Whoa!

Thursday, Nov 11, 2011
I was taken aback this morning to learn that Penn State fired Joe Paterno and Graham Spanier. I am in agreement with the these actions based on the indictments of a grand jury against a former football coach. Under their watch the university administration did not meet its obligations aggressively enough, resulting in the victimization of young boys. These children would have been spared had their perpetrator been been turned in and processed through the proper legal channels.

No one is higher up on the chain of command than JoePa even though Spanier is the top official--on paper. In truth JoePa has run the show for a long time. How many of us could summon our boss to our home to discuss a crisis in the workplace as Paterno did in 2002? Or tell your boss your are not quitting yet? The shock was again evident after Joe announced his terms, that he was leaving at the end of the season; but then that decision was trumped by a phone call from the PSU Board of Trustees--a major coup in the country of Penn State. The throne has been overturned.

It is probably difficult for the ordinary person to understand the football hold on a town; but generations have have come under the tutelage of Joe Paterno in this small college town three hours from anywhere.

He has been there  since 1950 -- 61 years. He has been God's gift. Now, the king has been dethroned and the disgrace is more than the people can cope with, even if they understand the reasons. This scandal is choking them. Tim Curley grew up across the street from the campus. Schultz is a graduate of Penn State. McQueary grew up in State College AND got to play football AND was a star quarterback--an outstanding accomplishment for the locals, beyond the wildest dreams. These guys lived in Paterno world,  were groomed in the Paterno religion, the word according to Paterno. That in itself is not a bad thing. Paterno espoused great stuff and deserved to be emulated and praised. Football at Penn State was an esteemed state of being.

Until now... we have come to a place and we see the down side.

Football, at all costs, has obliterated the humaneness.