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Nick D'Arcy and Kenrick Monk, members of Australia's Olympic swimming team, probably regret their decision to post on Facebook an image of the two of them grinning with shotguns in a California gun shop. D'Arcy may have even more regrets about his lame apology.
D'Arcy and Monk, who have faced disciplinary panels before, according to USA Today, were ordered to remove the photo by Swimming Australia. The Australian reported that they may be banned from participating in the upcoming Olympic Games in London as a result of posting the image.
Posting images on Facebook of yourself posing with guns is rarely a good idea, particularly if you're about to represent your gun-shy country in the Olympics in London—a city whose police force generally does not carry guns. D'Arcy and Monk have said they were just having a little fun. They definitely did not take into account the sometimes monstrous power of social media to amplify missteps, the sentiments of those who are anti-gun and the ambitions of their own swimming team.
Whether or not the media has overreacted to the post, D'Arcy passed up an opportunity to take responsibility for this obvious mistake by falling back on the old "if I offended anyone I'm sorry" apology.
"If anyone's been offended, I deeply apologize. It was never the intent, it was never supposed to be offensive," D'Arcy said, according to The Australian.
A real apology would increase the likelihood of D'Arcy and Monk swimming in London. A simple, "We made a stupid decision that sent a bad message about gun use, and we apologize to everyone we offended," would have helped. It's Apology 101: Apologize all the way, or don't do it at all.
Follow Steve Goldstein: @SGoldsteinAI