Jerry Sandusky: The Penn State Scandal

When thinking of crisis management, a number of horrific images come to mind. Most of the images are associated with highly dramatic events that produce mass destruction and even casualties. Nevertheless not every organizational crisis is dramatic, yet it can still impact stakeholders if not managed properly. One incident in particular that demonstrates the lack of crisis management with no casualties is the Penn State scandal, which centered around the assistant football coach, Jerry Sandusky. In 1969, Jerry Sandusky became an assistant coach for the Penn State football program (Crandall et al., 2014). Throughout his tenure, he appeared to be a model citizen, and a respected football coach under the leadership of the legendary Joe Paterno.

The mother further accused Sandusky of engaging in the incident with her son in the Lasch Building on the college campus. At this point, four of the most powerful people at The Pennsylvania State University, became aware of the situation. These individuals included the following: President Graham B. Spanier, the Senior Vice President of Finance and Business, Gary C. Schultz, the Athletic Director Timothy M. Curley and Head Football Coach Joseph V. Paterno. However, with the accusation, the Penn State police did not charge Sandusky as their investigation did not reveal any evidence of a crime being committed (Crandall et al., 2014). Although there was lack of evidence, a detective from the police station reprimanded Sandusky during a meeting with a caseworker from the department of Public Welfare present. Sandusky was advised by the detective not to shower with any other children in the future. This accusation and case against Sandusky was short lived and closed by the Penn State Police Chief. With the closing of the case, Spanier, Schultz, Curley, and Paterno proceeded as if the incident was behind them (Crandall et al.,

The coach, Mike McQueary advised Coach Paterno of the incident the following day, and in turn Paterno met with Curley, Schultz and Spanier to discuss the information he received. In that particular moment, the four officials went into crisis management mode. During their discussion, they agreed to confront Sandusky and devise a plan to address the incident (Crandall et al., 2014). On March 5th of that same year, Athletic Director Curley met with Sandusky and informed him that he was uncomfortable with his behavior with young boys and for him not to bring anymore to the athletic facilities. Fourteen days later, on the 19th, Curley met with the executive director of the Second Mile charitable organization, and advised him of the incident assistant coach McQueary observed between Sandusky and the 10 year old boy (Crandall et al., 2014). The result of the meeting concluded with the executive director not taking any action against Sandusky as it was seen as a non incident. Moreover, during a board of trustees meeting, President Spanier failed to make mention of the incident to the other trustees (Crandall et al.,