"Never apologize and never explain--it's a sign of weakness." ~ John Wayne.
Barry Bonds, Bill Clinton, Nixon, and Pete Rose I think, in there most private moments would disagree. All these men have found themselves at one time or another with their hands caught in the proverbial cookie jar. And all these men have resorted to a primal instinct when cornered, and that is to deny, deny, deny.
This strategy has proven time and time again to be a colossal failure. The only thing the public hates more than a Steroid user, a womanizer, a corrupt politician and a gambler is a LIAR. The court of public opinion has riled and the verdict is…Lying is a no no.
What we want is contrition and honesty. Admit your mistakes and do so in a public forum so we can watch you squirm. However if you do apologize don’t half ass it. It doesn’t count if you apologize through a press release, nor does it count if your agent and or lawyer reads your apology. Hell I don’t think it counts if your lawyer and or agent writes it for you.
Christian Bale called up a local radio station and apologized. It was sincere, self deprecating and he made no excuses for his behavior. This is all you could ask for in an apology. The exact opposite would be the A-Rod farce. A-Rod not only dates Madonna but is the starting 3rd basemen for the Yankees. It has come to light that A-Rod tested positive for Steroids in 2003.
Being that A-Rod was caught red handed, and that he has plenty of baseball left in him he was forced to apologize and beg for mercy from the court of public opinion. But A-Rod skipped one crucial role in his public apology; taking responsibility for his actions. Instead A-Rod half apologized. He sort of admitted he may have used an illegal substance but that he didn’t know what it was. His excuse was that he was young and naive and let his cousin inject him with an unknown substance. The apology was rehearsed, probably written by his agent and insincere.
This was not a good public apology. Ultimately this will prove to be a bad decision on his part. The controversy would have gone away a lot sooner if he showed contrition, remorse and admitted his actions. And he also cheated me out of the satisfaction of watching a mighty public figure fall and beg for my forgiveness. Damn you A-Roid!
This strategy has proven time and time again to be a colossal failure. The only thing the public hates more than a Steroid user, a womanizer, a corrupt politician and a gambler is a LIAR. The court of public opinion has riled and the verdict is…Lying is a no no.
What we want is contrition and honesty. Admit your mistakes and do so in a public forum so we can watch you squirm. However if you do apologize don’t half ass it. It doesn’t count if you apologize through a press release, nor does it count if your agent and or lawyer reads your apology. Hell I don’t think it counts if your lawyer and or agent writes it for you.
Christian Bale called up a local radio station and apologized. It was sincere, self deprecating and he made no excuses for his behavior. This is all you could ask for in an apology. The exact opposite would be the A-Rod farce. A-Rod not only dates Madonna but is the starting 3rd basemen for the Yankees. It has come to light that A-Rod tested positive for Steroids in 2003.
Being that A-Rod was caught red handed, and that he has plenty of baseball left in him he was forced to apologize and beg for mercy from the court of public opinion. But A-Rod skipped one crucial role in his public apology; taking responsibility for his actions. Instead A-Rod half apologized. He sort of admitted he may have used an illegal substance but that he didn’t know what it was. His excuse was that he was young and naive and let his cousin inject him with an unknown substance. The apology was rehearsed, probably written by his agent and insincere.
This was not a good public apology. Ultimately this will prove to be a bad decision on his part. The controversy would have gone away a lot sooner if he showed contrition, remorse and admitted his actions. And he also cheated me out of the satisfaction of watching a mighty public figure fall and beg for my forgiveness. Damn you A-Roid!
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