Posts Tagged "ncaa"
Say it ain’t so, Joe.
On Saturday we were celebrating JoePa’s 409th collegiate football victory.
On Wednesday we were saying goodbye to a legend who was once above reproach.
It’s an odd bookend to an otherwise illustrious career; however, as we read more into what was uncovered during those three days, the more it makes my stomach turn.
All I know of Joe Paterno is what I’ve seen in interviews and on the football field. He was admittedly old-school, tough, and commanded respect. He didn’t seem to put up with a lot of the nonsense that is prevalent these days and really, he was everyone’s grandfather; he was Grandpa Joe. He withstood the criticism of his coaching abilities as he grew older and brought this year’s Penn State team to a strong 8-1 record (currently undefeated in the Big 10) and probably a top-tier bowl game.
But as details of the alleged sexual abuse from one of his former assistant coaches, Jerry Sandusky, begin to seep out, the less JoePa’s coaching achievements seem to matter. Here is a man who, for whatever reason, chose not to get more involved, chose not to fully flesh out what then Graduate Assistant Mike McQueary witnessed, chose not to question his assistant coach, and chose to not follow up with his superiors. There was a systematic failure on all levels to protect the ones who really needed protection: the young boys. Instead, they chose to protect their own; one who certainly needed to be outed and not taken back into the fold.
From what I have read, JoePa and McQueary, now the receivers’ coach (more on this later), did what was legally required by following Pennslyvania state protocol by reporting the incident to their superiors. It was the Athletic Director Tim Curley and the school’s Vice President Gary Schultz’ responsibility to report the abuse to the Department of Public Welfare, in which they failed to do so. Where JoePa and McQueary went wrong was failing to follow up with DPW to check on the status of the case and to press for more action.
Protocol aside, the problem most people are trying to reconcile is why no one stepped outside themselves to provide additional help. Why didn’t the university do more the limit Sandusky’s access to campus facilities knowing that he had a history of using them while exhibiting inappropriate behavior with young boys? Why didn’t any of the top brass confront Sandusky about the rumors of inappropriate contact (because you know someone knew something and told other people)? Why didn’t the janitors and McQueary intervene when they witnessed the alleged assaults? Why didn’t one of the janitors report the abuse he witnessed? Why didn’t they call police? Why didn’t they insist their superiors follow up with the case? Why didn’t the DA decide to pursue a case after Sandusky admitted to showering naked with a young boy back in 1998?
Why was this allowed to continue over a 15 year period?
There are so many failures within this chain that I’m disheartened that it has gotten this far. I can’t help but take it personally, as I wonder how I would feel if I found out there was a known pattern that was not stopped before my friends’ sons, my nephew, MY SON was abused. If even one child is victimized, it is too much.
Should JoePa have lost his job as a result? As a man who holds so much sway within a community, he could have, and should have, done more. His failure to exert more pressure for an appropriate solution is disappointing but legally he did all that was expected. However, for a man who’s main goal is to “serve the best interests of this university and the young men who have been entrusted to [his] care,” it is sad that he did the opposite. Sandusky was using the Penn State football facilities during his assaults. JoePa should have stepped up for the sake of those boys. If Jim Tressel can be dimissed for failing to monitor the situation at Ohio State, certainly JoePa could be dimissed for failing to monitor the situation happening in his locker room. This is bigger than a football issue. This is a human issue and whenever you fail to act rationally and morally, then you have simply failed.
No matter what, JoePa had to go. There was no way he could have coached for the remainder of the season without the increased scrutiny surrounding this case. Every week he would have faced more questions about the case and it would have grown to a much larger distraction. But if JoePa is fired for his inaction, then surely McQueary should be let go as well [ETA: ESPN is now reporting that McQueary will not be coaching this Saturday but still remains on staff - it's a start], considering he actually saw the abuse and did as much as JoePa in terms of reporting the incident. If anything, I’m outraged that he is still allowed to remain on staff when the other bigger names have all been dismissed or stepped down. But can you imagine how the victims and their families feel? Watching people riot and protest a coach’s dismissal as a result of his inaction in their lives? Is it hard to possibly think they could feel that the protesters might think THEY are the reason why JoePa was fired? That is not a burden that should be placed on them.
It’s sad to see JoePa’s legacy tarnished by this scandal, but it’s even sadder that so many adults failed to protect those boys.
Read MoreDon’t come ’round here no more
Yesterday we had a service guy come out to take a look at the problem child that is our refrigerator. We bought the thing new and have already experienced some issues [along with our stove but that's been corrected already] – and now we’re faced with buying a new door. A new door for a brand new refrigerator. Do you see the stupidity that’s all up in that sentence? I know.
LG, we expected so much more from you.
But I digress; at first I didn’t pay Henry that much attention since I was working on some notes for my term paper but then I looked up and noticed a bright red hat and a small little oval with a face on it on the back of the hat. This face, in fact:
This is not the face you want staring back at you…
I held my tongue until he was about to leave before asking him about his affiliation [yup, he is a born and bred Buckeye fan] and, naturally, revealed mine [yup, even after this weekend's poor, poor performance].
