Rarely do the worlds of sports, education, and morality collide in any real way. However, they have collided in Pennsylvania this week as Penn State University is embroiled in the the biggest scandal to hit college sports in at least a decade. Former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky has been charged with sexual abuse. That alone is not the story. The story is the cover up that ensued.
The New York Times is now reporting that legendary head coach Joe Paterno will be out as head coach as soon as this week. Whether it is because he is old, famous, or just been in the position for more than 40 years, the university is having a hard time pulling the trigger. Two university officials have already been forced to resign.
For those that don't follow football, Joe Paterno is the all-time leader in victories in what is now called the FBS division (formerly Division 1 A). He's won national championships, conference championships, and countless bowl games. Penn State got the nickname of "Linebacker U" because of the tough defenses that he had over the years. This is where Sandusky comes in.
Sandusky was Paterno's defensive coordinator for most of his tenure. Sandusky turned down numerous opportunities to to become a head coach in order to stay with Paterno. I'm sure part of him thought that Paterno would have retired a long time ago (he was the hand-picked heir apparent). I'm sure the other part was due to a sense of loyalty. Well, apparently that loyalty was rewarded.
According to leaked grand jury testimony (don't you love that), Sandusky was caught in the locker room by a graduate assistant. The graduate assistant immediately informed Paterno (according to testimony) and Paterno informed the athletic director and vice president of the university. Those individuals have stepped down because it came to light that none of them actually turned Sandusky in. Mind you, this happened back in 2002 and Sandusky is now finally being arrested.
This where education comes in. As employees of the university, the coaches and administrators actually serve in an educational capacity as well. Many coaches also teach a class or two to boost their salary. Mind you, they don't actually teach it themselves, but you get the idea. All educators are bound by law to immediately report abuse to the proper authorities. The athletic director doesn't count as a proper authority.
Thus, the university and Paterno himself continued a long standing tradition in the sports world. As long as you win and bring in the fans, those around you will look the other way when they have to. High schools do it all the time. They make sure the star athlete passes all of his classes and if he should get involved in some kind of scrape, they make sure he will be eligible anyway.
The problem is that not every coach does it. There are countless coaches that do things the right way. For more than forty years, Joe Paterno was seen as one of them. He was a shining example of how you could win and still do things the right way. He was a gentlemen among thieves, cheats, and charlatans. Now, he joins a long list of disgraced men that sacrificed their dignity and self-respect to spare a successful player or coach.
Ultimately, Penn State seems to be responding the right way. Anyone involved with this not only needs to be fired, but they need to be investigated themselves for any criminal negligence. Beating Michigan or Ohio State should never take precedence over the emotional and physical well being of a child. Anyone that thinks so needs to go back for some rewiring because they are receiving some heavy heavy interference on their moral antenna.
Yeah, I'm leaning that way. I say either do that or relieve all staff and start over. Let them play out games, but only allow them to cover expenses with ticket sales. Have them donate all profits to the families directly affected. That is the bear minimum.
I tried to read the Grand Jury report, made it through the first two victims and had to quit. Disgusting, sickening, nauseating, to say the least. This program needs to be shut down for a period of years. SMU got the death penalty for offenses that don't come within a million miles of what went on at Penn State. This was a university-wide coverup. Why should they be allowed to keep raking in millions in TV and ticket revenue. I feel sorry for the current players who would suffer from cancelling football, but sometimes the right thing to do is painful. Let them keep their scholarships and continue their education if they choose or allow them to transfer with no loss of eligibility, but the university has to be punished, severely. Shut it down, NCAA. Now.
The more information that comes out the more sick I become. First of all, I think it is high time we take any accusation of sexual abuse or assault seriously. This comes from both angles. If you falsely accuse someone you should have the book thrown at you as well. However, there is way too much here for that to be true. That sick bastard (Sandusky) had a frickin office at the university and was working out in the weight room as recently as last week. He brought young boys to practice and to bowl games as recently as 2007.
I would never utter the words "he can go to hell" because that is not my call and I believe everyone is capable of redemption. However, I could give a flying **** about his legacy. As far as I am concerned, this just became his legacy. Nobody gives a **** about O.J.'s Heisman or his 2003 yards in 1973. There is real life and then there is sports/entertainment. For those kids and alumni to protest his firing shows we have gone off the deep end as a society. Maybe this event will be the life preserver we so desperately need.
