From the President of Penn State to its illustrious head football coach, Joe Paterno, to the administrators of Second Mile, a charitable organization for at-risk children, organizational leaders are falling from grace because of a former coworker and defensive coordinator for the Penn State football team, Jerry Sandusky. Sandusky has been arrested on 40 counts of child sexual assault.
One charge stems from an incident where Mike McQuery, then a graduate assistant coach, reported that he witnessed child sex abuse. He reported the abuse to his boss, Paterno, and later in a meeting with Penn State athletic director, Tim Curley, and senior vice president, Gary Schultz.
No one reported the incident to police, according to the Grand Jury report, although some are disputing that point claiming that McQuery did report to campus police.
McQuery was placed on administrative leave by the University’s Board of Trustees, and both Curley and Schultz have surrendered on charges and have stepped down from their posts.
The executive director of Second Mile, Jack Raykovitz, recently resigned from his position amid questions about whether he ignored sex abuse allegations against Sandusky and allowed him to continue working with young boys. According to a statement by Raykovitz, Penn State officials notified Second Mile in 2002 about the incident as reported by Coach McQueary. He also knew that Sandusky was banned from a local school.
Others who were privy to Sandusky’s misconduct included members of the campus police, the State College police, the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, and the former Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar. Many face accusations of perjury and failure to report child sex abuse. “Penn State Scandal: Timeline of Sex Abuse Scandal that Has Rocked Happy Valley,” www.nydailynews.com (Nov. 13, 2011); “Judge Who Set No Bail for Penn State Sex Abuse Suspect Volunteered for Him,” www.abcnews.go.com (Nov. 14, 2011).
Commentary and Checklist
As the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse tragedy unfolds publicly, we are reminded of the importance that ethical leadership plays in our communities…and workplaces.
According to the Penn State University Staff Employee Handbook, an ethics and compliance hotline exists for employees to report anonymously wrongdoing and acts of misconduct, and it is also accessible through the Internet. The problem in this case was not the lack of avenues for reporting wrongdoing, but what organizational leaders did with the reports once they were received.
The 23-page Grand Jury indictment outlining Sandusky’s abuse reveals failure upon failure by safe adults to report, investigate and follow-up on reports of Sandusky’s abuse which, if the charges are proven, only allowed the criminal behavior to continue. University officials, employees, campus and local police, parents and coaches all had an opportunity to report the abuse or ask why reports were not investigated and acted upon. At every turn, a safe adult failed to follow their “moral compass.”
Asking “why” or “why not” to report wrongdoing to authorities when wrongdoing occurs is a process that all leaders must learn to accept as their ethical duty. The answer to tough questions acts as a magnet in the moral compass to help leaders make ethical decisions and take the appropriate course of action.
At some point, someone or everyone in the chain of communication made a conscious decision not to protect children and to protect something or someone else instead. That choice was unethical.
Here are some other points that will lead you to a “right” decision:
- Respect of authority is a good attribute of any employee. Blindly following authority is not.
- There are moral and immoral orders. You have a moral duty not to follow an immoral order.
- Encourage your subordinates to ask “why?” The best leaders seek debate and interaction while the weakest demand blind loyalty.
- “I was following orders” is neither a legal nor moral defense.
- “If you say so” is never a proper response to an unethical order.
- Never ignore your moral compass. Take the ethical path.
This article was published in Merchants Employers Protection
