Ask any college football fan the location of Penn State University, and the most given answer would be Happy Valley, Pennsylvania. It was a place where young men came to play football and helped earned the college nicknames like “Linebacker U” among others. Well, dark clouds have settled over that college town now, and the valley is anything but happy. Former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky stands convicted of over forty counts of sexual abuse of minors and awaits sentencing. The other shoe dropped on July 12, 2012, when the Freeh Report became public. The report, which came about from a seven plus month investigation, uncovered more horrible facts. However, this report was not as much about finding out more about the convicted pedophile, but more about how the university conducted itself. According to the former Director of the FBI, Louis Freeh, it was a case of deception and coverups. A New York Daily News piece details Freeh’s interpretation of the events. He said, “university officials, as well as Joe Paterno, showed a callous and shocking disregard for child victims. Our most saddening and sobering finding is the total disregard for the safety and welfare of Sandusky’s child victims by the most senior leaders at Penn State. The most powerful men at Penn State failed to take any steps for 14 years to protect the children who Sandusky victimized.” With those words, coupled with the report, Freeh confirmed what many had feared. Numerous members of the Penn State hierarchy failed to stop this sexual predator after a 1998 investigation into Sandusky showering with a young boy on campus. Among these enablers, one appears to be iconic coach Joe Paterno. The Freeh Report claims to have confirmed facts that people hoped would not be true about the long time head coach. When the 2001 incident in the shower was reported by Assistant Coach Mike McQueary, it appeared that President Graham Spanier, Athletic Director Tim Curley, and Vice President Gary Schultz had seen enough. They prepared to report Sandusky to child welfare services, but then decided not to, after a conversation that took place with Joe Paterno. Though none of these people could be interviewed for the report, emails and notes written by the group led to this conclusion. The conclusion, from the report, was that the coach feared negative publicity. Others thought that Sandusky would not be treated humanely, but feared that not turning him in could burn them later. Instead of firing Sandusky and turning him in, they allowed the coach to retire. Sadly, he did so with honor, while keeping his privileges on campus. This enabled him to continue his predatory ways, exacting harm on a number of other children. The question will now be where does Penn State and the football program go from here. The evidence in the Freeh report seems to leave the University, and numerous individuals open to legal suits. There are also calls for the football program to be given the NCAA death penalty. The death penalty shuts down the program completely for a undetermined amount of time. Southern Methodist University got this for continually paying players in the 80’s. It will be fascinating to see if the football program will be held accountable for problems that some would say did not include the team. Category:Home › Other • Pomegranates: A newly discovered superfood • Where did the joke why did the chicken cross the road come from and why is it funny? • Can mothers diagnosed with bipolar disorder make good parents? • Spiritual evolution of human consciousness • Tips for getting a college basketball scholarship • Living with Pseudotumor cerebri (PTC) • Caring for the caregiver • Technologys impact on society
Deixe um comentário