As most of you know, I don't post nearly as much as i used to so I apologize if this in not the right forum for this. I sent this email to Dan today and thinking about entering it into the editorial of the local newspaper. Probably needs to be polished a bit. I don't expect anyone to agree with me. Just my thoughts.
Dan,
Over the last few months I’ve appreciated you taking on the cause to be a voice for the victims of the terrible, disgusting crimes between the walls of Penn State’s athletic facilities.
While I’ve agreed with many of the points you’ve made along the way, I was always on the fence with the argument of the Penn State football program receiving the death penalty. This morning however, that all changed for me. A group of Penn State football players held their own press conference on the grounds of State College, just outside the Penn State Football facility. And what came out of their mouths spoke to me as the exact reason why this needs to be shut down immediately.
If you haven’t listened to its entirety, listen here (note that the official website for PSU athletics actually posted this):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKNhjTrU ... r_embedded Nothing has changed at Penn State. It’s STILL all about the football team - All about THEM being the victims. When I hear things from players like "this is the greatest opportunity a Penn-Stater could ask for" in regards to playing for the Nittany Lions after these sanctions were brought down against the university makes me cringe. The greatest opportunity?! Could that be anymore insensitive to the victims?
“Hey victims, we just want to say thanks for giving us current crop of ‘Penn Stater footballers’ the opportunity of a lifetime to represent the school on the football field.”
It makes me sick.
There’s more though. They go on to mention every group of people they will play for this year. The past players and coaches before them, the alumni, the fans, people that built the school, people that don’t think politicians and NCAA administrators should be deciding the fate of a football program. They’re playing for all of them. Never once did they mention if they were playing for the victims. Never once did we hear from this group of kids that their hearts go out to the victims of the child rapist. No, this is still about football. It’s almost as if nothing has been learned and we are all right back to making this all about the football team. It’s almost as if they’re out to make the real victims the current group of football players. Collateral damage? Sure. But they’ve also been granted the opportunity to keep their scholarship or play anywhere else in the nation for this season.
And with all that, I don’t even blame these naïve kids who happen to suit up as superheroes on Saturdays for setting up their own press conference today.
I’m disappointed – again, and already – with the failure of university leadership for allowing this to happen. Someone with at least half a brain at that university should have stopped that statement from taking place this morning. There should have already been strict rules in place for the players in regards to how to conduct themselves when approached on this topic. I believe simply stating “no comment” every time a player is dealt with a scandal-type question is fine. Easy for the players to use. Keeps them from saying too much and no one should call them out on not speaking about it. I certainly would have made sure to let them all know no one will be holding their own press conferences on university grounds and furthermore would discourage them from speaking about the topic at all with people, interviews or social media. Instead this current athletic administration gives them a big megaphone by putting the press conference front and center on their official Penn State Athletics webpage.
I'm already becoming leery of this new coaching staff as its already starting to develop an "us against the world" mentality. The fact these players came out in unity today and were allowed to hold this press conference shows me that they are encouraging this type of behavior. Its gross.
Fall will be here soon. Over one hundred thousand people will be tailgating and cheering on their football team. Who knows what kind of propaganda, slogans and silly t-shirts the home crowd will conjure up to make their football team look like the victims. These fans will be doing more to make sure the rest of the nation views the Penn State football team as victims. In Happy Valley, the true victims will be forgotten.
I know there are good people at Penn State. I know there must be embarrassed members and alumni of Penn State. Some of these good people are scared to stand up and say what needs to be said. Unfortunately that was a big part of the problem that got the university where they are today. Penn State needs courageous, loud leaders at this defining moment. Leading purely by example is not enough in this case. Because they are up against many loud die-hard football loving worshippers that see or hear no evil – and those fans are the ones representing Happy Valley to the world. To allow that group to be the loudest voice may be allowing the university to never truly change.
That is the problem, and to me this is EXACTLY why they shouldn't be playing football this year. Nothing has been learned, nor will anything be learned anytime soon. There seems to be no course of true change from the athletic heads of Penn State. It’s evident in today’s players press conference.
Still, it was the words of the current Penn State football players that really said it all today.
“We need you as much as you need us.”
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