Several people publicly discussing how an Oklahoma State University basketball player shoved a fan during a game skillfully handled the media.
The team’s coach showed the importance of explaining how one incident does not reflect the whole person. He also explained how the situation is an opportunity to improve. The school’s Vice President for Athletic Programs and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics was particularly adroit at discussing how college is a learning environment and people make mistakes they hopefully will learn from. The player, suspended three games for the shove, offered what struck us as a sincere apology. Even the fan the player shoved apologized for his part in the incident.
OSU’s news conference also raised a peripheral issue people face when addressing the media: convoluted questions. The coach didn’t seem to fully understand at least one question. Reporters sometimes word questions poorly, make those questions convoluted or ask some that seem inconsequential or silly. Answering tough questions is one thing. Trying to genuinely answer questions that aren’t clear can throw just about anyone off-balance.