Perhaps one of the most controversial stories in the news this week was over the firing of Joe Paterno, Penn State's head football coach. Paterno, having been a coach at Penn State for over forty years, was let go this past week after evidence came out that he had been aware of a sex scandal going on with one of his assistant coaches and young boys, but had neglected to report the information to law enforcement. 
Jerry Sandusky had been a defensive line coach at Penn State for almost 30 years when he retired in 1999. No one was aware of the reasoning behind his sudden retirement, but nobody seemed to look beyond his decision. Sandusky had been not only well-respected coach, but appeared to be an honorable person as well. In 1977, Sandusky had established a foundation to help needy children called "The Second Mile." The focus of this organization was to plan activities and programs for the needy children "to promote self-confidence, as well as physical, academic and personal success." Little did the public know that Sandusky was far from helping these young kids, in fact, he had been sexually assaulting and raping many young boys, and Paterno had known all about it.Multiple witnesses and victims had confronted Paterno about this issue, but Paterno failed to report the information beyond his immediate supervisors, the Penn State athletic directors. Even after the athletic directors appeared to downplay the information, Paterno remained quiet and put aside this highly serious issue. For almost ten years this story remained private, until several weeks ago when many victims - now in their early twenties - began to share their abuse stories. Sandusky was arrested, and details of the facts were made public.
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| Sandusky (pictured on left) stands next to former head coach Paterno. |
When did personal success become more important than our core American, let alone human, values?
Would such a thing happen outside of the sports or college sports context? Should this ever be justified?
After hearing about this incedent, I was horrified. I did not, and can still not understand how someone could let this slide, and and immediately report it. I think you raise a really good point about the context of this issue. It is rooted in sports. The nature of sports, and how it has become a focal point of our nation, influences the competitive nature in which American's view certain situations. I think another issue here is the refusal to be the one to throw Sandusky under the bus. Paterno would have rather not seen his name plastered all over magazines, nevermind ruin his relationship with Paterno. But where does the safety of these innocent boys measure up? Should it not be number one?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Allison. I would also like to add that hundreds of students rioted when they heard the news that Paterno had been fired. At first I thought it was because of the horrific acts done by Sandusky and Paterno, but no. The students violently protested the firing of their beloved football coach. Since when did sports get so important that a good season trumps the safety of young boys?
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