Penn State Scandal: Why Creating a Special Committee Is the Only Move to Make

And so it begins…

Four days after former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was arrested on 40 counts of child molestation charges, Penn State has decided to create a special committee to figure out what in the world can be done to put the fires out on a flame that is about 100 feet high at the moment. They have a meeting scheduled for Friday, where they will appoint members to sift through this nightmare.

Here is what the committee is expected to handle in the coming weeks, according to a statement from the Penn State website:

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This Special Committee will be commissioned to determine what failures occurred, who is responsible and what measures are necessary to insure that this never happens at our University again and that those responsible are held fully accountable. The Special Committee will have whatever resources are necessary to thoroughly fulfill its charge, including independent counsel and investigative teams, and there will be no restrictions placed on its scope or activities.

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In other words, this group of selected officials will decide who gets fired, who takes a leave of absence and who needs to be charged with a crime.

After foolishly canceling today’s Joe Paterno press conference, the university opened itself up to intense scrutiny and speculation. Clearly it isn’t currently prepared for the sort of intense and horrifying scandal that is the No. 1 news story in the entire country. Then again…who is?

While large contingents of people are demanding that Paterno be fired for his nonchalant approach, it looks like it’s not going to happen this week.

The main thing to take away from the formation of a special committee is that everything is under investigation. That means it’s going to take time. There isn’t going to be any knee jerk reactions from PSU. The pressure on Paterno may be too much for him not to resign, but it’s unlikely the special committee will push him out the door until after the football season is over.

This may not sit well with the victims, their parents and plenty of other people around the country, but the university is taking every imaginable step to ensure they handle this situation as professionally, delicately and intelligently as humanly possible.

Remember: This is a scandal unlike any in the history of college sports; there is no precedent here.

Figuring out exactly what to do is the paramount issue right now—even if it takes more time to figure out what exactly that is.