Abstract
This study examined the attitudes of football fans towards the recent events at The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State). The child sexual abuse allegations at Penn State led to the firing of the long-time head football coach and resignation of the university president. Using a snowball sampling technique, participants completed an online questionnaire that assessed their identification with the Penn State football team and their attitudes towards Penn State, and the coach and president. The fans who were high-identified with the football team were expected to demonstrate more support for the actions of, and less perceived responsibility and blame for the coach and president than the low-identified fans. Furthermore, this greater support and decreased responsibility and blame was expected to be enhanced for the coach compared to the president because the coach was more directly linked to the football program. The results supported three of the four hypotheses and demonstrate how identification with a sports team influences perceptions about a scandal in intercollegiate athletics.
Recommended Citation
Lanter, Jason R.
(2013)
"“But it’s Joe Pa!” The Effects of Social Identification on Sport Fan Perceptions of the Penn State Case,"
Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics: Vol. 6:
Iss.
2, Article 1.
Available at:
https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/jiia/vol6/iss2/1