Yesterday, when I walked onto campus at Penn State University, an undergrad crossed my path, moving zombie-like down the incline of the walkway, in the opposite direction of me. I had to stop to watch him, his eyes shut, a lazy goose step in his gait. The image has been seared into my brain. Every time I close my eyes, I see him walking away, drained, aimless, his eyes closed, without recourse, without words.
When I arrived at Penn State to begin grad school last summer, I was unfamiliar with things like Joe Pa or Paternoville, the meaning of Blue and White, the chant of "WE ARE PENN STATE." I had no idea such worlds even existed. I went to a small liberal arts college in Ohio where I was barely aware we had a football team, where individuality was placed far above the idea of the collective, where dissent and cynicism was the code of honor, where we sneered with disdain and skepticism at athletics or the reverence that surrounded the athletes of our high schools. I thought Football Universities were manufactured settings for Hollywood films. Not real places.
At Penn State, I became instantly intrigued with the myth of Joe Paterno, his godlike status, his place as icon. His image sits on the walls and in the windows of many local shops in the same way that Jesus's image might be the centerpiece of a devoutly Catholic home. In many ways, I was envious of those who so fully engaged in the ecstatic religious experience that was Penn State football. I have always yearned for that sense of community. I am a woman who constantly looks for ways to find the extraordinary in the ordinary – to make the profane feel sacred. I like the ideal of constructing rituals and myths out of men. It's what we do best as human beings. It's the one thing that I think binds us all together – our love for magical narratives based in real life.
The immense pride that many take in the honor and comportment of our football team did not seem dubious or creepy to me at all. I enjoyed what it stood for – I enjoyed watching the narrative that Penn Staters spun around Joe Paterno and his soldiers. I heard that, before games, he would recite the Iliad in ancient Greek to his players, preparing them for the field. I loved that our football team was an allegory for so many great principles: grace under pressure, dignity, composure, and education, especially when athletics always seem to be at odds with education in the master narrative of our land grant universities. Joe Paterno, himself a magna cum laude graduate of Brown University, where he studied the Classics (a secret passion of mine), was said to be the most academically-aware coach of college football, setting academic standards for his team that were unparalleled at any other in NCAA Division I sports. That made me proud and gave me material to teach. In my English 15 class, we dissected the rhetoric of Penn State football, through which I could teach metaphor and device and argumentation in a way that mattered to the lives of my students. As a writer, I got to see, first hand, how narrative played a real role in the lives of Americans in a way I found profound and elegant. A new spirituality.
Still, I have not yet been to a Penn State football game, nor have I been anywhere near the stadium on game days. I don't own any Penn State gear. I still see myself as an outsider in this culture, though I appreciate it and have found some pride in it. I have very slowly started to see myself as a part of it.
Then, the horrific news came about Jerry Sandusky, a former Penn State coach who was being indicted for the sexual abuse of eight young boys. At first, I looked upon this news like I think many did – an isolated incident about an alleged pedophile who fit the profile of another mythic narrative: that of the monster. And I thought of the many cases I had written about during my stint as a journalist – the stories of men who committed terrifying acts. I always tried to write about them in a way that attempted to understand who these men were and how these things happened, because, the myth of the monster occluded the real problem and didn't allow us to engage in an understanding of pedophiles that would allow us to try and stop the problem. I read the Sandusky stories looking for these sorts of answers as well.
But then, more news came. It came and came and came and is still coming. Very quickly, I watched the news about Sandusky and his vicious crimes misguidedly morph into headlines about Joe Paterno, Penn State's God, its beacon of truth, its moral compass. Apparently, he had fallen from grace. The headlines and their accompanying photos suggested to me that Joe Paterno was the criminal here, not Sandusky. And I was curious about this turn of events, so I started reading more closely. I read that the 28-year-old graduate assistant who had witnessed Sandusky raping a young boy in the Penn State locker room showers had gone to Paterno with what he saw. I read a lot of "he said, he said" about who said what to whom. I read that Paterno went to his superiors – if a God like Paterno could have superiors – and had the grad assistant tell them what he saw.
The story should the Danager is making all white men out of GOD's weather there Actors, Coachs, Doctors, Presidents, you see you people Idealize your race and glorifly them like Evis who stole all he got rich from off Black entertainers. And when you realize that they were just sick purverted freaks you cant believe it. You think you run this world but your nothing but ponds for it is written that the evil one rules this world. And the question is Who is the evil one?
