I wasn't going to stop writing about Penn State and the fall out from the Sandusky child rape scandal, but I can't help myself. In light of all the praise heaped on the football team this last weekend, I just can't not write something.
I heard and read a lot of stomach turning bullshit about the adversity the football team endured this year. First, a full ride athlete seldom endures "adversity". In this case, none of the members of the football team suffered anything like the victims of Sandusky and the subsequent institutional silence that allowed the monster to flourish.
Lets recap, Penn State Football was banned from bowls for 4 years and has a reduced amount of scholarships and had to pay a huge fine. The players on the team played the "everyone's against us" card, calling themselves #TeamOutlaw. That's pretty fucking clever.
The reason your team was penalized is because the evil arrogant bastard who was the head coach and who went to his maker in disgrace, covered up for the most heinous of crimes. This is not a few guys who got hundred dollar handshakes, or free tattoos. This was child rape.
I've made no secret of what I do for work. In 20 years I've investigated hundreds of sexual abuse cases. The victims have been as young as infants and as old as 17. Its not fun, and its not funny. Its not some clever slogan on a tee shirt, its not the adversity of losing out on bowl games. Its real fucking life.
The victims of sexual abuse, even those who seek and get help, seldom fully recover. It's with them every day forever. I've had victims tell me some days its a dull ache, some days its an overwhelming, crushing pain that is almost beyond endurance.
I've been at it long enough that some kids who were victims in the 90's have kids now. Some of them have come back in to the system as parents. A shocking number of them have problems with alcohol and drugs. A very few have sexual assaulted a child themselves. A lot of them are poor and can't hold jobs. They are depressed and spiraling. This is the real adversity faced by real victims of child rape.
The Penn State football team and their clueless, backwards, blind fans believe that they got fucked over, but in reality they had it easy. The victims who were literally fucked over? For them it never ends.
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ReplyDeleteHorrible things happened there, and having to play football for this tainted university is nothing as awful as the atrocity that occurred, however, I do think it's OK to feel good that these young men aged 18-22, were able to be mature, and deal with the stigma that came with being a member of the team.
ReplyDelete"Ya know, I think that is a bunch of bull. I don’t think they should’ve had that. Do I blame Penn State? No. Do I blame Penn State students? No, not at all. Their students had nothing to with this. It’s just that the people who were put in a position to help didn’t"
ReplyDeleteAaron Fisher on the NCAA sanctions... you do know who Aaron Fisher is right?
As if a winning football season sanctifies and forgives all Evil ... proof of a Divine Light that absolves. God speaks through football. Bull crap.
ReplyDeleteAs one who believes that the entire PSU football program should have been shuttered completely for a few years ( 3 ? 5 ? 8 ? 10 ? ) to allow a nice long "time out" for the whole out-of-control Happy Valley sports culture, I applaud your stance.