We are ... Penn State

We are ... Penn State

The last ten days or so has been a personal whirlwind of emotions. The SANDUSKY scandal at Penn State has been a drama that has hit home in lots of ways.

Before I get into a giving a little different perspective, let me state the obvious: the true victims here and the ones that deserve all of the sympathy and concern, are the children that appear to have been molested by a monster of chilling proportion. And I only say ‘appear to’ out of respect for our system of law that presumes innocence until proven guilty, because NONE of us yet know the full story. I am sure there is much more to come. As one that has dedicated many hours and efforts to our local youth, the thoughts of these horrors happening to young children is beyond sickening.

I am a “Penn Stater” by marriage. Having lived all my life in New Jersey, college sports do not get nearly the play around here that they do in other parts of the country. I can tell you that, as a sports fan, our area is missing out on some great experiences. Yes, I know Rutgers has made some strides in the last few years, and as a “Jersey Guy” I do root for them. We also have some great smaller schools that compete very well on the various levels, but I think all would agree that professional sports dwarf the college game in our area.

I was always a casual fan of PSU, they were an easy school to root for: good teams, clean cut, good graduation rates, little scandal and a program that was easy to admire from the outside. Years before I met my wife, I distinctly remember the great upset of the much more talented and controversial Miami team in the Fiesta Bowl in 1986, when PSU intercepted Vinny Testaverde five times to pull a huge upset and capture the school's second national championship.

My wife is a third generation alumni (’86) and is a huge supporter of the school and a fan of all things Penn State, the football program in particular. We have football season tickets and she NEVER misses a home game. (How lucky am I, very low maintenance and huge football fan.)  My in-laws retired from the Pittsburgh area to State College. They now live just a couple of blocks from campus and Joe Paterno’s home. We often walk to the football games.

I often tease that in our house the pecking order was the kid, the cat (s), Penn State, then me. Once in a while I‘ll sneak ahead of the kid, but that is rare. Needless to say, I have become a bigger fan and supporter of the University. This has come from not just following the football team, but getting to know the inner workings of a big time college and learning their philosophies, policies and generally the way they operate.

As I stated earlier, I used to be a casual fan from the outside looking in. I can say unequivocally I am a much bigger fan and supporter now that I have more of an ‘inside view’. In some circles, cynics deride Penn State for their conservative views of “Success with Honor”, but as an independent supporter, I can tell you that those values are earnestly supported by the wide reaching Penn State community.

READY! FIRE ! AIM!

Hey, I get it, it’s the instant media world we live in.  Whoever yells the loudest with the most outrageous/righteous/sensational opinion gets the most coverage. Assumptions are portrayed as fact, rumors as evidence. Everyone is an instant expert and the conspiracy theorists rule the day. No one gets the benefit of the doubt, they are all guilty! Give them an emotional subject like child abuse to cover, instant hysteria rules.

And most of this hyperbole comes from folks that really have no clue about the demonstrated values, accomplishments and goals of the university. Again, I get it. I am sure we have all been quick to pass judgment on issues that we are not fully informed; it is our human nature, influenced by our society, to a certain extent.  Penn State is taking a lot of hits from those around the country that have been quick to judge and quicker to paint all of the University with a one color brush.

Here are just few PSU facts of which you may not be aware. PSU has the largest alumni association in the world, over 557,000 active alumni that continue to support their school. To me it says a lot that so many graduates continue to give back long after they have graduated. They certainly do not do this for just a football team, the stadium ‘only’ holds 100,000. Every year PSU STUDENTS organize the largest student sponsored charity event in the country, “THON” short for Dance Marathon. Last year alone, it raised around $10,000,000 for pediatric cancer research. Maybe that can help the football team, but I doubt it. And in a recent survey, PSU graduates were ranked number one by corporations looking to hire new employees. I have heard of company softball or basketball teams, but I don’t think there are too many corporate football teams. I could also go on about the new law school, science buildings, alternative energy engineering program, meteorological program (Accu Weather) and countless other programs, none of which have anything to do with football, but you get the idea.

The series of events dating back to 1998 that have been called into question are stunning. When you talk to many PSU folks, they are all stunned, sad, embarrassed, angry, confused, ashamed and shocked. They have had their faith in an institution shaken to the core. But as this has moved along, I can also say that the feelings are progressing to ones of conviction, determination and demand for accountability.

THE GAME

It all started to turn around last Saturday at the football game. It was day like no other. College football games are fantastic celebrations of school pride, family and sport. Over the years, as professional football games have become more about drunkenness and unreasonable expectations, I have come to appreciate the atmosphere at college games. The atmosphere at Beaver Stadium was very different. It was very subdued, very reflective, very sad and grief filled. The healing began when the stadium filled. Yes, once again over 100,000 fans filled the stadium, and that was not a sure thing. Almost all wore blue, the color of child abuse awareness ribbons – as organized by the STUDENTS – to show support for child abuse prevention.

And then the team game out, for the first time in over 40 years not led by Joe Paterno. The team, instead of running out in celebration, walked arm in arm from the tunnel led by the captains. Symbolically saying we are all united – students, alumni, athletes, fans – and determined. The cheers were loud but stoic, supporting the players, but respectful of the scandal. There were lots of tears. It was emotional but would soon become more so. Nebraska entered the field, there were no boos. There is always good natured welcome booing; not today.

