Amid all the controversy surrounding the alleged incidents of sexual abuse of children at Penn State University, the one point seemingly overlooked so far is that college athletics in this country is and has been out of control for a long time.
The reason Penn State’s former president Graham Spanier and head football coach Joe Paterno do not have jobs today is because in college athletics, it all boils down to winning — at any cost.
When a university must fire its “brand” — a football coach — to protect its “brand,” well from my view the world is turned upside down.
The reason Jerry Sandusky was not investigated by law enforcement back when an assistant coach allegedly saw him sexually assaulting a young kid is easy to answer: protect the team, protect the coach, protect the image and most important keep winning. How does someone witness a child being sexually assaulted and not intercede? Oh, that’s easy to understand: protect the team, protect the coach, protect the image and most important keep winning — and protect your job by following the chain of command.
Instead, Sandusky, arguably one of the best defensive coaches in college football, basically was told by Penn State officials to do his sexual pandering elsewhere.
“Think we ought to protect the kids?”
“Good idea. Jerry, no bringing kids on campus anymore.”
The level of hubris displayed by Paterno and others who knowingly allowed Sandusky to avoid criminal investigation is part and parcel to almost every major athletic program in the country.
Remember, this is the same Paterno who when asked to step down as head coach a few years back told the university president “no.”
Remember: Penn State was arguably the squeakiest clean program in the country.
Athletic departments routinely operate independently and almost autonomously from the rest of the university. The environment within them is closed and controlling. They spend millions with only a handful of top-name programs bringing in more than they spend. Coaches get hundreds of thousands in pay up to millions.
Paterno’s reported $1.1 million salary is a pittance compared with some.
Meanwhile, the guiding light for athletic programs, The National Collegiate Athletic Association — a relatively closed, secretive organization itself — has an annual operating budget of approximately $6 billion. And its latest set of rules calls for allowing players to be paid.
Paterno, no doubt a fine man on many counts, is clearly guilty of poor judgment and an unwillingness to give up his franchise. When the Sandusky story broke and it became clear that Paterno and others knew about the problem but failed to involve law enforcement, “Joe Pa” should have called it quits. He should not have waited to be told.
Instead, he announced that he will finish the season and then retire — firmly believing that was his decision.
And finally, someone said “no” to him.
Now, he thanks his supporters, especially students — some who rioted in his name Wednesday night. He says that he wished he had done more and asks for prayers for the victims.
If Paterno and others had put people first and athletics second when the first alleged incident occurred, those prayers would be available for others.
And the big question, the one that really counts and a favorite among the sports talking heads: “How will Penn State do against Nebraska Saturday?”
Resources:
- http://www.cbsnews.com/8301/…
- http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/…
- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/30/…
- http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/…
The new president of Penn State says he wants the school to be known for academics and research instead of football. Wishful thinking on his part? Time will tell.
Wishful indeed. Since I made this post, Syracuse University has fallen under a cloud and a recent NCAA report focused on the amount of revenue generated by the top athletic programs in the country. There appears to be no end to it. Yes, we will see. Thanks for the post- Mac
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