Jerry Sandusky's Second Mile Scandal: Case Study
Penn State and Second Mile Scandal
Strayer University
Public Relations
May 2, 2014
Gerald “Jerry” Sandusky founded The Second Mile in 1977. The Second Mile is a nonprofit organization that was established to help young boys with disadvantage families and home environments. The foundation also provided support for their families as. The intent of the foundation was to assist youth with promoting self-confidence, also to assist in physical, personal and academic success. The organization came under fire in 2011 when the founder was charged for the sexual abuse of multiple children. The foundation has since had to close and is in the process of transferring all programs and assets to another similar organization.
Sandusky was an …show more content…
assistant football coach at Penn State University in Centre Town, Pennsylvania for over thirty years. He retired from Penn State in 1999 but was still given full access to the campus and all facilities. The allegations of the sexual abuse state that several incidents occurred on the campus. In 2011 Sandusky was charged with fifty-one counts of sexual abuse. A year later he was found guilty on forty-five counts and sentenced for thirty to sixty years in prison. This is a tragedy and has brought much negativity not only to the Second Mile Foundation he founded but to Penn State as well.
There are several reports that show abuse allegations and evidence of abuse involving multiple boys from 1994-2009. Sandusky met each victim through the Second Mile Foundation. Many are still in shock at the time frame and ask how the abuse could go on for so long. There were reports made over the years but due to cover up of top officials the abuse was never actually reported to the appropriate authorities. The cover up appears to have included many of the top managers at Penn State. To this date there appears to be no indication that anyone working with the Second Mile Foundation was aware of any abuse or unethical practices by Sandusky.
Penn State officials, Athletic Director Tim Curley and Senior Vice Presidents for Finance and Business Gary Schultz were both fired and charged with failing to report the suspected abuse and possible knowledge of the abuse. Joe Paterno longtime coach was also fired with the suspicion of cover up. There were incidents where employees told other employees they witnessed Sandusky abusing children but no reports were filed with the police. The reports were “investigated” by Curley. And the only action taken was that Sandusky’s keys were taken and he was no longer allowed to bring any Second Mile participants to the campus. (International Business, 2011)
November 2009 Sandusky attends a meeting with the board of the Second Mile Foundation.
The officials decided it was time to remove him from the charity. Sandusky advised the board with little detail that he was resigning because he had been accused of sexually abusing young boys. He as well as many of the members cried. Sandusky’s retirement from the foundation was made known to the public in form of letters and basically stated that he was retiring in order to spend more time with his family. But at this time the board members felt sorry for Sandusky. They thought he was a wrongly accused man being forced away from his life’s work. The foundation never really acknowledges the issue at hand with its supporters or members; therefore leaving them with only the information provided by the media. This left many unanswered questions and caused The Second Mile to lose many of its supporters publicly, physically and financially. (Ganim, …show more content…
2012)
The foundation, its employees and programs were also investigated with the goal of making sure there were no cover ups there as well. No evidence was found to suggest such. The sexual abuse scandal of Sandusky caused the destruction of this foundation and they are now in the process of transferring the programs to another foundation. The Second Mile was known as a wonderful program but due to the media on this case they are now only known for the sexual abuse of young children from their founder. Court proceedings are in process to allow the assets to be transferred from Second Mile to Arrow Child and Family Ministries. This is a similar foundation that operates in Texas, Pennsylvania, Maryland, California and Honduras. (Thompson, 2012)
The media coverage of this story brought a multitude of negativity to Penn State and the Second Mile Foundation. It was not only due to the extreme nature of the crimes but the cover up brought shame to the organizations. First and foremost even the best public relations plan could not have prepared anyone for this scandal. However, it definitely could have been handled better.
The first thing is to research all possibilities and all information to find facts. It is very important in trying to convey a positive message dealing with the issue at hand. Create a plan that includes the objective and planned result. The objective here is to answer questions and provide information to the public and the members of the foundation. The result is to show that the foundation was in no way involved in the cover up and had no knowledge of any wrong doing by its founder Jerry Sandusky. It is very important to show that the foundation and its board are involved in getting answers and are assisting with the investigation in a positive manner. Creation of a crisis team with assigned task to specific individuals would assist with covering all objectives. Considering that this scandal was very popular, a team of crisis knowledgeable people will relieve the conception that any issues are missed. Most important is to address the public as quickly and directly as possible. This will be the most difficult step as well. The quickest and most effective communication method to use will be a press conference of sorts. A statement will be made letting the public know that the foundation had no knowledge of the scandal. Making sure to also include a continued plan to keep the public aware of what’s going on as well as our intent to ensure safety to our children in the future. Once the statement has been made there will be an opportunity for questions from the audience. This will show the audience that the foundation has positive intentions, not in covering up the scandal but in resolving the issues at hand and to prevent it in the future. Evaluating the results after initially taking responsibility will be difficult in this situation. The best method would be to ask for feedback from the public as well as board members of the foundation. Social media is a popular place for topics of this nature to be discussed. Creating a blog of sorts will allow feedback from people and give them the opportunity to comment anonymously if needed. Assigning someone to respond back in a positive manner will also bring positive feedback for the campaign. This gives the public the idea that we are listening to their opinions and that they are important. The audience in this campaign is very broad so it is important to try and reach a variety of groups of people. Social media as well as public conferences that are scheduled in advance will contribute to the success of getting the message to the public.
