Pondering Pastor

In an article titled “Humble Pie”, Sports Illustrated writer Peter King, has re-written Bill Belichick’s apology.

“I accept without protest the penalties Commissioner Goodell has imposed on me today, and I will not challenge them in any way. I appreciate the work the commissioner is doing to keep football the greatest game in this country, and I’m sorry I have dishonored the game the way I have.”

Good start!

“This is not a time to say how much I know about what other teams do to bend the rules by spying, or to say it’s wrong to punish me so severely. This is the time for me to take my medicine, admit I was wrong, and apologize to everyone involved. I apologize to the owner of the Patriots, Robert Kraft, who has given me every possible resource I need to win and does not deserve the black eye I have brought to this franchise. I apologize to the players, past and present, who have contributed to the tradition of greatness that has been established here this decade. They have achieved their victories fair and square, and they should not have their triumphs tarnished by the actions of one man.”

OK, from a pastor’s point of view, this is a little over the top. Strike the first sentence. It is an attempt to temper the wrong that was done. That sentence is not necessary.

“I also apologize to the game of football. It’s a great game, one I’ve cherished and studied for 50 years, since my father, a coach at the Naval Academy, took me under his wing and taught me everything about the game. Generations of children have grown up being taught lessons by the game of football, and all the lessons are good ones.”

I’m not sure this paragraph was necessary. It really doesn’t add to a good apology.

“One of the lessons is that there are no shortcuts to success in football, which is also true in life. By my actions, I violated that basic tenet of the greatest game I know — the fact that you succeed in football through hard work and dedication. You should not succeed through any illicit means. It pains me to know that youth coaches and high school coaches and professional coaches — many of whom have written to me or visited our team or held me up as an example of how to coach — now know that I authorized an underhanded way of trying to compete with the opposition, instead of the fair-and-square path my father raised me to follow.

I think this is over the top also. There are shortcuts to success in professional sports, and it is in the news constantly. It is true that one “should not succeed through any illicit means”. A specific focus on this may have been helpful. Might I suggest that instead of “underhanded” an apology might have said “illegal” or “prohibited” as a way to make a stronger apology?

“Don’t go looking for a trail of blame to lay here. I am the one who authorized the videotaping of other teams’ defensive coaches, so we could get an edge. Blame me. This is such a competitive game that my competitive side got the better of me. But that is no excuse. One of the things that has made football such a great game is the integrity of competition. I crossed the line, and the consequences are bitter ones. But they are fair.

I love the “my competitive side”. That distances the choices made from who I am. That is an example of disassociation or not taking full responsibility for one’s actions.

“Words are hollow at a time like this, but I can assure you that for as long as I work in football I will strive to be an example of the good things this game teaches us every day.”

This was missing from Bill Bilechick’s apology, and would have improved his apology significantly.

A good apology is hard to come by … even when you are attempting to write one for someone else.

Pondering Pastor

The Patriots were caught videotaping the opposing team’s signals.  NFL policy states, “No video recording devices of any kind are permitted to be in use in the coaches’ booth, on the field, or in the locker room during the game.”  Evidently, this clear rule was broken.

Prior to the fine imposed, Bill Belichick made the following statement.

“Although it remains a league matter, I want to apologize to everyone who has been affected, most of all ownership, staff and players,” the statement said. “Following the league’s decision, I will have further comment.”

The word apologize is used … that’s it.

Then, after the fine …

“I accept full responsibility for the actions that led to tonight’s ruling. Once again, I apologize to the Kraft family and every person directly or indirectly associated with the New England Patriots for the embarrassment, distraction and penalty my mistake caused. I also apologize to Patriots fans and would like to thank them for their support during the past few days and throughout my career. As the Commissioner acknowledged, our use of sideline video had no impact on the outcome of last week’s game. We have never used sideline video to obtain a competitive advantage while the game was in progress. Part of my job as head coach is to ensure that our football operations are conducted in compliance of the league rules and all accepted interpretations of them. My interpretation of a rule in the Constitution and Bylaws was incorrect.”

The required words are present, “accept full responsibility” & “apologize”, but this apology fails on several fronts.  First, it is passed off as a misunderstanding or misinterpretation.  That is not accepting full responsibility.  It’s saying “I didn’t know better.”  Second, there is the minimizing of the actions in the “never used sideline video…” comment.  Does he really want to say that he doesn’t cheat as much as he might be tempted to?  No real admission of guilt.  Poor apology.

Pondering Pastor

A Southwest customer is removed from a flight because her clothing is too revealing.  This past week, Southwest offered this “apology”.

“From a Company who really loves PR, touche to you Kyla! Some have said we’ve gone from wearing our famous hot pants to having hot flashes at Southwest, but nothing could be further from the truth. As we both know, this story has great legs, but the true issue here is that you are a valued Customer, and you did not get an adequate apology. Kyla, we could have handled this better, and on behalf of Southwest Airlines, I am truly sorry. We hope you continue to fly Southwest Airlines. Our Company is based on freedom even if our actions may have not appeared that way. It was never our intention to treat you unfairly and again, we apologize.”

Then, without revealing too much, Southwest launched “MiniFares” or “mini-skirt fares”.

As an apology, it is generally poor.  (I suppose that in this litigious age, it is asking a lot to admit guilt … but this is key from a religious point of view.)  The apology is for “we could have handled this better”, but we aren’t sure just what “this” is that could have been handled better.  The double-entendres diminish the apology and make light of it.

Just because the word “apologize” appears, doesn’t make something an apology.

It is a good marketing twist.  Turn a negative into a positive.

Pondering Pastor