The document discusses the Penn State sexual abuse scandal and how a strong corporate social responsibility (CSR) plan could have helped Penn State handle the situation more ethically. It details how Jerry Sandusky abused children over many years while a coach at Penn State, and how Penn State officials like Joe Paterno and university leaders failed to properly report the abuse to the police. This allowed the abuse to continue and damaged Penn State's reputation. A proper CSR policy would have required officials to notify the authorities and protect the children and community.

1. “Penn State and The Scandal Within”
How a CSR could have benefited Penn State.
Brett Henderson
Drur University

2. “Penn State and the Scandal Within”
How much did Penn State officials know about an assistant football
coach sexually molesting young children on their campus? Did they
communicate their knowledge ethically? This is a question that can be
analyzed to determine if the people at the university responded to the
situation in an ethical manner. What exactly did they know? What actions
did they take to make sure it would not happen again? Did they use the
corporate responsibility plan effectively to ethically communicate the
information to ensure the safety of the children? Who did not take the
right precautions to make sure it was taken care of? These are all valid
and important questions moving forward.
The scandal that happened at Penn State was devastating to not
only the fans, but also the parents of young children who attended the
non-profit organization, Second Mile, that Jerry Sandusky ran on the
university's campus. In David Epstein’s article, the title says it all—
“Missteps at Every Turn” (Epstein, D. Nov. 28, 2011). Epstein analyzes the
“missteps” the Penn State officials took when handling this case. He
states, “Even as Penn State’s faculty senate called on Friday for an
independent review of the university’s actions in the Sandusky case, and
announced the appointment on Monday of former FBI chief Louis Freeh to
head Penn State’s internal investigation, and the NCAA announced that it
would take up the question of institutional control in the Nittany Lion’s

3. football program, it was clear there’s plenty more to be done” (Epstein D.
Nov. 28 2011).
If all three organizations were conducting individual investigations,
the chance that something went wrong in the communication process is
probable. In an article written by Brad Wolverton, he says, “A
communication breakdown between senior officials and trustees at Penn
State University in reacting to the case against a former football coach,
Jerry Sandusky, contributed to what some crisis-communications experts
say was a weak initial response by the institution” (Wolverton B. Nov. 25,
2011). This obvious breakdown of communication needs to be
examined, and hopefully other people that come across this situation can
learn how to better handle such a tragedy.
Looking at how Penn State officials handled the information they
received, the breakdown of ethics in communication that the officials
failed to perform must be examined. It will also breakdown the CSR of
Penn State when looking at the firing of legendary coach , Joe Paterno,
and whether they followed the correct steps or jumped the gun.
First, the background story needs to be examined in order to
realize the actions that resulted from it. In Brenda Medina’s article in the
Chronicle of Higher Education, she highlights a time line of what
happened. Starting in 1994, when Jerry Sandusky, an assistant football
coach for Penn State, met a 10-year-old boy. For the next two years,

4. Sandusky touched the young boy inappropriately and showered with
him. From 1998-2000, Sandusky touched more children and made more
poor decisions with young boys. One of the children told his mother, and
during a phone call, Sandusky admitted to showering naked with the boy,
and vowed to never shower with children again. Detectives were listening
to this phone call, and yet nothing happened to him (Medina B. Nov. 18,
2011).
In 1999, after being told he would not be the next head coach of
Penn State, Jerry Sandusky retired as an assistant coach. However, he was
granted use of the facilities as part of his “emeritus status.” Just a year
later in 2000, a janitor oversaw Sandusky performing oral sex on a
young child, and although the janitor reported this to his supervisor, a
formal report was never filed.
In 2002, Michael McQueary witnessed Sandusky performing crude
acts and reported it to Joe Paterno. Paterno took the report to Penn
State’s athletic director, Tim Curley, and they were told that Sandusky’s
keys were taken away from him. Paterno then informed Senior Vice
President, Gary Shultz, of the information he was given. The president of
the University, Graham Spanier, was also informed of the situation and
said, “I approve of how the situation was handled.”
In 2011, Mr. Shultz and Mr. Curley testified in front of a jury and
said the accusations toward Sandusky described to them by Mr. Paterno
and Mr. McQueary “were not that serious” (Medina, B. Nov. 18, 2011).

