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Culture, joe paterno, penn state

Why Penn State scandal is about football

“You don’t understand Penn State! This has nothing to do with football” Is an angry response I heard to my 2011 blog post, Sins of Omission, Paterno & Penn State.

This child abuse scandal has everything to do with football and you do not have to be a Penn State student or alumni to understand it.

By now, the country has heard of the NCAA sanctions Penn State received and the fall out from investigations resulting from school leadership failing to respond to child abuse resulting from coach, Jerry Sandusky.

Understandably, many Penn State students, fans, and alumni are upset at yet another blow to the school’s and the football program’s reputation. Basically, the school’s team will not be able to really come back to full strength till 2020. To add to their lament, the school took down Joe Paterno‘s statute because the school felt it became it became “a source of division and an obstacle to healing in our university and beyond”.

It is clear from the Freeh report, there was a weak system of accountability for Penn State football. Administrators, school officials, trustees, and coaches feared to bring anything forward that would tarnish the football program. A former administrator, responsible for student discipline experienced this system of suppression for negative attention for Penn State football. CNN recounted Vicky Triponey’s employment at Penn State:

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joe paterno, penn state

The Story Behind the Penn State, Nebraska Pre-Game Prayer

If it is one thing that came out of the Penn State-Nebraska game, it was not a loss for Penn State.  It was a win-win for both teams.  Why?  Check out how the game started:

That man standing in the center is Ron Brown, an assistant coach with Nebraska.  Notice in the picture that in a packed stadium, both teams, game officials, and coaches are present. What a display of unity, support, and class for college football.  While many students rioted (or for some, protested) Joe Paterno’s departure, these college athletes stopped and made a statement.  They prayed. For some, it may have been a moment of silence, but for others it was a start to the path of healing.

This shows all the world what is at the heart of people in college sports despite the actions of key leaders in the Penn State football program and university.  There is still a sense of concern for the victims, the university, and students. They are all in it together. We are all in it together.

Back to the picture.

Who is Brown? And what did he say when this picture was taken?  The Washington Post gives us some more info on Brown:

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joe paterno, penn state

Sins of Omission: Paterno, Penn State

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Joe Patern...

Image via Wikipedia

By now, most the country has heard about the shocking revelation that former Penn State football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky had inappropriate sexual contact with children associated with his foundation, The Second Mile.  Sandusky is accused of sexually abusing several, possibly 20, boys from 1994 to 2008.  A three-year grand jury investigation revealed that several Penn State administrators knew of Sandusky’s actions but did not report it. Penn State officials Tim Curley and Gary Schultz appeared in court yesterday to answer charges of lying to the grand jury.

Sandusky’s action, as reported by the grand jury investigation, are appalling.  What is almost equally shocking is that it appears that people at Penn State knew of at least one case of abuse and failed to act. A graduate assistant coach, Mike McQueary, witnessed Sandusky engaging in inappropriate contact with a boy and the assistant coach reported it to head coach Joe Paterno:

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