The Sport That Can’t Keep a Secret

College Football’s Sins Keep Getting Publicly Exposed - But Isn’t Sunlight a Disinfectant?

By DARREN EVERSON

The public shaming of Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel is the latest in a series of revelations that have touched nearly all the top programs in college football and many of the sport’s most prominent stars.

Photo Illustration by The Wall Street Journal; Zuma Press

The recent suspension of Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel points to a complex truth.

The long trail of investigations, accusations, clarifications and statements of heartfelt contrition has cut from North Carolina to Oregon in recent months, scooping up national champions, famous coaches and Heisman Trophy winners.

The latest blow came Tuesday evening when Tressel appeared at a news conference to apologize for failing to report information he’d been given about potential wrongdoing by two of his players. Tressel was suspended for two games and fined by the school, but his larger fate now rests with the NCAA.

The obvious conclusion to draw is that college football’s moral center has been replaced with a delicious filling of creamy marzipan. (Good luck finding someone who would argue the other side). But the events of recent days also point to another, more complex truth: College football is becoming an impossible place to keep secrets.

“The more transparency, the more openness the better,” said former Michigan athletic director Bill Martin. “I think this is all very healthy.”

For a number of reasons both new and old, college football may be the nation’s most out-in-the-open sport. First, there’s the sheer size of it. There are 26,300 athletes who play Division I football. That’s more than double the 10,800 athletes on the second-largest men’s sport, outdoor track and field. Men’s college basketball has just 5,182 participants.

It’s not just the number of athletes involved, or their prominence on campus. These athletes also must qualify academically and can’t accept any money or favors—factors that create infinitely more opportunities for the schools to get in trouble. And many of these infractions are things that wouldn’t have registered in the past. “Jim Tressel’s situation, that’s jaywalking to me,” said former Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer. “These things don’t surprise me. This stuff has gone on forever.”

Another difference today is that there are hundreds of new ways for schools and players to get caught breaking the rules. Never mind the growing number of national media outlets that pursue stories about wrongdoing in college football (this week’s Tressel story was first reported by Yahoo Sports). Today’s information providers include everything from TMZ.com and Twitter to the enormous network of fan forums and scouting sites that have popped up to serve the insatiable appetite for minutiae.

In the last year, NCAA investigators have been drawn to ask questions about everything from a report on TMZ.com that a player was at a party sponsored by an agent to a Facebook post in which one heavily recruited high school player posted about his new iPhone.

There have been controversies generated by reports of players who’ve been spotted in fancy cars. And because most schools are public institutions supported by taxpayers, they’re required to respond to requests for information made under the Freedom of Information Act.

Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen says much of the pressure comes from the increasing number of “big-money media sources” competing for stories. “Everyone’s trying to get the scoop and it gets a little sensational,” he said.

Mullen said the added scrutiny is especially tough for coaches, who almost feel that the recruiting experts, reporters and agents have better access to players than coaches. “We are restricted by so many rules,” he said. “I only get to make one visit but they can talk to players whenever they want.”

The deluge of scandals over the past year is, in large part, the result of increasing enforcement by the NCAA. Despite massive criticism for how it has (or hasn’t) meted out punishment in several high-profile cases recently—including the controversy surrounding Auburn quarterback Cam Newton—the NCAA has publicly committed to steeping up its efforts. “We’re not shying away from it,” said Rachel Newman Baker, the NCAA’s director of agent, gambling and amateurism activities.

Beyond enforcement, however, there’s a growing consensus throughout college football that the NCAA is simply doing a better job of collecting information. “In the past, the NCAA was often criticized for not knowing what’s going on in the real world,” Baker said. “I think we’ve got a pretty good idea. Coaches and players are starting to realize that as well.”

What’s often forgotten is that the immense popularity of college football, the intensity of its rivalries and the increasing interconnections of its fans, have created another potent police force. The result: more messes are being exposed. But the sport is also seeing more than its share of sunlight. And as Justice Louis Brandeis said, “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.”

“I don’t know that things are a lot different—it’s just that people are turning in schools now that weren’t before,” said Gary Barnett, the former Northwestern and Colorado coach. “It really comes down to all of the hype that’s around this sport. The hype is involved, therefore the interest is involved, and people are willing to come forward.”

—Matthew Futterman and Hannah Karp contributed to this article

The boss tells you that he likes your idea and is considering implementing it. But if he’s leaning back, arms crossed with a forced smile, he’s sending the opposite message. Customer’s may say they are not interested in making a deal, but if they keep glancing at the contract on the table, they’re telling you they are interested.