5. Later in 2011, both stepped down from their positions and turned
themselves into the police. Penn State’s Board of Trustees then fired Mr.
Spainer and Joe Paterno (Medina, B. Nov. 18, 2011). This marked the
beginning of the fall-outs that resulted from the terrible situation that
Jerry Sandusky brought upon the university.
The firing of legendary coach, Joe Paterno, came as a surprise to
the avid fans of the coach and football program. Matt Millen, a former
player of Coach Paterno, told USA Today, “I am numb, forget the football
aspect. We just lost a great contributor to our society. He was more than
a football coach. There are many living positive testimonies walking
around because of Joe Paterno. He straightened out many lives” (Carey J.
Jan. 26, 2012). Steve Shaffer, a season ticket holder who saw Paterno’s
first win as a head coach, said, “the whole thing is like finding out there
was no Santa Claus” (Carey J. Jan. 26, 2012).
The students gathered on Penn State’s campus to protest the firing
of Joe Paterno and did not stay peaceful for long. According to an article
written by Emil Guillermo, “the football mentality took over as the
gathering swelled into a full-scale riot with 2,000 people involved,
numerous arrested and a television truck overturned” (Guillermo E. Dec. 8
2011). Without question, the decision to fire the longtime coach added
another dim light to the university.
Public outcry after his firing continued long after the riots had
finished. Although his decision-making was called into question, he

6. communicated the information he received from McQueary ethically by
reporting it to his superiors. Paterno said in a statement to the press, “As
my grand jury testimony stated, I was informed in 2002 by an assistant
coach that he had witnessed an incident in the shower of our locker room
facility. It was obvious that the witness was distraught over what he saw,
but he at no time related to me the very specific actions contained in the
grand jury report” (Scott C. Nov. 7 2011). Paterno referred the incident
involving Sandusky, who had worked for Paterno for 23 years, to college
administrators (Scott C. Nov. 7 2011). The firing of the most winning
coach in football history was not only devastating to the Penn State
family, but the entire nation, as well.
Continuing forth, there are two main issues worth examining when
it comes to the breakdown of communication involving this case. The
first issue is the official’s failure to communicate the information to the
right sources in order to solve the problem from within the university.
The second issue is how the president handled the situation with the
board once it leaked to the public. Both of these issues, if handled
properly, would have saved the university some heartache.
The first concern to examine is the failure to communicate
information. The first accusation on Penn State’s campus was in 1998,
when a janitor witnessed Sandusky giving oral sex to a young boy in the
locker room showers. “The janitor was so upset he was moved to tears,
and co-workers feared he might have a heart attack. They also feared for

7. their jobs” (Wertheim J. Nov. 21, 2011). No report was filed on the
alleged events.
The next event, and most publicly discussed, happened in 2002
when McQueary witnessed Sandusky having anal intercourse with a young
child in the showers on Penn State’s campus. McQueary then contacted
Joe Paterno the next day, without interfering with Sandusky during the
action. Paterno contacted the athletic director, Mr. Curley, the next day
to inform him of the allegations. Curley relayed the information to Vice
President Schultz, who then passed the information on to President
Spainer. Although this can be analyzed as an ethical way of relaying
information, the amount of people it traveled through diluted the details
of the information.
In the article This Is Penn State, Wertheim Curley said that passing
along the information “made a member of Curley’s staff uncomfortable”
(Wertheim J. Nov. 21 2011). Mr. Curley contacted Second Mile, the non-
profit Sandusky ran, and neither Curley, nor Second Mile, reported it to
the police. As a result, Sandusky was prohibited from bringing children
on campus. This shows a complete breakdown in communication and was
not handled in a way that would be deemed ethical. If any of the high-
ranking officials, who, according to Jon Wertheim, includes Schultz and
Curley, but excludes Joe Paterno, who is not classified as a “senior staff
member,” had called the police, maybe this situation would have never
caused the harm to future children that it did.

