Young, hot, cocky hockey star gets into trouble in hometown. He allegedly beats up older cabbie giving him and a "cuz" a ride home after a night out of happy times on the Chip Strip. Cabbie gets roughed up over a couple of dimes. Cabbie calls cops. Cops arrest hometown hockey hero and the media frenzy begins.
The day after Patrick Kane got arrested in Buffalo and the news started to trickle out on a Sunday morning, I told my daughter that it would be front page, above the fold in Monday's Buffalo News. It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out, even one in public relations. Sure enough there it was. I also told her that he should come out quickly and make a public statement acknowledging that an incident happened. It didn't need to be a statement of guilt or innocence but that it happened and that he (Kane) would work with authorities to figure it out. Be sincere. Be an adult. Show some concern. That didn't happen either. His lawyers, savvy as they are, got to him and more than likely advised him to . . . . clam up.
What did follow was two weeks and counting of constant headlines, front page stories and editorial cartoons taking aim at this young man's reputation. And it hasn't been good. Public opinion, once shaped, can be very unforgiving. Reputations, once tarnished, can be hard to bring back.Time and time again you see these types of situations play out where litigators and linguists differ on how to protect reputations. And this holds true whether you are representing an individual, group of individuals, small business or Fortune 500 corporation. The basic rules apply in order to manage the fallout and get out in front of the media backlash -- acknowledge, be sincere and state, if you can, how it is going to be fixed. Like I said earlier, if Kane had come out right away and provided just a smidgen of sincerity, I feel very confident that he wouldn't be getting the negative news press and blog chatter that continues today.
Lawyers have a job to protect their clients’ legal interests. In this situation, focusing on the legalese and not incorporating a reputation management strategy has severely damaged how people see this 20-year-old kid. Lesson to be learned. Never underestimate the power of communication when it comes to protecting and managing any reputation whether product or person.
Unfortunately, when the Chicago Blackhawks hit the ice at HSBC Arena on December 10, Kane's hangover from his summertime sorrow will still be following him.
