The sports world is abuzz with news that Penn State’s former assistant coach is being charged for forty counts of sexual assault on minors. The story began breaking this weekend and has snowballed into a massive national story about the ethics of the staff who worked with the coach and who could have possibly assisted in covering up his crimes.
“Success with Honor” is the school slogan. This is a school renown for academic integrity and a rich history of football excellence, much of which is contributed to Joe Paterno (JoPa) who has been the coach of the team since 1966. He holds a litany of records that have been achieved through his remarkable tenure. On Oct. 29 he celebrated his 409th victory. And, just a few weeks later this news breaks- putting into question the legacy of JoPa’s leadership.
Jerry Sandusky, defensive coordinator who worked under Paterno for thirty years, retired in 1999. However, his influence and presence is still notable in the organization. Sandusky founded an organization for underprivileged children, offering him access to those who would eventually become his victims.
The exact details have yet to be made clear, but apparently a graduate assistant witnessed one assault on a minor and reported it immediately to Paterno. Paterno then reported it to the head of the athletic department and the nothing was done from there. The chancellor and head of athletics have stepped down, indicating some knowledge of Sandusky’s behavior.
This case raises many questions about Sandusky as an individual and about the integrity of the school’s most senior and revered faculty. It also begs to answer questions about some kind of preparation for the crisis that would ensue when this news would break. If staff knew of this, should they not have been prepared to handle it as a major threat to the university’s name? Because of the legal matters at hand, it seems most parties involved are tight-lipped. The news ticker on Penn State’s athletic department web page boasts of recent wins by the girls volleyball team, field hockey scores, and senior athletic day. It is not telling of the grim news that has tainted the entire school’s reputation.
What should be done now to manage this crisis? How can the academic integrity be spared from the downfall of the athletic department? This is a huge crisis for the entire university. There are MANY stakeholders to consider, including potential students, donors, faculty, alumni, future athletes. I am curious to know how communications towards these stakeholders and others will be handled. Is there a plan? Are they engaged enough with their stakeholders? I have seen comments from Joe Paterno expressing his disapproval and sympathy for the victims, but in the face of this crisis, that is just not enough. As the story unfolds, I am eagerly awaiting the communications position of the university.
Penn State will have a hard time repairing its damaged reputation. It remains to be seen whether the university is well prepared to handle such a damaging crisis, especially since no official communication is forthcoming from the university. They should not wait too long though, because the media will have a field day exploiting this story in a manner that could damage what is left of its reputation...Insightful blog post ..
ReplyDeleteThe Penn State scandal itself seems so monumental and so far-reaching that I think there will have to be multiple, concurrent techniques required to effectively deal with this crisis. Aside from a few written statements from various former members of administration or the Board of Trustees, surprisingly, there hasn't been much that Penn State has done to manage this crisis. To Saleh's point, there are other people who driving the interpretation of the latest developments in the scandal - the media, those who were made aware of the sexual abuse allegations, victims, victims' mothers and the list goes on. Hopefully, Penn State will do something that is both significant and effective in trying to get ahead of the rampant nature of this crisis so that they can focus on healing and looking toward the future of the academic and football programs.
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