8. The second issue to examine is how the president shared the news
of the situation with the Board of Trustees. In Brad Wolverton’s article, he
says, “ [a] decision not to notify the full board about the state attorney
general’s investigation and the charges against Mr. Sandusky may have
hastened the departure of President Graham B. Spainer according to
people with knowledge of the boards deliberations” (Wolverton B. Nov.
25, 2011). The board of trustees did not receive official news of the
allegations until the coach was arrested, although they had heard news of
the allegations on the radio or through family members who had read
about the scandal on various news sites and other sources. Kenneth
Frazier, chairman of the board, told reporters, “the board learned about
this situation when it became public” (Wolverton B. Nov. 25, 2011). The
president did not let the board know about what was going on, as they
had no idea and were blindsided when they heard about it second-hand.
Mr. Spanier took it upon himself, without deliberating with the
board, to release a statement describing his “unconditional support” for
Mr. Curley and Mr. Schultz. He also showed little to no sympathy for the
victims. This shows the communication avenue had missing links and the
board had little to no say on the statements made by the “university.”
The whole Board of Trustees should have a say on how the university will
respond to a situation. Richard Chait said, “I do think presidents need to
share information of great weight or potential magnitude almost
immediately with some predetermined subset of the board.” Mr. Chait

9. also said in his statement, “the more urgent the situation, the more
swiftly leaders must decide how much to say and to whom. It should
probably lift toward more information sooner” (Wolverton B. Nov. 25,
2011).
Thomas McMillen, a member of the University System of Maryland’s
Board of Regents, said “it’s a problem when presidents and athletic
departments don’t fully inform boards about trouble ahead. Presidents
and boards need to establish a whole new level of relationship where
there’s much transparency, and not delayed transparency, so boards can
weigh this stuff appropriately” (Wolverton B. Nov. 25, 2011). The actions
taken by the president of the board prove he did not ethically
communicate with the rest of the board. If there had been some
discussion about the case, what information had been gathered and a
decision made based on the outcome, there might have been a better
outcome in the public eye. The singular fact that the board learned about
the arrest of Sandusky through the press proves a breakdown in
communication.
To examine the ethical perspectives applied, we need to look at
some ethical principals that should have been applied. For the
breakdown regarding the information that Mr. McQueary had, it could
have been solved ethically a few different times. Any one of the four
people (McQueary, Paterno, Curley, Shultz) with the knowledge of what
was going on, should have contacted police. Carolyn Atwell-Davis says,

10. “Anybody may report it. States want people who are in a position to
become aware of child sexual abuse to report their allegation” (Scherer R.
Nov. 17, 2011).
According to Mrs. Atwell-Davis, McQueary, Paterno, Curley and
Shultz should have contacted police about the information they knew. In
the article Penn State Has No Defense, Sean Gregory states, “By informing
a superior that a graduate assistant had witnessed Sandusky’s alleged
sexual contact with a 10-year-old boy, Paterno says he was not told it
was rape, the Penn State Coach met his legal obligation. But what about
that moral influence?” (Gregory S. Nov. 21, 2011) This statement made
by Gregory questions the ethics involved by Paterno.
In the Handbook of Communication Ethics, it defines corporate
social responsibility as “Social virtues such as fairness, responsibility,
accountability and community have always informed and shaped human
interaction and organization, not least in the area of economic
transactions” (Christensen L. pg. 457). According to this definition, if Mr.
Paterno and Mr. McQueary had followed the CSR that should have been in
place at Penn State, he would have had an ethical responsibility to the
community to take actions into his own hands and contact the police. As
for Mr. Curley and Mr. Shultz, they had a legal obligation to contact the
police.
In Ron Scherer’s article he states “Almost every state lists specific
professions, especially those licensed by the state, that are expressly

