Time To Go, Joe

The worlds of sport and crime seem to intersect far too often these days. Penn State University is now the epicenter of shocking and unspeakable revelations of sexual abuse of minors when the local Grand Jury released its indictment against a former assistant coach “Sandusky”, who allegedly violated at least nine innocent boys over a fifteen year period. The allegations contained in the Grand Jury’s presentment are sickening to read and reveal the actions of a serial sexual predator of minors.

The allegations against “Sandusky” have also brought down PSU’s athletic director and a vice-president for allegedly perjuring themselves before the Grand Jury. The scandal has also brought calls for legendary football Coach Joe Paterno to step down (or be fired). Coach Paterno is the winningest coach in Division 1 history. Paterno, 84, has been Penn State’s coach since 1966 and heretofore had an impeccable record as a leader of young men. His program stressed academics and character and turned out scores of players to the NFL. “Sandusky” was a Paterno assistant for decades and was the heir apparent to Paterno’s job before abruptly retiring in 1999. The terms of his retirement provided an office and unlimited access to the football facilities (where many of the alleged abuses against minors occurred).

“Sandusky” was also the president of an organization called “The Second Mile”, a non-profit that worked with at-risk boys and teenagers. All of the victims met “Sandusky” through “The Second Mile”.

The first allegations of abuse surfaced in 1998 but the local district attorney vanished without a trace in 2005.

In 2002, a graduate assistant advised Coach Paterno that he witnessed “Sandusky” engaging in allegedly highly inappropriate sexual act with a minor child. Paterno then purportedly advised the athletic director but did not contact campus police or anyone else. In other words, Paterno did the bare minimum and took no additional actions to ascertain the boy’s identity. In the years thereafter, “Sandusky” continued to have unfettered access to the football facilities and continued to bring boys to the facility where he allegedly violated additional innocent boys.

Why Paterno continued to allow “Sandusky” to have access to the facilities after learning of an alleged act of sexual abuse of a child is amazing. Most “rational” persons would’ve turned over heaven and earth to get to the bottom of the matter and, if such allegations had even a shred of credibility, would’ve barred “Sandusky” from going anywhere near the facility. Maybe Paterno thought that it would all simply “go away”. Or maybe Paterno made a calculated decision that if he blew the whistle on “Sandusky”, his precious legacy and football program would be tarnished by such revelations.

By simply “kicking it upstairs” to the AD, Paterno may have covered his ass legally, but ethically he failed all of the victims and the legacy he so carefully crafted over the past 45 years is now in disrepute.

Those of us who reside in the Archdiocese of Boston could tell Paterno a thing or two about the societal price of “kicking it upstairs” when it comes to the sexual abuse of minors. The higher-ups in the Church wrote the textbook on covering up for and enabling abusive clerics and staff. Forget about the financial costs and broken trust and just focus on the victims and the nightmares they are still living. It will take decades to repair the damage.

These victims looked up to “Sandusky” and he showered them with gifts and attention. For Paterno’s part, he failed them. There’s a distinction between what is legally correct and ethically proper. A coach of a major college football program is like a CEO with a bevy of assistants, that much is true. People like Paterno rely on their underlings to facilitate the program; he can’t be everywhere at once. But the buck stops with the boss. What is so disheartening is that anyone in a position of responsibility has an ethical obligation in situations where they are advised of any act involving alleged harm to a child. “Joe Pa” has no excuse for allowing “Sandusky” to continue to bring boys to the facility for years thereafter. If Paterno used just a little of his “passion for the game” to follow up on the 2002 allegations against “Sandusky”, there’s a good chance that there would’ve been far fewer victims.

It’s true: One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch. “Sandusky” was originally investigated for abusing a child in 1998 and abruptly retired his assistant coaching post shortly thereafter. It was that point that Paterno should’ve cut the cord and made it emphatically clear that there was no place for “Sandusky” to hang around the football program, let alone have his own office at the facility. Even if one gives Paterno the benefit of the doubt regarding 1998, how on earth does he allow “Sandusky” to remain on campus after he became aware of similar allegations four years later? It defies common sense. It would be the height of disingenuousness for Paterno to claim that he “didn’t know”. He knew and covered up to protect his image and football program.

If Paterno acted with a modicum of prudence in 2002, his legacy would remain untarnished and he would’ve been hailed as a hero for shining a spotlight on a sick and disgusting human being. If the allegations are proven to be true in a court of law, “Sandusky” should’ve been imprisoned years ago. In choosing the easy way out, Paterno (together with all of the higher-ups) allowed this predator to continue unchecked and has brought disrepute to his vaunted football program and a great American university.

It’s sad to see such an iconic figure as Coach Paterno having to take the fall for the egregious actions of a formerly trusted assistant. No one is rejoicing over this. But one thing is clear: he failed his ethical responsibility to protect innocent children from the actions of a serial sexual predator who had license and access to the university facilities to further abuse innocent victims.

It’s time to go, Joe…now.