You want to make $85 hourly and $7000 per month like me just working on laptop for few hours! Would you like to be your own boss!Opportunities like this don't come by often. Don't let this one pass you by! ead about it on this web site Read this site (=====CashHuge.com=====)
You want to make $85 hourly and $7000 per month like me just working on laptop for few hours! Would you like to be your own boss!Opportunities like this don't come by often. Don't let this one pass you by! ead about it on this web site Read this site (=====CashHuge. com=====)
You want to make $85 hourly and $7000 per month like me just working on laptop for few hours! Would you like to be your own boss!Opportunities like this don't come by often. Don't let this one pass you by! ead about it on this web site Read this site (=====CashHuge.com=====)
@gg what would... my roomate's step-sister makes $81/hour on the computer. She has been out of a job for 7 months but last month her pay was $8781 just working on the computer for a few hours. Go to this site http://bit.ly/su2Mfv
My son is Senior at Penn State. I feel for him he studied hard and carried allot of pride for his school and the diploma he will receive. I admired him for not attending his last home game as the Big Blue. My son applied his principles to his circumstances as Gen. Patton would say. for that he is real leader just subtle action at a moment of inaction from those who could acted accordingly. We are Penn State. now forever fittingly.
Thanks for your thoughtful comments. I too have been very frustrated by the media storm that turned this into the JoePa story. The part where little boys were victimized is pretty black and white, but the rest of it has a lot more shades of grey. From where I sit (a couple blocks from campus) it seems that important decisions (like firing the coach and the president) were made in a failed attempt to quiet the deafening shouts of "Off with Their Heads", when what we needed most was an honest examination of how such awful things happened and how we can do right by the victims and prevent future occurrences.
This article is very thoughtful. Many believe that nothing was done by Joe Paterno and law enforcers in PA but this is simply not fact. The media is pronouncing things as truth that they know nothing about. Let me divulge a few facts about what actually happened. Read the official report, people, before you attempt to crucify Paterno and Penn State, people! Because if you do, you will come to find that McQueary told Paterno the morning after he suspected something had happened in the lockerroom, and that Paterno immediately told his superior. Then Paterno immediately went to the police. What happened next was McQueary was interviewed by the same said police officer and McQueary told the officer what he knew of the incident. Paterno then conversed w Second Mile, telling them that there had been an incident in the locker room and it could have been Sandusky. At this point, Sandusky had his keys to the Penn State football locker room taken away, in case he was possibly the one who was in the locker room w the boy. My husband, who lived in State College tells me he remembers Sandusky left Penn State at this time, he was either asked to go or left, John can't remember which. Meanwhile, via law enforcement and investigation, the investigation of what had happened in the locker room continued. There was no reason for Paterno to get further involved at this time. As a matter of fact, if he had, he would've interfered with a police investigation. Obviously, the incident continued to be reported up the chain of command of law enforcement. We know this bc Ray Gricar, the local District Attorney began investigating Sandusky, and attempting to find evidence against him to put together a case. But Ray Gricar could not find enough evidence and was never able to charge Sandusky. But the point is this -- Paterno did not hide the incident, he reported it to his superior and then police, proven by the fact that even Gricar the District Attorney knew about what Sandusky allegedly did and was investigating and attempting to charge Sandusky. So saying Paterno did not report it is a blatant lie. And we do know that there was knowledge of the incident(s) by even Tom Corbet, the PA Attorney General, bc they had been reported by McQueary, Paterno, the police and our local District Attorney General Ray Gricar. Yes, they were known up to the ATTORNEY GENERAL. Please, people, stop acting like there was a cover up here in Happy Valley and Paterno and the rest of us didn't tell anyone. The Grand Jury has repeatedly said that JoePa has done NOTHING illegal. I'm tired of hearing that this great man -- who is kind hearted, philanthropic, someone who has given away more than a million to charity in his community, a man who has built two churches w his wife here in Happy Valley, who loves his players and helps them in practical ways, and is just an all around great and regular guy -- i'm tired of hearing he is a monster, and has not reported child sexual abuse. It's just NOT true. He has NOT been any part of a cover up. Learn the facts or please be quiet. He has reported every step of the way, whatever he knew. Please don't speak up if you don't know the facts. Thank you! Give the man peace, he is 83 years old, he has served us well for decades, and he now has found he has lung cancer, as of a few days ago. Let the man live in peace. He did nothing wrong according to the grand jury.
Here's the address of the Grand jury's presentment: http://www.attorneygeneral.gov...
I understand from the premise that this wasn't intentional, but your article comes across as so passive, I wanted to puke. The media has every reason to condemn an environment that was permissive of sexual abuse.You might gain some more insight from this other Penn State writer. It coincides with many of your points, but also diverges.
Joe Paterno was the "sexiest" headline??? Umm, perhaps the author should get out of Happy Valley a little more often....... In writing about a sex-related scandal she chose to use the adjective form of the word "sex" twice within a paragraph to describe the word "headline". Strange.
Apparently the Board of Trustees thought Paterno WAS at least a part of the problem. And the author need not fear, there will be plenty of further investigations.
