Receiver Roy Williams falls victim to interview transcripts
Detroit Lions wide receiver Roy Williams was out delivering pizzas for an afternoon recently - all because of a media interview.
Back on September 24th, during his weekly chat on WDFN radio, Williams said he never tips the people who deliver pizza. Doh! Despite trying to clarify himself on a later broadcast, the outrage poured in.
If you read this edited interview transcript (courtesy of the Detroit Free Press) it sure sounds like Williams is a tightwad:
On being cheap: I am cheap, I’m a cheap date. Get you some McDonalds, with some cheese on it and I’m just really cheap, man. I’m very low key, I like to stay home. I like to go bowling on Monday nights and I go to the casino every once and awhile. Other than that, you won’t see Mr. Williams out at all.
On what he plays at the casino: I’m a craps and blackjack guy. I like to throw the dice a little bit. If that doesn’t work out, I’ll take it to the cards.
You do tip the pizza guy? There’s no such thing as a tip. But I am really polite and I say ‘Thank you sir.’ … The pizza man knows, when he comes to my address, he’s coming for free.
If you’re on a date and she wants to go to a nice place, what do you do? I might just take her to the casino and get her a free buffet. If I did take a date out to a nice place, I’d take her to a nice place, like a Red Lobster or something. It wouldn’t be Morton’s or nothing like that.
But now, listen to the recorded interview (if it’s not available, try here). With the full interview and with tone and inflection thrown in, it’s seems much clearer that Williams is playing it for laughs.
Tip of the day: what may sound funny in a conversation can easily be taken out of context, especially in transcribed form, so don’t assume that throwaway lines said in jest are going to be taken that way.
How’d it all end for Williams? It actually turned into a PR dream. A local Pizza Hut challenged Williams to deliver pizzas for an afternoon and they would give $5,000 to charity, if he’d match the amount.
Posted: October 18th, 2007 under Crisis Management, Interview Transcripts, Interviews Gone Bad, Radio Interview Case Studies, Sports Beat, Sports Tips, Tips for Interviewees.