It’s Not a Football Problem: Why the Alleged Actions of Paterno and Penn State Have Little to do With Football and Everything to do with Our Culture
As part of a growing team that works to prevent educator sexual misconduct, I’ve seen firsthand the damage a few employees can have on the community’s trust, not to mention the long-lasting damage to the student victim involved. Lives and careers can be ruined, and families understandably become concerned about the safety of their children.
In the wake of the scandal that is still broiling at Penn State, I’ve been surprised at the lineup of pundits and talking heads claiming that Penn State’s awful failure to report and protect the alleged victims is due to Paterno’s brand-like status and his football program’s renowned success.
Dave Zirin, perhaps the most prolific sports writer of our time, writes about the politics of sports for the Nation Magazine and is also the host of Sirius XM Radio’s popular weekly show, Edge of Sports Radio. In his blog by the same name, Zirin writes:
“This is what happens when a football program becomes the economic and spiritual heartbeat of an entire section of a state…It’s no wonder that Paterno is revered. He took a football team and turned it into an economic life raft for a university and a region. When something becomes that valuable, a certain mindset kicks in. Protect the team above all other concerns. Protect Joe Pa. Protect Nittany Lions football. Protect the brand. In a company town, your first responsibility is to protect the company. If the allegations are true, if the school in fact knew this was going on, then the program should be shut down.”
But Zirin is mistaken. The events reported in the press are not a problem specific or unique to the Penn State football program. Whether it’s a school, church, daycare, seminary, or football program, protecting the organization often trumps protecting the students. And this pressure to protect the “company” is just as real for a small organization as it is for a powerful $50 million a year football program. That’s why what happened at Penn State is not about football, it’s about how we, as a culture, deal with child abuse.
In fact, by labeling Penn State’s failure to report and protect as something that could have only happened in the context of protecting a profitable revenue cash cow, we miss an important “teachable moment” for us all.
Regardless of whether we’re working behind the counter at McDonald’s and dealing with an angry customer or acting as the CEO of BP during an oil spill, the pressure can be very real “protect the Company.” If we become aware of some type of troubling situation that could threaten either the organization we work for or ourselves in some way, there is often a knee jerk reaction to protect the institution, protect your coworkers, or protect yourself. This desire to defend is a basic human instinct and one that undeniably leads to justification.
If organizations teach and model strong and clear policies, the negative effects of our natural defense mechanisms can be mitigated. For instance, a well-trained McDonald’s employee will seek their customer’s satisfaction and apologize before taking the defensive route. Similarly, a well-trained educator will make a report to their administration as well as a child protective services agency if they have a reasonable suspicion that child abuse is occurring. At MRC, we train our clients to follow a simple guideline: If you have to ask yourself the question, “Should I report this or not?” Chances are that the answer is yes. If shouted from the organizational mountain top, a simple and short policy addendum such as this can dramatically decrease employees’ natural resistance to report.
When organizations miss this opportunity to instruct, guide, and train their employees, they also miss out on the ability to predict how their employees will respond in a particular situation. On the other hand, with just an hour of impactful training, we help our clients avoid situations that lead to divided communities and victimized children.
To the victims of abuse and their families, nothing can undo the wrong you’ve suffered. But, through better policy and improved individual action, we can all make sure similar offenses won’t go unnoticed again.
-Jason Franklin
COO, MakingRightChoices
