A drama played out over the newspaper and media this week: the firing of Joe Torre in one of the most demeaning and Machiavellian manners ever seen in the sport of baseball.
After stringing him out in the tabloids for over a week, the Yankees made a half-hearted offer of a one-year deal with a reduction in salary and "incentive pay" if the team won the pennant and the World Series.
Despite a special trip to Florida to plead his case, the Yankees refused to budge, and Torre resigned in protest.
But the story wasn't over. Joe Torre held a news conference and conveyed how insulting it was to literally dangle a carrot before him when he already had all the motivation he needed. In addition, the players would feel additional pressure in a close race to save the manager's job, an untenable situation.
But Torre's news conference accomplished more than communicating his side of the story. It showcased him as a human being far superior to anyone in the Yankee organization. Joe's humanity, dignity, and sense of honor and trust offers a clear contrast to the manipulation employed by the Yankee management to get rid of him. If they wanted to fire him, they should have had some guts and done it right away. Instead, afraid of public opinion, they contrived a situation where he would have to say no, but they could hypocritically point to their salary offer.
As Torre said in his conference, if the New York Yankees wanted him to stay as manager, he would still be there.
Anyway, despite my continuing outrage, I think the turn of events provides a lesson for us all, particularly the Democratic Party.
Instead of trying to manipulate the voters on SCHIP and the war in Iraq, why not have some guts and lead instead of cowering before public opinion. If the Democrats want to end the war on Iraq, use Congress's power of appropriations to cut off the funding. If the President starts to scream and yell about supporting the troops, let him.
If the Democrats want to cut back on illegal wiretapping, do so, and if the President screams and yells about stopping terrorism, let him.
If the Democrats want to expand childcare, don't compromise after his veto. Keep bringing up the bill again and again. Establish an upper salary cap to mollify the opposition, and let them keep voting against it.
Congress's approval rating is about what they're not doing, unlike President Bush's, about what he is doing. Show some guts like Joe Torre and stand up for what you believe in, even if it takes some character to do so.
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- Willy Gissen
- In 2003, Willy Gissen founded Cut-It-Out Communications, a full-service public relations agency based in Hartsdale, New York. His organization specializes in the incorporation of online activities into traditional public relations programs, primarily for business-to-business clients.
These activities include the creation of e-newsletters, the set up and maintenance of internal blogs, and the development of inbound links to maximize a client’s search engine ranking.
See his other articles at public relations instruction, and visit his other blog, New York Times Leader, for an analysis of each morning's lead story.