I come from Sandusky's home town. He was a legend there.
I've met the man. He was (or appeared to be) everything good and upstanding; tall, good-looking, clean, personable, out-going, easy to talk w/, a great athlete and an even better coach. He was Linebacker U. He was a source of pride for our football crazy town.
To say that we are shocked and devastated is an understatement, but its what happens when folks focus soley on the external; only on the glory and refuse delivery on anything that could challenge our pride.
We've just gotten smacked in our blind spot by an I-Beam.
But, of course, this isn't about us football fans, its about the world we live and work in. Its about power, prestige and self-preservation. And most important, its about vulnerable, innocent children being abused, and then thrown away, by men whose charge was their welfare; a betrayal of our very humanity.
I am ashamed.
I have known college atheletes who did not show up for class and still passed the class. Who stole textbooks and sold them for cash. And that's just what I saw as a student with little connection to the inside other than knowing a couple of the atheletes personally.
The entire system is sick because it exists in a state of deliberate denial. We need three levels of college atheletics - pro (paid above the table), semi-pro (scholarship and training table/bennies) and truly amatuer (maybe scholarship only or no scholarship). The first step to cleaning this up is to admit that those three levels alread exist and the professional aspect of college athletics therefore exists in the shadows - and it cannot be properly policed until it is out in the sunlight. The same shadows of looking the other way over petty corruption are those that allowed the Sandusky matter to fester for so long in the dark. The only reason the Penn State board took action is because this finally came out into the open. But the other corruption will continue to fester.
Great summary of how all fans/alumni of PSU, if they are able to see past their blind spots, should feel.
I concur.
I've been saying that when Joe Paterno dies I will mourn him as I mourned my father. Now I feel as if a family member was accused of a heinous crime...constantly feeling that knot in my stomach.
The things that I dwell on are
1) Joe did not perform the sexual abuse himself. That's where we are in society. The POS that abused those boys sits at home and waits for his punishment which he fully knows he deserves...meanwhile all the focus is on the "why didn't you DO something?" bystanders. Makes sense until you consider that Casey Anthony - who behaved like a high school party girl for 30 days while Caylee was "missing" - beat the endangering-the-welfare-of-a-child rap because "everyone grieves differently".
2) Maybe the sacrifice of Joe's dignity and the collapse of the Penn State value system will finally demonstrate to everyone who pays attention that promotion of open sex and sexually deviant behavior on college campuses is sending a sending a very, very bad signal.
3) Women are being raped on the OWS sites and the media overlooks it because the protesters are managing the situation themselves. Who will be charged with "why didn't you DO something?" in that situation?
He was (or appeared to be) everything good and upstanding; tall, good-looking, clean, personable, out-going, easy to talk w/, a great athlete and an even better coach. He was Linebacker U....
...all of which just makes this more bizarre the more you think about it...I was a Second Mile fundraiser, a great dinner and Dick Vermiel speaking, and I forked over a tidy sum to this organization...partly based on Sandusky’s manner and his daughter’s compelling speech...I never, under any circumstances, would have believed this about him...and I’m the anti PSU curmudgeon in my family, the one who doesn’t genuflect when stepping upon PSU soil, the one who believes the blasphemy that Paterno should have retired years ago...even I am shocked...
...that said, Paterno is better off now...he is free of the stain, he has received his due (hopefully, he is not besiged with legal depositions for the rest of what will be his short life), and we can all go on about the business of restoring his image, without having this hanging above us...