coaching her team to victory. Recognizing the right time and place to discuss certain matters is crucial.
6. If There’s Smoke, Don’t Add Fire
The anticipation of criticism, especially concerning past incidents like those here calls for preemptive transparency rather than defensiveness. Acknowledging past mistakes openly, before they are leveraged against you, can neutralize potential attacks and demonstrate personal growth and accountability.
7. The Power of Public Forgiveness
Admitting shortcomings and showing that lessons have been learned can significantly sway public perception. The public tends to be forgiving to those who sincerely own up to their mistakes and express a genuine commitment to improvement. This strategy not only aids in moving past controversies but also helps keep the focus on achievements and goals, like winning games, rather than engaging in unproductive disputes with the media.
8. Focus on What’s Important
By adhering to principles of honesty, transparency, and prioritization, it’s possible to navigate through crises with integrity and keep the spotlight on achievements rather than controversies.
Legal Action Harder Than Better Reaction
The defamation laws in the U.S. make it extremely hard for a public figure such as Mulkey to successfully sue, absent a showing that the author or publisher knew something was untrue and published it anyway, known legally as actual malice.
No doubt that the portrait painted of Mulkey in the article as a driven coach who has become estranged from family and former players due to her unyielding and perhaps stubborn ways, was personal and one she probably wouldn’t want the public to dwell on. But after reading Babb’s story, the question persists is why Mulkey, herself, added so much more fuel to its modest fire.
This may be the ultimate takeaway and a place where coaches in a spotlight twist themselves into knots. Investigations and interviews generally have ground rules and if emotions are kept under control, there are few surprises in either. With a bit of cool-headed discernment, one can figure out what the other side has. This might be Mulkey’s biggest mistake, she reacted rather than responded.
“I worked with the legendary Pat Summitt, in the 1990s at Tennessee,” said Boland. Summitt who won eight national titles, was Mulkey’s coach in the 1984 Olympics, and is according to Babb’s article, her hero, friend, and role model. Pat had many of the same tendencies, as Mulkey, intense, singularly focused on winning, with indominable competitiveness. But perhaps Pat’s greatest attribute, was her ability to manage her reactions in public. Using her charm, her smile, and her presence so effectively, Summitt managed to smooth those competitive attributes, that can at times be negative. This is where Mulkey might look to Summitt’s example.
Mulkey’s actions didn’t prevent the story from being written but drove more eyes to it. She likely will emerge relatively unscathed, with the one possible unknown being whether her treatment of LGBTQ+ players could have been of such a nature to be potentially violative of Title IX, but that is not clear in the article. People who like Mulkey may like her more. People who didn’t like her, will have more reasons not to now. The article which many thought to be political wasn’t. For those of us who love sport, it is even perhaps somewhat sympathetic in the dimension, that Mulkey in her stubborn and often successful pursuit of victory has found not the greatest joy of sport, shared connection, but greater isolation.
Embracing honesty, maintaining calm under pressure, prioritizing responses, and acknowledging when we fall short, we can navigate through storms with our integrity intact. These principles don’t just apply to managing public relations crises; they’re also fundamental to leading with dignity and grace, on and off the court.