Penn's State
46 Year Legacy Tackled in Scandal
TeenNewsNet Managing Editor
Because of some of the events that has happened in the past few days as of this writing, I decided to share my thoughts with you.
The ugly story that hovers over Penn State University has left me sick and appalled on so many levels. Of course it starts with the former Defensive Coordinator Jerry Sandusky and the deplorable acts he committed on those kids. Mike McQueary, the graduate assistant at the time of his discovering Sandusky in a compromising position with the boy, who did nothing more than report what he saw to the head football coach, Joe Paterno. What was he told by McQueary that March day nearly 10 years ago? Did he turn a blind eye to his longtime coach and friend, or was he not given enough information to not allow Sandusky on the campus ever again. In either case, Paterno, seems to only care about his legacy, and protecting the Penn State brand.
As an educator of sorts, a coach, and a father of two sons, I am disgusted, angry and somewhat defensive. There are many like myself who just love being around kids. All I want is to be a positive influence, have the kids I work with, speak to, and coach for grow up to be successful. Admittedly, when there are cases like this dominating the airwaves I feel like we are all under the microscope, parents wondering if their children are safe with me, and quite frankly, I don’t blame them if that is the case. And that’s a damn shame. I hope everyone involved not only in this case, but any case of child abuse gets what they deserve and more.
What I saw after the firing of Coach Paterno, and the guilty verdict that was rendered to Dr. Conrad Murray for the death of Michael Jackson was quite disturbing. When the verdict was read, there was a huge cheer and shouts of “justice” from the crowd that had gathered outside of the courthouse.
Across the country, Penn State students upon hearing that their beloved coach was fired, camped out the residence of the beleaguered coach, and turned over a TV news truck, smashed car windows, and spoke out against the University's Board of Trustees for performing the daring and justifiable move of getting rid of “Joe Pa.”
What both crowds had in common was a failure to grasp reality. What happened to Jackson wasn’t done maliciously by Dr. Murray, it was a tragic accident, and if you watched any of the news coverage, it was obvious that Murray looked like a man who couldn’t believe he wasn’t waking up from this horrible nightmare. He also died that June day two years ago, and that’s nothing to cheer about. What the students of Penn State fail to realize is that Coach Paterno is not the victim, but a self-serving, selfish imp, who was more worried about keeping his job, and the football team in a deity state, not once worried about the children who are at the crux of this case. The students are just following the lead of their leader setting a great example he should be proud of.