The sexual abuse scandal of Sandusky caused the destruction of The Second Mile Foundation. However, the response from their public relations department contributed majorly to that destruction as well. They chose to not only ignore the issue but to keep its members and supporters in the dark. Pretending the scandal did not occur was the worst thing they could have done. Therefore, members and the public only had the information provided by the media.
The best practice is to always be prepared and to acknowledge the problem.
Face it head on and discuss the objectives and goals to resolve it the best way possible, in a way that will benefit all subjects involved, The Second Mile Foundation was once a well-known program with high honors. Due to avoidance they are now mostly remembered as the foundation connected to a pedophile. There once great charity work is no longer going to be helping their community in the same since because they are now in the process of transferring the programs to another foundation.
References
Ganim, S. (2012, August 13). Jerry Sandusky 's crimes put an end to Second Mile charity: Special report | PennLive.com. Retrieved May 2, 2014, from http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/08/second_mile_jerry_sandusky_1.html
Jerry Sandusky case: Summary of investigation, conviction of the former Penn State defensive coordinator. (2012, November 8). The York Daily Record. Retrieved from http://www.ydr.com/ci_19280635
International Business, T. (0011, July). Sandusky Penn State Scandal Timeline: Abuse, Cover-Ups began in 1994. International Business Times.
Thompson, C. (2012, August 27). Second Mile foundation to close, transfer cash and programs to Texas-based charity | PennLive.com. Retrieved May 2, 2014, from
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/05/the_second_mile_surrenders_to.html
Strayer University
Public Relations
May 2, 2014
Gerald “Jerry” Sandusky founded The Second Mile in 1977. The Second Mile is a nonprofit organization that was established to help young boys with disadvantage families and home environments. The foundation also provided support for their families as. The intent of the foundation was to assist youth with promoting self-confidence, also to assist in physical, personal and academic success. The organization came under fire in 2011 when the founder was charged for the sexual abuse of multiple children. The foundation has since had to close and is in the process of transferring all programs and assets to another similar organization.
Sandusky was an …show more content…
assistant football coach at Penn State University in Centre Town, Pennsylvania for over thirty years. He retired from Penn State in 1999 but was still given full access to the campus and all facilities. The allegations of the sexual abuse state that several incidents occurred on the campus. In 2011 Sandusky was charged with fifty-one counts of sexual abuse. A year later he was found guilty on forty-five counts and sentenced for thirty to sixty years in prison. This is a tragedy and has brought much negativity not only to the Second Mile Foundation he founded but to Penn State as well.
There are several reports that show abuse allegations and evidence of abuse involving multiple boys from 1994-2009. Sandusky met each victim through the Second Mile Foundation. Many are still in shock at the time frame and ask how the abuse could go on for so long. There were reports made over the years but due to cover up of top officials the abuse was never actually reported to the appropriate authorities. The cover up appears to have included many of the top managers at Penn State. To this date there appears to be no indication that anyone working with the Second Mile Foundation was aware of any abuse or unethical practices by Sandusky.
Penn State officials, Athletic Director Tim Curley and Senior Vice Presidents for Finance and Business Gary Schultz were both fired and charged with failing to report the suspected abuse and possible knowledge of the abuse. Joe Paterno longtime coach was also fired with the suspicion of cover up. There were incidents where employees told other employees they witnessed Sandusky abusing children but no reports were filed with the police. The reports were “investigated” by Curley. And the only action taken was that Sandusky’s keys were taken and he was no longer allowed to bring any Second Mile participants to the campus. (International Business, 2011)
November 2009 Sandusky attends a meeting with the board of the Second Mile Foundation.
