Watching College Game Day on ESPN and the topic has been blowing up facebook and Twitter. I think Mike Millen said it best....perspective.
Yes, Joe Paterno's legacy will be forever tarnished. Yes, the University may or may not have handled it properly. Yes, Sandusky is scum and should be prosecuted. Yes, college football will go on and should. This isn't about college football. This isn't about Paterno or Penn State. Its only about the victims. COULD Paterno have done more? Possibly. SHOULD the University have done more? Probably. Is the judging of others something that is an innate human trait? ABSOLUTELY!!
The only ones who should be weighing in on this are Sandusky's victims. I commend them for coming forward and hope they each get their day in court for justice.
My opinion about Joe Paterno or Penn State or even Sandusky matters not. Neither does yours, unless you are one of the victims. I WANT the Penn State team to do well today. I wish success for Joe Paterno's successors. Not because I've ever been a Penn State fan nor am I an alumni. I just don't think the focus of this tragedy should be on that field with the players today that had no part in any of it.
I'm sad that Paterno's legacy will suffer because I think he worked hard to attain it. However, did he put his winning record and legacy ahead of doing the right thing in reference to Sandusky? I will never profess to know. I didn't walk in his shoes...I don't know what he knew or what he thought. Mike Millen said he learned about perspective from Paterno. I believe that. Lets keep this in perspective. Lets support the victims. Lets support the system that justice will be served. This isn't about college football. This isn't about Paterno's phenomenal coaching ability. Just watched the moment of silence offered to the victims prior to the kickoff at Penn State. Very moving. Their honor is not lost. I hope their success will not be, either.
Bless you, Karey. This is so well stated. I've been working for 16 years at agencies serving children. I certainly agree the focus on this should be the victims (many still unknown, I'm sure, and many who won't come forward). This abuse by a trusted adult is very hard to overcome.
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Amen, sistah. Nicely stated. SO sad for the victims. Abuse by school staff is apparently something that never goes away. Let's hope in the future people will be more aware and vigilant and report what they see...all the way to the authorities.
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