“The biggest scam going in the world is PR people. I think that any time you think you did something wrong or you want to apologize, don’t try to spin it. Just say, ‘You know what, I really screwed up. I made a mistake.’ ”
– Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley discussing the Tiger Woods situation (Jan. 20, 2010)
Clearly we still have our work cut out defining to the general public what “public relations” is – and isn’t.
Denver Public Relations Blog 
But he’s basically right about how to handle a crisis. That’s what he did when he got busted and his endorsements continued unabated. Tiger went into hiding lost virtually everything.
The problem is that in Charles Barkley’s world, public relations means hiding and obfuscating. Any good PR person would argue for doing what Charles routinely does – get out in front of a problem.
Agreed. A good PR professional won’t “spin” anything. It’s against our code of ethics.