Laurence Holmes of 670 The Score knows what it takes to communicate effectively, especially in a crisis.
Last week before the start of the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, Nevada, a member of San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama‘s security detail allegedly struck pop superstar Britney Spears. The incident took place at Catch restaurant in the Aria, and it left Spears and those in the worlds of sports and entertainment flabbergasted to say the least. Spears addressed the crisis on Tuesday on her Instagram page and acknowledged the lack of a public apology. Members of the phenom’s security team apologized to Wembanyama about a half hour after the encounter, and no charges will be filed against the security guard.
In remarks to the media, Wembanyama said that he remembers a person grabbing him from behind and security guards promptly dealing with her, although he did not know with how much force. Wembanyama is now reportedly going to be taking a break from the media to focus on basketball and prepare for the upcoming 2023-24 regular season. The summer league debut of the Spurs center was the second most-watched Summer League game in ESPN’s history. Additionally, tickets for the matchup were, on average, $96, the highest mark ever recorded for the Summer League.
During 670 The Score’s transition segment from Mike Mulligan and David Hough to Dan Bernstein and Laurence Holmes, the production team played back the audio of Spears recalling what transpired. Spears specifically conveyed her thoughts towards comments made saying she deserved to be hit, expressing her utter disgust and sentiment that no woman should ever be hit. The lack of action from the National Basketball Association and the San Antonio Spurs, especially with a player projected to be a perennial superstar, is an evident shortcoming of this example of crisis public relations.
“There’s a missed opportunity here with Britney,” Holmes said. “What the NBA should have done is they should have said, ‘Ms. Spears, we’re sorry about the misunderstanding that happened with you and the security team. We would love it if you could come sit courtside for the debut of Victor Webanyama. Victor has expressed that he would love for you to be there as well.’”
By having Wembanyama meet Spears before his first game, Holmes assumes that the clash can be resolved and dissipate out of mainstream conversation. A deluge of Spears’ most ardent fans have spoken out against Wembanyama and the Spurs organization, hoping for his downfall and demanding he apologize. Holmes likens the ideal outcome of the situation to the moment during the NBA Playoffs between Denver Nuggets center and NBA champion Nikola Jokić and Phoenix Suns owner Matt Ishbia. During a playoff game, Jokić inadvertently shoved Ishbia, unbeknownst to him, while he was trying to retrieve a basketball that went out of bounds.
“You have Victor meet Britney courtside; they hug [and] they squash the beef,” Holmes said. “Everything’s good…. Someone should put me in their crisis P.R. staff.”
Both Mulligan and Haugh concur with Holmes regarding his idea for Spears and Wembanyama to make up following the altercation in Las Vegas. Even so, Bernstein believes that navigating through the public relations crisis this has caused is more difficult because of the statements being made.
“Phase one is reaction; phase one of crisis P.R. is the crisis,” Bernstein explained. “It is what is happening; damage control, etc. Phase two is answering the harder questions, ‘What are you going to do about it? What are you going to do now?’ They’re not even answering questions; they’re not available.”