11. required to notify both the police and child welfare agencies” (Scherer R.
Nov. 17, 2011). Both Curley and Shultz had a legal and ethical
responsibility to turn this in to police. Christensen examines the recent
use of Corporate Social Responsibility and states, “Today, the adherence
to social virtues usually takes place under the banner of “Corporate
Social Responsibility.” CSR refers to activities through which companies
contribute to a presumed better society and a cleaner environment by
including the public interest into its decision-making” (Christensen L.
pg. 457). If any of the people involved in this had followed the basic
outlines of a CSR model, they would have solved the situation before it
got out of hand.
Proper use of CSR could have saved jobs, and would have
prevented the negative publicity for the university. Not only would it have
saved these things, it would have also prevented some of the children
from getting sexually molested. If they would have simply followed the
CSR model, all of this would have been prevented. That is why a CSR
model is so important.
Implications
Through my analysis of the allegations of sexual child abuse
scandal that happened on Penn States campus, I found there was more
unethical behavior than I originally thought. When I first heard about the
case, in my opinion, I believed that Coach Paterno was wrongfully fired. I
believed before researching this case that Paterno did the right thing by

12. relaying the information he received. However, after studying the facts, I
have come to the conclusion that Paterno should have been fired as head
coach of the Penn State University football program. He simply did not
follow the corporate social responsibility model of the university like he
should have.
I also believe he had a responsibility to the community to take
action against Jerry Sandusky and turn it over to the police. Sean Gregory
said it best in his article Penn State Has No Defense, “Paterno, the biggest
man on campus, chose to punt this problem to a Penn State University
bureaucrat” (Gregory. S Nov. 21, 2011).
I found through my analysis that there is a clear understanding
that a situation like this can be made more ethical in the future. I believe
every university, not only Penn State, should look at their CSR model and
take it seriously. Every employee should be trained on the company’s CSR
model and should be held accountable for following it, due in large part
to the crisis that it can help prevent.. I believe the role of a CSR model
could have changed the outcome of this case drastically, and would have
saved Penn State and Joe Paterno’s reputation.
Larry Henderson, an avid college football fan, had this to say about
the crisis, “It’s extremely ironic that the institution and image that Joe
Paterno worked his whole life to build, and tried to protect by doing the
minimal legal thing, ended up being destroyed by not doing the ethical
thing. How untouchable they must have felt to hide the truth, and

13. underestimate the public’s ability to recognize and support the institution
under turmoil created by doing the right thing. Now lives are destroyed,
and it is even more difficult for the institution and supporters to recover,
and the legacy Joe Paterno worked so hard to preserve is tarnished
forever.”
The biggest communication phenomena that I took away from my
analysis was the important role a corporate social responsibility model
can be to a company. I believe it’s in the best interest for everyone who is
running a business to make sure the company’s model is being used
effectively. My analysis made me realize that if Penn State would have
followed their CSR model from the beginning, it would have saved them
from the outcome that was seemingly forced upon them in the end.
Conclusion
The book Ethics in Human Communication, Johanssen speaks of
ethics and personal character. According to this book, ethics and
personal character include “emphasis on duties, obligations, rules,
principles and the resolution of complex ethical dilemmas has dominated
the contemporary philosophy of ethics” (Johanssen R. pg 10).
In both cases analyzed, neither one used appropriate ethical
measures to communicate the information to solve the issue at hand.
Communications addressing the CSR Model at Penn State University is
something that should have been taken very seriously. Each party
involved in the first case analyzed, Paterno, McQuery, Curley, Shultz, did

14. not follow the CSR. The result of this lack of ethical communication
ballooned into a bigger issue than anyone ever imagined. The aftermath
resulted in legendary coach Joe Paterno getting fired, Shultz and Curley
stepping down from their position and turning themselves into the police,
and McQuery being suspended from coaching. All of the aftermath could
have been avoided and the reputation of the university saved by
practicing ethical communication and following the corporate social
responsibility model.
Through the training of CSR and ethical communication, the
scandal that occurred at Penn State University involving Jerry Sandusky
sexually molesting young kids, could have been avoided. The main focus
of this paper was to understand how the repercussions could have been
avoided. It also serves as a different outlook on how a situation similar
to this can be handled in a different manner in the future.

