The Penn State scandal has rocked and shocked the college football nation. Speculation on why the university would cover up such heinous crimes continues to swirl. The lack of explanation from anyone involved, who hasn’t molested a child, has become frustrating for millions around the nation.
Throughout last week, numerous sports analyst and public figures, outraged and inflamed by the nature of the scandal, verbosely suggested the Nittany Lions should not play against Nebraska last Saturday out of respect for the victims. They even went as far to say that players and fans should boycott the game if it remains scheduled as planned. The pressure was building and all eyes around the country were focused squarely on Happy Valley.
Saturday came and went, the game was played, players showed up, and so did nearly 110,000 fans. The Penn State faithful were unified and dressed in blue to show their support for the victims affected by Jerry Sandusky. They were there to show their support for a community that is deeply intertwined with Penn State football. A community filled with parents and kids who cheered for Penn State, while the university was protecting a scumbag who was molesting their children and their children’s friends.
They were there to support the children who had their innocence stolen well after Mike McQueary walked in on “rhythmic slapping” in a Penn State locker room shower in 2002--when the university had their second clear cut opportunity to put a predator behind bars.
The fans were still there in support of their school after the board of trustees was forced to fire, by phone, the most unfireable coach in the history of sports due to his failure to act when his right hand man was accused of molesting children.
After all of this, the community and fans were still there to support their university.
As the facts stand now, Penn State officials could’ve stopped a predator from harming children throughout their community, but instead covered it up. The motives of the former President, Vice President, Athletic Director, and Coach to cover up this scandal remain unconfirmed. It’s hard to fathom a reason an institution would want to hide or allow such appalling acts for any period of time.
The bottom line is a child abusing monster was able to use the Penn State football program to lure in his prey similar to the way a regular pervert, who doesn’t have ties to Joe Paterno and can’t coach a defense, would use candy at the playground in the park.
After the Sandusky allegations, Penn State continued to leverage and expand their national platform using one of college football’s most legendary icons as the front man. Since 1998, the Penn State official’s (including Paterno) first priority was to ensure Nittany Lion football and the legend of Joe Pa remain unscathed. Rather than protect children, they sacrificed them and their well-being for Penn State football.
Some things never chance as it seems the university’s concerns continue to be about their public image. Rumors are swirling Penn State would refuse any invite to a bowl game this season to help get out of the scandal ridden spotlight as quickly and quietly as possible.
The thought of the school believing a bowl ban is an appropriate punishment for their inaction is both laughable and egocentric. Refusing a bowl invitation would be more of a slap in the face for the innocent Sandusky victims, rather a punishment for Penn State.
Penn State should absolutely accept ANY bowl invitation they are offered this post season.
Penn State University has committed crimes and it’s time for them to participate in community service like any other criminal.
Penn State is currently projected to be invited anywhere from the Gator Bowl to the Little Caesar’s Bowl and the payout they could receive ranges anywhere from $750,000 to $2,700,000. Does Penn State deserve this money?
Hell No. However, they should provide the service for it.
Penn State should donate all the revenue from the bowl game to worthy organizations such as the Central Pennsylvania victims of child abuse and charitably match that figure in a donation of their own. Nonprofit organizations are always in need of funds to help continue their mission for betterment of our communities and it’s time for the university to show remorse and financially provide for the community that supports Penn State football every Saturday.
They neglected child rape to assure the football program’s prominence and post season success. They shouldn’t all of a sudden neglect the money can earn from it just because it’s dirty. Leaving that money on the table, instead of worthy causes’ pockets, would be asinine.
The results of this scandal are a severe tragedy and no amount of money is ever going to replace what the victims taken from them. Youth and innocence are priceless. However, providing funds to nonprofits or charities that could help prevent these types of crimes in the future and enable them with more resources needed to fight the good fight. The concept of this donation would be a good start on the path to redemption for Penn State.
Also, raising $2 Million dollars on a publicly promoted platform has much more value to an organization compared to raising $2 Million dollars by private donors. The impact is far more prevalent and people that would not initially be interested or concerned are drawn to pay attention to it because of the national stage it’s being presented.
National media outlets everywhere would be promoting and reporting on the issue, which raises awareness of the subject. This is the exact reason why Breast Cancer Awareness Month is so heavily promoted. This is the same concept on how Penn State should represent these victims in their bowl game.
The Penn State story is not going away anytime soon, which means neither are the eyeballs fixated on Happy Valley. The ratings for the Penn State/Nebraska game on Saturday were twice what they normally are for its time slot. People are going to tune into Penn State football the rest of the season, it’s a lightning rod. A bowl game is another national stage and opportunity to raise awareness about child abuse to a large audience.
The effort of the team, coaches, and fans to wear blue at the Nebraska game was commendable last Saturday- I give them props. However, for the bowl game Penn State should step it up and make a huge statement. As well as the Blue jerseys, the Nittany Lions should wear blue, pants, socks and shoes in honor of child abuse victims. Their typical helmets should remain classic white, but with a commemorative blue ribbon on the sides like a logo. It’s obviously a small and simple gesture, but uniforms get so much publicity these days in college football that it would go longer way than people expect.
Raising awareness to millions by creating conversation about an uncomfortable and taboo topic is more important than any type of donation these causes could receive. Penn State should put their embarrassment and shame aside and be a martyr for the cause.
To be clear, Penn State should not accept any bowl invitation if their intentions aren’t to fully donate all revenue or to promote their university rather than a charitable cause.
For Penn State, playing in a bowl game should not be about winning a football game, either. Frankly, they don’t deserve to win, which is a completely unfair statement to the current and past players of Penn State Football. They sacrificed far too much to try and ensure they win on the field.
It should be about playing for the victims of Jerry Sandusky. Penn State now has a moral obligation to raise awareness about these types of horrendous injustices, specifically because they allowed them to occur for the sake of protecting football fortune.
It is impossible the amount of money and awareness raised through one bowl game will ever be enough to resolve the inaction of Penn State officials. Five million bowl games wouldn’t be enough.
However, it’s time for Penn State to be leaders and turn a negative situation into a positive for the community.
Criminal acts deserve criminal resolutions and a monetary probation coupled with community service seems like the appropriate fit in Happy Valley. It’s hard to say how many games would be appropriate for this issue, in fact it’s impossible.
However, one thing that is for certain is that Penn State University shouldn’t coward away from their situation because it’s dishonorable. They should own up to it and do the morally profound thing by helping those who they’ve allowed harm.
We Are..?
Well, that remains to be seen.
Follow me on Twitter: @DSportsGuide
