Most have you have already heard about the horrific child molestation allegations made against former Penn St. assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky, and the subsequent events that followed.
As you probably were, I was also glued to the radio and ESPN, trying to get as much information as I could about the details of the molestations that have been going on for years.
That being said, after learning of Sandusky’s actions – and yes, although he denies them, we all know that he committed those crimes – I obviously didn’t feel any sympathy for Jerry, but I did feel a tinge for Joe Paterno and wondered what I would have done if I had been in his shoes dating back to 2001.
Would I Have Done the Same?
As many of you also know, Paterno and the President of Penn St. University were fired for their role in the Sandusky case. And although I wholeheartedly agree with the decision made by the Board of the University to let the legendary coach go, I’m torn in terms of how much blame to place on Paterno.
First of all, Paterno still hasn’t come out and made any official statements yet about his involvement in the case which many are viewing as a coverup. Did he actually understand the extent of what Sandusky was doing when Mike McQueary, his then grad assistant now leave-of-absence WR’s coach, confronted him in 2001 after he witnessed Sandusky showering with a young boy? Probably, but who knows.
Communication is an intricate process that often leads to misunderstandings. Secondly, did Paterno just feel too much pressure to uphold the goody-good image that Penn St. has donned for years?
Along those lines, we often try to view human nature from an optimistic point-of-view. But the truth is, the human race is very flawed. As Thomas Hobbes said, we indeed are very self-centered and even brutish by nature in many ways. That being said, is it really a surprise that Paterno didn’t failed to follow up with the Penn St. AD after reporting McQueary’s findings?
I would say absolutely no.
Reputation of University and Self
Back to my main point, what would I have done if I were in his shoes? I probably would have been scared to death to forever damage the reputation of the entire school as well.
Not only that, but Joe Paterno is a legend not only among college football fans, but he is an American icon and embedded in American culture because of his success on the football field and off. Plenty of men, young and old, have and still look up to JoePa. If I were him, would I have wanted to tarnish my own standing and credibility?
I would like to say that I would have followed up on the Sandusky showering incident, but odds are, I probably would have left the case alone as well. So before you walk around condoning Paterno as an evil man with no care in his heart for those helpless children (now adults), think about yourself for one second. Would you have done any better? Are you that much better of a person than a majority of the world’s population?
Now, I know that that statement may anger many people since we’re dealing with child molestation here. But without actually having to deal with this traumatic issue first-hand, its hard to judge someone else who has – especially someone who made the wrong decision and judgement call in dealing with the situation.
Final Thought
In closing, I as many of you, are saddened by the findings at Penn St. I was also troubled to see those Penn St. students, albeit the minority, trashing media vans and throwing up a commotion on campus.
There is going to be a lot of finger pointing done in the coming months, with accusations directed towards Paterno, McQueary, and especially Sandusky himself. That said, I hope that all of us will consider the circumstances that those outside of Sandusky were put through. Yes, they made the wrong choices, but who hasn’t had a major lapse in terms of moral judgement before?
There will be condoning and condemning done. But let’s leave those matters up to the judicial system and courts. If we do so, we’ll only be doing so in a hypocritical manner.