Schools tout training in wake of Penn State scandal

LIBERTY, Mo. - In the wake of the Penn State sex-abuse scandal, colleges all over the country have stepped up their efforts to teach coaches and students what to do if they are sexually assaulted or if they witness such a thing.

At William Jewell College, coaches and administrators had meetings shortly after the verdict in Sandusky’s trial.

The college has a rule that if a male coach is talking to a female athlete, another woman must be in the room.

The coaches say the key to preventing future cases of abuse is to tell a senior coach or athletic director about anything they witness.

"We have a basketball camp going on, and it has caused me to reiterate the importance of communicating, because we have young kids,” said Larry Holley, men’s basketball coach at William Jewell College. “These are day camps, but still, there are individuals still responsible for supervision, so we want to be sure they are doing the appropriate thing at appropriate times."

He says another prevention tool is the background checks that schools do on coaches.