Putting all personal feelings aside regarding Dicky Boy, I must admit that right now he is kicking the USATF's butt in the public perception battle. His PR strategy has been spot on. With the international sporting world and the US public focused on the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, Pound has arrived in the US with a bad-ass new sheriff in town attitude as the chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Then using a very public forum in front of the world media at a press conference last week, he states his case against the USATF. Then to back it up that he's serious about stopping drug doping, he lands a spot on the Today Show. Classic PR. And all during this time what has the USATF done to counter Pound's accusations? Nothing, absolutely nothing! The USATF has not made any statement and Masback has been quiet on the whole matter. Do you call this USATF crisis communications plan an effective PR strategy? I don't. The general public usually perceives silence as guilt and perception oftentimes mirrors reality. This is a very bad thing. Track and field in the US needs all the help it can get, and with one fell swoop Pound has knocked the legs out from under it while the USATF sits idly by. The USATF has to take a more aggressive approach on this matter. They need to get out there and explain the whole process clearly in laymen's terms because judging from this board, even people involved in the sport are not too sure what is involved. Stop hiding behind the rhetoric and finger-pointing and work with the USADA to educate the public. 10k runner Weldon Johnson of Letsrun.com fame wrote a great account of his first out-of-competition test. This is really good stuff that the USATF and USADA can leverage. Show the public what it takes to track down and test athletes out-of-competition. Take Katie Couric along as well if possible. Then go through the whole testing and review process. And from the athlete's perspective, show what an athlete must go through to excel on the track (i.e. training, earning a living, picking the right supplements and medication, etc). Enough of my rambling. The USATF has to get off its butt and get the word out to a wider audience that it is combatting the drug issue, because right now Dick is pounding them in the very important arena of public perception. John Sun __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send FREE Valentine eCards with Yahoo! Greetings! http://greetings.yahoo.com
