Catastrophe within College Athletics: Similarities and Early Warnings in both Penn State and Syracuse Crises

The athletic community (particularly within collegiate athletics) has been dealing with several high profile scandals and crises over the course of several weeks.  First there was the firestorm that emerged with the Penn State crisis that generated numerous discussions in the PR community about what would be some of the next steps for the university and officials to take in regards to crisis communications.  Now, we are witnessing another story coming down from the state of NY at Syracuse University with one of their assistant coaches on their basketball team.

There are several lessons we can take away from a PR and Crisis Communications perspective for both case studies – and something I think both universities need to take into consideration along with other colleges as well.  Here are some similarities I have seen from both of these cases:

• Feeling of invincibility and “being above the law:”  One of the points that has come out about the Syracuse scandal is the wife of the former assistant coach, Laurie Fine,  was tape recorded (but is in the process of contesting the integrity of the taped conversations) stating that her husband felt he was above the law.  This is a common theme we are seeing in both of these cases – these coaches felt that they were part of a high profile athletic program and that if they were the ones bringing in the athletic prestige, accolades, and funding – they could do no wrong.  This is a huge risk and issue that immediately needs to be addressed not only at both of these institutions – but all athletic and university programs.  There are more incidents where this has a been a case in point – many coaches feel this way.
• You can try to run, but you can’t hide:  The Washington Post made an observation that many of the university officials were trying to go into hiding when the news would break, and you can’t do that.  It is better to take responsibility for the actions and address the hard questions being asked by students, the media, alumni, athletic supporters, and parents to name a few.  Look at what happened just a few years ago with the Duke Lacrosse Crisis in 2006 – there were certainly different approaches and message strategies that were implemented in this crisis compared to these two recent sports and athletic crises.
• Being more effective in looking at early warning signs:  As each of these crises develop and more information is presented in the media – there were clearly many warning signs presented in both the Penn State and Syracuse crises.  Both cases had “internal investigations” within the athletic departments – speaking from personal experience as a former student-athlete, I do not find these investigations to be that effective and many times are used to keep things quiet and out of the view from others.  Also, observing the behavior and actions of some of these coaches would also raise some red flags as well.  There are certain warning signs that really do detect whether or not a coach is professional and proactive with their athletes and other stakeholders – or if he/she is a risk for the program and institution.
• Look at the supporters and who are the “protectors” of these individuals during crisis:  It is interesting to me to see who are the professionals and associates that are supporting some of the key players in both of these cases.  The former President of Penn State was supporting the athletic director and vice president once the news broke at Penn State, while there have been others who have been supportive for Syracuse former assistant coach Bernie Fine.  I wonder if any of these people understand that once they voice their support, their reputation will be tied to these individuals as well.
• Looking at those who are silent:  I am surprised that there have been certain governing bodies and other institutions that have been quiet during all of these recent events.  I wonder what the NCAA will do in terms of making sure that this type of incident does not happen again.  What about more evaluation measures for coaches and staff members tied with the athletic department?  Professors are reviewed on an annual basis based on not only their performance in research, but also in the classroom.  There needs to be the same standards associated with coaches and staff members.  Also, make sure that if you found out that people knew that there was a problem within the athletic department and did not do anything about it and there is documentation to proof this was the case – they need to be also held accountable for their actions.
• Both institutions are focusing not on the true issue at hand – the victims impacted and lives changed forever:  The core issue that needs to be addressed in the community, media, and within the university system is not whether or not a coach is being fired of the future of the athletic program – but there have been several children who are now adults and some still young and their lives will be forever changed.  Both Penn State and Syracuse need to take this into account and focus on addressing these audiences, not the athletic donors.