Thread: Penn State

I want to write something that powerfully conveys how I feel about certain recent events, but I am numb, and don’t know what to say. I will still try.

Sports have always played an important part in my life. Unfettered support of my favorite teams has been something that I wouldn’t deviate from. Rooting for them during their best times and supporting them at their worst was just something a diehard fan does. So I did.

When reports surfaced about the sexual abuse of children by a prominent former coach of the Penn State University football team I was appalled. I was sickened that anyone could do the horrible things that Jerry Sandusky was accused of doing to innocent children. As the details started to come out in various news reports, for me, it got worse. This was even more sickening than I could imagine.

I am not writing this to address the horrific acts that this man committed on children that were put in his trust, and they were beyond horrific. I am writing this because of the people, which at different points in this process, decided to make a choice between saving the reputation of their beloved football program over putting an end to this monster's attack on children.

I don’t think I really need to address any of the individuals who could have tried to stop this. There were several, and that makes me sick to my stomach. I blame everyone, myself included, for being such an idiot when it comes to sports. Sports are only a distraction from real life, and we have let them become so important to us that we defy logic in doing what is right to keep our favorite teams, players, and yes – coaches on their proverbial pedestal. The thought that someone could simply sweep information under the rug that could have stopped a monster like this, all in the name of “Go team,” deeply saddens me. I will never again look at sports in the same light.

In spades for the Roman Catholic Church, RC schools, Magdalene laundries - The acts themselves are heinous, the institutional covers-up are in many ways far worse. Fortunately, in Britain we don't have the athletic structure that allows such things to happen; success in sport is seen as either, nothing to brag about or, elitist and to be discouraged - Mind you, we have other problems...

I live here in the middle of all this, I work at the school here, and I've worked for the summer camp the victims were at (not in the same years, and I knew nothing of it until a week ago), and this stuff is all over all the news here.

To quote the facebook status of a friend of mine,

"(1) Football fans are not the victim here. (2) The shame is not that this is Joe Pa's last season. (3) We don't need to rally for the football team or for Joe Pa. They don't need our support. It's not about them. It's not about you as a fan. This is not about football. This is about child abuse, the institute covering it up, and the institution's continued financial, legal, and moral support of those who did the covering up. The shame is that there is no shame. There is no way to turn that into a positive rallying point."

I entirely agree that it isn't about football at all. There are victims. It's truly sad that this happened in our great state, and people need to look at what really matters.

Originally Posted by np9455

I entirely agree that it isn't about football at all. There are victims. It's truly sad that this happened in our great state, and people need to look at what really matters.

I must not have made myself very clear because my exact point was that it is way bigger than sports of any kind. Those who turned a blind-eye to the horrific act placed football above the well being of innocent children. It is about the sickness of a society that would even think of putting anything, or anyone, above the innocent victims.

Yeah -- I realized it may not have come across that way, but I was mostly agreeing with you.

Sports are only a distraction from real life, and we have let them become so important to us that we defy logic in doing what is right to keep our favorite teams, players, and yes – coaches on their proverbial pedestal. The thought that someone could simply sweep information under the rug that could have stopped a monster like this, all in the name of “Go team,” deeply saddens me.

What happened to, "It isn't whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game."? Yes, very sad.

Maybe it would be a good idea for the Penn State football team to suspend its next home game as a way of honoring the ill man's victims. Or maybe, they should just donate all the procceds of the next home game to victims of this type of abuse. I believe all inter-college sports were held for recreation and fun. Turning these college events into big businesses is a tragedy for the nation and for the school kids.\

Greed rules. Where are the "Occupy Wall Streeters" when you need them?

Originally Posted by Robinjazz

Maybe it would be a good idea for the Penn State football team to suspend its next home game as a way of honoring the ill man's victims. Or maybe, they should just donate all the procceds of the next home game to victims of this type of abuse. I believe all inter-college sports were held for recreation and fun. Turning these college events into big businesses is a tragedy for the nation and for the school kids.\

Greed rules. Where are the "Occupy Wall Streeters" when you need them?

Yes, nothing says "remember the children" like raising the tuition on these students by removing the income generated from college sports. I'm sure all the Title IX beneficiaries will also rally behind so that women can receive even less sports funding than they already do.

I love college football, but it disgusts me how in the sports media, the children affected by this are mentioned almost as an afterthought. And the outpouring of support and affection for Paterno is just plain bizarre. By all indications, he doesn’t deserve it. It’s just a game – and he won a lot of them. So what? He didn’t cure cancer. I don’t feel a bit sorry for him. That his career is ending on this pathetic note is all his doing. Boo hoo.

