Former CFL Commissioner: frank or remarkably self-absorbed?

Over the past forty years, especially, it is probably fair to say that politicians have, in the estimation of everyday people, dropped considerably in terms of esteem.

There was a time, long ago, when being an elected official meant something, maybe even something special. It was an honorable thing to represent the people.

There are many reasons for the decline in respect granted elected officials.  Many are perceived to say one thing and do another, or promise something and do something else.  Many vote like sheep according to “party” lines instead of personal principle.  Quite a few display vanity of a sort on a regular basis while mugging for ever-present television cameras.

So it’s perhaps little wonder that former Canadian Football league commissioner Larry Smith is only days into his political life, and he has already discovered what you say does actually matter.

Smith, a former president of the Montreal Alouettes, a former professional player and a successful business person, was recently named to the Canadian Senate by Prime Minister Harper. Within a day or so, he announced he was seeking to become the Member of Parliament in his riding.

When interviewed by a CBC reporter, Smith was quoted as saying he was not being cynical in using his Senatorial position to jump start his campaign.

A Canadian press article put it this way:

When Smith was asked by Solomon if he believed it was cynical political strategy to use his new profile to help launch his bid to become an MP, the political novice responded with a quick "no."

"You have to understand that I've worked very hard over my career and, to do what I'm doing now, I'm making a major, major concession in my lifestyle to even be a senator," Smith said.

"I'm not trying to be arrogant, because I'm not, but I made a commitment to get myself into a higher form of public service than the philanthropic stuff I've done for the last 30 years."

Smith, a former CFL commissioner and newspaper publisher, was then pressed further on the lifestyle impact. "In simple terms, the money I was earning in my last profession to where I would be in this profession is what I would call a dramatic, catastrophic pay cut," Smith said.

"And I have a family — I have obligations ... I am making a major commitment to do what I'm going to do so I don't look at it as being cynical at all."

His comments seems to have struck a nerve, in much the same way the former CEO of BP created controversy months ago by saying he just “wanted to get his life back” after his company had created environmental chaos almost beyond compare. People were shocked that the CEO’s focus was seemingly on feeling sorry for himself, as opposed simply apologizing for the disaster triggered by his profit-driven company.

In that same vein, people (many of whom Smith expects, presumably, to vote for him) will find it difficult to relate to a person who seems to be patting himself on the back by saying, essentially, “Hey, I’m being a good guy here. Look, I’m taking this big pay cut just to serve you. I’m only going to make $130,000 or so a year…” , not to mention huge allowances and benefits.

To say to everyday people (who work hard to earn far less than that) that you are making “major concessions to my lifestyle” will come across as outlandish at best to many.

So it was not a good start in politics for a supposedly savvy and experienced individual. It will be interesting to see if he will be similarly “candid” (some would say thoughtless) in the months to come—and how the voters in his constituency will respond.

Communication has become far too easy

Like most organizations and big businesses, the National Hockey League likes to see itself as running a tight ship. Few, if any “slip-ups” is the expectation, when they handle any kind of public relations situation.

When a Vancouver player recently engaged physically with a fan in Minnesota, the league was quick to step in. They suspended the player and apologized to the fan for the behaviour.

The league is always very careful about what it sends out in terms of press releases. When executives representing the NHL are interviewed, for example, they tend to be rather dull and serious, not taking any risks and sticking very closely to their approved script. Image is very important.

Businesses always want to be seen to be doing and saying the “right” things. They go to extreme lengths to protect their credibility and reputation. And that is largely understandable, since losing those attributes can harm a business irreparably.

So it was a bit of a surprise this week to see that Executive Vice-President Colin Campbell finds himself in a mild controversy. The issue stems from some now three-year-old e-mails that he sent. The content of the e-mails seemed to lead some observers to question whether Campbell was as “objective” as he needed to be in his role as the league’s chief operating officer and disciplinarian.

While one can argue whether or not Campbell made a “mistake” by evidently being too flip and personal in some of his comments in a private e-mail about particular players or officials, there is likely a larger lesson for all of us, including those in positions of responsibility—and it’s not quite as simple as “be careful with your e-mails”.

The reality is that modern communication is everywhere around us. We are all part of it. When people with a reputation to care for (and that’s most people) are out in public, cameras are everywhere. You may well find yourself on “You Tube”. People watch and listen to conversations and the next thing you know, something you thought you said in private is posted on the internet.

The days of formal letters as the popular choice for inter-personal communication seem long gone. Most daily business correspondence is now indeed done by e-mail. As a result, the language many individuals utilize has slowly become more and more casual. The attitude around communication has become very relaxed. Fewer people make the time to check to ensure if they may have said something that they would prefer not be made available for public consumption.

Campbell faces scrutiny now because people are calling into question his judgment and impartiality, related to comments he made that he obviously never thought anyone would see, other than fellow NHL executives. While he is no different a person today than he was yesterday, and no more or less competent, e-mails he wrote several years ago, fair or not, are being used now to judge him through a different lens.

