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Nov. 10th, 2011 02:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
which_chickI went to Penn State. When I went there, Paterno was the football coach. He's not, now.
For years, the Penn State football program was seen as clean where other programs were not. It's not, now.
I've read the grand jury report. If you haven't, it's here as a PDF. You might want to read it before going further. Or not.
Jerry Sandusky coached at Penn State from 1969 to 1999. He was Defensive Coordinator from 1977 to 1999, a period of twenty-two years. Now, I don't know all that much about football, but I think that the head coach and the defensive coordinator for the same team probably spend a fair amount of time together doing, y'know, football stuff. Since Joe Paterno was head coach of Penn State football from 1966 to 2011, I suspect that he felt he knew Mr. Sandusky reasonably well. Since the two men had over twenty-two years of close work as head coach and defensive coordinator, I'd expect a solid, close working relationship to have developed between the two men.
The argument may be made by some that Mr. Paterno was forced by his superiors to accept Mr. Sandusky's position on his staff, but this is specious at best. Mr. Paterno was not a run-of-the-mill coach. He was (quite arguably) a capable, marketable, high-profile, well-liked and well-respected Division 1 football coach, one whose team was perennially well-ranked and relatively free of the scandals that marked other, less-honorable programs. I have no doubt in my mind that if Mr. Paterno had experienced any difficulties (personality conflicts, coaching styles, whatever) in working with Mr. Sandusky, Mr. Sandusky would have been asked to find work elsewhere.
According to the grand jury report, the first allegations of molestation by Mr. Sandusky appeared in 1998. A boy returned home from an outing with Mr. Sandusky and had wet hair. He revealed to his mother that he had showered with Mr. Sandusky. The boy's mother reported this incident to the campus police. Detective Schreffler of the University Police investigated the matter at length. District attorney Ray Gricar (who disappeared in 2005) decided there would be no criminal charges. Detective Schreffler testified (to the grand jury) that he was told to close the investigation by director of campus police Thomas Harmon.
In May of 1999, Mr. Sandusky was allegedly (according to testimony from one of the victims in the grand jury report) informed by Mr. Paterno that he would never be head coach at Penn State. He retired from coaching after the 1999 season, at age 55, but retained "emeritus" status with access to the football facilities on campus. During his retirement, Mr. Sandusky continued to use the football facilities (including the locker room and showers) on the Penn State campus, frequently with young boys from his charitable foundation The Second Mile in tow.
In fall of 2000, Jim Calhoun (a janitor) allegedly observed Mr. Sandusky in the assistant coach's shower performing oral sex on a young boy. He reported it to his superior, Jay Witherite. Mr. Witherite told Mr. Calhoun to whom he should report this incident if, in fact, he decided to report it. No report was ever made, but Mr. Witherite, Ronald Petrosky, and the other janitorial staff working that evening were aware of the alleged event.
In March of 2002, a graduate assistant (later determined to be Mike McQueary, former Penn State quarterback) saw Sandusky ass-raping a ten year old boy in the showers of the Lasch Football Building. Mr. McQueary, though seen by the boy and by Mr. Sandusky at the time of the alleged rape, just left the scene and called his father for advice. Mr. McQueary's father apparently told him to report it to Mr. Paterno.
The next day, Mr. McQueary reported the incident to Mr. Paterno. Mr. Paterno called Mr. Curley (athletics director for the college and nominally Mr. Paterno's boss) and reported this to him. About a week and a half after that, Mr. McQueary met with Mr. Curley and Mr. Schultz (Senior Vice President for Business and Finance, which should really clue you in that this is not so much about butt-fucking ten year old boys as it is about money) and he related to them that he'd seen Mr. Sandusky ass-raping a ten year old boy in the showers of the Lasch Football Building. (By all accounts, Mr. Paterno was not present at this meeting.) According to testimony given to the grand jury, Mr. McQueary was quite specific in his description of what he'd seen. A few weeks (weeks!) after that, Mr. Curley contacted Mr. McQueary to say that Mr. Sandusky's keys to the locker room had been taken away and that his behavior had been reported to The Second Mile (a charitable foundation started by Mr. Sandusky and substantially supported by Mr. Sandusky's fundraising efforts).
I'm guessing that The Second Mile didn't take the allegations very seriously because Mr. Sandusky's involvement "with children" in The Second Mile did not stop until 2008, according to the recently-issued statement from that foundation. In the grand jury report, Mr. Sandusky's involvement with The Second Mile was spoken of as his source for victims. And really, what better victims for pedophilic rape than at-risk young boys who lacked father figures and came from unstable home environments?
Mr. McQueary was not contacted by the university police at any point to discuss this alleged ass-raping of a child by Mr. Sandusky. Further, no other entity (not police, not child welfare, not campus police, nothing) investigated the alleged matter until Mr. McQueary testified before the grand jury in winter of 2010. Oh, and nobody (besides possibly Mr. Sandusky) knows the name of the kid that was allegedly being raped in the showers in 2002 because nobody ever bothered to ask.
