Penn State Girl Out of Love With Paterno: Margaret Carlson [View All]

[seafan]

Margaret Carlson writes at Bloomberg:


November 16, 2011, 3:25 PM EST

.....

I’m a Penn State graduate, one who worshiped at the church of Joe Paterno, the plainspoken Warren Buffett of the Nittany Valley. Despite making, bringing in and giving away millions over his 46 seasons as head football coach, including financing a new library and chapel on campus, Paterno has always lived as a modest man. His home is a 1950s ranch that’s never seen a granite counter or stainless-steel appliance. Paterno famously taught his players values, along with football. No one danced in the end zone or spiked the ball, and almost everyone graduated.

I find it hard to believe that Paterno, bolstered by his own authority and legend, stood by as one child after another became a victim. It’s as if he’d never heard the cliche that for evil to triumph, good men need only do nothing. Sandusky, who has been charged with 40 counts of sexually abusing children, says he is innocent. Yet reading the grand jury’s report is like watching a movie where you shout at the screen “Call the police!” No one does, and catastrophe ensues.

.....

The next morning, McQueary described what he had witnessed to Paterno, who waited until the following day before relaying the allegations to Athletic Director Tim Curley. No one appeared to be in a hurry. A couple weeks went by before Sandusky’s keys to the facility were taken away and the incident was reported to Sandusky’s charity. Along the way, McQueary’s description of “anal sex” seems to have mutated into something like “horsing around” in the minds of Curley and another administrator, former senior vice president Gary Schultz, both of whom say they are not guilty of charges that they covered up the allegations against Sandusky.

.....

Via the NY Daily News:

November 15, 2011


From the interview that stunned observers.

BOB COSTAS:

18:58:59:00: "But you're a man who by his own admission has showered with young boys, highly inappropriate. Who has continually put himself in the presence of young boys, volunteer high school coach, volunteer at a small local college, even after -- you were largely disassociated from Penn State. Multiple reports of you getting into bed with young boys who stayed at your house in a room in the basement. How do you account for these things? And if you're not a pedophile, then what are you?"

JERRY SANDUSKY:

18:59:30:00: "Well I'm a person that has taken a strong interest. I'm a very passionate person in terms of trying to make a difference in the lives of some young people. I worked very hard to try to connect with them. To make them feel good about themselves. To -- be something significant in their lives. Maybe this gets misinterpreted, has gotten depending on -- I know a lot of young people where it hasn't. I have worked with many, many young people where there has been no misinterpretation of my actions and I have made a very significant difference in their lives."

BOB COSTAS:

19:00:28:00: "But isn't what you're just describing the classic MO of many pedophiles? And that is that they gain the trust of young people, they don't necessarily abuse every young person. There were hundreds, if not thousands of young boys you came into contact with, but there are allegations that at least eight of them were victimized. Many people believe there are more to come. So it's entirely possible that you could've helped young boy A in some way that was not objectionable while horribly taking advantage of young boy B, C, D, and E. Isn't that possible?"

JERRY SANDUSKY:

19:01:01:00: "Well -- you might think that. I don't know. (LAUGHS) In terms of -- my relationship with so many, many young people. I would-- I would guess that there are many young people who would come forward. Many more young people who would come forward and say that my methods and-- and what I had done for them made a very positive impact on their life. And I didn't go around seeking out every young person for sexual needs that I've helped. There are many that I didn't have-- I hardly had any contact with who I have helped in many, many ways."

.....

(emphasis added)



Today, we hear that Penn State is attempting to claim immunity from this moral failure.



Carlson notes:

In 1999, Sandusky retired from Penn State with an emeritus status that enabled him to continue using campus facilities, including the football locker room, which made it easy to attract star-struck youngsters. Paterno stayed on the honorary board of Sandusky’s charity. ..... It all stayed in the family, the religion of football mimicking that of the Catholic Church. Paterno, Curley, Schultz and McQueary all had powerful reasons to believe that a sexual predator was running a charity for kids. The moral poison didn’t stop there. Last week Penn State students rampaged through the streets, incensed that the coach had been let go. They were seemingly unmoved by those who had been hurt, concerned only for those whose power had been taken away.

.....

When it came down to either protecting this university's lucrative and venerated sports program or protecting young children, we see clearly that cruel, soulless power dominated.


Our country is very, very sick.