While communication has been made “easier” than ever before on the one hand, it has also led to problems that we couldn’t even dream of thirty years ago.

He’s not the first person to face rebuke (some have been fired in the media and business world for less) and surely won’t be the last. But every time this type of situation occurs, it should be a reminder that when we communicate in any fashion, we are almost always “on” and need to keep that in mind before we open our mouths in public places—or hit that ‘send’ button.

Patrick Kane: Beginning to understand

Patrick Kane is a wonderfully talented forward with the Chicago Black Hawks. He is already emerging as an extraordinary talent on the ice - a significant component of the major Hawk resurgence over the last year.

Off the ice, it’s been a bit more of a struggle. This past summer, Kane was alleged to have been involved in an incident with a taxicab driver, leading to assault charges that were eventually dropped. (Kane pleaded guilty only to disorderly conduct.)

Athletes often face a burden - and a responsibility - that those in some other professions may not have to deal with in quite the same way. The expectations are high, even if they don’t necessarily include being a “role model”. Their perceived successes and failures on and off the ice/field – as well as their behaviour – occur in a very public setting.

They face often intense public scrutiny, fair or not. They are expected to be accountable on the playing field- and off.

For his part, Kane, in speaking with NHL.com recently, made some observations that suggest he has learned from his misstep this past summer. The story indicated Kane has changed the manner in which he conducts himself in public.

"I still feel I'm the same kid at heart. Obviously situations like that open your eyes a little bit. It was a tough situation. You never want to go through that. Obviously, the only story you guys heard was what the cab driver said,” Kane is quoted as saying.

"The worst kind of came out of the situation, but at the same time, I think maybe it was better that it happened sooner rather than later. You can take a positive from a bad situation. Pretty much every (situation) I treat now, when I'm out to dinner or walking down the street, I'm going to treat like it's going to be publicized, and like it's going to be put in the media."

I always try to tell my young clients in the sports field, “You can be yourself. Just be your best self”.

An NHL agent whose clients I have advised on occasion over the years told me some time ago that he regularly reminds the athletes he represents to behave in public expecting to run into someone they know- and whose opinion matters to them.

It’s great advice for all of us, and nudges people-high-profile or not- to be aware that behaviour matters, wherever you are.

Tilghman story an opportunity to educate, rather than punish

The comment by Golf Channel anchor Kelly Tilghman that led to her two-week suspension was clearly an attempt, under the bright lights of live television, to make a witty remark.

That her reference to Tiger Woods and "lynching" brought reaction was not a surprise.

Her friendship with Tiger Woods, at whom the jesting comment was directed, helped alleviate what could have been an even more severe network—and public—reaction.

Woods said, essentially, that he was friends with Tilghman; that she was not trying to be hurtful and that we all make comments that we wish we had not made.

Interestingly, former NFL great Jim Brown, a person of color who has a long history working with troubled inner-city youths, commented publicly that he would have liked to have seen Tiger take a stronger public stand.

This is not the first time Brown has called upon Woods to do more in this area.

But surely everyone, including Brown, Woods and many of the rest of us, have indeed, as Tiger mentioned, made comments we wish we could take back, upon reflection.

The reference to “lynching”, an explosive word to be sure, was obviously unfortunate and in poor taste given the context in which it was used.

But the real opportunity here, it would seem, is to use this inadvertent error by Tilghman to educate people, young and old, about why the word can be offensive to the African-American community, and to thoughtful people everywhere.

This is an ideal opportunity, not to make an example of Tilghman, but to bring forward the terrible events that led to this word becoming an understandably sensitive subject. This can be done in schools and through the media at large.

If we only penalize and judge, and never instruct, how will young people, for example, ever really learn about history and social injustice, whether it be the treatment of minorities in the U.S. or how Jews and others were treated by the Nazi regime in the Second World War?

When a public figure clearly, and intentionally, makes hurtful and thoughtless comments, that is one thing.

In this instance, it is an opportunity not for punishment, but for discussion, education, and for creating genuine awareness and learning.

A Real Apology

We’ve all said things that we wished we had not said.

For most of us, however, we make those comments relatively privately.

For someone in the public eye, words can come back at you very quickly.

Kevin Garnett of the NBA Minnesota Timberwolves had that experience very recently. After Game 6 of the Western Conference semi-final against the Sacramento Kings, Garnett – no doubt feeling the rising intensity and physical nature of the series – told reporters: “This is it. This is for all the marbles. I’m sitting in the house loading up the pump; I’m loading up the Uzis and the M-16s. I’m ready for war.”

Given the very real war-like conditions that many sadly experience daily – including, of course, many Americans in Iraq in recent months – Garnett’s comments offended many.

But after huddling with team officials, Garnett made a full and evidently genuine apology for his comments the very next day, saying, “I’m a young man and I understand when I’m appropriate and this is totally inappropriate. I was totally thinking about basketball, not reality.”

