When Money Gets in The Way Of Reason

 There are a lot of things that I am not.

 But one thing I am: I am harshly opinionated — to the point of obstinacy — about certain things.

 One of those things is child abuse. I become intensely opinionated — to the point of anger — when some twisted, anally-retentive jerk sexually abuses children.

 I don’t care what the psychology is behind that jerk’s actions. I don’t care if he witnessed his grandmother copulating with a Billy Goat, or his mother turned tricks and used the abuser as a pimp!

 To my way of thinking there are no extenuating circumstances that would, or could, possibly excuse, ameliorate or justifiably diminish the punishment that a person of that ilk should suffer under the law.

 I am not going to tell you what I think should happen to someone who is charged and found guilty of sexually molesting a child  — but I will tell you this: It ain’t pretty and it ain’t very civilized. At least, it’s no more civilized then the abuser’s sick and predatory actions against a child or children.

 Something else I am not…

 I am not a football fan and all of the hoopla surrounding the firing, forced retirement or whatever you want to call it of Joe Paterno and Graham Spanier shows, in my mind that State, like the Catholic Church, was more interested in their public persona then concerned about the damages done to the lives of the victims of a child abuser whether a coach or cleric. In other words they took absolutely no action against the abuser until the spotlight of public opinion shined on a particularly vile type of cockroach within those institutions — a sexual predator that preyed upon children.

I am also not a legal scholar but it seems to me that if a person is aware of the commission of a crime and fails report that crime to the authorities then that person can be considered an accessory after the fact. My understanding is (Depending on the jurisdiction) that in order to be charged as accessory, it must be proven that the individual knew that their action, or inaction, would help the bad guy(s) evade detection, or escape punishment.

Do Paterno and Spanier fit that profile? I don’t know. That’s something the State ofPennsylvaniawill have to decide.

What I do know, or at least from what I have read, is that Sanduskyallegedly committed his crimes over a number of years and probably screwed up a lot of lives. I also believe that it is the victims that need our sympathy, support, counseling and goodwill — not Paterno and Spanier — both of whom had the opportunity to put a stop to Sandusky’s alleged behavior rather then do nothing and hope the problem would go away.

I saw the demonstrations of outrage against Jo Pa’s firing. However, I did not see any demonstrations on behalf of the victims of sexual abuse that Jo Pa was aware of for at least the last ten years. Is there something wrong with my thinking, here?

(NOTE: Between the time I wrote this and now,  there has been a candlelight vigil by students and others at State. That makes me feel somewhat better regarding a community’s concern for the victims of the child abuse.)

Joe Paterno has had a stellar tenure as State’s head coach. And it’s a shame to see a vicious incident, like this, blight that career.

However, I simply have to wonder what would have happened if one of his assistants had reported that one of Joe’s children, or grandchildren, was a victim of a sexually oriented child molester’s activities?  What would Paterno’s reaction have been if he found out that a predator had turned State’s shower room into a gruesome sexual playroom with one of Joe’s progeny the object of the predator’s affections?

In his defense, Patrerno, according to media reports, told the head of the athletic department who told Spanier what had been revealed, by an eyewitness’ (Mike McQueary) account regardingSandusky’s actions. And the wheels of justice simply stopped. No criminal investigation. No punishment. No recriminations. No publicity. On the other side of the scale, Paterno did NOT report the incident to the authorities.

Why?

I think it had to do with money.

College sports are no longer simple, competitive, games played school against school. They are major public spectacles that cost millions to produce and bring in more millions in donations and “fees” to the top schools.

State’s football team was (and maybe will still be) a cash cow for State. I don’t know how large a chuck of cash State’s alumni contribute to the school each year but I’d be willing to bet that without their “win” record in the field and the glittering public persona of the team, those contributions would be a whole lot less.

That persona has quickly been tarnished by a scandal.

If Paterno and Spanier are shown to have, by omission or commission, covered up the alleged child abuse bySandusky, or anyone else, then they deserve whatever punishment they may be given.

IfSanduskyis found guilty of the charges pending against him then there is, in my opinion, no punishment severe enough to mend the broken lives and minds he has been responsible for shredding. And by extension, or as a result of any actions brought by the State of Pennsylvania against any principals involved in the “cover up”;  those individuals should be punished too — even when the actions of those responsible for the cover up might hurt the image, and cash flow, of a major university…

During the coming months and years, there will be better minds than mine that will argue both sides of this issue in court and out. But ifSanduskyis proven guilty — I believe that State’s athletic department also bears a proportionate share of the guilt.

It would be nice to find out that I am wrong on all accounts. In the meantime, I’ll stick with my opinion — there is no excuse for a sexual predator not being “turned in” to the police for ten years, or more, after the abuse was supposed to have occurred.