Xenophon Strategies

5 Keys For Joe Paterno When Facing Tough Questions about Jerry Sandusky

Blake Rhodes

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno will face some very tough questions at his weekly press conference tomorrow about his former aide Jerry Sandusky, who is facing charges of sexually abusing children.  As a communications professional, I always think about how I would handle the situation if I was advising Paterno on how he should handle tomorrow’s media availability.

The Hall of Fame coach will need a game plan as he heads into one of the most important news conferences of his illustrious career.  If I were coaching Paterno, I would help him prepare with the following five key points:

1.       Show compassion

Show compassion for the victims of the alleged crimes.  The coach did so in his statement to the media on Sunday, but his well wishes for the children needs to be first and foremost:

"The fact that someone we thought we knew might have harmed young people to this extent is deeply troubling. If this is true we were all fooled, along with scores of professionals trained in such things, and we grieve for the victims and their families. They are in our prayers."

2.       Remain calm

Paterno needs to keep his composure since the majority of the questions will not be about the Nittany Lions’ upcoming game against Nebraska.   The media has a job to do and becoming combative will portray Paterno in a more negative light.

3.       Don’t Avoid the Problem

The story will likely be dictated by the media, and news events that Paterno – at least in this case – will be largely unable to control. If he tries to be dismissive of the issues involved in the investigation, he’ll not be serving his interests or those of Penn State.

4.       Stay Within Legal Parameters

Be careful answering questions while being mindful of legal parameters that Penn State’s attorneys have undoubtedly outlined. He may be asked about the following phrase in his statement:  “If this is true we were all fooled, along with scores of professionals trained in such things…” 

This quote is troubling to me and I can’t understand why it was in Paterno’s statement.  It’s understandable that  he wanted to trust his longtime friend and colleague, Sandusky, but it seems out of place when taken in the context of how this situation has developed during the past 15 years.

Paterno may be called to the witness stand should Sandusky’s case go to trial, so everything he says will be scrutinized.  The coach will likely be asked questions about whether he knew of Sandusky’s alleged activities.  While some people may claim that he didn’t do enough to stop Sandusky, he did report a 2002 incident to his superiors after a graduate assistant coach told him about an incident in the locker room showers.  In fact, Pennsylvania attorney general Linda Kelly stated this afternoon that Paterno had “cooperated with investigators and fulfilled his legal obligation to pass information to a superior.”  This declaration provides Paterno with a major talking point moving forward: “according to the attorney general, I fulfilled my legal obligation.”

5.       Be Prepared for the Long Haul

Finally, tomorrow’s news conference is probably just the beginning for Paterno and Penn State, as the case unfolds, so they need to remain disciplined in messaging and delivery. Public sentiment, based on news coverage, is largely negative toward the Penn State Athletic Department and the coach’s job will be to stem some of the emotion by demonstrating sympathy for those involved while outlining a clear plan of action on the part of the school.

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« return to blog | Nov 7, 2011 | crisis communications | football | Jerry Sandusky | Joe Parterno | media relations | Penn State | press conference | reputation and image management