Sex Abuse Scandal at Penn State May Have Hundreds of Thousands of Victims
A revered and distinguished football coach of 46 years was dismissed by the Penn State University Board of Trustees along with University President Graham Spanier after the U. S. Education Department announced a Federal investigation of conduct at Penn State. Other University officials have also been charged with failing to report an incident in 2002 when former Assistant Coach Gerald Sandusky was alleged to be sexually assaulting a child. The recent events in the streets of State College, Pennsylvania by thousands of students indicate the humiliation, disgrace, and disgust that the abhorrent and horrific behavior of the sex offender and those with knowledge of the behavior has unleashed.
Yes, like many other sexual offenders whether they be clergy, doctors in medical institutions, psychiatrists, or law enforcement officials, this situation clearly illustrates how one individual, or a small group of individuals who have power, authority, and engaged in a cover-up, can bring down one of the most revered educational and athletic institutions and affect the legacy of its students and graduates who are also victims of this offense. The anger expressed by the students on the Penn State campus on Wednesday evening, November 9th, led to the overturning of a news van and a chemical spray to disperse demonstrators. Joe Paterno was the proud and revered coach for 46 years at Penn State and a mentor to so many not only in the field of athletics but in the way he conducted himself and his players. Coach Paterno always seemed to be a model of integrity and morality.
As an experienced Pennsylvania sexual abuse attorney, I do believe it was in the best interests of Penn State’s Board of Trustees to have a change in leadership as well as fire Joe Paterno and the University President. Although I am sure that this was a most difficult decision, there is something much greater at stake than the Penn State athletic teams. Although Joe Paterno conducted his most distinguished career in a conservative and moral fashion, it is my personal opinion as a Pennsylvania sexual abuse attorney that nothing approaches the horrors and gross negligence that allowed a close associate of Joe Paterno’s to allegedly repeatedly prey upon children whose lives will be forever scarred.
I am led to understand that even Joe Paterno admitted that he should have done more to stop the physical and psychological suffering outlined in brutal detail in the Grand Jury report surrounding this horrific incident. Obviously, as his actions clearly reflect, Coach Paterno chose to do nothing about it and the real victims of this tragedy like so many of the sexual abuse scandals that have affected the church and the Archdiocese is a loss of credibility, morality, and integrity that will accompany the true believers of the Penn State legacy. I am fond of stating that “without integrity nothing stands," and a man must be judged by his actions and not his words.
The cowardly actions of those who had knowledge of these horrific sexual offenses will reveal a lack of strength and courage and an altering of the conscience and moralities emphasized by Coach Paterno which has now broken the hearts of so many who revered him and who are also victims of these offenses. Time always discovers the truth.
