New Trap Up In The Blog Section.

The Penn State mess is the underlying topic, but state of modern college athletics is the overall theme. Comments?

 

Hat, couldn't have summed the situation up any better. It's just so surreal.. For some reason, I am hoping that he just made one bad mistake or he was misinformed, but I know that's probably not the case. Penn State has made a huge mistake if Paterno coaches the game on Saturday.

 

That covered it pretty well Hat.

I hope there is more to this story on Joe's end. Im not sure what could come that would put him in a better light, but all you can do is hope. The world of sports brings out great stories and great people in all walks. It also brings out horrendous situations like this where the innocent can not defend themselves, and the people that can stop short of doing what is needed in hope of protecting something. In the end they made the situation worse for the victims that could have been spared, which is the most important part. Their names and achievements are not worth a fraction of saving one kid from this.

 

Great stuff, Hat. I agree with all of that.

 

I think that sums up the reason so many people are absolutely stunned.

I remember UT losing a running back to PSU from I think it was the Knoxville area. He said he went to PSU because Paterno told him, "you'll be a better person for it." I remember thinking, "I can't even argue with that."

I really hate to see Paterno go out on such a note. This is absolutely one of the saddest situations in the history college athletics. The real shame? It could have all been prevented with a phone call or two to the proper law enforcement authorities.

 

So many things about this situation are unfathomable. Though I certainly hold Paterno and the school administration accountable, the guy who blows my mind in all this is McQueary. If he really saw Sandusky raping a 10 yr old boy and did not immediately pummel the sick bastard, he is a coward of the highest degree. And even more incomprehensible is that nine years later he is still a coach at PSU while Sandusky has full access to facilities. How can you be OK with coaching kids who are working out in the same room as someone you saw raping a 10 year old boy with your own eyes?

 

Good write-up, Hat. Our priorities have truly become twisted as a society.

 

I don't have enough to fill a blog, but a few thoughts I have:

1. This is the second time in just a few months that a high profile figure I thought very highly of (other being Tressel) has found themselves in a scandal.

2. While it sucks, it shows us a few things. One of them being that while we may judge players, coaches, and anyone else we don't personally know based on what little we see and hear about them, we have to keep in mind we're not seeing the whole picture. That's not to say we can't tell what type of person someone is based on their actions, but we should keep in mind we probably don't know them as well as we think.

3. Another thing I hope people take from this is that nobody is untouchable. I'm sure there are people out there that others look up to doing bad things they're sure they can get away with. Hopefully, they see this as a lesson that anybody can be held accountable for their actions.

4. I hope the victims in this situation are able to get help. The worst possible outcome of this situation is the victims become future abusers.

5. Part of me still holds out hope that Paterno was just too old and senile to realize what was going on. I've been saying for years that he has seemed completely out of it on and off the field and that he's far too old to be anything more than a figurehead that shows up to the games and tries to avoid ruining his pants. I know it sounds silly, but I do feel like if I've been saying this for so long, it would be wrong for me to go back on all of that now.

Sorry for cluttering your thread, Hat. Like always, it was a great read.

 

That is an excellent question. I feel like there is criminal culpability in this situation.

 

Spot on commentary hat, expresses what I and likely many others are feeling. Paterno has announced retirement at the end of the season, he still doesn't get it!!!!

 

I'm not sure if this is state law or federal law, IP, but there has been a recent change in the law regarding these matters. Before, a non privileged person (anyone except a lawyer, clergy, etc) had to only report allegations to their superiors. Now, non privileged people have to report directly and immediately to DCS, CPS, or law enforcement to avoid legal culpability. I know that is the way it is with teachers now.

 

I don't really know how the GA is any more mind blowing than anyone else. He didn't stop the molestation of a child when he knew it was happening. I think that same accusation can be fairly aimed at a whole slew of people, including Paterno.

 

I agree with all of it, but #5 is pretty much my exact feelings on Paterno. Do I think Joe knew Sandusky preyed on little boys? I hope the hell not. I want to believe Paterno is, as you said, too out of it to realize what was going on.

It really is mind blowing this could go on and no one talked before now.

 

Great write up. I agree on all points.

The only solution I see to this problem is to make coaches part of the "university" again, i.e., they have responsibilities in the classroom, on service committees, and in the community. The toothpaste is so far out of the tube on so many of these issues, but trying to strip the college game of the commercial aspects and returning it to its "collegiate" roots are perhaps the only hope we have left. I doubt this happens given the inevitability of the NFL using the college game as a "breeding ground" for professionals.

Obviously we value coaches and players for their wins and losses, not for community service. But a balance of the two would be nice.

 

Agree with you that all are culpable and share a measure of guilt for every child that was harmed since they became aware of Sandusky's actions. The reason McQueary stands out to me is that he had the opportunity to protect a specific child as he was being raped and yet, in that moment, chose not to. I'm not really arguing that he was more or less guilty than anyone else involved, just that the horror of the situation should be more of a reality to someone who has actually witnessed it.

 

I guess what I'm saying is this--I understand why the 20something year old GA didn't burst in and stop the shower scene. It was a horrible scene, it involved an authority figure, and he's a coward. He did what cowards do. He ran away and told an adult. I am disgusted that he would witness child rape occurring and not stop it, but I think that happened because he is weak.

Paterno, and the AD he told, and anyone else in authority that received the report but failed to take action, didn't have any of those excuses. They had knowledge, not a scene that required spontaneous action. Sandusky wasn't an authority figure to them, and they weren't weak minded underlings. They don't have the excuse of being cowards, which in some ways makes them something far worse--authority figures that constructed a culture where child rape was willingly accepted.

 

Phil Sheridan's column today over at philly.com hits the nail right on the head.

 

Unfortunately it seems that basic human nature always devolves into protecting the institution. As you mentioned, many Catholic Bishops were more concerned about protecting their organization and image than correcting a terrible injustice, you see it in government like what's going on at the Department of Justice, in business like Enron, so it is not a surprise that you'd see it in a university setting as well though it is disappointing and maddening. All it takes is one strong person to step out outside the institution and yell STOP. As you pointed out, the mystique and power that Paterno had ingrained there was probably so great that it suppressed the use of judgment. I've thought for several years now that this Paterno ideology had gone on way too long and he was looking like a self centered ineffective old crank...little did I know. This is a very sad and extreme example of why I'm a fan of the 10 year rule for coaches, administrators and really any leaders.

 

Yep.

Link:

Coach and president had to go | Philadelphia Inquirer | 11/10/2011

 

I agree with this. They certainly had more responsibility in the aftermath of the situation than McQueary. My point wasn't at all that McQueary deserves more blame than the administrators who were content to keep this abstract, hoping the situation would go away. But other than the victims themselves, Sandusky's evil was more real to McQueary than anyone else on the planet. They weren't allegations; there was no he said, she said. He witnessed it with his own eyes and has, somehow, been content to coexist with Sandusky on Penn State's campus for the last nine years. No matter how you slice it, we can all agree that there is plenty of blame to go around. Cleaning house is the only acceptable course of action.