Team Austria

While there are issues between the IOC and the Italian authorities, the Austrian Olmypic athletes whose home was raided, are scrambling to prevent further damage to their image.

While it is currently unknown whether or not the athletes tested positive, their image has been tainted by new stories of the raid. When I hear about a drug raid, I immediately assume the party involved is guilty. It's very easy to read a story and say "hmm...they have to be guilty". I think that majority of the world's population follows the same process. Therefore, in the eyes of many, the Austrian team is guilty of drug use.

To further implicate the team, they were visited by coach Walter Mayer who had been banned from the Olympics until after 2010. Mayer had been found guilty of blood doping athletes at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games. His visit with the team raises questions and makes it even more difficult for the Austrian team to defend their innocence.

The Austrian team needs to engage in crisis PR to defend their image. It would be intelligent to share their side of the story and speak openly with the media about the raid. Invertviews give the Austrian team a face, a personality, and it is much more difficult to criticize a face than it is a name printed in a newspaper. Open communications will allow the public to get to know the athletes involved and see what they are really all about.

Silence = Guilty in the eyes of the public.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060220/sp_nm/olympics_doping_dc_2