Looking Back At The Luge Tragedy…

The subject of crisis management and brand damage, both long and short, arose again last Friday as the world looked to Vancouver and the start of the 2010 Winter Olympics. By now everyone knows of the tragedy, the issues of blame, the decision for networks to show or not show the footage and for how long, and all the issues of nationalism that came about. Still it bears looking back after a few days as to how the tragedy was handle. and what the effects will now be as the focus has shifted from luge and into other key TV sports like figure skating and hockey.

Perhaps the most perplexing issue that arose was the Luge Federatio.s rush to speak and how they chose to assign.blam. in a tragedy which really has multiple layers of 20/20 hindsight, none of which will change the outcome. While it is true that the Federation spoke with a clear voice, that of head Svein Romstad,.the choice of timing and the assignment of blame was all so curious. Less than 24 hours after the tragedy, the Federation assigned blame to the athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili as opposed to any other factors that could have been involved. What was the reason for the rush to judge or for the need to put such a tragedy on the victim at this tim. Understandably, there was a need for statemen.remorse, investigation, responsibility, leadership. There was also the essence of time, as for better or worse, the luge competition was leading the Olympic events the very next day. But instead of showing the requisite time for reviewing every possible factor over an extended period, blame was assessed to the driver. In larger scale tragedies, from racing in sports to transportation crashes, there is almost always a long period of review and inquiry, to make sure that every possible constituent is included in the process. There is also a human deference to the bereaved, which will give them time to grieve and take the proper time to make sure all personal and professional affairs are in order for those involved. So the statement really went against a number of basic rules of crisis management.

-Take the time to gather all the facts

.Show respect for those effected personally and professionally.

.Only answer the questions that need to be answered at that particular time.

Now the ability to speak quickly and make the position known was done correctly. Whether that position is correct is a matter of debate. Could the position been that.we have made adjustments to the track and have consulted all involved and will move on with the competitio. been enoug. Was there a liability factor that would have opened up more issues if blame was not placed on the driver that could have endangered holding the competition itsel. That is unknown at this time.

The quick statement also temporarily shortened the news cycle and put the focus back on the event itself, but a strong conclusion of blame then extended the news cycle again, creating even more controversy for the Federation. IOC President Jacques Rogge and the Georgian officials actually handled the tragedy with great humanity, something that the Federation did not do in the eyes of the media. The reaction of all athletes and coaches as to the statement will also probably have a longer lasting effect well beyond the Games themselves. Will there continue to be speculation about the track itself and if this was an avoidable traged.? Of course. Will that change the course of events that led to the traged. No. Will the tragedy temporarily lead to more interest in luge from the casual sports fan, like what happened following the death of Dale Earnhardt at Dayton.? Probably. Even with all those factors and all the emotions involved, the rush for final judgment as to right and wrong put the Luge Federation in a very difficult spot with three of its biggest audience.the athletes, the media and the fans and followers of the Games.

If there is anything that could have been avoided easily, it was the Federatio.s lack of judgment in handling and addressing a very sad and difficult situation. Those issues may be just as hard to overcome in the future as the physical changes and precautions that will probably be brought to the sport in the future.