Mr. Sandusky's use of the Penn State campus facilities continued until November of this year.
After Mr. McQueary saw the alleged ass-raping by Mr. Sandusky, he continued to work in the Penn State football program. He is currently an assistant coach for the Penn State football team, in charge of recruiting and wide receivers, a position he took in 2003. Apparently witnessing pedophilic ass-rape in the showers doesn't tarnish a university football program badly enough to prevent Mr. McQueary from taking a job with the organization a year later.
This sequence of events is indicative of an organization that willfully turned a blind eye to the molestation and rape of children because acknowledging and dealing with that shame would have tarnished the brand of Penn State Nittany Lions Football and cost the organization (and the college) millions of dollars in lost revenue. And really, what's a ten year old here or there compared to that kind of money?
For years, the Penn State football program was seen as clean where other programs were not. It's not, now.
I've read the grand jury report. If you haven't, it's here as a PDF. You might want to read it before going further. Or not.
Jerry Sandusky coached at Penn State from 1969 to 1999. He was Defensive Coordinator from 1977 to 1999, a period of twenty-two years. Now, I don't know all that much about football, but I think that the head coach and the defensive coordinator for the same team probably spend a fair amount of time together doing, y'know, football stuff. Since Joe Paterno was head coach of Penn State football from 1966 to 2011, I suspect that he felt he knew Mr. Sandusky reasonably well. Since the two men had over twenty-two years of close work as head coach and defensive coordinator, I'd expect a solid, close working relationship to have developed between the two men.
The argument may be made by some that Mr. Paterno was forced by his superiors to accept Mr. Sandusky's position on his staff, but this is specious at best. Mr. Paterno was not a run-of-the-mill coach. He was (quite arguably) a capable, marketable, high-profile, well-liked and well-respected Division 1 football coach, one whose team was perennially well-ranked and relatively free of the scandals that marked other, less-honorable programs. I have no doubt in my mind that if Mr. Paterno had experienced any difficulties (personality conflicts, coaching styles, whatever) in working with Mr. Sandusky, Mr. Sandusky would have been asked to find work elsewhere.
According to the grand jury report, the first allegations of molestation by Mr. Sandusky appeared in 1998. A boy returned home from an outing with Mr. Sandusky and had wet hair. He revealed to his mother that he had showered with Mr. Sandusky. The boy's mother reported this incident to the campus police. Detective Schreffler of the University Police investigated the matter at length. District attorney Ray Gricar (who disappeared in 2005) decided there would be no criminal charges. Detective Schreffler testified (to the grand jury) that he was told to close the investigation by director of campus police Thomas Harmon.
In May of 1999, Mr. Sandusky was allegedly (according to testimony from one of the victims in the grand jury report) informed by Mr. Paterno that he would never be head coach at Penn State. He retired from coaching after the 1999 season, at age 55, but retained "emeritus" status with access to the football facilities on campus. During his retirement, Mr. Sandusky continued to use the football facilities (including the locker room and showers) on the Penn State campus, frequently with young boys from his charitable foundation The Second Mile in tow.
In fall of 2000, Jim Calhoun (a janitor) allegedly observed Mr. Sandusky in the assistant coach's shower performing oral sex on a young boy. He reported it to his superior, Jay Witherite. Mr. Witherite told Mr. Calhoun to whom he should report this incident if, in fact, he decided to report it. No report was ever made, but Mr. Witherite, Ronald Petrosky, and the other janitorial staff working that evening were aware of the alleged event.
In March of 2002, a graduate assistant (later determined to be Mike McQueary, former Penn State quarterback) saw Sandusky ass-raping a ten year old boy in the showers of the Lasch Football Building. Mr. McQueary, though seen by the boy and by Mr. Sandusky at the time of the alleged rape, just left the scene and called his father for advice. Mr. McQueary's father apparently told him to report it to Mr. Paterno.
The next day, Mr. McQueary reported the incident to Mr. Paterno. Mr. Paterno called Mr. Curley (athletics director for the college and nominally Mr. Paterno's boss) and reported this to him. About a week and a half after that, Mr. McQueary met with Mr. Curley and Mr. Schultz (Senior Vice President for Business and Finance, which should really clue you in that this is not so much about butt-fucking ten year old boys as it is about money) and he related to them that he'd seen Mr. Sandusky ass-raping a ten year old boy in the showers of the Lasch Football Building. (By all accounts, Mr. Paterno was not present at this meeting.) According to testimony given to the grand jury, Mr. McQueary was quite specific in his description of what he'd seen. A few weeks (weeks!) after that, Mr. Curley contacted Mr. McQueary to say that Mr. Sandusky's keys to the locker room had been taken away and that his behavior had been reported to The Second Mile (a charitable foundation started by Mr. Sandusky and substantially supported by Mr. Sandusky's fundraising efforts).
