Oh, where to begin. No matter where you go as far as sports following, that's what everyone's talking about: the Joe Paterno and Penn State child abuse situation. It's disgusting, repulsive and catastrophic all at the same time. Just a few thoughts to ponder tonight.
1. Heath Evans, former National Football League running back, who played in the league ten years or so and has his own website designed specifically for victims of child abuse, was on the Jim Rome radio show today and offered some thoughts. A couple of the stats he threw out there are flat out scary: one in six men before the age of 18 are sexually abused every single day and one in four women prior to turning 18 are sexually abused every day in our country. The stats are magnified especially since there are rumors of about 20 people coming forward with horror stories from this Penn State scandal. I am not privy to all the details of child abuse, but in any language this is an exceptionally serious situation and I pray to God that those who were abused have the strength to come forward.
2. Then there's the question of whether it was a deliberate cover-up or not. While Joe has a great track record in the 45 or so years he coached PSU, there are too many signs to point towards this being a cover-up. This has been going on over a decade and NO ONE in leadership at Penn State had the fortitude to step up and address what was going on? What's shocking to me is that the head man at Penn State, Graham Spanier, worked at UNL before ending up in State College.
3. The Penn State students and fans taking up for Paterno. That is just as repulsive as the situation itself. The students who went on Paterno's lawn and took up for him, I can almost forgive. They are ignorant as they are students and really don't know what the whole situation is about. But the Penn State alumni I have seen take up for Paterno is pathetic. Part of me was actually hoping Penn State fans would stage a walk out Saturday at this coming game. That is obviously far from the case.
4. But that leaves a much bigger issue which I believe has not been talked about enough: if this happened at Penn State, then what in the HELL has been going on in other locker rooms across this country? That's what makes me aghast about this situation. In college athletics, PSU was supposed to be a beacon, a program which stood for things done the right way. Now, we know that is far from the case, and that as a matter of fact, they stand for everything that is wrong in college athletics, maybe even more so. So what in the WORLD has been going on in other locker rooms in college athletics? Would it surprise anyone to see this story rear its ugly head again in the near future?
I've seen a lot of friends who think this is an isolated incident in college athletics. I am skeptical of this. Again, I repeat: Heath Evans said on NATIONAL RADIO today that one in six males before the age of 18 get sexually abused in this country. Football programs like my beloved program, Nebraska, are deeply tied to the community in Lincoln. Can we really be sure this doesn't go on at programs across this country which have deep ties to the community? It scares me to know that this epidemic might go on at other major programs as well. It's a situation where university presidents (like Harvey Perlman at my alma mater, the University of Nebraska) needs to step in and make a stand.
It's truly an appalling situation, and I pray from the bottom of my heart that an epidemic like this doesn't (or hasn't) spread to other programs across the country.
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