the filth and corruption that occurred at Penn State while Joe Paterno and Jerry
Sandusky were employed there. The board of trustees, who fired Paterno just days
after his assistant was arrested for his role in a child sex abuse scandal that rocked
the university and its football program, hired the former FBI director and federal judge
to find the truth about who knew what when and the details of the ensuing cover up.
The nation awaits the findings of the worst scandal in college sports, but will anybody
really be shocked about what is revealed? What will it mean, anyway? There is nothing
in that report that is going to change anything. Those kids who were abused on the
sacred grounds of football facility will never be able to get back what they lost and will
continued to be haunted by the nightmares that began as soon as Sandusky put his hands
on them for the first time.
Last week, e-mails were "leaked" to various news outlets that painted Paterno as a man
who was more concerned about the reputation of the football program and school that he
built, than the children who were being abused by his former defensive coordinator. The
Paterno family responded by asking the Freeh investigators to release all the e-mails, not
just a paragraph of one that showed the legendary coach in a bad light. The investigators
ignored the proposal.
If Freeh was hired and is being paid by a group that fired Paterno, I don't think the group
is going to go out of its way to make Paterno look very good. I'm sure they will draw
a picture of JoePa as a control freak who knew everything that was going on inside his
program. But really, that's not going to be cause for a breaking news alert. Every
successful coach in the nation from Nick Saban to Urban Meyer possesses the same
type of qualities as Paterno. They wouldn't have made it as far in the coaching profession.
I'm sure the report will say that Penn State was guilty of a "lack of institutional control"
which the NCAA made famous after investigations of programs that had become too big,
too powerful, and too controlling of the common folks on the rest of the campus. That won't
be a shock, either. The Penn State football program generates about $50 million in revenue
for the university every year. When the cow spits out that type of cash, administrators have
a tendency to loosen the reigns or just give the program total control and do whatever they
want to do as long as the golden goose keeps laying the eggs.
I would like to see the report answer the question of why Sandusky "retired" in 1999 at
55 years old while he was considered one of the best defensive coordinators in the country.
Many pegged him to be the heir apparent to Paterno and a man of great character and
integrity, just like Paterno. After all, Sandusky had started the "Second Mile" foundation
which helped underprivileged children find their way in life. How sad was that? They found
their way into the hands and hugs of a sexual monster.
I want to know why Sandusky, with all the rumors swirling around him, was allowed to have
an office and free reign to bring children into the football facility and on trips to bowl games.
Why did everyone just turn their heads and look away? Did Sandusky have something on
Paterno that allowed him to keep all of his privileges? The entire coaching staff knew it,
saw it, and lived it for almost 10 years. Were they sworn to secrecy by Paterno? They
must've known that Paterno could control their fate and careers in the coaching profession.
The Freeh Report is probably going to be akin to the joke that was the Mitchell Report. MLB
hired George Mitchell, a former U.S. Senator, who also happened to be on the board of the
directors of the Boston Red Sox at one time, (conflict of interest, anyone?) and was tight
with the league to investigate the use of steriods. The investigation lasted 21 months, cost
millions of dollars and produced 89 players who were connected with PED's, which anyone
knows, is comical. 89 players? LOL.
Mitchell concluded that MLB was slow to react to the steroid use around the league. You
think? Good old Mr. Mitchell was about 10 years too late with that proclamation. The
Mitchell Report was an incredible waste of time, energy, and money.
The Freeh Report is going to turn out the same way. Yes, Joe Paterno could've done
more and probably was given too much power and control when it came to everything
on campus.Those findings will not be shocking. There will be a few interesting findings
in the report, I'm sure. But don't look for any bombshells or smoking guns. There was
a massive cover-up at Penn State. We don't need an elaborate report from an ex-FBI
chief to help figure that one out. The football program ruled the campus just like the ones
at Oklahoma, Alabama, Ohio State, and many others do. Nothing earth shattering there.
The report can point all the fingers it wants at Paterno, athletic director, or the Nittany
Lion mascot, for that matter. It's not going to change a single thing for those kids who got
abused. It happened and they were destroyed forever. A lot of people screwed up, we know
that. There was a cover-up well beyond Watergate proportions. We know that. Is this report
going to cleanse the university and flush all the nasty waste down the toilet? We shall see.
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