PSU needs some PR Pros! [take 2]

Last night it was decided by the Penn State Board of Trustees that Joe Paterno was not just retiring after this season, he would be forced into retirement immediately and that the President of PSU, Graham Spanier, was also terminated. While their actions ultimately caused this result, Spanier's original statement to the media regarding the scandal did not help his case at all.

Here is Spanier's original statement, issued on November 6:

"The allegations about a former coach are troubling, and it is appropriate that they be investigated thoroughly. Protecting children requires the utmost vigilance.  

With regard to the other presentments, I wish to say that Tim Curley and Gary Schultz have my unconditional support. I have known and worked daily with Tim and Gary for more than 16 years. I have complete confidence in how they have handled the allegations about a former University employee. 

Tim Curley and Gary Schultz operate at the highest levels of honesty, integrity and compassion. I am confident the record will show that these charges are groundless and that they conducted themselves professionally and appropriately."

Spanier beginning this statement by issuing his "unconditional support" for this athletic director and former vice president was a terrible move on his part. His supports the cover-up of child molestation? This statement was issued on the exact same day Curley and Schultz were indicted for their involvement in the scandal- clearly they do not operate at the highest levels of honesty, integrity and compassion. Spanier then disappeared from public view, only to make another statement after his termination.

The sentence that stood out to me the most in the second statement was that he, "would never hesitate to report a crime if I had any suspicion that one had been committed." Except, he did. Spanier’s name appears in the grand jury’s indictment of Sandusky, with it being determined that the president signed off on the course of action taken by Curley and Schultz in 2002 when they became aware of an alleged sexual encounter involving Sandusky and a young boy.


I'm sure there are still many aspects of this case that will unfold in the coming weeks and throughout the legal process. I will continue to follow this story and the reconstruction of Penn State's image because as the alma mater states, "may no act of ours bring shame, to one heart that loves thy name."