Originally Posted by JosephB

I love college football, but it disgusts me how in the sports media, the children affected by this are mentioned almost as an afterthought. And the outpouring of support and affection for Paterno is just plain bizarre. By all indications, he doesn’t deserve it. It’s just a game – and he won a lot of them. So what? He didn’t cure cancer. I don’t feel a bit sorry for him. That his career is ending on this pathetic note is all his doing. Boo hoo.

He did the wrong thing. Definitely. He should have looked at the children being abused as though they were his own. And he didn't--shame on him for brushing off the initial warning. He should be forced to surrender the money he earned coaching from the day he was first notified about the incident.

People might think of him as a great coach, but if he intentionally disregarded the information about the abuse when it was presented to him, he is merely a worthless human being for not acting.

Originally Posted by Robinjazz

He did the wrong thing. Definitely. He should have looked at the children being abused as though they were his own. And he didn't--shame on him for brushing off the initial warning. He should be forced to surrender the money he earned coaching from the day he was first notified about the incident.

People might think of him as a great coach, but if he intentionally disregarded the information about the abuse when it was presented to him, he is merely a worthless human being for not acting.

And it took what, a half-dozen posts before this thread about how we should be focused on the children turned to Paterno instead?

Ever consider he's an old man who has only known one thing for the last 60 years: coaching football at Penn State. It's been his love, his life, and without it, he'd be an 85 year old man with no job and no direction. I could see him being scared to bring this forward, but he did to the school. Once with the school, it was considered handled internally, and he's from a generation where that happened quite often.

Once he saw the school wasn't going to go to the authorities he should have, but he's an old man, scared for his school and his job, and imperfect humans don't always make perfect decisions. I'm not going to call for his head on a platter, or argue constantly over how he under-reported.

I'm intrigued at how you keep wanting to throw money at it. So far we have: one home game worth of gate to charity and a couple years of Paterno's salary being surrendered (to the university?) Is that the going rate for molestation? Is that in line with what the church pays, or do they get a religious discount? They can probably write it off.

Originally Posted by Capulet

Ever consider he's an old man who has only known one thing for the last 60 years: coaching football at Penn State. It's been his love, his life, and without it, he'd be an 85 year old man with no job and no direction. I could see him being scared to bring this forward, but he did to the school. Once with the school, it was considered handled internally, and he's from a generation where that happened quite often.

Once he saw the school wasn't going to go to the authorities he should have, but he's an old man, scared for his school and his job, and imperfect humans don't always make perfect decisions. I'm not going to call for his head on a platter, or argue constantly over how he under-reported.

Aww, poor old Joe Pa.

Paterno isn’t some doddering old man who doesn’t know better. He hasn’t kept his job out of nostalgia. He’s kept it because he wins -- and to win at that level you need to be extremely sharp and know what the heck is going on. He hasn’t just emerged from a 1960’s time capsule.

And even if he'd stepped down long ago, he'd be on ESPN or playing golf and basking in the warmth of his success as a winning NCAA college football coach -- and enjoying all the perks that come with it. He wouldn't be some lonely old man "with no direction" staring out the window of an old folks home. Come on.

He screwed up. And as far as I know -- no one’s calling for his head. He got fired -- just what needs happen. You sound like you’re making excuses for him and trying to generate sympathy that he doesn’t deserve.

I have sat and thought about what I'd do if I strolled past a locker room and saw a grown man raping a child. I simply cannot imagine doing anything less than rushing into the shower, screaming at the man, and ushering the child away while trying to figure out the quickest way of calling the cops. Doing less than that would be cowardly—although I can understand a person being shocked by what he saw. Still, when something is wrong, you've got to act. Anyone who could just walk by and settle for telling an authority figure cannot possibly say that he's "done his part." I'm guessing that the graduate assistant feared that he'd lose his position, and perhaps his chance at attending college. Even taking that into consideration, I can't help but think that he displayed a lack of character and unwillingness to help the most vulnerable members of our society. He has failed—his degree is worthless in my eyes.

Supposedly, someone told the coach about the incident, and he in turn told someone else and didn't bother to follow up. That is so weak. Apparently, the coach's friendship with the perpetrator was more important than the lives of the kids his pal was ruining. It's hard to believe that he was aware of repeated offenses and did nothing. That's a lot worse than a simple lack of character—that's the lack of any moral compass whatsoever. He's done a lot for his school's football program, but in my opinion, what has been lost in terms of the children and families that have been betrayed far outweigh all of his wins on the gridiron.

Yep, poor Joe.