Silverman: PSU Child Rape Scandal Overwhelms Sports Year
By Steve Silverman-
(CBS) End-of-year columns in sports usually don't have much shelf life. There are many championships and events that deserve retelling and to be put into perspective. Events like the Bears' ascension to the NFC Championship game in January, the Bulls rise to the conference championship series against Miami and the hiring of Theo Epstein by the Cubs.
But all of those positive local stories were overwhelmed by the national story of the year that leaped from the sports page and became the lead story on every front page and newscast. The Penn State child rape scandal is beyond horrible. It makes all the other scandals that have hit college sports over the years look like much ado about nothing. As the year ends and we try to turn the page, this story must remain in the forefront, and changes at Penn State must be made.
It's not just about the horror of the alleged deeds done by former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. When the news broke in early November that he was being indicted for sexually abusing young boys he had personally selected from the Second Mile charity that he had founded in the late 1970s, it was sickening. Sandusky had been one of the most respected defensive coordinators in the nation and was the key assistant on Joe Paterno's staff for years. But he was not really a football coach. That was his avocation. Sandusky was a serial child abuser.
Witness after witness told their horrible stories about how Sandusky had won their trust and then abused them sexually, many in the basement of his home. One case of abuse was witnessed by a Penn State graduate assistant in the shower of the lockerroom in 2002. All the details are horrible. The boys who have been abused have suffered incredible damage as a result of Sandusky's sick behavior.
But the depravity of the former assistant coach is just part of the story. That he was allowed to be a free man with the privileges to remain on campus and have an office on university property after allegations of his behavior had been made to Paterno is unfathomable.
For years, Paterno had been held up as a beacon of integrity among the cheaters and liars who run college sports program. Paterno's supporters and apologists were quick to point to the outstanding graduation rate of his players, the consistent winning record and the absence of recruiting scandals. Yet, Paterno chose to kick the Sandusky story "up the ladder" to his superiors when it was brought to his attention.
To anyone with knowledge of college football, this made no sense. Especially to a program like Penn State. The college football coach is the king of his program. This is the case for nearly every college football coach who has been entrenched in a successful program for 10 years or more. That coach becomes one of the most powerful men on campus and nothing involving the football team escapes his attention.
Multiply that control factor by 10-fold when it comes to Penn State. Paterno was the king of Happy Valley for decades. He came to Penn State as an assistant in 1950 and became head coach in 1966. The 2011 season was his 46th as head coach.
Paterno carefully cultivated his image as a Renaissance man among football coaches. His name was on the campus library and he had raised and donated huge sums of money to university and charitable causes. He wanted everyone to believe he was about doing the right thing and living the right way.
That image was shattered by the Sandusky scandal. Sandusky had left the program in 1999 when he learned he would never be Paterno's successor. How could Paterno have made such a decision? After all, this was Linebacker U and the Penn State defense had keyed much of the team's success. If Sandusky wasn't going to get a chance to replace Paterno someday, there had to be a good reason.
Reasonable people can conclude that Paterno had more than an inkling of what was going on with his top lieutenant. If he did, it was not enough to give Sandusky an office and a telephone and let him go about his business.
Paterno needed to pursue this issue with as much vigor as he went after national championships. Young children were being harmed in the most awful manner. He needed to do everything he could to keep those events from happening again and protecting other youngsters and making sure the ones that Sandusky had harmed got the help they needed.
Instead, it was merely about protecting the program and making sure the king remained on his throne without getting toppled. In most cases, that kind of self-preservation is understandable. But when children are being harmed in such a cruel manner it cannot be defended.
There is a time in life when nearly everyone is put to the test. That test is not the game on Saturday afternoon. Paterno had a chance to do the right thing many years ago. He failed miserably and his legacy is deservedly in tatters.
This aging, failed leader needs to summon up his strength and admit his failings. It's the one right thing left for him to do. It's unlikely to happen, much to the shame of Penn State. The story of the year will not go away.
Steve Silverman is an award-winning writer, covering sports since 1980. Silverman was with Pro Football Weekly for 10 years and his byline has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Playboy, NFL.com and The Sporting News. He is the author of four books, including Who's Better, Who's Best in Football -- The Top 60 Players of All-Time. Follow him on Twitter (@profootballboy) and read more of his CBS Chicago columns here.
