not QOTY but borders on nonapology apology

[Laurence Horn]

On Dec 4, 2013, at 8:35 PM, Victor Steinbok wrote:

> Mike Tomlin had some interesting phrasing in his public apology (during
> press conference) for his "inadvertent" interference with a play in the
> Steelers' last game.
>
>> On Tuesday, Tomlin struck a conciliatory tone -- and pretty much
>> executed an about-face from his comments after the Steelers' 22-20
>> loss last week, when he said he was in the white stripes that separate
>> the sideline from the field because other coaches do the same thing.
>> "I can't be in that space and I was, so I take full responsibility for
>> that," Tomlin said Tuesday. "It's an inexcusable blunder on my part. I
>> understand with my position comes the charge of preserving and
>> protecting the integrity of the game of football, and I think probably
>> my biggest error on Thursday night is not realizing that play
>> jeopardized the integrity of the game from a perception standpoint."

Seems more like his biggest error was going out onto the field in the middle of a runback.
>
> In case it's not obvious, I'm referring to the last PP "from a
> perception standpoint". It's an interesting qualifier that's not quite
> on par with with the standard non-apology apology language (e.g., "I'm
> sorry some people were offended" or "I did not consider the possibility
> that some people might find my otherwise innocent actions offensive").

Or the standard mode: "I'm sorry if I offended anyone"; "If there's anyone I offended, I am deeply sorry"
(with the unspoken "anyone thin-skinned enough to take offense at what was clearly…")

> But it's in the same category. It suggests that the coach did nothing
> wrong, but is apologizing for appearance of impropriety.
>
Yes, Caesar's wife and NFL head coaches must be above perceptions of impropriety.
Didn't save him from shelling out 100K and possibly his team a draft choice.

LH

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