Penn State students pour into the streets of downtown State College, Penn., on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011, after the Penn State Board of Trustees announced the firing of University President Graham Spanier and head football coach Joe Paterno. Both men were fired surrounding the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal.
In sports, there are a precious few transcendent moments. What is supposed to be a game with players, fans and coaches crosses the divide into reality. Many of these moments are proud. Others are decisively not.
Through its proudest entity, the football program, Penn State is sullied in controversy today. Jerry Sandusky, a longtime assistant coach for the Nittany Lions, is accused of molesting at least nine pre-teen boys during his time with the school.
Joe Paterno, the team’s head coach and legitimate demigod of the state, was fired late Wednesday night amid the fallout.
According to a grand jury report, a former graduate assistant alerted Paterno of one specific instance in which Sandusky abused a 10-year-old boy in the team’s showers in 2002.
Paterno reported the incident to the school’s administration. Over the subsequent nine years, Paterno stood by as Sandusky used the team’s facilities on an apparently frequent basis, clearly without punishment for the alleged actions concerning him.
While Paterno faces no legal trouble — by the letter of the law, he did his part — there is a much greater issue of moral responsibility. In this sad instance, it escaped the NCAA’s all-time leader in wins for a football coach.
In light of recent incidents, what could have been an honorable exit from the game became a disastrous one.
The stain of this incident will have a powerful impact on the reputation of the university for the foreseeable future.
As for the football program, many people weren’t questioning whether it would set the football program back — it was how many
years.
That’s not a concern.
The largest mass murder in the history of the U.S. devastated this very campus in 2007. While it rocked the community and nation — quite frankly it still does — it did nothing to deter the football program.
As long as Penn State overhauls its administration and hires a successful football coach, the ramifications of this travesty will not linger on the gridiron.
A version of this article appeared in the Nov 11 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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"Shame on you, Penn State"
Let's be honest, though. If something like this knocked Frank Beamer off of his pedestal, Jah forbid, there would be Virginia Tech students in the street blaming the media, or whoever else, too. It's essential denial, a part of the five steps of grieving.
The take away from this can not be "Penn State was screwed up." It has to be a much deeper examination of the way that people deify other people.
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I think you're wrong about that assumption. Give more credit to your alma mater, and do not tarnish Mr. Beamer by associating his fine name with someone who enabled a child rapist.
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I would never do that. I think I would much rather rally for the victims, and I think most other Hokies I know would do the same.
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Dismay. Disbelief. Aside from the fact Joe Paterno is apparently illiterate (the man can't even articulate a simple thought when he speaks-grunts and such aren't language) he is morally libel for what he did. The fact that so many entitled white meat heads rioted in support of him simply proves again that this stooped over, digitally wired generation is SO detached from humanity, vales, respect and integrity...not to mention self-worth...they, I.e. YOU need to put down your devices, start behaving like PEOPLE and get your priorities in order. This about raping children! Protecting your football coach is insane. Turn off reality TV. Stop playing video games. Put down your concealed weapons. Tune out the trash such as the Kardashians and go do something real, meaningful, positive. Right now your generation is failing. And it isn't about occupying any street, it is about owning your actions.
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Regarding the generation poster: as someone who lives near Zuccoti Park the kids there are not legitimate. Rape and assaults are happening, theft, and yesterday they beat a man, broke his leg and wouldn't allow EMS or police in to administer medical care. They are thugs, thieves and don't let them fool you- they're crimes are worse than any greedy trader. It's real and it's everyday. Occupy needs to be prosecuted.
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Two things:
1) I don't believe you for a second.
2) WTF does this have to do with the story at hand?
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While not exactly as the OP posted it, an event along those lines did happen last week:
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/10/zuccotti-park-protester-charged-with-assault/
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Remember. Remember April 16th. Where were you. VT was under attack. How did those students handle the situation. The eyes of the nation were on them. They acted young adults should. They passionate, they were emotional. They came together as one. They made it through the univerity's darkest hour and showed the nation they would not be defeated by one person's in sanity.
I believe that Penn State Students will do the same. The events of a few wednesdat night were just that. You will see that in the days to came. You will see that tomorrow at the PSU- Neb. game.
Those students are just like you. You see when Tech was going through those dark days, the students at Penn State felt your pain. In an act of showing that, during their spring Blue and White game, they made a VT logo in the stands using hand card. There were many other acts of kindness from other univerities.
I think it is only right that Tech makes some type of gesture acknowledging that you know of their pain. While the incidents are completlly different, they are equally tragic.
While it may be a logistical nightmare, a "blue out" for the NC game Thursday night to show support for the victims of their tragedy seems appropriate.
Just a thought
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PSU is NOT a victim. The victims are the ones that were abused.
You've lost your damn mind if you think that this is in any way similar to the April 16 tragedy.
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The students have NOT acted like VT did on 4/16. We could have been exceedingly angry at the administration and have rioted and combated violence with violence. Instead, peaceful vigils that honored and focused on those who had been killed occurred.
Those students are engaging in hero worship. It's obviously hard when your hero wasn't who you thought he was, but that's what happened. The administrators were justly punished, and the students should be focusing on the pain of the boys -- probably even more who have not even spoken yet -- who were brutally raped.
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That's the danger of elevating someone to hero status just for being a football coach. I'm originally from PA and I know he's done a lot of good, but this whole cover-up and lack of action is just sickening.
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I am ashamed of the attack on Joe Paterno in today's newspaper; He is a legend and will go down in history as an outstanding leader and overall good human being.
