Southeast promotes rumors with its pattern of silence

Southeast Missouri State University could use some public relations assistance. I'll give them my two cents for free.

In this day and age, when university athletic departments are dealing with more issues than just final scores, being conscious of public perception is vital. And information -- with varying degrees of verification -- can make its way around very quickly through a variety of outlets.

One would think there have been enough examples in college athletics recently to demonstrate the need to be forthright.

Southeast has had a couple of its own with an NCAA investigation into the women's basketball program.

But Southeast Missouri State's handling of its most recent situation showed it needs to improve its dissemination of information in unexpected situations.

Following the injury to freshman wide receiver T.J. Walls, the university could have handled the situation with accurate information before several rumors gained traction.

You can't stop all the conspiracy theorists, but refuting some of the rumors by providing basic information freely is a good tactic.

The university did release a paragraph summary and a video on Friday, but that came only in response to a request by the Southeast Missourian.

Walls was injured nearly a week earlier, during Southeast's football scrimmage on April 7. He was upended when a defensive back broke up a pass. In the video released by the university Friday, Walls appeared to land on the side of his head before tumbling over and lying on his back.

The one-paragraph summary released by the university included scant details about the injury and the response from emergency personnel.

Many questions remain, and some cannot be answered as the university cites the privacy of medical information.

First details of the incident did not circulate among the media until three days later. That Tuesday evening, Southeast athletic director Don Kaverman confirmed what he could -- that Walls had suffered the injury and was under the care of a local neurosurgeon.

Another three days had passed when the university responded to the Southeast Missourian's request for information about the incident.

In addition, information was requested about a March 30 incident in which Walls was struck in the head by an object, though his name did not appear in the university's release about the altercation, which still is under investigation.

Ideally, someone at the university by Monday would have had a handle on the facts and cleared through the school's attorneys what information should be released to the media.

This might have prevented some of the speculation and rumors running unabated, rumors that he had been injured in another hit in practice earlier in the week before the scrimmage; rumors that he was rushed off the field Saturday so practice could go on; speculation that the trainers did not give Walls proper care on the field.

The university's delay in acknowledging and addressing the situation is too easy to interpret as an attempt to keep any information from getting out, which paints the university in a bad light regardless of where the truth lies.

Kaverman said Friday he would not respond to any more questions about the incident. One of those questions was whether Kaverman would conduct a review that would offer a timeline beyond that included in the information released thus far.

While the rumors persist, questions will linger about how Walls was treated on the field, whether he lost consciousness at some point and what directly triggered the calls to emergency personnel.

Rather than stonewalling, the proper answer is to inform the public that a review will be conducted to prove the university's trainers took the right steps.

As a public university, just about every scrap of paper at Southeast Missouri State that is not related to educational, medical or personnel records can be accessed by any taxpayer. Under those circumstances, the truth can be a difficult thing to hide. It's better to provide it sooner rather than later.

There's an old adage that the press can be bought with a steak. The price isn't even that high -- just a little bit of candor.

~Toby Carrig is sports editor of the Southeast Missourian. You can reach him at tcarrig@semissourian.com