Apparently, there are no phones
in Minnesota

Every once in a while, an incident that should have been addressed with prompt deftness is, instead, mismanaged into a mini-crisis, because those in the middle assume that silence will make it simply go away.

Take for example, the case of the female referee and the boys' basketball team from St. Mary's Academy near Topeka, Kan.

On February 2, said referee — one Michelle Campbell — was on the schedule to officiate a game involving the St. Mary's male hoopsters, only to be informed by school officials prior to the opening tip that her services were not wanted.

In the news coverage about the incident, Campbell and her officiating partner said they were told that allowing her to referee would put her "in a position of authority over boys," which was something, they said they were told, that the school did not agree with. Understandably, this set off a firestorm that yanked the K-12 campus of 750 (as of 2003, which is the latest info on their Web site, but that's for another column) into an unintended national spotlight.

Common sense would suggest that the school had two logical options.

First, if this was their position on gender roles, they could use this as a teaching opportunity to explain their beliefs and to offer a pledge to more competently communicate their, er, refereeing expectations and such in the future. Or, they could explain how their comments were misunderstood, and then take the opportunity to clarify them.

The school, however, chose the third option: Use the old "our headmaster is attending a conference in Minnesota and can’t be reached" strategy.

For days this story dragged on as everyone involved had their say, Internet boards were abuzz, and the state high school activities association launched an investigation. All the while, the headmaster couldn't find five minutes to break away to handle a crisis back home.

Finally, on February 19, well over two weeks after the incident, the school issued a release from Rev. Fr. Vicente A. Griego saying they believed that adolescent boys needed male role models, that they taught respect for women and, as such, they didn't want their team's play inhibited by the risk that they might run into Campbell in the course of play. (Campbell responded that she and her fellow referees are trained as to how to limit the possibility of regular physical contact with players.)

Whether one agrees with the school's rationale or not, there are some obvious lessons to learn from this incident.

• Have a plan and keep it updated. Everyone — including a small private school — needs a crisis plan that identifies who does what when situations occur, and that plan needs an annual going-over to make certain it's still current.
• Be available. There simply is no excuse for dodging the media by saying that someone can't be reached. Have a hierarchy in place so that if the primary contact truly is unavailable for a short time, a second-in-command can step up immediately.
• Get trained. If the thought of dealing with the media makes you queasy, by all means get trained on how to handle yourself when the camera's on or there's a reporter on the other end of the telephone.

The message: The fastest way to turn an incident into a crisis is to ignore it. Plan now for the worst that can happen, so you're ready when it does.