A crisis
A crisis refers to any event that leads to an unstable situation in an organization. Organizations will always experience the problem as they operate in a competitive and complex environment. Wounded Lions, as covered by Smith, describes the happenings at Penn State University, sports and academics integration, and independence that led to the child abuse scandal. In Pennsylvania, athletics was respected, and Penn State University considered a powerhouse against its rivals. However, it was revealed that child abuse tended to occur in the athletics department for an extended period and covered up against its policy and regulation. Child abuse tendencies became a significant scandal crisis that tainted the image of the University to the public.
The child abuse scandal affected various important stakeholders: The government, society, sports fraternity, sports administrators, University administration, parents, and students. It was a shocker as it was against the ideals of sports and the University; such a thing was not expected. The public criticized the government and the University administration for not monitoring and supervising the athletics program as expected and making sure that no one’s rights are violated, which contributed to students’ suffering as the sports administrators exploited them. Students had raised concerns about harassment all along, and no action was taken.
The students and parents were wholly traumatized by sex molestation affecting their self-esteem and mental state. The students felt unsafe, and in an unconducive learning environment, as they noted that no action was taken against their perpetrators, this later led to criminal cases against the accused. The sports fraternity gained an opposing view from the national public while the Pennsylvania society agitated for respect and upheld the children’s rights.
In 2011, there was a viral media coverage and public outcry on the Penn State University of child abuse scandal in the athletic department. The sport’s administrators, Jerry Sandusky and coach Joe Paterno were majorly mentioned to be allegedly involved and participated in the cover-up of the scandal. At Penn State, athletic management underwent significant transitions from being student-managed, Alumni control, academic-oriented, and independent. Thus the power of sports, which was majorly by students, shifted to the University and lastly became independent. The students could not manage it because of financial constraints.
Head coach Joe Paterno was credited to have brought in a change in athletics. He instituted athletics to be independent of academics, thus scaling Penn State University athletics’ performance in the state. Also, he supported the Grand Experiment, where students were required to meet specific academic standards to join the athletics team. Of course, this did lead to students working hard in both studies and sport as many students tend to neglect one. The athletics independent from academics and University management has been cited as the primary cause of the child abuse scandal and good governance, which is the source of the sports crisis that resulted in that period.
He also managed to get the President to admit students who had not qualified for the University to join the football club. The students were involved in disciplinary matters for the University administration, yet Paterno protected them, which became a significant concern since he valued football more than moral discipline. Joe Paterno was seen to have promoted discrimination culture against players by hiring Rene Portland, who is believed to be against lesbianism among athletes. Later Joe Paterno was considered partisan to the crisis despite the progress he contributed to athletics.
Assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was at the centre of the child abuse scandal, having been accused of molestation by players. Convicted in 2012 of the serial sexual abuse and served as Paterno’s coaching staff from 1969 through 1999 (Smith 2016). This association is what has been used against Joe Paterno as the closest working mate of Sandusky. The first allegation of sexual misconduct against Sandusky was as early 1976, which the Penn State administrators, for example, Paterno and Vice president Gary Schulz turned a deaf ear. It led to a public uproar of Sandusky’s victims’ lack of accountability because the Board of trustees still maintained a financial relationship with Sandusky’s foundation. Therefore, its evident the administration was more focused on preserving the Penn State football program’s reputation than getting justice for the victim.
The football program was a revenue source; hence, it was observed that the University administration was more focused on athletic excellence, neglecting the University’s academic excellence. Smith also criticized the Attorney General for reluctance to pursuing the investigations until after his successful campaign for the governorship. Also, he argues that due process was not followed in addressing the crisis at hand by the Board of trustees and FBI director; there was also over-reliance by NCAA on the FBI report rather than independent investigation.
From the discussed Wounded Lion crisis, the recommendations to Penn State University are various. First, there is a need to integrate sport and academics, and ensure adequate supervision for the best results; this will promote the upholding of values among the students. Secondly, the University Management should have a proper organization structure that shows the sports department and reporting system’s roles. Thirdly students should not only focus on sports activities but also academic, thus holistic learning promotion. They must learn to find a balance between this two.
Fourthly there is a need to institute a committee that will involve all stakeholders to supervise and address student concerns as they arise effectively with an emergency. For example, a committee member will follow up on the issue rather than individual handling of cases. Besides, the commercial focus should not be attributed to University sports at the expense of academics, as noted in the Wounded Lion case. Also, vetting of the sports administration needs to be done and, if possible, in case of allegations investigations diligently done by an independent committee.
Penn State University needs to have clear guidelines and policies that promote student welfare protection, thus avoiding a future crisis. Lastly, the government needs to be proactive in managing and monitoring sports activities in universities and provide effective oversight management to protect student well-being and parents’ interest. Students should also be taught self-awareness, discipline and good morals in both class and sports, and there should be activities that remind them to uphold these values. Crime is never to be tolerated, and it’s never the answer. Proper management, on the other side by the institution, plays an important role also in making sure that the system runs smoothly by attending to matters urgently.
References
Smith, R. (2016). Wounded Lions: Joe Paterno, Jerry Sandusky, and the crises in Penn State athletics. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.