Ten years old and life can be an uphill struggle in the mountains of central
Pennsylvania.
Wearing tattered clothing, sneakers with holes in the soles.
He puts his head down to avoid the snickers of others when
Leaving the school bus… all the kids know about his poverty….
His father killed in Iraq: mother struggling with a minimum wage job.
Two younger brothers and sisters are all of preschool age.
Tim’s ( as we shall name him for this article ) peers know you get a free school
lunch and use food stamps.
The trailer roof leaks , last spring the electric power was shut off .
Penn State Lion images are everywhere in this rural town,
at the grocery store, the dentist, the pharmacy.
Pennants, stickers, pom poms , sweat shirts. Everywhere.
Stories about Joe Pa and the national championships are legendary.
The smart, tough guys who went to Linebacker U are heroes for generations.
The local dentist, attorneys, business leaders –all Penn State Grads.
The Harrisburg Sunday Patriot, Lebanon Daily News, Channel 4 TV in
Lancaster carry news of recruiting triumphs throughout the year.
Would the local 5 star all state full back from Bishop McDevitt in Harrisburg
matriculate to Penn State or defect to Pittsburgh or Alabama? As much a news
Item as the gubernatorial election.
By age 7-8: young men can tell you the histories of Joe Paterno, Rip Engle and
Jerry Sandusky.
Sandusky designed the defenses for the national championship teams.
Respected, smart, a guy who had access to Penn State’s campus, and carried
blue and white in his veins.
Tim remembers being “recruited” to join Jerry’s the Second Mile Program –
billed as a program to help his self esteem and make him a better person.
Tim never had a chance – he was a prime candidate for the claws of the
predator.Parents revered Jerry Sandusky – especially those who wanted to
give more to their kids – but couldn’t. The “ Second Mile” program was a
blessing – Jerry was a role model leader of the program.
Imagine, spending time with a folk hero who helped propel Penn State to
national football prominence?
Jerry liked the kids.. An eagle eye for athletic talent, he also had the
uncommon ability to identify the most vulnerable.. to spot the young boys who
had that extra need for attention.. The kind of oral sex and anal sex attention
foisted upon them by the sick predators of this world.
From summer camps to the private, glitzy, big time locker facilities at Happy
Valley is a short walk for the well connected Sandusky. According to published
reports, locker rooms where he was seen performing oral sex on pre teens.
Over a decade, he allegedly violated numerous young men, using his fame as a
former Penn State coach for access to young minds and bodies.. and violated
them in Penn State’s football facilities as well as elsewhere.
Others knew – he was reportedly seen with a naked boy committing oral sex in
a shower room . A grad student observed the horrific scene and turned him
into Penn State authorities .. and nothing was done. No action was taken.
The terror continued and continued. And the authorities covered up.
One needs to understand the allegiance of Pennsylvania parents to the
University. The high regard for its ethics and values. From toddler age
through senior years the University and its athletic programs are
nigh unto a religion. Always a bit above the Ohio State tattoo scandal,
Wisconsin’s shoe scandal , the dismal education rates among SEC athletes. Penn
State was the shining example of the way to run a class athletic program. Get
into trouble in a local bar – Joe Pa would bench the player at
the least – or make sure the young man transferred to another school.
This scandal does not involve players but a former coach and university icon.
Rather this is a legal and moral morass brought upon innocent children by a
sick pedophile who was apparently enabled to continue his horrific actions by
the head of the athletic department and chief of security.
Sweep it under the rug and the dirt will disappear! Avoid the truth – an axiom
that never succeeds.
The proud battle cry of Nittany Lion fans when visiting the Badgers at Camp
Randall is “ WE ARE PENN STATE”. A shrill combination of pride and
defiance.
No longer. Not this year.
As a Roman Catholic who has watched the priest pedophile scandal grow
exponentially because of a culture of denial and enablement , one fears for the
viability of the institution at Happy Valley .
Most of all – the innocence of many children is lost.. and the scars last a
lifetime..
So to my faithful readers, I admit my anger, embarrassment, and shame on
behalf of the University. Having been one of those who lived and breathed PSU
football since an early age, I will be one of those fans at Camp Randall who will
sit quietly during the November game in respect for those boys who
were ignored by Penn State University in their horrific days, weeks, and years
of greatest need.
To say we are sorry is not enough. To say “ WE ARE PENN STATE” is an
embarrassment.
rlhassociates 