Fox On Friday Night Lights

Tom Fox, writing this week about Penn State, the Freeh Report, and lessons for FCPA compliance:

I grew up in a small town in Texas. Friday Night Lights was true then and it’s true now. My hometown is appended to a major university where football is king on Saturday afternoon. I attended a university in Texas where football is just as big as it was at Penn State during Joe Paterno’s tenure. In short, I have lived in a state where the culture of football is a religion and the Head Coach is viewed with near godlike status (that’s god with a little ‘g’; not the God). Even though I can understand how it might happen, it does not mean that it is right. At a major university, just as in a small town school district, even the head coach is an employee who reports to someone; the University President, the Athletic Director or the School District Administrator. And even in Texas, the primary mission of a University and school district is education, not football.

Tom’s full post on his FCPA Compliance and Ethics Blog is here.