Then the stadium public address announcer asked all to rise for a moment of silence to remember the victims of the assaults. I have been in a stadium many times when they have asked for silence - for our troops, cancer, victims of disasters - but I have never heard it so quiet. That is, until five minutes later, after the national anthem. The captains for the teams came out to mid  field for the coin toss – and were joined, unannounced, by both teams plus the 150 or so former players that came back to show support. As all the players took a knee, and the media rushed from the sidelines, a spontaneous hush settled over the 107,900 fans; the stadium became even more quiet than the first time. We sit in the second deck in the south end zone; as everyone stood and the tears flowed in silence, we could hear the coach from Nebraska leading a prayer.

The game was played in a strange atmosphere. While the fans hoped for a win, most seemed happy not just to have a game, but for the chance to be together with so many others that had the same sense of hurt - deep, down hurt. It was announced during the game that an impromptu fund raising collection, led and organized once again by the students, raised over $22,000 to support child abuse prevention. Nebraska eventually took a 17-0 lead. Somehow the Nittany Lions found the strength to stay focused enough to score 14 points during a comeback that ultimately failed on a fourth down play. And as time in the game wound down, we noticed the stadium was still full. In one last emotional act, the crowd stood cheered the teams off the field, as if to say “thank you” we needed that.

They came to show contrition and unity, to say WE ARE … PENN STATE,  we will not let this destroy us, we will overcome this, we will work to make it right. We will find the truth. We will hold those responsible accountable. We will do our best to make sure this never, ever happens again - anywhere.

The game was played with significant controversy; it was strongly debated if it should have ever been played. The PSU Football program has been blamed for this tragedy. While it undoubtedly has some responsibility, it showed it can be a valuable tool in healing the wounds. As one that was there, it was not just a football game, it was the start of the healing process that a very large, respectful and moral community needed.

FAILURE IN LEADERSHIP

This is what makes the SANDUSKY SCANDAL so devastating: It is a failure in leadership of epic proportions.

Its roots are in the culture that allowed this to happen in the first place, the failure to act appropriately when issues first became known. And I don’t know who is truly responsible here; we simply DO NOT have enough information to make that call. The haters like to jump on various suspects. I am sure there will be plenty of blame to go around.

If you really do a lot of research and have followed this story closely, you can begin to understand how and why things were not handled properly some 15 years ago. Things that look clear and obvious now, were not so much in 1995. This is not to make an excuse for the actions, or more appropriately the lack of action, taken by leadership back then. Don’t get me wrong, you are still appalled, but you can get your head around it.

However, the most mind-boggling for many of us is what has happened since. I do not understand how such a distinguished group of outstanding, very smart, well educated, well connected people that have consistently demonstrated solid judgment, innovative thinking and strong moral character could not get this under control once they were aware of the seriousness of this issue.

I mean, come on folks, your employees, lots of them, are testifying before a grand jury. They have been investigating and issuing subpoenas for three years! No one, (no one?!) took a step back and said, hey did we miss something here? The first news reports became public last spring. No one on the board of trustees thought to ask the leadership what it was all about? State College is very much a small town, less the 40,000 students, everyone knows everyone, much more than the public knows. No one was smart enough to ask, do you have a plan for when this hits?

It has been one boondoggle after another. Two of your top employees get indicted for perjury, and the only official statement is ‘we completely support them ‘ – uh, wrong answer! You have no plan to show support, raise funds and raise awareness for, perhaps our greatest social failure, child abuse?  You have no public relations person or firm prepared to give you guidance to protect your institutions brand, name and reputation? You never have a frank conversation with the beloved and revered face of your university before you unceremoniously fire him via telephone? And you are stupid enough to do this in a college town at 10 p.m.? The kids are upset and doing stupid things – DOH! You completely let the media dictate the conversation in this day and age of instant communication? WHO IS RUNNING THIS PLACE?

Lessons Being Learned

As this story continues to evolve and more details come out, we hope that there will be lessons learned, and learned well.

Clearly, the child victims of notorious abusers are the first concern. We can only give them as much support as possible and hope that they somehow come to terms with their innocence lost. When the criminal responsible for this are held accountable, we hope it will encourage others to speak up.

Leaders need to better understand their responsibilities are not only defined by law, but society’s expectations as well. Little League includes three words in their shield that I use often: Character, Courage & Loyalty. We have witnessed failures of all three at Penn State. If you have an embarrassing issue, it is much better to get out ahead of the issue with a plan. Stuffing an apple in their mouths and serving up sacrificial lambs is the easy way out.

Hopefully enough of the truth comes out so that this debacle can serve some good and make sure it never happens again. The character, courage and loyalty of Penn State is very strong. I am confident that they will take back control of the institution and make it stronger. You could feel it begin at that football game.

And should history eventually show that some were judged to quickly and too harshly, I hope they live long enough to see it. We are (still) … Penn State!

For those interested in donating to help prevent child abuse, some PSU alumni partnered with RAINN - in a week they raised almost $500,000.

http://rainn.org/ProudPSUforRAINN

ADDENDUM:

For your information, Little League Baseball has a comprehensive Child Protection plan that includes mandatory background checks on all volunteers. In addition to strictly following Little League’s guidelines, Berkeley Little League requires mandatory training through the Rutgers SAFETY program and the Positive Coaching Alliance. In light of these recent events, we have reached out to both organizations for additional guidance. We will be reexamining our policies and procedures and updating them accordingly to do our best to protect our children on a local level. I will update you when our plan is completed.

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