The officials decided it was time to remove him from the charity. Sandusky advised the board with little detail that he was resigning because he had been accused of sexually abusing young boys. He as well as many of the members cried. Sandusky’s retirement from the foundation was made known to the public in form of letters and basically stated that he was retiring in order to spend more time with his family. But at this time the board members felt sorry for Sandusky. They thought he was a wrongly accused man being forced away from his life’s work. The foundation never really acknowledges the issue at hand with its supporters or members; therefore leaving them with only the information provided by the media. This left many unanswered questions and caused The Second Mile to lose many of its supporters publicly, physically and financially. (Ganim, …show more content…
2012)
The foundation, its employees and programs were also investigated with the goal of making sure there were no cover ups there as well. No evidence was found to suggest such. The sexual abuse scandal of Sandusky caused the destruction of this foundation and they are now in the process of transferring the programs to another foundation. The Second Mile was known as a wonderful program but due to the media on this case they are now only known for the sexual abuse of young children from their founder. Court proceedings are in process to allow the assets to be transferred from Second Mile to Arrow Child and Family Ministries. This is a similar foundation that operates in Texas, Pennsylvania, Maryland, California and Honduras. (Thompson, 2012)
The media coverage of this story brought a multitude of negativity to Penn State and the Second Mile Foundation. It was not only due to the extreme nature of the crimes but the cover up brought shame to the organizations. First and foremost even the best public relations plan could not have prepared anyone for this scandal. However, it definitely could have been handled better.
The first thing is to research all possibilities and all information to find facts. It is very important in trying to convey a positive message dealing with the issue at hand. Create a plan that includes the objective and planned result. The objective here is to answer questions and provide information to the public and the members of the foundation. The result is to show that the foundation was in no way involved in the cover up and had no knowledge of any wrong doing by its founder Jerry Sandusky. It is very important to show that the foundation and its board are involved in getting answers and are assisting with the investigation in a positive manner. Creation of a crisis team with assigned task to specific individuals would assist with covering all objectives. Considering that this scandal was very popular, a team of crisis knowledgeable people will relieve the conception that any issues are missed. Most important is to address the public as quickly and directly as possible. This will be the most difficult step as well. The quickest and most effective communication method to use will be a press conference of sorts. A statement will be made letting the public know that the foundation had no knowledge of the scandal. Making sure to also include a continued plan to keep the public aware of what’s going on as well as our intent to ensure safety to our children in the future. Once the statement has been made there will be an opportunity for questions from the audience. This will show the audience that the foundation has positive intentions, not in covering up the scandal but in resolving the issues at hand and to prevent it in the future. Evaluating the results after initially taking responsibility will be difficult in this situation. The best method would be to ask for feedback from the public as well as board members of the foundation. Social media is a popular place for topics of this nature to be discussed. Creating a blog of sorts will allow feedback from people and give them the opportunity to comment anonymously if needed. Assigning someone to respond back in a positive manner will also bring positive feedback for the campaign. This gives the public the idea that we are listening to their opinions and that they are important. The audience in this campaign is very broad so it is important to try and reach a variety of groups of people. Social media as well as public conferences that are scheduled in advance will contribute to the success of getting the message to the public.
The sexual abuse scandal of Sandusky caused the destruction of The Second Mile Foundation. However, the response from their public relations department contributed majorly to that destruction as well. They chose to not only ignore the issue but to keep its members and supporters in the dark. Pretending the scandal did not occur was the worst thing they could have done. Therefore, members and the public only had the information provided by the media.
The best practice is to always be prepared and to acknowledge the problem.
Face it head on and discuss the objectives and goals to resolve it the best way possible, in a way that will benefit all subjects involved, The Second Mile Foundation was once a well-known program with high honors. Due to avoidance they are now mostly remembered as the foundation connected to a pedophile. There once great charity work is no longer going to be helping their community in the same since because they are now in the process of transferring the programs to another foundation.
References
Ganim, S. (2012, August 13). Jerry Sandusky 's crimes put an end to Second Mile charity: Special report | PennLive.com. Retrieved May 2, 2014, from http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/08/second_mile_jerry_sandusky_1.html
Jerry Sandusky case: Summary of investigation, conviction of the former Penn State defensive coordinator. (2012, November 8). The York Daily Record. Retrieved from http://www.ydr.com/ci_19280635
International Business, T. (0011, July). Sandusky Penn State Scandal Timeline: Abuse, Cover-Ups began in 1994. International Business Times.
Thompson, C. (2012, August 27). Second Mile foundation to close, transfer cash and programs to Texas-based charity | PennLive.com. Retrieved May 2, 2014, from
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/05/the_second_mile_surrenders_to.html