Shame on You!

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This has nothing to do with the fact that I am not a fan of college sports.  But, think about it…USC, Ohio State, Miami, and now Penn State.  The latter situation is not the normal money, power, fame thing- but it’s related.  No, it’s not Wall Street with its money abuses.   (There’s nothing wrong with profit- there’s something wrong when you operate the way Wall Street has and does.)

Tell me why the Grand Jury report was delayed (for a long, long time)- other than to let Joe Paterno get the number of wins necessary to set a record.  One that will forever be drenched in shame.

This is emblematic of the terrible situation that exists in this country.  Where universities prostitute themselves for the money that is “Football”.  Oh, there are other sports involved, but Football is big money.  It’s made Penn State into a nationally known university.  Which is why the powers that be let Paterno stay too long.  It’s why Ohio State, Alabama, Miami, and USC have similar problems.

I’ve complained about this for a long time.  We already know that most schools lower their standards to afford the athletes an “education”.  We know how much money is involved in these programs. And, we know that this much money must corrupt the education system. When the NCAA has the gall to promote a graduation rate of 78% for Penn State, 68% for Maryland, 57% for Auburn, and 46% for Oklahoma- but you need to read the fine print to find those afford the athletes a SIX year window to finish the four year program!

I know we can add the Catholic Church into this bailiwick.  The fact that bishops and cardinals played dumb when young children were molested is incomprehensible to me.  The fact that they believe they deserve absolution for this complicity is reprehensible.

The fact that Paterno did NOT take action is also reprehensible.  Whatever regard I may have had for his abilities as a coach, I can’t manage to consider him anything other but complicit in this problem.  There is no difference between his actions at Penn State and the German and Polish citizenry during World War II.  The fiction about “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” has left many Jews killed and many children molested.

Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A.

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15 thoughts on “Shame on You!”

    1. Thanks for your comments, Linda.
      This has to stop. I used a different introduction on Google…
      What do college football, Wall Street, and Congress have in common? They have all let money corrupt their ethics. This HAS to be stopped and reformed. NOW!
      We have let families be raped of their homes and jobs. We have engineered the destruction of the middle class to further empower the rich- rendering an aristocracy that is antithetic to the American Dream. And, we have let football destroy the concept of the university education.
      Obviously, this is among the things that can arouse my passion.
      Thanks for reading!

      Roy

  1. Roy,

    I am reading a fiction novel right now set in about 1850. It partially tells a story of China and then CA during the Gold Rush. The stories made up where torn from our history and they are sickening.

    Humans can be horrible creatures. The ones in power believe the “others” are disposable. Everything you speak of and so much more in our human history is sad. I read a headline yesterday on Ted, “When will we ever get back to normal?” someone asked. I wanted to answer “never, the worst humans will always be horrible. We cannot escape the bad.”

    History repeats itself. As soon as we outlaw something, someone finds a way around it. As soon as we fix something, someone figures out a way to mess it up. It’s in our nature; our brains.

    By no means am I saying the human race is bad, I believe there is way more good than evil. BUT the evil outshines the good. Unfortunately.

    ~Allie

  2. Great post, Roy! It is very thought provoking as we look at what happened in this system. I must admit that one of the things that I’ve noticed about this whole thing is the almost exclusive focus on Joe Paterno.

    I’m not saying that he deserves none of the blame, but what really appalls me is that the one person named so far in this event, Mike McQueary, who is going to be on the sidelines on Saturday against Nebraska. This is someone who, if the allegations are true, saw something so vile that I won’t mention on this page, is a 6’4 former quarterback, and he didn’t try to stop it?!?!? We need to remember not to just to look at one scapegoat, but everyone in the system who failed.

    1. Steve-
      I agree with you.
      But, Paterno did NOT block Sandusky from the lockerroom- even after he retired. And, somehow, the grand jury report publication got delayed until Paterno got the record number of wins.
      There’s a lot of smelly fish in this deal.
      Again- football money corrupts…
      Thanks for your comment- and great addition to the facts!

      Roy

  3. I have no idea of the background of this story but I get the intent. We repeatedly permit the wrong people to do the wrong things because they give us something we want. We allow people to sell our integrity because it is expedient or because not enough people care. Or worse those that care are told to shut up because…
    Keep raising the warnings Roy. I don’t know if anyone is listening who might get it but if enough of us get it MAYBE we can prevent too much more stupidity.
    Or maybe we are all just too indifferent and overwhelmed to care

  4. This was absolutely true Roy! It disgusts me to think that this went on for so long at Penn State, and how many victims could have been saved, had one person spoken out. Joe Paterno bears the responsibility. He had the knowledge and the power to see it dealt with. Shame on him. Thanks for such a great article. Awareness. It’s all about awareness.
    ~cath
    @jonesbabie on Twitter.

  5. I don’t think this was about money for JoePa. I’m not in any way excusing him. There are many at fault. In my opinion, there are heavier demerits both the higher up the authority ladder in the university (even with a dearth of detail) and for the individual(s) who witnessed the abuse in the first person. No grown man should be even vaguely confused about what to do when a grown man – naked – pins a naked child to the wall. I would risk anything – including job loss – to confront an adult exploiting a child. Immediately.

    1. P.S. I went to a Catholic school with a 94% graduation rate for athletes. That doesn’t mean some of them didn’t take a smaller courseload than I, nor that they didn’t have tutors (too bad I didn’t get a fitness coach to balance it out). It does mean that at least one school does care that students are just that.
      But I’m actually in favor of a farm league for football. This – like the farm league for baseball – would allow those who have no desire to benefit from a college education to develop their skills post-high school with an aim to professional play, should they have the requisite skills and drive.

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