Apology Accepted

An important tool in the crisis communicator’s toolkit is the apology. We've seen a slew of apologies lately in the midst of Covid 19 and the Black Lives Matter movement.

For example, CrossFit, a fitness regimen and global brand with millions of followers, saw its share of controversy which culminated in the resignation and retirement of its CEO.

The company failed to issue a statement about the Black Lives Matter protests and support for Black athletes. In addition, CEO Greg Glassman came under fire after posting ill-worded tweets on June 6 to the Institute to Health Metrics and Evaluation, which many found offensive. The comments fueled unrest among CrossFit gyms and followers, resulting in Glassman stepping down June 9.
CrossFit then issued a lengthy statement in response on its website with the headline “Why Didn't CrossFit Just Say Something?”.
The statement admits that the brand made a mistake by responding too slowly, and acknowledged the current statement was not perfect.

CrossFit likely will take a hit due to its failure to respond in a timely manner, but being straight with the public was a start in the right direction to recovery.

Here are our suggestion should you need an apology in the future:

• Simply Put, Apologize: Seems obvious, right?
• Do It Clearly: Be clear with the language you use. Otherwise, your statement may come off as inauthentic.
• Apologize within a reasonable Timeframe: Respond quickly after an incident but not too quickly during a crisis. Study the situation, at least a bit, before communicating.
• First Person Please: Your apology should be in the first person. Do not issue an apology in the third person or in passive voice.
• Use The Correct Tone: Be authentic.
• What’s Next? The public wants to know what you're doing to ensure the situation you're apologizing for won't happen again. Make sure you announce steps you're taking—an internal investigation, a production stoppage, putting someone on administrative leave, etc.


Sophie Corbett is an Intern at ELPR and sophomore at Cal Poly studying Journalism