Penn State: Shame Is The Price For Protection

The tragedy of the Penn State situation is multi-faceted—and it appears that much more has yet to be revealed. The scandal-hungry media is eating it up, essentially “piling on” to the football program and the university in order to get ratings. This is red meat---and although complete exposure is warranted, I’m disturbed that at least some media networks appear to be enjoying the controversy a tad too much.

Sorting out the bad guys from those who merely “acted badly” is a scenario that clearly has been weighted against the latter because of their celebrity. Joe Paterno is being mentioned more than the alleged rapist, as if he committed the crimes in question.

Here is a PBS report on the scandal from a couple of days ago:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc7TwZq0bpU

Lost in all of this is the perspective of the victims—and of the one perpetrator (that we know of so far at least) who committed these horrible crimes. Coach Sandusky’s disgusting and morally bankrupt behavior has been overshadowed by the inaction of those who were in a position to have him arrested.

At the top of the list is Mike McQuery, who unbelievably did not ACT to stop the rape of a young boy in the Penn State showers. The world is asking how is it possible that a 6’4” former quarterback would simply walk away and merely report to his father and Coach Paterno the details of what he saw.

What we see from that point on--- crystallizes the central issue in this scandal, namely that institutional reputations are more important than the truth—or protecting children.

McQuery didn’t act more forcefully because of WHO he encountered in the shower. A coach with a solid reputation and perhaps a mentor to him as a player with the Nittany Lions. His quandary over how to respond was what propelled him to seek out Coach Paterno and his own father for advice—instead of acting to stop a rape from continuing. He placed his own future, the reputation of his coach and the university ahead of the safety of a little boy.

Paterno, while being applauded by some as having “done the right thing by going through channels”—also valued the school’s reputation—and that of one of his coaches—ahead of the safety of children. Up the chain, from the Athletic Director to the University President—it seems a decision was made to cover up, to conceal, to sweep under the rug this horrible crime and not bring Sandusky to justice.

The reasons for this appear abundantly clear. To expose the scandal and have Sandusky arrested immediately would:

1) taint the school’s reputation
2) diminish the football program’s reputation
3) hurt recruiting
4) hurt enrollment
5) open the school to legal exposure.

Is it not ironic that the failure of Penn State officials to take swift and decisive action has resulted in a scandal whose magnitude dwarfs the original scenario and makes points 1-5 far more injurious?

This is a scandal on steroids.

The full measure of punishment has yet to be meted out—and the lawsuits will cost Penn State hundreds of millions of dollars on the conservative side. The football program will be in shambles for years as those committing verbally to PSU have already started to withdraw their names. Who can possibly coach this team? A complete housecleaning is certain.

Criminal charges of perjury against University officials will cause enrollment to plummet and the once proud student body will go to Pitt or the University of Pennsylvania or ANYWHERE else. The damage is profound—and even if more dirt is not uncovered in the probe (an unlikely event), it could be decades before the school will recover.

“Joe Pa” didn’t do enough. He knows this and must be ashamed of his lack of leadership---sadly ironic when he has been praised for nearly 50 years as a inspirational leader who always put proper conduct ahead of winning.

“Victory With Honor” was the battle cry as the faithful gathered in Happy Valley on autumn Saturday afternoons.

The valley is no longer happy—and there is no longer any honor.


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