15. Annotated Bibliography
1. Scott, D. (2011, November 7). Jerry Sandusky: What did Penn
State's Joe Paterno know about him? (video). Christian Science
Monitor. p. N.PAG.
a. In this article, author David Scott writes about what hall-
of-fame coach Joe Paterno knew about the Jerry Sandusky
case. The article talks about when Joe Paterno received
this information, and what he did about it. It also talks
about what Paterno said in a press release after the
incident was made public. It has quotes from the athletic
director, the senior vice president for finance, as well as
Penn State’s president. This article is from the point-of-
view of “What did Joe Pa know and when did he know
about it.”
2. DeKay, S. H. (2011). Doing What’s Right: Communicating
Business Ethics. Business Communication Quarterly, 74(3), 287-
288. doi:10.1177/1080569911413813
a. This article is about doing what is right in communication
ethics. This will help me understand what ethics really is
and how Penn State followed or didn’t follow the rules. I
think that this article is great for a deeper understanding
on how to communicate within the business world.
3. Barnes, M. C., & Keleher, M. (2006). ETHICS IN
CONFLICT. Business Communication Quarterly, 69(2), 144-157.
a. This paper is about the ethical steps that people need to
take in a communication setting. The biggest issue is
dealing with conflict and how to do it ethically. This will
help me because I feel the way Penn State treated Joe
Paterno in the firing was not ethical.
4. Joe Paterno. (2011). Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th
Edition, 1.
a. This is an article about Joe Paterno’s life and information
about his life. This gave me a look into his life prior to his
legendary coaching career. I liked this article because it
gave me solid facts about his personal life, which will allow
me to get a better look at what he was about.

16. 5. Guarino, M. (2012, February 14). Do ex-daughter-in-law's
allegations change Jerry Sandusky case?. Christian Science
Monitor. p. N.PAG.
a. This article is written about Jerry Sandusky’s ex-daughter-
in-law. She has allegations against him, saying he sexually
molested one of her children. This gives me more insight
about what kind of person Jerry Sandusky continues to be.
6. Wolverton, B., Stripling, J., & Hebel, S. (2011). An Icon Falls,
and a President With Him. Chronicle Of Higher
Education, 58(13), A1-29.
a. This article is written about how an “Icon Falls and a
President with Him.” The title explains a lot because it’s
about how Joe Paterno and the president of the university
both got fired. They were let go because of the actions that
Jerry Sandusky, and two big members of the university,
suffered from his actions. It also goes on to talk about the
trail of accusations that is going to be pressed up
Sandusky.
b.
c.
Rieder, R. (2011). Making a Statement. American Journalism
Review, 33(3), 2.
d. The article discusses the story in the "Patriot-News"
newspaper of the Penn State scandal involving allegations
that former football coach Jerry Sandusky abused young
boys during his tenure with the university. He was a
longtime assistant coach to Joe Paterno. He got a lot of
people in trouble, a lot of high ranking officials including
head coach, Joe Paterno. The author commends the
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania newspaper's front page editorial,
calling for the resignations of Paterno and University
President Graham
Spanier, and the decisions of editor Jeanette Krebs.
7. Friedman, M. S., Marshal, M. P., Guadamuz, T. E., Wei, C.,
Wong, C. F., Saewyc, E. M., & Stall, R. (2011). A Meta-Analysis
of Disparities in Childhood Sexual Abuse, Parental Physical
Abuse, and Peer Victimization Among Sexual Minority and Sexual
Nonminority Individuals. American Journal Of Public
Health, 101(8), 1481-1494. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2009190009
a. This article is written about what childhood sexual abuse
is, how to detect it and the harm it does to children. It has

17. useful information regarding studies on how it can affect
the children and what it means to the victims. It is a well
written article and will help me describe what actions
Sandusky performed and how it damaged the children.
8. Solomon, G. (2011). Slow to React. American Journalism
Review, 33(3), 28-51.
a. The article discusses the reporting in the "Patriot-News"
newspaper of the Pennsylvania State University sex
scandal involving allegations that former football coach
Jerry Sandusky abused young boys during his tenure with
the tacit consent of other officials including head coach Joe
Paterno. The author commends the Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania newspaper's front page editorial calling for
the resignations of Paterno and University President
Graham Spanier, and the decisions of editor Jeanette
Krebs.
9. Jonsson, P. (2011, November 15). Bob Costas interview: Did
Jerry Sandusky make things worse for himself?. Christian
Science Monitor. p. N.PAG.
a. This article is about an interview with famous sports
journalist, Bob Costas, and Jerry Sandusky. The article
talks about if Jerry Sandusky’s lawyer made things worse
by letting the former Penn State coach talk about the case.
The interview was supposed to make Sandusky look better
to the public by denying that he was a pedophile, and clear
up the actions that took place. What happened is it made
him seem guilty and “Sandusky’s words and behavior bore
striking similarities to the kind of coping strategies that
sexual predators use to deflect guilt and psychologically
survive being confronted with their crimes.” That quote
from lawyer Jeff Anderson, who represents cases of victims
of child abuse and sexual assault, pretty much breaks
down the whole article and what Sandusky said compared
to other sexual offenders.
10. Wolverton, B., Stripling, J., & Hebel, S. (2011). An Icon Falls,
and a President With Him. Chronicle Of Higher
Education, 58(13), A1-29.
a. This article, written by Brad Wolverton, is broken into
different sections describing events and outlooks from the
situation. The first sections talks about the trial of
accusations, where it discusses what happened and what

