Generally college sports are taken as opportunities for students, faculty, alumni and fans to come together and support a common cause that involves the masterful combination of "spirits" and entertainment. In essence, college sports (in particular, college football) is an excuse to party. A chance to throw back a few drinks all in the name of fervently supporting your school. Unfortunately, with every party comes the ones who ruin it for everyone else. This past weekend, Penn State really ruined the party with new allegations pertaining to the former coach, Jerry Sandusky, who sexually abused what has been determined to be at least eight young boys over a period of 15 years. Forget any idea of a party, this is just wrong and they should be punished severely. The following article covers the allegations with great depth and coverage:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/07/justice/pennsylvania-coach-abuse-charges/
The idea that anybody would use their power in such a disgusting and perverted way provokes the question of the character of mankind. In this instance, here is a man that was highly revered for his work in football and was, by many accounts, a "charismatic individual." He started a program called, "The Second Mile," with the vision to provide "a statewide non-profit organization for children who need additional support and who would benefit from positive human contact" (as taken from their website: http://www.thesecondmile.org/aboutUs.php). There is literally no other word to describe this situation than ironic. It's ironic that a "charismatic man," who out of the "goodness" of his heart, would start a program that gave children the opportunity for more "positive human contact" would actually turn out to be sexual predator. That is ironic . . and horrible. These actions are punishable, in my opinion, to the point of a life sentence. These acts are despicable and should be met with heavy force of consequences. These boys will never be the same after these awful experiences.
As for the other men charged in the case (Gary Schultz, a university senior VP, and Tim Curley, the university athletic director), they shoould be held just as liable. They had been informed by numerous sources that such actions were occurring, yet they didn't have the gumption to stop it all before more individuals were hurt. Their actions upon hearing that such things were occurring should have been quick and with all intentions to make sure that these criminal acts were put to an end. I find it completely baffling that these individuals didn't take it upon themselves to correct these obviously heinous acts. These administrators should be held with just as much responsibility as Sandusky.
The most unfortunate part of this whole scandal (aside from what happened to the boys, of course) is that this leaves a huge black eye on the otherwise glorious saga of Joe Paterno. Considered not only one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, but one of the greatest sports coaches ever, Joe Paterno had built Penn State in to a respected powerhouse. Now simply because of the actions of a few men, the 46 year coaching reign that produced tens of millions of dollars for the school and two national championships, ends in an ugly and humiliating controversy. Despite all the accusations, Paterno has been cleared of any wrong-doing as he informed university's officials of Sandusky's actions as soon as they were brought to his attention (even though Sandusky was no longer on Paterno's staff at the time). Paterno had recently just become the winningest football coach in Division 1, but is now being nudged out of his job because of the scandal. Unfortunate for a man who single-handedly put Penn State on the map.
These next few weeks will be interesting (to say the least) to watch unfold. However, I believe that it is clear that all the men involved in this ugly scandal should be thoroughly punished. As for the college often referred to as "Happy Valley," things are looking a little bit more on the grim side.
I was appalled to hear that such terrible things were happening at a prominent program. Although I do not believe the head coach Joe Paterno himself had anything to do with the malicious events, he did act negligent in regards to what he was told. Just telling the athletic director what he had heard was not enough. Some even say that he was just trying to pass on the responsibilities of his knowledge so he would not have to deal with what had happened. This decision ended up coming back to hurt him. The people charged in this case and the main culprit Sandusky will always be frowned upon in many ways, but I believe that Joe Paterno will still be a legend for his accomplishments. My heart goes out to all the families and victims of these wrong doings, and I hope that they can recover from what has happened.
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