Thoughts on Penn State

Posted on by femistorian

*Trigger Warning*

In this last week, there has been much in the news about the recent arrest of former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, and the subsequent firing of legendary football coach Joe Paterno, affectionately known as JoePa.

Wait a minute, I know you’re wondering why I’m talking about Penn State football on a feminist blog. Trust me, I’m getting there.

When all this news broke, the focus was placed almost entirely on the firing of Paterno. It seems as though no one stopped to talk about the victims of these horrific acts, and how this reflects on us as a nation.

First, I just want to go over the charges against Sandusky so we’re all clear on what we’re talking about.

Sandusky founded and ran a program for disadvantaged youth called The Second Mile.  Since it’s inception in 1977 it has helped thousands of Pennsylvania children reach their full potential in spite of financial and social obstacles they faced. Sandusky helped raise millions of dollars for the organization. He and his wife adopted six children, he was the volunteer assistant coach for a local high school football team, and he ran football camps for young boys. But as most of America knows by  now, these were the vehicles through which he would find his victims.

Over a period of fifteen years, Sandusky would take a select few boys under his wing. He bought them gifts, took them to Penn State games and Eagles games, and often had them sleep over in his basement. During these outings or sleepovers, he would sexually abuse them. I won’t go into details, but you can read the full report here. All of the victims (who are now adults) reported feeling horribly uncomfortable around Sandusky, but most felt there was nothing they could do. One of the most manipulative stories in the report is that of the boy who accompanied Sandusky to the 1999 Alamo Bowl, only to be sexually assaulted. When he complained, Sandusky threatened to send him home.

At one point, a graduate assistant witnessed Sandusky raping a boy in the Penn State locker room showers. He reported it to Paterno at his home, who then spoke with other university officials. No one called the police.

Fast forward to last week. After the Penn State board of trustees met, they elected to fire Paterno and the university president.  When the allegations began coming out, he announced his retirement, to be effective at the end of this season. But the trustees rejected his offer, feeling it prudent to fire him immediately.  Students, alumni, and fans were outraged by his firing. Paterno was arguably the most successful and beloved coach in college football history.  He was the Penn State coach for 46 years. My dad is from Pennsylvania, and even he had mixed emotions about the events.

Following this announcement, students and local residents took to the streets. This quickly turned into a riot, and even a tv news fan was overturned. Many students were vocal in their support of JoePa, and condemned the board of trustees. It was reported that during their announcement, a student yelled “Your town is gonna burn tonight.”

Throughout this, it seems that no one stopped to think of the men who Sandusky molested and raped. No one stopped to think of their families, and how both the survivors and secondary survivors were reacting to the news. To be fair, there have since been some news stories about student outreach for the victims and their families. But the vast majority of the coverage is focused on JoePa and Penn State football.

What does that say about us as a country? News breaks that a man committed horrific, traumatizing acts against defenseless young boys, and we’re worried about a stupid football game? Everyone keeps asking how JoePa’s doing, no one’s asking how the survivors are. Do we value sports and the religion of football so much that it overshadows the lives and well being of our children?

If you read the full report or various news coverage, it becomes abundantly clear that a host of people had knowledge of the incidents for years and did next to nothing to right the wrongs done by Sandusky. Even Paterno seems to have swept it under the rug.

So what am I trying to say? We, as a nation, need to take a good hard look at our values, and our morals. As a feminist, I find it appalling when victims/survivors of sexual crimes are so overlooked. Rather than hold vigils outside Paterno’s home, focus on the task at hand-bringing Sandusky to justice and help the men he wronged.

Sidenote: How do you, as readers, feel about this? Do you agree that Paterno should have been fired?

4 thoughts on “Thoughts on Penn State”

  2. Hi Femistorian! Great, well written post, my dear!

    I too am appalled of the events that have taken place this past week. To first hear of Joe Paterno’s firing was a big surprise, but then to hear why, was a kickback. BUT what was even worse was the backlash from Penn State college student. My Dad’s side of the family are all Penn State alumni, and I haven’t spoken to them on this topic. But even though they are all football fans, I can predict what they’d say, ‘these men gotta go!”

    First of all, now it just looks bad on the entire school to have had these football instructors in positions for all this time knowing who these men truly were, AND to have a student body that ‘commends’ such acts. Because regardless if the student body does or does not approve of the actions of Paterno and Sandusky, well it sure looks like they approve of it now if they are going to riot in the streets over the dismissal of such men…

    Secondly, to address the continual neglect of the victims and their stories. Maybe its too hard too hard to face for the US? We as a nation love to sweep the devastating, all life changing events under the carpet, just as Penn State did. Instead, we’d rather focus on the violent nature of youths rioting over a beloved icon leaving. Because, this is an easier and juicier topic to have blasted in the media. However, this in turn makes our media look even dumber and immoral than it already does. I am certainly not excusing the media or the students as to why they are not more concerned with sexually abused victims, but I am thinking if these student are the kinds of fanatic people who will riot over a football coach leaving then I don’t believe they’d take a minute to understand what this all is truly about.

    We as a nation cannot pay a person 400,000+ and idolize them simultaneously, while they are committing such horrific crimes. In doing this, we are telling the world we commend such acts, as a nation.

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