Your missing the point the author is saying that people didn't talk about who the real criminal was and that people who try to have an open conversation are shut down immediately
That there might have been a response governed by shock, even disbelief in the first place is no doubt understandable. But Paterno, McQueary, all the people who knew about the allegations, and allegations they still are despite what seems to me pretty convincing evidence--those people kept seeing Sandusky in the company of young boys, not just from 2002 to the present but from 1998, perhaps even earlier. And nothing, but nothing nothing nothing was done. That for me is where the moral culpability lies. And at the same time I cannot understand the passivity, irresponsive response of police authorities, on and off campus, who knew about and in one case actually eavesdropped on a mother confronting Sandusky, and then did nothing nothing nothing.
Thank you for this - what an amazing analysis - not only of the situation but also the turmoil of emotions felt by everyone touched by this horrific situation.
Your completely brainwashed. Unbelievable. He could be the most upstanding man on this earth BUT HE MADE A GRAVE AND UTTERLY REPREHENSIBLE MISTAKE!! He would not have been interfering with any investigation by reporting that a child was raped. My God?? What does it take for you people to wake up?? He said it himself, "I should have done more." Damn right you should have! Shame on you Joe, shame on you.
Joe Paterno never actually said "I should have done more." Part of the problem with the coverage of this story is that the press have been irresponsibly sloppy. There have been a few fair pieces, but the majority of "analysts" appear to be trying to out-Nancy-Grace each other with the level of outrage.
WE ARE!!!!
I think this is spot on. I hate what the media is doing to Mr. Paterno. I know him personally. If you went to Penn State, you may have see my last name on a building there. The Rackley Building was named after my grandfather. My family stopped in from time to time at the Paternos home to have dinner when I was a child. His wife makes amazing Lasagna by the way... But, I have grown up knowing that Mr. Paterno embodied morality and hard work. He is one of the finest, up standing men I know. He is Penn State. This is a tragedy and I think that Penn State has lost not only an icon, they have lost one of the finest men to walk this earth. Shame on the media and shame on Penn State.
If Mr. Paterno did what a lot of people said for him to do, he would have been interfering with an ongoing investigation. If you are unaware what that means, ask a lawyer or even better ask a police officer. Either way, he could have done something that could compromise the integrity of the investigation. Then where would we be? You do go to the mechanics shop and hold the mechanics hand while he is doing HIS job. You report the issue to the people whos job it is to investigate the allegations and you step out of the way so they can do THEIR jobs.
There was no "ongoing investigation" in 2002. It was swept under the rug and neither Paterno nor McQueary did anything to make sure that there was an investigation.
In most things in life (especially where the media is concerned), the truth lies somewhere in the middle. We have to remind ourselves that we haven't heard the TRUE story. We've only heard bits and pieces of the whole, and many MANY bits of supposition and conjecture. If people are jumping on the bandwagon to lynch Joe Paterno, they're most likely jealous. His involvement was minimal, but the media's scornful eye causes monumental ruin all too frequently, whether it means to or not. Today's journalism is not impartial and doesn't care much about what's truthful and accurate.
If we haven't heard the "true" story, how do you know that Paterno's involvement is minimal? The support of Paterno in these comments is disgusting. Why don't you read the indictment before blaming everyone but the people who covered this up.
Sinclair Llewis ( Babbitt, American Tragedy)remarked that we don't know how to talk about, are, in fact, completely frightened by any real disccussion of sex and death. Still true?
Another misleading article from a PSU stakeholder. Defending child rape can never be justified. Only poor, failed leaders would attempt to put a game ahead of human life.
Awesome!!! The absolute BEST take on the situation I've read! My sentiments exactly, but written way better than I ever could! Insightful, thoughtful! Kudos to Denise Grollmus!
Finally, a real journalist and not a full-of-shit, have-no-facts, keyboard lynch mob keyboard jurist. Thank you for retaining a touch of class, grace, and a cool watchful eye, reserving judgement until AFTER everything is exposed. All of you Paterno haters - you weren't even there, so GFY's.
He protected a pedophile - thats all to it! He is much to blame as anyone else who knew what that sick bastard was doing. He allowed a football player to go in a game when he even knew that he was being accused of rape! He is in my opinion a dirty ass pervert!
Bullshit. The point is that he had the power to do much more to stop the abuse and he failed miserably. It goes way beyond football or any God like comparisons. It very much is about Joe Paterno and all those who were in positions of power at the time. The fact that he knew and did not put a stop to it is unforgivable.
