Power tends to distort our values. It leads to miscommunication and sometimes, no communication. People with little or no power become invisible or less important. This is particularly true of the young boys who were allegedly abused by Sandusky.
Consider the following examples:
The sentiment by many in “Happy Valley” (home of PSU), that Joe Pa “got screwed,” or that the media got him fired. Joe Pa made a choice to do nothing more than was legally required, and that got him fired.
Once Joe Pa learned that he would not be able to resume his duties as head coach, he met his players before the game v. Nebraska. His main message to his team? Beat Nebraska! Talk about wasting a teachable moment.
Joe Pa said he did what he was supposed to do. Clearly, he did not.
Bobby Bowden, former coach of Florida State University’s football team, said that Paterno was “a little negligent” for not acting more decisively to stop alleged child abuse by one of his assistant coaches. Dear Coach Bowden: A player who is late to a team meeting is a “little negligent.”
Some PSU students resorted to violence when news broke that Paterno would be held accountable. Thankfully, other students took them to task.
According to the former PSU Vice-President for Student Affairs, she and Paterno went head-to-head over disciplinary issues involving members of the football team. Eventually, she was forced to resign. Soon thereafter, it was proposed that coaches, rather than an office outside of the athletic department determine sanctions for student-athletes.
Power will strongly influence how this plays out. Not only do people with power establish the norms, they also have the resources to fight being labeled as deviant. My hope is that power, in this instance, can be used to first and foremost, help the victims and their families in any way possible.
Next week – Part Three
The media also has a hand in determining the outcome. Bob Costas did the victims a tremendous service by interviewing Sandusky. His pathetic attempts to vindicate himself came through as the textbook ramblings of a pedophile, who can’t imagine why anyone would be upset with him – he was just “horsing around.” The media in this area, which is rife with Penn State alumni and fans, has taken Sandusky, and the others who let his actions slide, to task for his sick and brutal behavior. I was worried that the football fans would flavor the story, but that has not happened. Also, relatives who have kids at Penn State have said that the student body, at least a substantial majority, agree that the well-being of the victims is way more important that JoPa getting to coach another game. It’s possible that we are doing something right!