Silence Is Golden (Someone Tell LeBron)

"Whaddaya mean that the league won't contract? Now that I'm gone from Cleveland, who is left?!?!?"

I was thinking about one of the last posts of the Year to talk about the best and worst apologies in the marketplace.  Then LeBron James opened his mouth, stuck his foot in it–and in the process, gave me great inspiration.

By now, many sports fans read ESPN and other sites about how LeBron thought the league would be better if “star players” were on fewer teams, and how these teams should be contracted so there was a deeper well of talent.  Did he think that now that he was gone from Cleveland, that the league would shut the Cavs down?  As all the chatter started about how whack BronBron was with his comments, he came forth and said he didn’t mean that teams should contract, and that he didn’t know what contraction was.

LeBron, you might not have gone to college, but you’re a big boy–beyond your height.  As a businessman, I (along with many other sports fans) gave you credit for understanding the world of business and life; apparently, we were all misinformed.

Sometimes, the art and science of apologies come in the form of retractions of statements:

• “I didn’t mean to say that…”
• “What I meant to say was…”
• I was misquoted…”
• “My comments were taken out of context…”

The list could go on forever.  Yet, SMPR could point to several other examples where retractions were issued.  What’s more, if were advising these people, we would counsel them on a simple solution–don’t say anything at all.

When personal opinions seep outside the world of the professional arena, crisis communicators kick into high gear.  It is imperative that people of any influence realize that personal opinions are just that–personal.  If used in the improper context, ominous clouds will immediately hover over influencers who are connected by those opinions.  I would bet more than a few games of LeBron’s salary that Pat Riley, David Stern and a few other NBA honchos did more than just Tweet LeBron that he was out of line.  Yet when given the opportunity to clean up the mess, he added more fuel to the fire.

As we enter 2011, let’s hope that the only apology that LeBron has to offer people is why the Miami Heat lost in the playoffs.  We’ll see how he feels about retraction then…