Chomping at the bit to respond to a media attack? Maybe your trap is best left shut.

Last week, the Orlando Sentinel put together an intriguing list regarding the Florida Gator football team. Was it a list of SEC titles? All-Americans?

No, it was a list (or “database” as the Sentinel called it) detailing the 24 instances in which a Gator football player has been charged with a misdemeanor or felony since Urban Meyer became the coach in 2005.

Not exactly the kind of off-season pub the national champions were looking for.

Twenty-four sounds like a lot. But is it really? Well, yeah. In the raw, 24 is a lot of arrests. But the Gainesville Sun put the number in perspective:

Florida players have been charged with crimes in 24 cases during Meyer's four years as coach.
There have been 21 arrests, with three more players issued citations and later booked on charges.
Of the 24 cases in which players have been charged, nine of those charges were for felonies.
Charges involving eight of the 24 cases either were dropped or not pursued.
The arrest rate for Florida players is comparable to the rate for the entire student body.

The Sun's survey also revealed UF's arrests are in line with those of its traditional rivals. Georgia football players have accumulated 30 arrests during the same four-year period. Tennessee has tallied 21 arrests, while Florida State has totaled 13 arrests.

In other words, while you certainly don’t want to have football players arrested, Florida’s number, unfortunately, is not out of line with the student population or other big-time programs. The school should have let the story lie right there. It would have faded, just filler for sportswriters desperate for angles as the summer slowly sets in.

Instead, the university issued a statement. They sharpened their pencils, grabbed an abacus and provided a deep statistical breakdown of the charges and arrests:

Only three arrests from the last three recruiting classes (including 2009)
At least 14 of the charges were dropped in the 24 cases
14 of the 24 player arrests have been from players he did not recruit or were in his first recruiting class
The 24 arrests represents 19 different players
Arrests by recruiting class (under Meyer)
Six did not recruit
Eight in first class
Seven in second class
Two in third class
One in fourth class
None in fifth class

Big mistake. Now the story has fresh legs. Now the media tees off again, swinging hard at the easy softball the university pitched to it. Florida looked ridiculous, and sportswriters had an easy target to keep the controversy going.

Because of the university’s silly PR response, this story will now carry through the summer and will be part of the fall football conversation. You can bet that ESPN will throw its disproportionate weight behind the story right through the football season, too. And again, Florida doesn’t even have the most arrests in its own division, let alone the entire NCAA. Doesn't matter now. The meme is set.

Sometimes it’s best to let a story fade out. Or if you are going to respond, talk about how a problem is being addressed. Don't spin -- even if, in a different context, the issue doesn't seem quite as severe. Florida, to its credit, started a new program in which players will participate in a police ride-along program (in the front seat of the squad car, I would presume). That's a more sensible response, something with real action behind it that is forward-looking. But it was too late. The spin is the story now.

The new model in crisis response -- be honest, be fast, be frequent and be distributed -- also requires that you be humble. Don't spin. Otherwise, you may just be better off being quiet.

IMG: Flickr.com/hdport