Nittany Lions, Tigers, and Bears…

The ongoing story unfolding in State College regarding the alleged child abuses by a former coach brings some serious issues to light. Expected, many are outage at the allegations; the nature of the grand jury findings doing little to tamp down the already incendiary situation. For the most part, the outrage is warranted. While I stand opposed to the Paterno dismissal, I am not shocked that it happened.

Often, I get frustrated listening to news commentators just openly blast the staff. It’s so incredibly easy to come on television after the fact and unleash on a defenseless target. It’s the “if I saw such injustice, I would have NEVER let it happen!” crowd. And most honest people with any moral compass would fit into this category. The problem is that life isn’t scripted; it’s situational in nature and rarely black & white. If we took 1,000 subjects and put them in Joe Paterno’s shoes, you would be shocked (or maybe not) at the number of people who would have handled it in the same fashion that Paterno did. As easy as it is to say with unequivocal certainty that I would have gone straight to the authorities after McQueary presented me with his testimony, I don’t know how I would have reacted given all the facts. The fact is, very few of us will ever been in the position Paterno was in. Most of us, will not be the CEO of a company that has hundreds of employers. Most of us, will never be able to fathom the organization pressures that come with being the leader of a massive athletic program or company. Do these pressure affect certain situations? I can only assume so.

Everyday, we see good men and women find themselves the victims of moral quandry. Some make it through unscathed, but many still bear the marks of their decisions. Coach Paterno found himself victimize like many. I’m not the sensationalist type and I prefer to allow due process occur before I cast blame. I opine that Paterno could have done more to investigate the allegation when they were brought to his attention. Did he have a legal or civil obligation? Absolutely not. I may change my mind as more comes out, but that’s where I stand now.

The most important thing is to remember that Joe Paterno’s role, if you want to call it enabling, is in no shape or fashion comparable to Jerry Sandusky’s. The crimes that for which Sandusky has been arraigned are vile and despicable. To lump these two men in the same basket is uncout, inappropriate, and unfair.