18. Jerry Sandusky has been charged with. The next section
talks about unanswered questions, whether it’s who to
blame, what Mike McQueary told the coaches and if moral
requirements can be brought up in a court of law. The next
three sections of the article are talking about the
president, the closing of the program that Sandusky ran
and finally a section on Joe Paterno.
11. Wood, D. B. (2011, November 8). How rage over Jerry Sandusky
sex-abuse scandal engulfed Joe Paterno. Christian Science
Monitor. p. N.PAG.
a. This article is about the reaction that Joe Paterno had over
the information he received regarding the Jerry Sandusky
case. The article also talks about how he was forced out of
coaching as well as what was going to happen to the
university. This article also talks about the graduate
student who turned Sandusky in. Mark Tatge has a lot of
input in this article, as he is a journalism professor at
DePauw University.
12. Wertheim, L., & Epstein, D. (2011). THIS IS PENN STATE.
(Cover story).Sports Illustrated, 115(20), 40-53.
a. This article in Sports illustrated is called “This is Penn
State.” This talks about how the college in State College
Pennsylvania reacted. The first quote of the article tells a
lot about what the article is about. “Had Sandusky not
been so brazen, had he simply restricted himself to the
football facilities, there is little to suggest he would have
been caught. For Sandusky, if not for the boys, Penn State
was a safe haven.” This article talks about how Penn State
was seen as a University before and after the situation
occurred.
13. Bissinger, B. (2011). Penn State's New
Villain. Newsweek, 158(22), 4-5.
a. Titled “Penn State’s New Villain” this article goes into detail
about Jerry Sandusky’s life and how he affected the
University with his crude actions. It goes into detail about
how the grand jury works and how it will choose the
outcome of the case. The main point that comes out of this
article is that the investigation started long before it came
to the public, and Tom Corbett, who is the Pennsylvania
governor and was the attorney general, investigated him.

19. 14. Bennett, J., & Berstein, J. (2011). Complicit
Wives. Newsweek, 158(24), 28.
a. This article written in Newsweek is all about Jerry
Sandusky’s wife. In this article, the author wonders about
if Dottie Sandusky knew about what was going on and
didn’t try to stop it. There is a lot of research used in it
about other cases, such as Syracuse’s coach Bernie Fine
and his wife, as well as other pedophiles and their
situations. The research says that males are more likely to
be able to live a double life and not show any signs of the
crimes they are committing.
15. Gregory, S., Webley, K., & Dodds, E. (2011). PENN STATE OF
MIND. Time,178(23), 48-51.
a. This Time Magazine article written by Sean Gregory is
about the impact these crude acts has on the football team
as a whole. It talks about the recruits, the players and the
coaching staff. This also talks about the impact it has on
the financial side of the college game and how it taints
that. It also discusses how the safety of the college town
feels not as safe now and is a problem for the students.
This article is very interesting to me on how this not only
affected the campus, the sport and the town, but also the
students, the family’s and the players.
16. Wolverton B., & Sander, L. (2011). Failure to Alert Board Cost
Penn State's Leadership Dearly. (Cover story). Chronicle Of
Higher Education, 58(14), A1-A9.
a. In this article, it discusses the communication process for
this incident and how it cost the boards leadership in a
negative manner. It also talks about the board of trustees
and the communication breakdown that went on between
the senior officials and trustees at Penn State. It talks
about the governing board as part of the president’s job
and how he needs to speak openly with them. This article
is all about the board and how the communication
breakdown lead them down a bad path.
17. Solomon, G. (2011). Slow to React. American Journalism
Review, 33(3), 28-51.
a. In the “Slow to React” article, it’s all about how the other
news outlets were late to cover the story. “Back in March,
the Patriot News in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, broke the
story of the grand jury investigation that triggered the