Then I stopped and had a think. There’s nothing that riles my inner self more than meeting a member of the rival tribe. I don’t know why I get so territorial but there are really only two occasions where I’m practically dying on the inside to reveal my Michigan connection:
- When I meet someone who either attends, attended, or roots for Michigan
- When I meet someone who either attends, attended, or roots for Ohio State and/or Michigan State.
This phenomenon doesn’t affect everyone. There are plenty of people who could care less that they’re talking to someone who attended their school’s rival [I've met a few of them - so terribly disappointing] but there are plenty of people who’s ears prick up at the mention of their school or get excited when they see someone else wearing a school shirt or see those almuni stickers and license plate holders on cars and those are usually the ones who will make their affiliations known when they see someone who is sporting the rival school’s gear.
Or it could very well be just me. I’m totally fine with that.
I don’t know what it is about it but I get a kick out of chatting up a Buckeye fan, though admittedly it has not been as much fun the past six years, and giving each other that good natured ribbing that sports fans do. I just feel the need to make my allegiance known.
I’m a Michigan alumna. I’m here. And…yeah.
I have plenty of stories of meetings with rival fans at airports, the grocery store, at school and even work. Once, my classmate’s husband found out I went to Michigan [he's an OSU fan] and the next time I came over for our group meeting, he made sure to place his OSU door mat out front. Just for me. I told him it was fitting that a Wolverine wiped her feet on it. And one of my former bosses was an Ohio State fan; we even talked about the Big Game during my interview. I later found out that he specifically asked about the game to see if I knew about it – if I didn’t, I wouldn’t have gotten the job. Henry and I did have a good chat though. He joked about maybe not doing the job right next time he comes but that’s totally something an Ohio State fan would do. Way to stick to the script. Oh snap! But really, its a fun back and forth and really, it opens people up. Maybe that’s why I get that drive to say something: its a way to connect with other people.
Sports. The great uniter.
*I now have Tom Petty’s song stuck in my head now. So totally worth it.
Not your ordinary case of the Mondays…
Happy Opening Week of Baseball y’all! I am so glad it’s finally the start of the baseball season. And this time for real. Here’s to an exciting summer of baseball and hopefully a championship for my Yankees.
I cannot believe how busy I’ve been the past couple of weeks. And here I thought it would all settle down while I was on break from classes.
Silly me.
But classes start this week as does the start of our official event season here at work so things are gonna be a little wacky this week too but hopefully not too much because I’ve been experiencing some serious blogging withdrawals.
Though what will be exciting is to see just how my job duties will begin to take shape. My boss and I have been flying along figuring out what it is I exactly do. I’m sure we’ll still be making things up as we go along for another month or so but at least now with the event stuff starting to happen that’ll help us to narrow down what I’ll need to be able to take care of. Because most of the stuff only comes to mind when you have to do them.
Which is exciting because I can really see the potential of turning this job into more than just an “executive assistant” type of position, even though my boss doesn’t consider me to be an assistant…we stick with coordinator. Which I like even more. Oooh, I wonder if I can get business cards. I’ll have to remember to ask him once the new phone system gets put in and I get to move desks. Hopefully that’ll happen sometime before the year is out.
That’s enough work talk though.
So here’s more exciting news: I’m going to Seattle! I’m so excited. I’d been talking about flying up to visit Amalia since she moved there last year or so and after some prodding from Virgin America in the form of a promo code for 30% off, I finally got my butt in gear and booked my flight.
I’ll be going up for a weekend of fun, frivolity and hopefully some good eats. Because y’all know I’m gonna try to make a stop at Cupcake Royale. Forreals though. I think I may have already picked my flavors.
You can never accuse me of not having my priorities straight, that’s for sure.
I’m doing a call for places to visit, things to do and stuff to eat while I’m in Seattle. Anyone?
Oh, and in the spirit of state solidarity: go Michigan State! Win one for the Mitten.
And I don’t even feel dirty for saying that.
Read MoreAnd then…and…um…yeah?
Happy First Day of Spring everyone. You know what that means: the countdown to summer has begun! W00t!
I’m just excited that my classes are officially over for the quarter and I can relax without a care for the next couple of weeks. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh. It’s going to feel great getting home at a reasonable hour. And I can goof off without feeling guilty. Wait, scratch that; I can goof off without feeling like I’m wasting time.
Since my last final was a take-home exam [one that I practically threw at the professor when he collected them – I was SO OVER it by then], we only had to make our group presentations before heading off into the night. And I BOMBED my portion.
Okay, so in hindsight it wasn’t THAT bad but it was bad to me. There was a lot of “ums” and “and yeahs” littered through it all. I was a little flustered since part of what I had planned to discuss was discussed during the background on the project so that didn’t leave me with much to say. I was upset since I actually knew what I was talking about – it just didn’t appear that way. Oh and it lasted for what seemed like forever [and ever and ever…].
So utterly painful.
But I don’t have to think about it anymore cuz I’m done. It’s done and my books are already on order for next quarter. I am so ready. Especially since I won’t need a calculator at all. [/happy dance]
I’m looking forward to having my weekends back though, perfect timing since Lindsey is flying up for the week tomorrow.
There will be plenty of nothing going on. Nothing but college basketball.
Read More