I'm guessing that The Second Mile didn't take the allegations very seriously because Mr. Sandusky's involvement "with children" in The Second Mile did not stop until 2008, according to the recently-issued statement from that foundation. In the grand jury report, Mr. Sandusky's involvement with The Second Mile was spoken of as his source for victims. And really, what better victims for pedophilic rape than at-risk young boys who lacked father figures and came from unstable home environments?
Mr. McQueary was not contacted by the university police at any point to discuss this alleged ass-raping of a child by Mr. Sandusky. Further, no other entity (not police, not child welfare, not campus police, nothing) investigated the alleged matter until Mr. McQueary testified before the grand jury in winter of 2010. Oh, and nobody (besides possibly Mr. Sandusky) knows the name of the kid that was allegedly being raped in the showers in 2002 because nobody ever bothered to ask.
Mr. Sandusky's use of the Penn State campus facilities continued until November of this year.
After Mr. McQueary saw the alleged ass-raping by Mr. Sandusky, he continued to work in the Penn State football program. He is currently an assistant coach for the Penn State football team, in charge of recruiting and wide receivers, a position he took in 2003. Apparently witnessing pedophilic ass-rape in the showers doesn't tarnish a university football program badly enough to prevent Mr. McQueary from taking a job with the organization a year later.
This sequence of events is indicative of an organization that willfully turned a blind eye to the molestation and rape of children because acknowledging and dealing with that shame would have tarnished the brand of Penn State Nittany Lions Football and cost the organization (and the college) millions of dollars in lost revenue. And really, what's a ten year old here or there compared to that kind of money?
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Date: 2011-11-10 09:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-11 06:03 pm (UTC)Mr. Calhoun, the janitor, was probably worried about his job and the fact that nobody was going to believe his testimony against that of the very well-known and popular and successful recently-retired defensive coordinator who helped win two national championships. (Yes, that stuff does matter in Happy Valley. I respectfully submit that we are all going to see exactly how much it matters in the coming months as this mess unfolds.) Complicit is the supervisor, Mr. Witherite, who told Mr. Calhoun where to report this crime if he decided to report it, thus implying that this was a decision and that there was some rational world where it was OK that people DID NOT REPORT witnessing the rape of children. (The higher up any organizational ladder you go, the more responsible you are and the more stringent the moral standard I will hold you to. With power comes responsibility. If your subordinate doesn't know the right thing to do, you should clarify that for him and then support him while he does it.)
Mr. McQueary was probably shocked to his core. He'd grown up in State College. He played for Penn State as a student, coached by Mr. Paterno and Mr. Sandusky. He was (at the time) working closely with the team as a graduate assistant. So what the hell was going on in the football culture of Penn State that robbed a twenty-eight year old man of his moral compass to the point that the only thing he could do when presented with a live-action crime of truly disturbing scope was leave the victim and his rapist alone to get on with it and then call his father for advice?
So Mr. McQueary calls his dad to find out what to do. What kind of world view does it take for a parent to tell his adult son that the correct response to seeing a child being raped in the football locker rooms by someone who used to be a football coach is to wait until the next day and then inform The Current Football Coach of the problem. What The Fuck? I say again, What The Fucking Fuck? Are all you people stupid? How come nobody can come up with the correct answer here? This is like a very bad Saturday Night Live Skit.
"Okay, so you're in the locker room late at night and you hear suspicious sounds and you peek into the showers and it's your old coach fucking some little kid in the ass. They both see you. What do you do?"
"I... I... I'm gonna leave quietly and call my dad."
...
"Dad? Yeah, I was at the football building this evening and my old coach was in the showers fucking some kid in the ass. No, not just gay sex with a twink -- this was a really young kid, probably about ten or so. Yeah, they both saw me, the retired coach and the kid both. ... Well, you said I could call you if I ever didn't know the right thing to do, so that's why I'm calling... Oh. Okay, I see. I need to report this to Coach Paterno. Right. I guess there's no sense waking him up at this hour. I'll drop by tomorrow and let him know. I knew I could count on you to have the right answer. Thanks, dad!"
And finally, how on earth did Mr. McQueary, not a year after he is alleged to have seen the child being raped in the shower, take a job within the very organization that, assuming the rape really happened, sheltered and protected the rapist, continued to let him use the facilities, bring child-victims around, etc? If it is even SLIGHTLY possible that Mr. McQueary leveraged his eye-witness omerta and his allegiance to the ideal of keeping football business within the football family into a coaching position at the school, then the entire program needs to be razed.
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Date: 2011-11-11 01:15 pm (UTC)It sounds like the 1998 report wasn't all that substantial - just enough to force a retirement. But after that 2002 incident, Paterno should have locked Sandusky in a room with a fifth of scotch and a loaded revolver. That is, if he was worried about appearances & the program and all that crap as much as the children being violated. That he didn't, but rather buried it entirely, says that he cared more about the appearance of honor than the substance of it.