We all recall that in the days and weeks following the tragic events of September 11, 2001, many media commentators made a point of saying how inappropriate it is to speak of athletes as ‘warriors’, and of sporting events in terms of “going to war”. Though such references had been made routinely for years, especially in the physically demanding world of professional football, they seemed out of place and out of touch in a world touched by such a horrific event, and the very real “war” that was sure to follow.

But before too long, comedians began taking liberties, using the tragic events of 9-11 as fodder for jokes. Eventually the sports pages were filled again with references to athletes as warriors.

It’s not that people forgot about 9-11. Perhaps old habits are easy to pick up again.

Against this backdrop, it’s not stunning that an athlete, particularly a young one such as Garnett, would plunge headlong into a diatribe about weapons and war in the ‘heat of battle’.

Athletes are often criticized, justifiably so at times, for an apparent lack of perspective. Many high-profile performers live a ‘fishbowl’ existence, and it can be demanding and difficult. When they fail in the eyes of the public, how they react and respond usually determines whether their “image” is tarnished beyond repair.

In this instance, that Garnett quickly recognized – and then publicly acknowledged his momentary lapse in judgment – is laudable, and sets a good example for others to follow.

It's Hard to Have Perspective Sometimes

Something that has become clear to us over the years in the work that we do, is that athletes - by their own admission - often appreciate the life they HAD after they retire, more than the life they HAVE while they are still playing.


Often times athletes find the public demands and responsibilities that go hand-in-hand with being a high profile performer are, at best, frustrating. Demands from ownership/management, coaches, fans and media seem to become at times expectations that simply cannot be met to everyone’s satisfaction.


Sometimes an athlete simply does not understand or fully appreciate what those demands and expectations really are - and how best to deal with them.


Fair or not, this often leads to broken relationships with fans, media and coaches.


Sometimes only after they are out of the limelight, do these athletes fully appreciate the ‘celebrity’ that they had achieved; that they were ‘someone’, that people seemed to ‘care’ who they were and what they did.


In short, they not only miss the camaraderie of their teammates, the competition…they miss the attention, the limelight.


Not everyone, certainly. But many athletes are known to reflect - years after their retirement – on how much they miss just about everything about the game. They even miss some of the things they complained about when they were still playing.


Ironically, it is some of the same athletes who were uncooperative with fans and media, who hope to land plum media assignments when their careers are over, as a way of soothing the transition away from the game, and so as not to lose all of the many ‘perks’ associated with being a high-profile athlete.


Given their previous attitudes, that is not always easy to accomplish.


It is also true, unfortunately, that some athletes only realize after the fact—too late, often-- that the media, for example, does not have to be the enemy.


One of the finest basketball players of all time is former Milwaukee Buck and LA Laker legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who entered the NBA more than 30 years ago as Lew Alcindor, out of UCLA.


While a brilliant performer on the court, the now Hall-of-Famer—despite often presenting as a thoughtful, articulate and sensitive individual—did not seem to carry that brilliance off the court. His relationship with those around him, including the fans and the media, it was often reported, was strained, at best.


Interestingly, Jabbar has struggled to find what many would see as his rightful and logical place in the game. He has long desired to be a Head Coach. He was for a short while an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Clippers during a troubled time in their history a few years back, but has apparently never been offered a top job either in the NBA, or at the NCAA level.


He now enjoys a position as a Head Coach with a minor-league club in the United States.


In reflecting upon his life and career during a recent conversation with ESPN.COM, Abdul-Jabbar spoke of what the game means to him now. His comments are quite revealing:


“It’s kind of an opportunity for me to give something back to the game, and to get something from the game, through teaching it, that I had no idea of. Being an administrator, dealing with the fans and the players and the owners and the press differently than I did in the past. You know, I was great on the court, but I wasn’t too good in those other areas.”


When asked if this was something he was conscious of trying to change or turn around, he replied, “No, it’s just…I can be better at it. I understand now what it means and how to do it. Reporters used to ask me the same inane questions year-in and year-out, city-to-city, and it would drive me crazy. But I understand now that there are people who are just coming into the game, and they have no idea, and that question—whatever it is—at this point, is very new to them. While it’s decades old for me, it’s new to them, and I have to understand that that’s something I can give them”.


Most of us, as we age, acquire through life experience a kind of wisdom, along with a respect for the job that others do—or have to do. This wisdom sometimes allows us to understand things we did not try to understand before.


Much like not appreciating something—our health, a friend—before it is gone, we sometimes wait until late in the game to put ourselves in other people’s shoes.


For many current athletes, Abdul-Jabbar’s comments are worthy of reflection. It appears as though one of the greatest talents of his generation recognizes now, in retrospect, that his “off-field” demeanor did not match up well with his on-court performance. He struggled “beyond the game”.


And as importantly, he seems to be acknowledging that maybe it would have been better had he looked at things a little differently earlier on.