The Panic Surrounding Bill Self's Status Should Be A Learning Experience (For Everyone)
Editor's Note: This piece is solely the opinion of the writer. Any statements made are solely interpretations of the facts as presented, and not intended to be representations of the people involved contrary to any released statement by Bill Self, the Kansas Athletics Department, or their representatives.
For the last day and a half, the collective Kansas Jayhawks Twittersphere was full of panic and speculation, as the Athletic Department announced that Men's Basketball Head Coach Bill Self will be meeting with the media on Wednesday morning. The team banquet is scheduled for the following evening.
The initial announcement came via press release, and led to a couple brief tweets from those on the beat. But the matter of fact statement of the upcoming press conference set off a large wave of people speculating that Bill Self would be announcing his retirement tomorrow. The chorus of tweets became so frequent that an Athletic Department representative had to add context to assure people that it was a standard press conference.
There were two main camps in the chaos: those that were convinced Self was retiring, and those that denied it was possible and pushed back hard. The worry was so prevalent that it even led Mike Vernon of The Hearings to swerve from his usual peek behind the curtain to talk about where the messaging failed to prevent the panic that was spreading. Briefly from his article:
6:46pm: *See a tweet about a random Bill Self press conference after he’d been silent and no one had seen him for a month* PANIC. PANIC. PANIC. WTF. HELP! HELPPPP!
6:17pm: *See tweet about this being a “standard” press conference with no other context.* STILL PANICS. IS SELF OK? AM I OK? WHY HASN’T ANYONE SAID ANYTHING?!
That is a fairly accurate representation of how the day went for many on Twitter. And I recommend that you follow the link and read Mike's full article, as it does a lot to point out the failures that fostered the environment for the overreaction. While I understand that the situation surrounding Bill Self's absence is not standard in any way, the Department missed an opportunity to create a clear message that would have avoided any misinterpretation.
Before I go any further, let me make a few things clear:
- Bill Self does not owe the fans any specific information about the nature of his condition. Any information about his medical journey is his alone to decide how and when it gets released.
- I don't believe that Self has any plans to retire in the near future, barring a massive unforeseen complication.
- Nothing about the end of this season and the offseason has been "standard" or "normal".
So how justified were fans to be worried? Let's start with the fact that Self doesn't normally have a standalone press conference to wrap up the season. He typically speaks with the media at the conclusion of the final game in the NCAA Tournament, and then speaks with the media again as part of the festivities for the end of year team banquet. Last year was obviously a bit different with all of the press surrounding the national title. And this year was different because Self was not actually coaching in the final game. So already we were dealing with something unusual.
Next, it is easy to interpret the announcement about Self's press conference in multiple ways. For those that think that there was any information shared by the Department that wasn't passed on, here is the entire text of the press release about Self's media appearance.
There was no information about it being a normal season wrap-up, and it is impossible to blame any of the reporters involved for sharing the information that they were given. However, as many have pointed out, despite a couple of quick interviews done as part of the ESPN+ pregame show before the tournament games, the fans have not heard from Bill Self. The follow-up tweet from the Kansas Men's Basketball Twitter account did provide some additional clarity, but that only came after the rumors festered for too long.
I have a lot of respect for the job that the communications staff is doing, especially as it pertains to the willingness to help spotlight every program at the University. With prior athletic directors, I have run into multiple instances where requests to cover soccer, volleyball, baseball, softball or women's basketball were met with distrust and an expectation that I was just trying to use that to weasel my way into being able to cover football and men's basketball.
As unfair as it might be, the current administration is dealing with the fallout of those missteps in the past. Fans and those invested in these programs are used to being given scraps of information with poor context and ambiguous statements that seem designed to avoid any sort of accountability. And given how publicly and disastrously the Jeff Long tenure ended, fans can be forgiven for having flashbacks to a time when having legitimate concerns at best got them ignored or at worst resulted in gaslighting and questioning the loyalty of those fans.
I truly believe that the Athletic Department under Travis Goff has made incredible strides, not only at addressing issues on the field and building a system of support for multiple programs. There has also been a real connection with the fans and a conscious effort to include everyone in building the athletic programs to where everyone knows they can get to.
I frequently hear from people about how down to earth and transparent Lance Leipold and his coaching staff is. With the players, media and fans, he tells it exactly like it is, which is a refreshing change from the three head coaches that preceded him. Getting to cover Brandon Schneider's program and the players that have brought a huge turnaround for that program has helped a lot of people truly appreciate what they have accomplished. And Bill Self is so good behind the podium that people could listen to him talk for hours.
The fans WANT to get to know the people behind the curtain of their favorite teams. Most will understand when information legitimately needs to be withheld. But the recent uncertainty surrounding Bill Self's status and the complete vacuum of information is much too reminiscent of the 10+ years of Kansas Athletics immediately prior to the arrival of Travis Goff.
Let's hope that everyone involved, including the fans, learn from this experience moving forward.
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