Not So Happy Valley

This is bigger than football. This is more than a game. This is about right and wrong. This is about good and evil.

The feelings that most fans had about Joe Paterno was this; he was the epitome of what was right about college football. The old coach, who has been at the head of one college football's most prestigious programs, was a man of integrity, class, and a man you wanted your children to follow. After this scandal broke about former coach Sandusky, my views have changed about what Joe Paterno and what Penn State football means. The program with the classic, clean uniforms and image is now tarnished not only in my eyes but in the eyes of a nation. Jumping to conclusions is wrong in any case, and this I know but this isn't about covering up for NCAA violations of cash, cars, or tattoos. This is about how we as parents, brothers, sisters and members of society view our children.

How could Joe turn a blind eye to such despicable acts? How could Penn State University continue to provide a safe haven to Jerry Sandusky on campus by providing him an office. How can these so-called leaders of men not say anything about the disgusting acts that were taken place under their noses for over a decade. In a statement Paterno made last night was that he and his wife pray for his 17 grand kids every night and now they will start praying for the victims. Now you want to pray for the victims?!?!?! That's very noble of you now Joe. You had an opportunity to prevent these atrocities from happening but you passed the buck to someone else and never followed up to see about the victim. You allowed more children to be harmed. Paterno had a moral responsibility as a parent, grandparent, and face of a university to do more.

What blows my mind is that no one acknowledge the victims initially. The school president, who will be removed, backed the former athletic director and VP, rather than acknowledge what a horrible and traumatic event these young children went through. Have we as a society become so desensitized to violence that we look the other way when its happening before our eyes?

The other part of this whole scandal that sickens me is how did a graduate student who witnessed a child being harmed and to not step in and protect the child?!?!? You are 24-25 years old and I know that could have been upsetting but your next reaction is to remove the child from harm's way. What has happen to us as a people when we stop protecting children. This was someone's son, brother, nephew, friend who was already in an at-risk situation and went to the community for helped and the right people from a school president, to the football coach or an assistant just turned their back and continue to let the child suffer. Its appalling and just breaks my heart. Can we have real men to stand up and lead and not worry about the university or legacies or their jobs. In the case of the assistant coach, if the school would have fired you for turning in Sandusky then so be it. You would have prevented the hurt that was felt by many other children and there are more coaches that would have hired a guy with upstanding principals and morals than one who just ran away.

Finally the students out in support of Paterno don't really have a clue what the victims are going through. Abuse like this never goes away and some victims can barely deal with it. The hurt becomes a part of you and future relationships can be damaged. Holding a rally in support of a coach is only good if the coach DID THE RIGHT THING!!! Its not about football, its not about wins and losses. It's about adults not acting like adults. Covering up a crime to protect an image. And making victims relive a horrific and painful part of their life that they will never forget. The innocence that once was Happy Valley, Pa, was lost when the school turned its back on the very people it should have been protecting.
The children.