Understanding body language is a critical tool in today’s business environment. Unfortunately, few professionals read the clear signals of others. And worse, most people don’t have a clue how their own behavior is sabotaging their efforts.

In her latest book, The Nonverbal Advantage: Secrets and Science of Body Language at Work , Carol Kinsey Gorman identifies six factors in the workplace that make body language more important than ever before.

1. Emotional Literacy Words communicate content. Body language comments on the emotions and relationships behind the words. What really counts is the quality of the interpersonal relationship that exists between the sender and receiver. A large part of that relationship is determined by nonverbal cues.

2. Leadership’s move from Command to Influence Managing a global enterprise has altered the effectiveness of “command and control” tactics. Today, executives must lead through influence, rather than relying on the illusion of control they believe comes with their job title. Influence relies on two skills: (1) the ability genuinely understand the other person’s perspective (which includes knowing how to read their nonverbal messages) and (2) the ability to align the spoken word with body language that supports the intended message.

3. Validation of Face to Face communication When a leader must deliver bad news or communicate any kind of change, the research says the best way to do it is face-to-face. Regardless the number of times and ways announcements are made internally employees want to be able to look at the boss, not just to hear the boss, but to see the boss, as he/she says it.

4. The Visual Technology Revolution The days of ducking behind computer monitor and ignoring nonverbal behavior are over. Cisco Systems is working on products that make the virtual experience almost the same as a face-to-face interaction. Cisco’s TelePresence uses “life-size” HD video with directional sound technology that makes participants in a video conference between New York and Hong Kong feel as though they are actually in the same room.

5. The Global Work Force In the high stakes world of international business, body language often speaks for itself. Unfortunately, much of the meaning may be lost in translation. The most innocuous of gestures, when misinterpreted can wreak havoc on business dealings.

6. The Latest Science A research team at MIT have developed small devices that track not only a person’s physical location, but also their body language. By taking notes of people’s proximity to others and the patterns of their movements (body language), the MIT team is gathering insights into the subtle differences between effective and ineffective teams, and the kinds of interactions that build or block collaboration.

Psychologist Carl Rogers believes “Real communication occurs when we listen with understanding - to see thee idea and attitude from the other person’s point of view, to sense how it feels to them, to achieve their frame of reference in regard to the thing they are talking about.”

Reaching that goal of understanding, of empathy, can mean a big difference to leaders in the business word. Which is why nonverbal cues are so important to our professional relationships and a such a critical part of business communication.

“I like people. It’s mankind I can’t stand. I root for chaos.”

“Comedian” will be the word most will choose to describe George Carlin, who died Sunday night of heart failure at age 71. But “comedian” barely scratches the surface. Carlin was a cynic, a skeptic, a linguist, a social commentator, a philosopher, a rebel, a radical, a lover of language, a very funny man and perhaps most important, a really good guy.

I was in Junior High School when Carlin made the turn from mainstream comic to counter-culture commentator. The first LP record album I ever bought was Carlin’s instant classic “Class Clown,” I even remember the day in May of 1972, when I made the purchase. Trouble was the best bit on that record was Carlin’s most infamous, if not his most brilliant piece of work, “Seven Words You Can’t Say on TV.” I wore that record out, which is an achievement considering I did not own a record player, and could only listen when my parents weren’t around. I still have the record.

George Carlin was one of my heroes. A high school drop-out, he proved that you didn’t need a diploma to be educated. The man knew how to use his head. Over the years, I saw him perform at least a dozen times and he never ceased to amuse and amaze. Carlin’s comedy got smarter, sharper, edgier and crankier.

One of my last assignments at CBS News was producing a profile of Carlin with Bernie Goldberg. It was early in 1996, Carlin was being honored at the Aspen Comedy Festival, where he was preparing to tape his latest HBO Comedy Special.

On that show Carlin debuted one of my favorite pieces “Bullshit.” http://youtube.com/watch?v=23lOtdrszq0

Actually, doing that story was just an excuse for Bernie and me to hang out with George. We had a great time. George Carlin the man was much different than George Carlin the entertainer. The angry demagogue on stage, off it Carlin was surprisingly mild mannered, gentle and soft spoken, a sweetheart of a guy. He was so unassuming, such a regular guy, it was as if he had no idea that he was “George Carlin.”

