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Ronn Torossian |
A prestigious sports program and a winning football team help boost the status of colleges around America. It makes these colleges a first-choice of star athletes, helping institutions attract more sponsorships and more publicity. But how far will a college go to ensure it maintains this reputation?
In the case of Baylor — and sadly, many other colleges around America — it led to covering up sexual assault cases involving athletes. This turned into the demotion of the school’s now former president and chancellor, Kenneth Starr.
The irony of the sex scandal
Some may remember Kenneth Starr as the independent counsel who relentlessly pursued allegations of Clinton’s sexual indiscretions. How ironic that he would then go on to become the president of an administration helping to facilitate sexual indiscretions, by covering them up or refusing to take action against the students who committed them.
As a result of his inaction, the school board removed him as president, while allowing him to keep his title as chancellor. However, last Wednesday, he voluntarily resigned as chancellor too. He made the announcement on ESPN, where he insisted he had been ignorant of the incidents of sexual assault.
The awkward interview
If all this wasn’t bad enough, Starr then consented to an interview with a local station in Texas. During the interview, they brought up an email sent by a student back in 2015. In the subject line, the student clearly stated she had been raped.
In his initial response, Starr stated, “I honestly may have. I’m not denying that I saw it.”
His long-time PR friend, Merrie Spaeth, then interrupted the interview and pulled him aside to speak privately. When he returned, he changed his answer to, “All I’m going to say is I honestly have no recollection of that.” He then turned to the public relations specialist to ask if his answer was satisfactory.
Apparently it wasn’t, because on his third attempt to respond to the question, he opted for, “I honestly have no recollection of seeing such an email and I believe that I would remember seeing such an email.”
Losing trust
The inconsistency of his answers and the interruption of his PR friend caused onlookers to speculate about his honesty. To make matters even worse, he then called on the board to be more transparent, a standard he obviously was not keeping.
These blunders in crisis PR show what happens when organizations and their leaders do not prepare for the possibility of a crisis. This is made even worse when they are involved in questionable activities that could mar their reputation.
As many reporters have pointed out, it’s virtually impossible that Starr was not aware of the sexual assaults taking place. This is in light of the email received, and the fact that one student’s conviction for rape was plastered on the front of the college’s newspaper.
Not only was Starr grossly unprepared for the scandal which followed his negligence, but he was also seriously underprepared for his own resignation and the interview that followed.
Putting a proper plan and team together might not have spared Starr from the damage to his reputation, but it could have paved the path for him to make amends going forward. So much for that.
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5WPR CEO Ronn Torossian is one of America’s most prolific public relations executives.
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