topdog
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The San Diego Gay Men's Chorus was introduced to sing the USA national anthem Saturday Night before the San Diego Padres baseball game. After a long wait, prerecorded music started - but it was not their backing track. Instead, a recording of a woman singing the Star Spangled Banner was played instead. The chorus stood there waiting for the mistake to be corrected, but the song played on to the end.
Afterward, the men were escorted off the field. That's when the really bad stuff began: heckling from the crowd, and taunts of "You sing like a girl".
There was no announcement; no apology to the crowd during the game.
Later Saturday evening, the Padres organization released a statement, which says in part:
See the NBC News article below for details including statements today from both the Padres, SDGMC, and Major League Baseball.
San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus Shut Out at Petco Park
My opinion:
Technical glitches happen, and I believe that is what happened here. However, I think the way we respond to our mistakes show our character, and that's where the Padres fell flat.
That official statement is a template for lame ass apologies. Do they own up to their technical incompetence? No. Instead they go for the passive, infuriating and fault-deflecting phrase "a mistake was made". Do they acknowledge that their error hurt the choir and exposed them to ridicule. No. Again they pull out the grossly ineffectual phrase "We apologize to anyone... this may have offended...". They can't even straight up admit that damage occurred.
Needless to say, this "apology" came across as rather weak to SDGMC and other shocked bystanders.
Knowing how to apologize is a basic life skill that we all need to have. Here's a basic PR lesson for any organization (and individual people as well): Even if the hurt was caused unintentionally, an apology always has two requirements:
Afterward, the men were escorted off the field. That's when the really bad stuff began: heckling from the crowd, and taunts of "You sing like a girl".
There was no announcement; no apology to the crowd during the game.
Later Saturday evening, the Padres organization released a statement, which says in part:
“This evening, during the pregame ceremony, a mistake was made in the Petco Park control room that prevented the San Diego Gay Men's Chorus from performing the National Anthem as scheduled. We apologize to anyone in the ballpark who this may have offended, and have reached out to the Chorus to express our deep regret for the error."
See the NBC News article below for details including statements today from both the Padres, SDGMC, and Major League Baseball.
San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus Shut Out at Petco Park
My opinion:
Technical glitches happen, and I believe that is what happened here. However, I think the way we respond to our mistakes show our character, and that's where the Padres fell flat.
That official statement is a template for lame ass apologies. Do they own up to their technical incompetence? No. Instead they go for the passive, infuriating and fault-deflecting phrase "a mistake was made". Do they acknowledge that their error hurt the choir and exposed them to ridicule. No. Again they pull out the grossly ineffectual phrase "We apologize to anyone... this may have offended...". They can't even straight up admit that damage occurred.
Needless to say, this "apology" came across as rather weak to SDGMC and other shocked bystanders.
Knowing how to apologize is a basic life skill that we all need to have. Here's a basic PR lesson for any organization (and individual people as well): Even if the hurt was caused unintentionally, an apology always has two requirements:
- Acknowledge what you did that caused the hurt, and do it in the most direct "the buck stops here" terms possible. Even if you are only one of several people responsible, take ownership of your part. "We did (or failed to do) X."
- Directly acknowledge the pain, injury, or inconvenience to the other party. Pain is pain, whether it was caused intentionally or not. The other person needs to know that you "get it". Statements like "If you were offended..." makes it sound like a normal person wouldn't have taken offense and it is the injured party's fault for being hurt. That is not going to fly. Spell out the consequences for the mistake.
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