If you saw your dad in a shower with a 10 year old boy, would you go to the cops? Hell no, and this is how Penn State handled the problem. It is a tough choice: ruin your family and do the right thing or sit down, talk, and hope it does not happen again. You have to understand that Penn State is one giant family, and no one person wanted to be the one who ruined a 100 years of tradition. Joe Paterno was part of this family for over 60 years and did not want to see it become what it has over the last week, no one did. He is not the one who should be attacked; he did not see what was happening but was told a second hand account. So yes, he may have not done everything he should have, but he made the choice 99% of us would make, delegate the problem to someone else.
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Imagine that the ten-year-old boy in that shower is your son or your little brother. Would you still feel that "tradition" is worth more then stepping in to save him, bring him justice, and decidedly prevent such a heinous abuse from occuring again? I think not.
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By effectively sweeping the situation under the rug, that eliminates all basis for blame? Well then congrats to McQueary, Paterno, Curley, Schultz, et al. You managed to extend your "tradition" by nearly a decade and it only cost you the lives of innocent little boys.
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That is by far the most ignorant statement I've heard regarding this ordeal. You're right. A football tradition supercedes humanity, decency, and courage. We're not talking about how conflicted someone would feel. The issue is about what you should do. What is your responsibility as a citizen and, in that coward McQuerey's case, a grown man? Paterno did immeasurable amounts of good for that university, and no ones telling you otherwise. But he enabled a pedophile with a history of perverted behavior to remain free, hurt more children, and he did most of it with a master key to the PSU facilities. You know... JoePa's kingdom? So for you blindly support that man and argue that he shouldn't have been fired is delusional and disrespectful to the children that PSU allowed to be abused.
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It wasn't seeing a boy in the shower. It was seeing a boy being anally raped in a shower, and it was by someone who had ALREADY been investigated for sexual conduct against children. When Sandusky was first accused, it was 1998. The incident that the grad assistant saw was in 2002. AND NOBODY SAID ANYTHING TO POLICE UNTIL 2010. All of them covered up. All of them allowed Sandusky to keep his office there and still be on campus. None of them took enough action.
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I would kick the $hit out of my dad if I saw him in the shower raping a child. I guess I was raised right, by him and my mother...
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"You have to understand that Penn State is one giant family, and no one person wanted to be the one who ruined a 100 years of tradition."
*******
Penn State has been r@ping little boys for 100 yrs?
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"You have to understand that Penn State is one giant family, and no one person wanted to be the one who ruined a 100 years of tradition."
*******
R@ping little boys is a pretty messed up family tradtion. The only tradition we have in my family is going to look at the christmas lights.
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Boo hoo. Poor Penn State lost their iconic football coach. What about the real victims? smh
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Disclaimer before you read my comment: I'm not defending what happened at Penn State at all. Firing Paterno and the President was undeniably the right call. The first priority in this situation is justice and help for the Victims.
The riots were very not-Penn State, or at least what we've though Penn State was for so many years. In many ways, PSU is/was the VT of Pennsylvania. While the academic process is much different up there, the atmosphere is very similar. Both Land-Grant State Schools set in small towns. Both with lots of pride in their academics and atheletics. Both thought, as a whole, to have a lot of respect and class.
continued...
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Not to defend the Penn State Rioters, but in their eyes, they didn't lose a football coach. They lost a hero. They found out that their hero indirectly enabled a child rapist. Just like Frank Beamer is more than a coach to us at VT, Paterno was more than a coach to PSU. The riot was the wrong choice. Period. But the PSU community has to wrap their heads around that their coach, their hero, who was the epitome of Penn State (if you have ever been to their campus, Paterno is everywhere--Pictures, statues, the Library, etc) made a terrible choice, and he must suffer the consequences because he's just a person like anyone else.
The riots were wrong. If they really wanted to honor JoePa and everything he has stood for in the past, they would have done something to honor the victims, like a vigil. That's what JoePa would have wanted.
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"Paterno was more than a coach to PSU." Right. He was an accessory after-the-fact enabling a child rapist to continue his crimes.
Your comment makes me swallow vomit.
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I made NO excuse for JoePa. What he did disgusts me. I was making the point that YES--this entire ordeal is more than football, it's more than a university. Child abuse in any form is one of the absolute worst things imaginable.
But to the PSU community, JoePa was more like a father figure than a coach. He WAS someone you looked up to. To have someone who served, to the best of your knowledge, as a role model be revealed to be a fraud (of sorts) would make me really angry too.
The Penn State students were wrong to channel their anger into a riot. No matter how big of a hero JoePa may or may not have been to them, on and off the field, this is bigger than him and his job. You and I both recognize that, so I don't know why you're so upset. We're on the same page. We're both on the victim's side here. I am not making excuses for anyone, but I can empathize with the PSU's community's feelings. They're allowed to have those feelings, it's how they act on the feelings that is disturbing.
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Dude: you're sick.
He wanted to protect his football program. He would rather do that than protect children from being raped.
I hope the basta' goes to jail.
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Why is anyone surpised that a man who pursues a career in college coaching likes to touch little boys?
I mean - you get to work in a locker room surrounded by a bunch of sweaty, half-n@ked boy/men, many of whom would do anything to keep their athletic scholarships.
It's like locking Precious in a sizzlers overnight and then getting mad when she eats all of the fried chicken.
I'd sooner trust my kid with a Hells Angel than leave him alone in the room with a Catholic priest, a Boy Scout Master, or anyone who claims to work as a 'coach'
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