Richard Lee Doesn't Wait a Week to Respond to Raid

Obviously not operating from the same crisis management playbook as Jamie Gold's PR reps at B|W|R, Richard Lee wasted no time today to respond to the raid on his home last night.

"Just a few hours ago I was one of San Antonio's favorite sons," Lee told a reporter from the San Antonio Express-News. "It seems like maybe I've gone from hero to zero in the course of a few hours."

Lee continues, "I don't believe I've done anything wrong, and if they prove differently on something I thought was OK, well, I guess I'm going to have to cross that bridge when I get to it."

Lee's willingness to speak at this time and his apparent sense of humility and measured statement show that:

(1) He understands the media's interest in his story;
(2) He wants to manage the flow of information; and
(3) He is assuming the situation will only escalate and get worse.

The above are pretty much textbook principles when it comes to crisis management, and the folks at B|W|R could learn a thing or two from Richard Lee, which is ironic because the above three principles are right off the B|W|R web page on crisis management, which they apparently have torn out of their playbook and replaced with this page.

More on the story here, here and PokerBlog.com, who point out how Lee, unlike Gold, faced the media himself rather than have PR flacks do it for him. Also be sure to check out PokerNews.com's piece, where they pose the intriguing question: "If authorities decide that Lee's buy in to the Main Event was secured with ill gotten funds, would they then have the right to seize the $2.8 Million Dollars Lee won with his 6th place finish?"