Occasionally, a public relations disaster comes along you know will last long in the memory.
Think of things like former BP boss Tony Hayward saying “I want my life back” when discussing the Gulf of Mexico oil spill or Gerald Ratner describing his company’s products as “total crap”.
And this week, a story has emerged that could see someone else added to that hall of infamy.
Raith Rovers faced a furious backlash - and produced a masterclass in how not to respond to a crisis media management incident - after signing a player called David Goodwillie.
The striker was ruled to be a rapist and ordered to pay damages in a civil case in 2017.
And when the club - which plays in the second tier of Scottish football and is not often in the spotlight - announced the transfer, the fallout was extensive.
Author Val McDermid, known for her crime novels, ended her shirt sponsorship arrangement with the club.
She tweeted: “I have this morning ended my lifelong support of @RaithRovers over their signing of the rapist David Goodwillie.
“I have cancelled next season’s shirt sponsorship over this disgusting and despicable move. This shatters any claim to be a community or family club.”
In a second post, she added she would be “tearing up” her season ticket and finished by saying: “This is a heartbreaker for me and many other fans, I know.”
Additionally, she claimed in a Radio 4 interview that the club had “lied” to her about interest in the player.
I have this morning ended my lifelong support of @RaithRovers over their signing of the rapist David Goodwillie. I have cancelled next season’s shirt sponsorship over this disgusting and despicable move. This shatters any claim to be a community or family club. 1/2
— Val McDermid (@valmcdermid) February 1, 2022
2/2 Goodwillie has never expressed a shred of remorse for the rape he committed. His presence at Starks Park is a stain on the club. I’ll be tearing up my season ticket too. This is a heartbreaker for me and many other fans, I know.
— Val McDermid (@valmcdermid) February 1, 2022
Tyler Rattray, the captain of Raith’s women’s team, quit in protest after 10 years with the club.
Two directors - Bill Clark and Andrew Mill - have also resigned, and a former star player has asked to be removed from the club’s hall of fame.
There has been damning condemnation from politicians. Nicola Sturgeon tweeted that she supports the stances taken by Ms McDermid and Ms Rattray adding: “The fact they’re in this position at all reminds us that our society still has a way to go to make zero tolerance of sexual violence a reality.”
Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, a supporter of the club, said he “cannot support the signing”.
And Rape Crisis Scotland said the signing sends a “clear message of disregard to survivors of rape and sexual violence.”
The club must have known that signing this player would be controversial. And they had plenty of time to gauge what the reaction might be from fans, sponsors and beyond, having first been linked to the player in December. So, you would assume it had communication plans in place.
Yet it appears to have been woefully ill-prepared for the fallout, and its handling of the story has turned a bad situation into a crisis media management disaster.
An initial statement announcing his arrival did not refer to the player’s past and simply included comments from the manager about how his arrival would help the team.
As the backlash grew, a second statement was issued a day later. And it will no doubt be used on crisis communication courses as an example of what not to say when you are in the spotlight.
If I tell you that the second sentence starts “David is a proven goal scorer”, you will begin to see how badly the club has misjudged its crisis communication and the mood among many of those who care about it.
Anger about the signing is described as “differing views” and “divided opinion” – weasel words, as one of my former bosses would say. And there is no mention of ‘rape’. Instead, there is a passing reference to “what happened 10 years ago.” All of which can be seen as an attempt to play down the seriousness of what happened - never a good crisis communication look.
And, while there is no mention of the victim or other survivors of sexual violence, the player is described as being “part of Raith Rovers Football Club” because he previously played for them.
Bizarrely, the statement tries to emphasise the club’s position as a “community football club”, while stating that the signing was a “football-related decision.”
Another failing, for me anyway, is it is an anonymous statement. Surely, this is a time for senior club officials to show visible leadership and explain the actions they have taken and why they think they were right.
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Good crisis communication statements help those in the spotlight manage the story. This one has achieved the opposite.
Finally, we learnt just as we were about to publish this blog, that the club had changed its stance.
A new statement was released saying the player would not play for Raith Rovers. There was also an apology to fans, sponsors, players and the wider community.
Raith Rovers u-turn over David Goodwillie who will now not play for the club, following a backlash over the striker’s signing.
— Dan Roan (@danroan) February 3, 2022
The club’s chairman has apologised to fans and says they focused too much on football and not on the opinion of supporters. https://t.co/KLe6muSi8P
And there was an admission the club had "focused far too much on football matters and not enough on what this decision would mean for our club and the community as a whole."
This is a good start and it shows that the club did eventually listen to what was being said.
But is it enough to repair the reputational damage? Or is it too little too late?
Time will tell.
Football has often stood accused of putting money and on-field success ahead of morals. It is also sometimes said that football fans will forgive almost anything.
But this crisis has felt different.
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