DISCLAIMER: I attended Penn State from 1998 and 2002. When I graduated from the University, I was appreciative of the education I received there and proud to have completed a bachelor’s degree from such a well known and well respected institution of higher learning. The educational foundation I received at Penn State gave me the ability to go forward to successfully complete Graduate School at Villanova University. I did not play football for PSU (or any sports for that matter) nor was I a huge college football fan (I went to ONE game while at PSU). My interaction with Joe Paterno during those years had less to do with football and more to do with the reading about the millions of dollars he and his wife had donated to the school for a variety of programs having nothing to do with football. The year I arrived at the main campus, Paterno Library was relatively new and at the time a quite advanced library on campus, donated by the Paterno family. Joe Paterno and his family dedicated their lives to Penn State University, far beyond the football team. What he did on the field with the team, is what he is most know for, but the love that people who attend PSU have for him has nothing to do with touchdowns and field goals.
I read the grand jury reports; (If you haven’t had a chance to read it, you should, if you can stomach such vile information). I read multiple media outlets reports of the situations occurring at Penn State right now. I did my research because I wanted to be informed before I spoke about such a serious topic. I really wish everyone else would do the same. I don’t write this in defense of Joe Paterno’s action or inaction related to the child sexual assaults that took place on the PSU campus at the hands of former Assistant Coach Jerry Sandusky. When notified about the allegation, he followed protocol and delivered the news up the chain to his direct superiors. Jerry Sandusky had been retired from Penn State Football for 3 years when this incident occurred. Joe Paterno was NOT still working with him at this time nor was he still coaching football for PSU. Should Joe Paterno have followed up, yes. Should he have called the police, yes. Should he have pressed the administration to take immediate and swift action against this man who at the time of this accusation was retired from PSU, yes. Should he step down from his post as head coach because he failed to take the most necessary measures to stop this man, yes. Is he the villain, no.
The villain here is Jerry Sandusky. After reading the detailed grand jury report of the actions of all involved, I question why it was appropriate and correct for the Graduate Assistant to report the actions he witnessed to his superiors (Joe Paterno) but it was not appropriate for Joe Paterno to follow the same path. This morning Joe Paterno doesn’t have a job while the then Graduate Assistant, now Assistant Coach is still on staff at PSU and likely to remain so. Joe Paterno is being villainized in the media while the attention is being diverted from he who should be the ONLY one we are focused on, Jerry Sandusky. There are many theories as to why, but Joe Paterno is a name everyone knows and is familiar with. That makes it an easy name to throw out to prove the University is taking action. And many people unfamiliar with University politics, specifically at Penn State, may venture to believe the 85 year old coach had power superseding that of the University President. In that assumption, people would be wrong. But regardless of his position at Penn State, Joe Paterno could have done more and he should have done more. For that, he has lost the only job he has ever held and lost the trust of an institution he spent over 60 years building to Football greatness – a cross which he will rightfully bear.
Prior to this incident, most people had never heard of the monster that is Jerry Sandusky. To read what he did to these boys, how he manipulated them and their families, how he used a very intimate relationship of coach and player to satisfy his deviant sexual desires and how he ruined these boys’ lives is despicable. To continue to read how the President of Penn State, Graham Spanier and others within the administration did not follow proper channels and report the actions to law enforcement or even child protective services is astonishing. They have done wrong. They should bear the punishment for their actions. They prevented the law from being carried out. And all of them are out of a job, as they should be. Furthermore, the Athletic director and Vice president are both in custody now facing perjury charges due to their attempt to cover up where they went wrong. House needs to be cleaned and the University needs to do what it has to do to punish those who failed to act on behalf of innocent children. The children are the only victims in this situation and that should be kept in mind as we discuss this situation at length. Again, I don’t seek to defend Joe Paterno; I just think he should be put in the proper category of someone who should have done more and not that category of he who did nothing. And since we are discussing who did or didn’t do more, why didn’t the twenty something year old Graduate Assistant walk away and call the police after what he witnessed? He is culpable because his eyes saw the action happening. He could have stopped it all right there with a simple call to 911. But he didn’t. And he still has a job. Where is the justice in that?
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