The recent events that have transpired at Penn State have had me thinking even more about the current state of college athletics. Please remember that I am an athletic department employee at a releatively large university. I have always participated in sport and enjoyed watching those that I did not play. Having said that, I think Penn State has shown us what can happen on college campuses when the football program is the most powerful department on campus.
Was it because the allegations involve football that nothing was said? What if the same situation had involved a swimming or tennis coach? My guess would be that the incident would have been reported to the police, saving potential future victims. I now know that there needs to be reform in college football. I do realize that football bring a large sum of money and national recognition to universities. This does not make them above the law or even codes of ethics.
When I first heard about what was alleged to have happened at Penn State, I felt like Paterno had done the right thing; when informed of what the GA saw, he told his direct supervisor and expected it to be handled from there. Throughout this week, I have continued to think about this and have read the Grand Jury Report. I have come to the conclusion that, as the most powerful individual on the Penn State campus, Paterno had an obligation to a potential victim to report what he had been told to the proper authorities. If he was not comfortable reporting second hand information, drive the GA to the police station and hold his hand while he made a statement. Turning a blind eye has done nothing but tarnish the reputation of this legendary football coach.
I will continue to watch college football and all other sports but I do think such a terrible situation needs for us to reevaluate the power, privilege, and protection that football programs are sometimes afforded. Stop this abuse of power before more innocent people are hurt.
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