Joe No Mo’
Scandals ruin sports. The last few years, sports have been the center of numerous scandals. From recruiting violations to impermissible inducements, from UConn to the U. of San Fran, from lacrosse to football, “scandal” is the name of the game. Sports are no longer pure, rather bloodstained.
Bruce Pearl, Jim Tressel, Duke lacrosse, Nevin Shapiro, Reggie Bush’s Heisman, and now Jim Paterno are tarnished. Once powerful, a big frog in a small pond, they are now irrelevant.
No violation is sinless. Some, however, are more heinous than others. In the case of the Penn State, unspeakable acts were performed, allegedly. (Ed. Note: Please research Penn State scandal for details.) The allegations against Penn State outweigh any other known infidelities. Like lice, they bite and gnaw at those scratching their heads.
And while details are emerging every day, the school has already undergone chaos. Within four days of the allegations, Paterno, who has coached at Penn State for over 60 years, and University President Graham Spanier were fired. A group of over 2000 students rioted, consuming the campus like a herd of wild beasts. They tipped a police van, attacked riot police, 12 students were arrested, and one officer was hospitalized.
Anarchy eroded the school and left it in tatters. Penn State’s reputation is destroyed. Normally, the notion of a pestilence-d reputation following a scandal is untrue. For Penn State, it is.
There is no easy way to correct its name, no painless way to rid the boils. Penn State is in trouble, but is the hailstorm justified?
Yes. Paterno, in light of the allegations, ignored his responsibilities in handling the situation. Sometimes, sports come second; Paterno kept football as his first priority. The Penn State Board of Trustees acted responsibly in putting an end to Paterno’s lackluster involvement. Their response to the locust-like fallout was quick and decisive, sending a “no tolerance” message.
Now comes the era of darkness. Penn State, for the first time since President LBJ, is without a football coach. But that is the least of their problems. Sure, they will lose scholarships, bowl eligibility, and scramble awhile to fix their football program, but with a decimated reputation, the whole school is in shambles.
What happened is wrong, nothing can undo it. Penn State must understand that this affects more than sports; attendance and applications will falter. One can only wait for the tenth plague.
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