The twelve remaining members of the Olympic Council of Ireland have not answered requests for comment but this is hardly surprising in an environment where the President is under arrest.
The new PR company acting on their behalf, having replaced a UK agency that were operating up until the detention of Pat Hickey, are well versed in containing and trying to manage the news cycle and will almost certainly have issued guidelines on what or what not to do.
The Communications Clinic has strong media connections through founders Tom Savage, as former Chair of RTE, and Terry Prone as a regular columnist. Crisis management has its own process and procedure which has undoubtedly kicked in now, albeit probably not by email given the exposure of Hickey’s correspondence by the Brazilian police.
Communication is vital in these circumstances, in order to avoid a vacuum over which the authorities can exert no control. Organisationally the OCI’s agency issued a 27 word statement last night about Hickey’s release from hospital. In context that is a little over half the length of this paragraph.
When it comes to personal comment from Directors though silence is the default and arguably the only sensible precaution.
The investigation almost certain to begin from Government within days will probe many areas and expose decision making at Council and executive level which will inevitably be judged in a harsher manner than most would have ever expected.
Again it is worth stating that it defies belief there should or could have been any criminal wrongdoing at the organisation level but decisions which may have been made on the nod at meetings will now be forensically examined. That is the nature of investigation.
Pat Hickey’s colleagues within Irish sport, and at international level have been reticent to express unconditional support in public for sure but also privately in many cases.
Writing yesterday we suggested “Over the past 24 hours we have spoken to many within the sporting, political and business establishment. Few were willing to express support for Pat Hickey at anything other than a basic human level. He has made enemies on the way up the ladder of global politics. Perhaps that comes with the territory. Now that he is facing his greatest challenge, that lack of support will envelop him like a winter’s icy chill.”
The IOC has stopped Hickey’s per diem expenses of €800 and it is not clear who will have paid for the Brazilian legal team with Hickey last night as he faced police questioning for four hours.
It also condemned the ‘theatre’ of filming the arrest but expressed support in the justice system.
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