20. massive Penn State child abuse scandal. But other news
outlets were slow to follow.” This article was all about how
this one news paper in Harrisburg leaked the story about
the investigation but no one else wanted to believe it.
18. Bissinger, B. (2011). Open Secrets. Newsweek, 158(21), 4.
a. This article was not only written about Jerry Sandusky but
college athletics as a whole. This article talks about how
coach’s know to much, participate in illegal activities and
have low moral values when it comes to recruiting players.
In the case of Jerry Sandusky there was no ethical value
when it came to the communication of the known
information by the coach’s and the board as well as the
president. This article talks about the ethics in college
athletics.
19. Gregory, S. (2011). Penn State Has No Defense. Time, 178(20),
17.
a. This article is mainly talking about the football team and,
more importantly, about Joe Paterno and what he meant
to the university. The article talks about JoePa and how he
coached, what he did for the community and his records
and how everyone at Penn State looked up to him like he
was their godfather. It also explains his side of the story
and about how he felt he fulfilled his legal obligation with
the information that he knew. This article evaluates the
leadership of the coach, to president, to Sandusky to the
assistant that turned him in.
20. Epstein, D., & Wertheim, L. (2011). Missteps at Every
Turn. Sports Illustrated,115(21), 24-25.
a. In this article written in Sports Illustrated, they discuss the
missteps that Penn State had on every level. They
breakdown into a timeline of each event in order to get a
better understanding on what happened and when it
happened. They also breakdown the communication
process and how it could have changed the outcome of the
investigation and the event. It also talks about other
colleges that have gotten in trouble for other issues and
comparing the way they were handled to the way Penn
State handled its situation.

21. 21. Koller, D. L. (2011). It's a Guy Thing at Penn State, and That's a
Problem.Chronicle Of Higher Education, 58(15), A17.
a. This article is about the differences between men and
women in this situation. Dionne Koller talks about how
women are more likely to have been victims than men, so
they have a different out look on the situation. They also
have more emotions and act differently and more mother-
like when it comes to sensitive situations. She also talks
about the leadership would have taken a different path if
they were women who were on the board. She says “At
heart, the Penn State story shows why representation of
women in athletic programs is not just about statistics or
abstract notions of “equality.” A different voice, shaped by
a different gender experiences, might have seen the
situation not from the position of a “brotherhood”
attempting to preserve the power and image and revenue
that were propping up Peen State’s football franchise, but
instead by recognizing the gravity of the victimization that
may have been taken place.”
22. Blumenstyk, G., & Stripling, J. (2011). Anger Darkens Mood on
Campuses.Chronicle Of Higher Education, 58(15), A1-A9.
a. This article speaks of the anger, darkness and bad moods
on the campus of Penn State University. This talks about
controversial leadership decisions that lead to a campus
full of skepticism and gloom. This also discusses the
politics of today teamed up with the power of social media,
as well as the vast majority of media outlets have hurt the
program as well. This article also targets Penn State and
says they are in the media cross-hairs and have to do
everything correct to keep their name out of the media
and get credibility back.
23. Troop, D. (2012). An Opaque Stop on the Penn State President's
Transparency Tour. Chronicle Of Higher Education, 58(20), A9.
a. This article is an “Opaque Stop on the Penn State
President’s Transparency Tour.” This is the title of the
article written by Don Troop, but it also explains what the
article is about. In this article, it talks with Rodney
Erickson and the direction that Penn State University is
going when choosing a new president. This article goes
through and talks about how they are going to take it
slow, and open as they chose a new president to take over
during a situation like this in which they got themselves in.