Uncle Tom
Seriously though, the court system is primarily biased toward females. Only the defense side of the coin is concerned about 'skirt' length. The judges, juries, and the jurisprudence system en toto looks at most male abuse as 'funny'.
Example: I called an agency once demanding a paternity test for an ex-girlfriend's child that she claimed WASN'T mine. When I explained to the lady my situation she burst out laughing. It didn't seem to matter that I was nearly distraught over my situation.
Incidentally my confirmation name is Thomas...so, my earlier snicker really was intended as a joke.
This is so tough.
I am saying this as a child of a family with a long line of Penn State alumni. In high school, instead of wearing my Cy-Fair High jacket I wore my uncle Tom's Penn State jacket -
The firing of Paterno and Spanier is well deserved. A grand jury should have the opportunity to review all evidence. If a crime was committed during this cover up, I hope that old Bastard serves every last minute of whatever potential sentence.
I'd also like to see this type of crime against girls and/or women taken as seriously on a national level. I do NOT want to trivialize what happened to these boys, but it seems to me that if a woman ever comes forward, the media is more concerned with the length of her skirt than with the man who assaulted her.
Wouldn't that make you Rick Perry? Yeah, I tend to agree but I'm biased. I still get three squares a day, a roof over my head, and clothes on my back. I guess that makes me lucky in comparison with the average person walking around the world.
I'm glad to hear that. I been worryin' 'bout you. Really. Got several friends who are now "transitioning" from/to new careers. Couple of them educators. There is NOTHING about this recession that pisses me off more than the fact that of all thge places to cut, we chose education. IMO, the teachers are THE MOST important people in any community. If I hadn't had good teachers cramming and education down my throat on a daily basis for twelve years, I'd be....I'd be.... hell, I'd be Sarah Palin with a penis.
cool...
Yeah, I'm doing some sports stuff now. Got the job at BN. That masters degree really came in handy.
jacked up...no forgiving that...
I haven't been following this story, but according to the NYT and ESPN this coach was investigated in 1998 for the same offense. So Paterno hears about another incident in 2002 and only tells the AD and not the police? That sounds like a coverup to me. Sandusky is charged with assaulting 8 other boys over a 15 year period, all of whom he came in contact with through a home for troubled children that this dirtbag runs. How many of those happened after 2002 isn't being reported. What would Paterno tell those boys? Sorry son, but whatever happened to you and wasn't worth damaging the reputation of the Penn State football program over.
If I haven't said I enjoy your articles recently, well I do.
Apparently nobody actually covered this up. But they did look the other way and did NOT take proactive approach. I suspect those people will be out of a job soon. If that means Papa Joe, so be it.
Have you considered a technical writing gig?
yeah, it's really tough...
For better or worse, when I go into certain interviews (when I feel a sympathetic audience) it's almost like a therapy session...really, I just pour my heart out. Admittedly, I shot myself in the foot more than once.
I'm sure you can handle the exams...c'mon Scott while Barnes & Noble is a noble enterprise...heehee, I don't think you should be hanging around at that level.
yeah, seems I will be starting the insurance gig after the new year pending me passing three state exams. I just interviewed at Barnes and Noble. They will go through two rounds of interviews before hiring. It is a tough market out there.
Incidentally, I haven't followed that story that closely...was it a girl or boy that he was caught with...not that there's anything wrong with that.
tough call, I guess.
When I was in high school a friend of mine was the 6th man on a state championship contender basketball team. He was supposed to be enrolled in a Vocational-Technical program sponsored by the school district. He didn't attend...long story short, the school ended up forfeiting any game he played in during the season. Wow, talk about fallout. It's been a good while since I talked to him but he said at his 10-year reunion people were STILL pissed off at him. A really nice guy and I always sympathized with his plight...You know, boys will be boys.
b.t.w. The company that I sent the thank you is working up a job offer as we speak. Good advice you handed out that day...The perfect storm was the thank you and the fact that it's an older group of folks working in a new world, much like me.
thanks...
See, you're not as useless as you thought...just kidding :O)