Loss of Innocence at State College

There's something that just seems especially wicked about pedophilia. Maybe it's the concept of corrupting those that are innocent, or the brutality and injustice of someone who is powerful using force, coercion and manipulation to abuse one who is vulnerable. Maybe for parents, it's the projection of such crimes being done against children who we hold so dear and place under our own care and protection, swearing that we'd even give up our own lives to keep them from harm.

On the other hand, you have the Penn State football program, one of the most storied college athletic programs in existence. At the head of this program is Coach Joe Paterno, who at 85 years old, has been steering the ship since 1966. This iconic coach is the all-time winningest coach in Division 1 history and a two-time National Championship winner whose success in the field is actually overshadowed by the esteem he is given as a person of the highest character. Joe Paterno, otherwise known as "JoePa", has been recognized for his integrity and his leadership in the community, ranging from his charitable giving for educational causes to his high standards placed upon the young men in his care. Many former players have cited Paterno's positive influence in the lives as being crucial to their own success.

The violent collision and unwelcome juxtaposition of these two things has rocked the sports world, with the news that former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky sexually abused children in Penn State facilities on multiple occasions, using his Second Mile charity for underprivileged children as a conduit to victimize underage boys. The accusations attest that Sandusky lured young men with access to the football team and the promise of free sneakers and equipment, and on multiple occasions would would sexually assault them in the locker room shower area. The "smoking gun" occurred when a graduate assistant apparently witnessed such an act to Coach Paterno, who reported it to university administrators. The fact that university administrators did nothing about it - and Paterno didn't follow up - are drawing charges of institutional cover-up and malfeasance. So beyond the question of "What did Sandusky actually do?", another question that is looming is "What did Paterno know, and what did he do about it?"

I have to admit that I like Joe Paterno and what he stands for, so part of me was immediately defensive around accusation hurled at him. My defense ran somewhere along the lines of:

You can't blame Paterno for doing what he was legally required to do. He reported it to the administration and you can't fault him that the administrators dropped the ball on the follow up. If he goes public, escalates the problem or continues to unilaterally press for an investigation, at what point does it become a witch hunt or a lynching without trial? After all, pedophilia is NOT one of those crimes that a "false accusation" is easily washed away, so if you're going to accuse someone, you'd better have some evidence. Isn't a person innocent until proven guilty? Was Paterno wrong is assuming that administrators did their due diligence and found that the charges against Sandusky were baseless since no action was taken? Would it have been fair or just for Paterno to ban Sandusky from the facilities without proof or a criminal charge?

Maybe some of that thinking is valid, but the reality is that like any sort of crime against children, there does seem to exist a higher standard around ensuring the health, safety and well being of victims or future victims. It's entirely possible that Paterno was protective of Sandusky's reputation. It's entirely possible that Paterno was blinded by loyalty and naively believed that he was innocent and merely a victim of a vindictive young man. Cynics will point out that it's possible that Paterno was motivated to not cast a shadow over a football program with a reputation for integrity. None of those factors should have kept Paterno from doing the right thing. And the right thing would be to err on the side of caution, and to insist and personally ensure that everything was duly investigated and cleared before Sandusky was allowed access to Penn State facilities with these children he was alleged to have seen sexually abusing. JoePa was dead wrong in the way that he handled this, and it will tarnish the ending of what was otherwise a stellar career.

But maybe the problem is us. I can't help but notice that greater rancor is pointed towards Joe Paterno than Jerry Sandusky. I get that there's wrongdoing in the lack of active vigilance towards evildoing, but are people seriously equating moral equivalency with the man who lured young men into locker shower rooms and physically sexually assaulted them? Isn't it telling that there's less bile aimed towards the pair of Penn State officials who Paterno alerted around the alleged assult, who did absolutely nothing? Let's be honest in saying tat that Paterno is largely getting blasted from all sides because of what he stands for, and because we made him an icon without blemish or fault. We made him into something that he's not.

In a great article for Grantland.com about the how this tragedy will change everything at once-idyllic Penn State, Michael Weinreb wrote this about Paterno:

Sometimes we (the fans) were guilty of regarding him as more deity than man,4 as if he presided over us in mythological stand-up form. He was as much our own conscience as he was a football coach, and we made that pact and imbued him with that sort of power because we believed he would wield it more responsibly than any of us ever could. (The irony to this, of course, is that Paterno tried so hard, at least in the media, not to present himself as anything more than a common man. And yet this only elevated his public stature.)

Paterno was placed on a pedestal which nobody could stand on. He's not perfect, in the same way that devout Christian Jim Tressel wasn't perfect. Neither is any football coach or athlete who we try to hold as a beacon of integrity and character. There are great teachers and civic leaders in the midst, but they're not perfect either. Neither are the brave troops who defend our country overseas. We have much to admire about these individuals, and we rightfully laud them for great characteristics and actions. But at the end of the day, the only one I can really trust not to be tumbled off a pedestal in a scandal or a failure is a man who got hung on a cross.

Where does Penn State go from here? My guess is that Paterno at earliest resigns this week, and at latest "retires" at the end of the year. Some pundits are already anointing Rutgers Greg Schiano the heir apparent, but at this point, they'll try to find the coach with the cleanest hands. The program should survive, which is ironic because you'd think the sexual abuse of children is worse than giving free cleats to a recruit, but whatever. Perhaps a silver lining to this is that grown men who are into sports will have gotten a big-time wake up call in dealing with child endangerment at work, at school, in their places of worship and in their community: Never, ever downplay the hint or suspicion of child abuse. Deal with the awkwardness of an unconfirmed accusation and make the welfare of the children paramount.

No matter how this plays out, this is going to get messier before it gets better.