22. “Openness and communication are my guiding principles
and watchwords.” That is the process that is going to be
taken to choose a new person for this high-pressure
position.
24. White, C. R. (2012). YOUR VOICE MATTERS. Essence (Time
Inc.), 42(9), 16.
a. This article is written about a topic that could have saved
the university, the coach’s, and more importantly, kids in
the process. In this article called “Your Voice Matters,” it
explains the need to speak up for yourself in a situation
that needs it. But also in this article it explains that you
need to speak up for people who can’t in order save lives.
Children continued to get hurt for a long time because
people chose not to step up and be a man and take on the
challenge of what happened in Penn State.
25. Jack, C., & Kelly, W. (n.d). Paterno's final month marred by
Sandusky scandal.USA Today.
a. This article written in USA Today is about Joe Paterno’s
final month on earth as one of the winningest coaches in
sports history. As a legend to the game of college football
and a godfather on Penn State’s campus, the allegations
that have been brought to campus have tainted his status
some. Everyone on campus and around the nation loves
JoePa and what he had stood for. This article breaks down
what JoePa thought was the right process of doing what he
did.
26. Guillermo, E. (2011). The Wrong-Way Protestors at Penn
State. Diverse: Issues In Higher Education, 28(22), 9.
a. This article is written about the way protesters at Penn
State were protesting wrong. The peaceful gathering of
2,000 fans quickly turned into a physical protest where
people became angry and arrested. This didn’t protest on
the fact of what happened with the sex abuse scandal, but
the firing of Joe Paterno. This was the wrong thing to
protest and it shows a lack of communication from the
university and the public.
27. Medina, B. (2011). How Penn State's Sex-Abuse Scandal
Unfolded: a Timeline.Chronicle Of Higher Education, 58(13), A4-
30.

23. a. This article, written by Brenda Medina in the Chronicle of
Higher Education, is about the Jerry Sandusky case in
which children of his charity might have been sexually
abused. This article is a timeline of how Penn State’s sex
abuse scandal unfolded. This article walks through each
incident that happened until the public was finally notified
of the situation and it was brought out in the media. In
this article it starts in 1994 where he meets his first boy,
and continues all the way to 2011 where he gets turned in
for sexual misconduct.
28. Scherer, R. (2011, November 17). Penn State lesson: what to do
if you suspect sexual abuse of a child. Christian Science Monitor.
p. N.PAG.
a. This article is written on how to react or what to do if you
hear about a sexual abuse of a child or of any kind. This
article breaks down the steps that Penn State should have
followed in order to keep the kids out of future harm. In
the article it says that in every state lists specific
professions especially those licensed by the state that are
required to notify both the police and the child welfare
agencies. There were many steps that Penn State did
wrong and this article is proof of that.
29. Posnanski, J. (2012, January 30). The Final Days. Retrieved from
Sports Illustrated website: Article
a. This article is written in the months after Joe Paterno died.
This was a tribute to his life and how he was a great coach
who has been overshadowed by the situation that his long
time assistant coach put him in. Joe Paterno was fired from
Penn State, and in his final days after being released, he
was dying with cancer. People would visit his house and
visit the hospital until the very last breath.
30. Arnett, R. C., Harden Fritz, J. M., & Bell, L. M. (2009).
Communication Ethics Literacy. California: Sage.
a. This is a comprehensive and engaging treatment of
communication ethics combined with student application
and theoretical engagement. Communication ethics literacy
reviews classic communication ethics approaches and
extends the conversation about dialogue and difference in
public and private communication periods.

24. 31. Johannesen, R. L., Valde, K. S., & Whedbee, K. E. (2008). Ethics
In Human Communication. Ilinois: Waveland Press.
a. This book is broad but also very precise in explanation of
the ethics that it teaches. It provides a thorough and
comprehensive overview of philosophy perspective and
contexts that pinpoint ethical issues that are common with
human communication.
32. Cheney, G., May, S., & Munshi, D. (2011). The Handbook of
Communication Ethics. New York, New York: Routledge.
a. The HCE serves as a comprehensive guide to the study of
communication and ethics. It brings together analysis and
applications based on recognized ethical theories as well as
those outside the traditional domain of ethics, but which
engage important questions of power equality and justice.