He educated us about his exacting creative process. Carlin said one of the “gifts from his genetic toolbox was the ability to keep writing and writing.” He spent months crafting and refining every routine on paper before committing it to memory. Only then did he spend weeks reciting the material thousands of times to perfect the rhythm and pacing of his delivery. It was hard to believe that his machine-gun delivery, which often sounded like a cocaine induced impromptu stream of consciousness, was actually a carefully constructed and meticulously rehearsed script.

George Carlin was much more than a comic. Yes, he was a very funny man, but his comedy was never silly or stupid. Carlin was a brilliant social, political and cultural commentator. Years from now, when historians look for clues about what was really happenning in America these last 50 years they would do well to give George Carlin a listen. No doubt they will learn. Most certainly they will laugh.

Two separate stories, published in this month’s JAMA, claim Merck frequently paid academic researchers to take credit for articles prepared by medical writers the company hired. The practice is called ghostwriting. It’s not new. But the extent to which Merck went to influence the interpretation and publication of research has come as a surprise even to those familiar with the ways of Pharma.

“We’re the ones who allowed this to happen. Now we’ve got to make it stop,” says Dr. DeAngelis.

Merck pleads innocent, saying that many of the comments in the JAMA reports were “false, misleading or lack context.”

Regardless, this is a black eye for Merck, and big Pharma in general.

Public mistrust of the Pharmaceutical industry is nothing new. In fact, Pharma’s image is so bad that when oil company executives are accused of price gouging and profiteering, they frequently try to change the subject by pointing out their profit margins pale in comparison to those of pharmaceutical companies. (It’s true. Pharma’s profit margins are almost triple those of oil companies. But that’s apples and oranges, and as they say, another story.)

What’s interesting here is that in all its maneuvering since the FDA pulled VIOXX off the market in 2004, Merck has done little to improve its image with the American public. It may be that anything even slightly apologetic would only come back to haunt Merck in the countless civil lawsuits from VIOXX users. Even so, one wonders why Merck remains so clueless about public perception.

Merck’s management, like that of most major corporations, fails to see value in managing public perception. They don’t understand that where public perception is concerned, guilt and innocence are irrelevant.  The court of public opinion rules first and foremost on the appearance of impropriety.

Protecting oneself from the appearance of impropriety requires an outside-in approach. It means examining corporate issues and behaviors for any possible areas of misunderstanding, any potential negative story or scandal.

Good communicators are careful to say things in ways that people understand. Great communicators say things in ways that people never misunderstand.

Or, as Ben Franklin said, “It’s best to pursue life as a pessimist, prepared for the worst and over joyed when it does not occur.”

For quite some time now, I’ve been encouraging clients to improve communications, both internally and externally, by writing a blog. Trouble is I never made the time to make blogging part of my communications. Recently, I was busted by one of my CEO clients who suggested my advice might carry greater weight if I actually took it myself.

So, to end that hypocrisy, here we go. I’ll use this space to share insights and lessons gathered from my consulting work. I’ll also provide my take on communications issues that challenge senior executives as they relate to the news of the day.

There’s a good lesson in today’s top political story … the continuing firestorm over Barack Obama’s comment about the attitudes of small town voters … “it’s not surprising, then, they get bitter,” said Obama at a fund raising event in San Francisco, “they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or antitrade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”Obama’s apologized repeatedly, admits he should have been wiser in his choice of words because, “they were subject to misinterpretation … and I regret that deeply.”

It will be interesting to see just how much distance Hillary Clinton and John McCain can get out of Obama’s remark. But of greater interest to me is where Obama made the comments.

It was April 6th, at a “private” fund-raising event for deep pocketed Democrats in San Francisco. No Reporters aloud. The only people present were Obama campaign staffers and donors. Obama was engaged in what he thought, was a private, “off-the record” conversation. But as any executive who has ever worked with me knows … THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS OFF THE RECORD!

Somebody at the event, likely using a mobile phone, recorded the Senator’s remarks. The recording made its way to the www.HuffingtonPost.com and the rest, as they say, is history.It’s hard to believe that someone as savvy as Barak Obama was caught off guard.The lesson here is one I stress to every executive I work with. There are only two places you can possibly conduct “private” conversations … your office, or your bedroom. If you’re anywhere else, consider yourself “fair game.” Mobile devices capable of recording audio and/or video have turned nearly every passerby into a potential paparazzi. Like Presidential candidates, executives must understand that constant public scrutiny is now part of the job description.

So remember, the new reality is that outside your office or your bedroom, people are always listening and might be recording … so be careful not to say anything you’d be uncomfortable hearing … or reading on the front page!