Kansas City Chiefs’ Offensive Tackle Eric Winston was well-intentioned. But way “out-of-line” when he used the media to shame a stadium-full of Chiefs’ fans after a game against the Baltimore Ravens.
Winston’s teammate, Quarterback Matt Cassel received a concussion when he was tackled completing a pass during the fourth quarter Sunday afternoon. He remained on the ground for an extended period of time before getting up from the field. The crowd cheered as Cassel visibly struggled to locker room. Most surprising was the fact that most of the spectators that cheered the beleaguered player were Kansas City fans.
During a press conference after the incident, Eric Winston appeared unquestionably bitter, unshaven, and distastefully dressed. His Media Mistakes did not end there as he continued his redundant tirade blaming the entire stadium of fans saying “he got knocked out in a game and we’ve got 70,000 people cheering.” A rash number, he later rescinded.
Further, Mr. Winston made the Media Mistake of using loaded and negative words, even in denial. “We are not gladiators. This is not the Roman Coliseum.” And he succeeded in making the majority of the interview about himself and how his own life has been shortened by his career in football.
Compassion is one of the C’s of Communication, but as we teach in our Los Angeles media coaching, so are Civility, Conciseness and Credibility. There was no conciseness in Mr. Winston’s self-absorbed comments as he rambled on and on. This pathos-filled rant by a shaggy man in a sweatshirt didn’t offer civility or credibility, either. So what good did it do, even if he was right?