Posts tagged Joe Paterno

Penn State Scandal Updates

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Joe Paterno's nickname inside the Penn State program was "The Rat." Former Penn State grad assistant Matt Paknis explains. Photo by Vicenteb_d

I think we’ve really lost in this country—and maybe in many countries—a certain value of leadership. The idea that power can be wielded for the common good is kind of up for grabs these days, because there are so many competing commercial interests on governance as we know it.

– Investigative reporter Jason Berry on the Penn State scandal

Many of you probably want this story to go away. I understand. It’s painful. But I think our country likes to be comfortably numb. Booze. Drugs. Video games. Sports. “Reality” TV.

There’s nothing wrong with having some escapism in your life. But expressing the initial horror over the Penn State story and then slipping back to a medicated or electronic semi-coma isn’t the answer. It doesn’t help us become more educated on the subject of preventing sexual abuse in our communities.

It also doesn’t teach us how to spot the evils that exist within a power structure that happen at every level of a university, business, or government institution. Moreover, we need to learn why the initial reactions to defend this power structure are not unusual and why we shouldn’t have been as surprised as we were.

Here are some links worth reading that I think will help us continue to become more cognizant of the big-picture issues as this story continues to unfold:

Matt Paknis’ blog entry – The former Penn State grad assistant talks about his experiences working with the football team and his impressions of the power structure as well as the behaviors he witnessed from Jerry Sandusky. Paknis did not witness sexual acts, but he did see Sandusky show questionable judgment with physical boundaries between the defensive coordinator and children in public. He also doesn’t mince words about what he thinks Joe Paterno knew. This is a must read. Here’s a podcast with him on Mike Francesca’s CBS show if you just don’t feel like reading.

What the Catholic Church Can Teach Us About the Penn State Scandal – The Atlantic features a Q&A between culture writer (and terrific sportswriter) Patrick Hruby with investigative reporter Jason Berry who has “written extensively about child molestation charges against the church.” Berry says there are striking parallels, but a lot more credit should be given to Penn State for its swift reaction.

Donate to Sexual Abuse Prevention

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Let's do something to help prevent sexual abuse and promote greater awareness. Photo by Arianna Marchesani.

I think one of the best things about the community of football fans is its generosity with good causes. I think in light of the events at Penn State, I’d like to remind everyone that one of the organizations I had scheduled to donate a share of the revenue from the 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio is Darkness to Light.

[Just to be clear, while I would love for you to buy the RSP if you haven’t in the past – and I’m certainly going to use this as a way to make your decision a bit easier. But in the grand scheme of things, it’s more important that you donate to reputable organizations that focus on the prevention of these types of crimes – RSP or not.]

[youtube=http://youtu.be/rSJSXq2Y4Xc]

I found Darkness to Light on Charity Navigator last year and chose it based on its mission:

“Darkness to Light is a national organization and initiative. Our mission is to empower people to prevent child sexual abuse. Darkness to Light’s public awareness campaign seeks to raise awareness of the prevalence and consequences of child sexual abuse.

Again, even if you don’t purchase the Rookie Scouting Portfolio publication I encourage you to find an organization like Darkness to Light or RAIN to assist.

If you are an annual reader of the Rookie Scouting Portfolio publications, I had a poll available on this page for you to determine how much of the allocated percentage of sales revenue I donate to Darkness to Light. I’ve decided instead that I’m going to play benevolent dictator on this decision. I’m giving that percentage solely to Darkness to Light.

Even if you don’t have the dough to spare, you can donate something far more important: your time and willingness to learn how to prevent this from happening in your life. This weekend, I have added pages to help us learn about this epidemic in our society and how to minimize its impact in our homes and communities. If you can learn football stats you should commit some of these stats about sexual abuse to memory. Once you read the facts, learn how to protect children from becoming another statistic.

I think as football fans it’s a good idea we send a message that while we get idiotic about the sport, we’re not a complete bunch of idiots.

Scouting Abuse

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Sometimes these skills of evaluation I write about here apply to more vital parts of life. Today's post is one of those times. Photo by Hebedesign.

I’m sick of hearing about the Penn State scandal. You should be, too. What we’ve learned is vile.

I promise you that I’m not writing a piece that begins with “we need to pray for these kids,” and move onto talking about Sandusky, Spanier, Paterno, McQueary, or Penn State students. They aren’t worth the time I just spent writing their names. Football doesn’t even deserve to be a secondary subject.

This post is a plea for you to do something difficult. Continue reading →