In this post, I offer my thoughts on tennis professional Frances Tiafoe’s apology following tirade against umpire. (Edition 1:11)

With more than 40 years of experience in public relations, issues and crisis management, I have to at least appreciate American tennis professional Frances Tiafoe for doing what he could recently to make lemonade out of lemons. The 26-year-old from Hyattsville, Maryland, was called for a time violation near the end of a match at the Rolex Shanghai Masters tournament in China. He lost the next two points to lose the match and his place in the tournament. He was more than disappointed, he was irate.

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Tiafoe congratulated Roman Safiullin in the traditional good sportsmanship handshake between players that occurs after matches, but then turned his anger toward chair umpire Jimmy Pinoargote for making what he considered a terrible call at the most inopportune time. Pinoargote made the call after Tiafoe failed to serve the ball within the 25-second time limit. Tiafoe claimed he had tossed the ball to begin his serving motion in time, but Pinoargote believed Tiafoe was deliberately stalling for time after spending about three hours on the court.

Players are often angry at the officials and are not hesitant to share their opinions. Tiafoe made his mistake, though, when he angrily barraged Pinoargote with multiple F-bombs in a loud voice that was audible to everyone. He is likely to be fined for his inappropriate behavior.

All this just a month after Tiafoe’s impressive run into the semi-finals at the U.S. Open and with many young tennis fans – especially Americans – looking up to him and identifying him as their favorite player. So, after cooling down a bit and getting his temper under control, Tiafoe made the traditional Instagram apology, writing and posting, “I really apologize for the way I acted tonight. That is not who I am and not how I ever want to treat people. I let my frustration in the heat of the moment get the best of me and I’m extremely disappointed with how I handled the situation. That’s not acceptable behavior and I want to apologize to the umpire, the tournament, and the fans. I’ll be better for y’all.”

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He took responsibility and expressed he was disappointed in his behavior, which was good, and promised to be better in the future. These are integral factors in any effective apology, and I think in his case it was heartfelt – not just a necessary step in digging himself out of the hole he caused for himself. The media stories I read did not indicate whether or not Tiafoe contacted Pinoargote and the tournament director to apologize, but I hope he did. Taking that step isn’t simply the right thing to do, it is definite proof of being accountable. Instagram may get to the masses, but personal contact with those involved shows maturity, regret, and professionalism.

I like Frances Tiafoe and the story of how he worked hard to become a professional tennis player. He will need to work hard to maintain his composure and temper moving forward if he wants to become a Top Ten player. He definitely has the talent, and I wish him the best.

REMEMBER…

◊ Do you sometimes lose your temper and act out of anger? Remember the words of Thomas Jefferson, who said, “When angry count to ten before you speak. If very angry, count to one hundred.”

◊ Remember that young people are always watching and will not forget what they see you do and what they hear you say. You are an example to others, even if that is not what you want to be. It simply is.◊ Visit www.davidajolley.com for additional blog posts and other interesting content.

1. Photograph courtesy of Sky Sports. ↩︎
2. Photograph by Timothy A. Clary / AFP / Getty courtesy of The New Yorker. ↩︎