Money, medals, and championships: politically driven conspiracy of silence, model development; implications to diversity and inclusion.

Athletic organizational image and reputation management often require careful consideration of values shared and enacted to create a flawless image with which many fans identify and often admire. However, under the cover of perfect brand image covered with medals, championship and glory, there is often a hidden world of abuse and active participation in silencing the victims to protect the image. This paper analyzes relatively recent cases of two sex scandals in sports: Jerry Sandusky case and Larry Nassar case. Both individuals held higher positions within their organizations’ network of supporters who participated in a conspiracy of silence. This paper proposes a model of conspiracy of silence so that future crises related to active hiding of truth to protect the image are minimized.