ABSTRACT
In the aftermath of the proceedings that determined Gerald A. Sandusky, a former defensive coordinator for the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) football team, had abused a position of trust and sexually abused young men, both in Penn State athletics facilities and elsewhere, Penn State’s Board of Trustees commissioned a report to determine exactly where Penn State failed. Freeh Sporkin & Sullivan, LLP, an organization that former federal judge and FBI director Louis Freeh headed, determined that Penn State’s highest leadership failed in its obligation to investigate suspicions of child abuse and abdicated its obligations to the community it served. Since the organization published the report on its findings (Freeh Sporkin & Sullivan, 2012; hereafter called the Freeh Report), the majority of the criticism and media attention has rested with Graham Spanier (Penn State’s former president), Gary Schultz (Penn State’s former senior vice president for finance and business), Tim Curley (Penn State’s former athletic director), and Joseph Paterno (Penn State’s former head football coach). Indeed, given that Spanier, Schultz, and Curley have been indicted for offenses that include perjury, obstruction of justice, and endangering the welfare of children, the focus upon their alleged failures is appropriate.
