You could probably hear the collective sigh of relief that came from Mark McGwire in every corner of the baseball world today.  After many allegations that likely cost him a first and second ballot entry into Baseball’s Hall of Fame, McGwire came clean today about a decade’s worth of steroid use that he refused to discuss even under a congressional subpoena.

Like Alex Rodriguez’ mea culpa prior to last year’s spring training season, McGwire’s admission comes at a point where it is in his best interest to come clean.  Make no mistake, neither Rodriguez nor McGwire are born again angels in their admissions.  From a branding and communications stand point their decisions finally allow a forgiving public to find closure with the fact that their sports heroes are human and make many, many mistakes.

Everyone knew that McGwire had taken illegal substances, so this revelation did not reveal much.  His inability to be forthright stuck like a thorn in the side of all those baseball fans who wanted to be able to still cheer about his remarkable display of talent in the 1998 season.

The admission will clear his way back into baseball as a hitting coach with the Cardinals.  It may not in the end get him the Hall of Fame.  Coming clean allows him to step in front of the baseball community with a small shred of integrity and begin the journey to clear his name as a professional athlete and coach.

When you look at incidents like McGwire, Rodriguez, Barry Bonds and even Tiger Woods, from a communications perspective, there is no one solution to every situation.  There have been many pundits standing up in front of the cameras during Tiger’s explosive revelations saying he should come clean and get it all out in the open.  That is easy to say when you don’t know what “all” means.

At GCJPR when we work crisis communications situations we adhere strictly to the Hippocratic adage to first, “do no harm.”  McGwire’s admission was probably overdue, but it will unquestioningly go a long way to rehabilitating his image.  For Tiger, a full airing of his transgressions will probably not have the same effect.  Tiger will at some point have to find a balance for his communications.  The sheer volume of reporters at his next tournament will probably mandate some sort of public statement, if even to just say, “I am human and make mistakes.”

The one constant in all crisis communications situations, as Bill Clinton and Rafael Palmero can tell you, is that when you do go to the camera, honesty is the only policy.  You don’t have to tell them everything, but what you do tell them had better be honest. It will be much harder to deal with when, not if, the truth is found out.