There is no way to describe how much this should bother you. Maybe bother isn't the right word. Maybe infuriate is the right word. See, the worst thing about this situation is that Penn State University chose football over morals and ethics. They picked football over justice. They picked football over several children's childhoods. Scratch that. Not childhood. This will affect their entire lives. NO ONE should have to live through what these children will have to go through.
One thing that I probably don't have to point out in this situation is that this is football. Penn State forgot that. They forgot that life is bigger than football. Life is bigger than sports. Period. It's hard for me to believe that so many people at this public university had a chance to stop this. And every, single person that who had a chance to stop this, chose not to. How can so many people allow something so wrong to continue to happen for so long? To me, there is only one logical answer. The people who represent Penn State (Administration, Faculty, Students, etc.) chose football. So, if you don't know what happened with former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky at Penn State, read on.
At a football camp in March of 2002, graduate assistent Mike McQuery walked in on Sandusky raping a ten-year old boy. Sandusky saw McQuery. McQuery proceeded to tell Joe Paterno. Paterno told the Athletic Director. The AD told the vice president. The VP told the president. The line stopped there. Covered up. 1,2,3,4,5 people had the chance to stop this from continuing. McQuery was there. He could have stopped the situation. It all would have ended. But no, he told Paterno. Paterno, fulfilling his "legal" obligations, told the AD. But the way I see it, that is ALL Paterno did. He fulfilled his LEGAL obligations. Not his MORAL or ETHICAL obligations. Joe Paterno chose football. DO YOU SEE HOW MANY PEOPLE COULD HAVE STOPPED THIS? All of them chose football over the right thing. And what were the consequences? Children's lives were altered forever.
At an institution where the slogan is "Success with Honor", the question must be asked. Can Penn State say this anymore?And Success at what? This university's mission is to educate people.They chose football over education. And was there any honor in what happened with Sandusky? Was there any honor in the riots that proceeded the firing of Joe Paterno? The students were more upset about the firing of Paterno than what happened to these innocent children at their own learning institution! All things in this scandal point to the same thing for me. People forgot that sports (a hobby) isn't as important as the value of the health of people.
Another sad part of this story is that this could've happened anywhere. Yes. It happened at Penn State. But more and more people are forgetting that football is just a sport. Nothing more. More and more universities are forgetting that football is just a sport. Nothing more. Universities are treating football as so much more than it really is. A sport. So the sad truth to this story is another question.
Can any institution say "Success with Honor" anymore?
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