Thank you for a sane, balanced and reasoned article...something we no longer see in a media world where the line between journalists and papparazi has become disturbingly blurred. To feed the 24 hour news beast, media outlets, faced with insufficient FACTS about a case, instead fill their hours with insinuation to keep the story going to, as you say, feed our own addiction. In doing so, they portray a world of heroes and villains...and nothing in between. Human beings, in their frailty and fallibility, are just not that exciting. Instead of basing our opinions on facts, we instead fall back on raw emotion, because when we get people riled up, we know they'll keep watching and buying.
The trouble is the systemic failure is about Paterno and the reality of football as god at Penn state. All of them kept quiet doing the bare minimum and therefore allowing a pedophile to continue to rape children. This is just the way it is in all of our society. We value power and money over common decency. We let the powerful and wealthy in our society live by a different set of rules. Madoff was a one-off in a world of Lojans. Bankers defrauded us of trillions of dollars yet it is the bookkeeper at some little company that goes to jail for 20 years for embezzling a few thousand dollars or the lowly trader that hit the buy button foolishly.. If Sandusky were some poor man that raped children and people protected him, we would not be having this conversation. He would be in jail awaiting trial. No bond, no going home to await trial, just jail and isolation. His protectors would be charged with aiding and abetting and child abuse. That is what this is about, the powerful getting another pass, and the victims being made to fight and suffer even more. Penn State is not a person, it is a university. It has no feelings, emotions or desires. It is Penn's supporters that have made this about Paterno. Sandusky must really be excited about his abusive power over so many people. He is a metaphor for our great country, the wealthy and powerful raping the poor and innocent and expecting to get away with it.
Great article. Hysteria will not solve this issue, only clear thinking that does not stigmatize the players, who had absolutely nothing to do with this. I do wish that Joe had retired after the 1994 undefeated season. Everyone got caught up in his surpassing Bear Bryant, and then Bobby Bowden, for the all-time winningest coach honors. He was 68 then, and Sandusky, so far as we know, had not yet given in to the dark side. I do wish the people who have come out so strongly on this issue had not stayed silent when it was actively happening in the Catholic church. The hypocrisy that has emerged from this horrible event has only made it worse.
It happened under the shield of a God like structure. Systemic failure? No, basic human decency failed. They are all guilty. The writer is ignorant of the tragic lives to follow for these victims. Years of heartache. Very few victims survive intact. Without the football program, and elite position it holds, this would not have happened. The NCAA should step forward and evoke the death penalty, the same as SMU. This is the most egregious offense in college sports, ever. The rest of the world only cares about the victims, not the precious PSU reputation.
You need to get this article to ESPN and other Media outlets so they might open their eyes. For years the BOT has tried to get JoePA to step down and through it all he remained and not only remained he was successful at it. No one and I mean not one media outlet is even mentioning the fact that Ray Gricar let this man Sandusky WALK AWAY TWICE, So all these people who are saying it was never reported guess what IT WAS way back in 1998. I say this, before you become Judge and Jury make sure you know ALL THE FACTS. I'm by no means condoning the actions of any of the people involved in all of this, but this is AMERICA and last time I checked no person has ever went to jail or prison when convicted by the court of public opinion.
Actually, many media outlets have reported about Ray Gricar. That is all part of the problem. This has become an even bigger tragedy because of the wide-spread missteps. Everyone is culpable in this situation, including Joe Paterno. Did the media go overboard in targeting him? Yes. Is he still a big part of the problem? Yes.
Gricar only let him walk away once because there was never any kind of police report made in 2002. Maybe you should make sure you know all of the facts.
The problem is that one male raped little boys, and other males trivialized what had happened, hid what happened, and protected and consorted with the rapist for years. This required several things to be in place: a bunch of males who, including Paterno, are unworthy of the term "men". The sports involved are ultimately nothing more than entertainment by entertainers. The problem is that the campus culture, the fan culture, and the sports participant culture placed the value of the entertainment above the welfare of children. And I've heard little to suggest that this has changed, as those involved work to ensure that what happened causes as little disruption as possible to the entertainment and entertainers.
Nope read every word of it. Please Penn Staters take a second to see it from the outside. Why is there no one without ties to the university or community that is willing to defend or justify Joe Paterno's actions. Because we are not blinded by our fallen idol.
This is not about a football "god" or a football program. It's all much simpler than this article or most of the media is making it. If you were the victim, or the parent, relative, or friend of one of these victims, would any of this matter to you? Can one of these men face these victims' parents and say "I tried to help. I did everything I would have done if he were my own child". I doubt it. These men are cowards, willing and able to turn away and abandon helpless children because it is the simplest solution to a problem. Joe Paterno was the one person who could have made a difference. He had the power to demand that something be done yet he did the bare minimum. Shame on all of them.
Find everything you're looking for in your city
Find the best happy hour deals in your city
Get today's exclusive deals at savings of anywhere from 50-90%
Check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city
