All the great past words from NZ Rugby about women in sport meant nothing when it scheduled a clash of games for the All Blacks and Black Ferns.
NZ Rugby has owned up to the technical error, and the All Blacks coach has asked for forgiveness.
Forgiveness won’t be forthcoming because the mistake reveals that we cannot trust NZ Rugby’s words to match its actions.
One of PR’s missions is implementation. We know that values have to be lived, and that hypocrisy is one of the worst reputational offences.
That’s why we avoid scripting high-minded words just to curry favour. When we do script such words, we make sure they are true or will be made true. We’re the only ones whose job it is to catch hypocrisy before it occurs.