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if you haven’t been keeping up on the penn state sex abuse scandal, you probably live under a rock. it involves the sexual molestation of a minor (and maybe about twenty more) by an assistant football coach, and allegations of cover-up, neglect, legal and moral failure, and misuse of power.
the situation exploded today with the firing of legendary football coach, joe paterno…along with the president of the school, graham spanier.
the whole affair is layered with corruption and sadness and wrongness on so many levels. it’s hard to point the finger in just one direction. there is no doubt that the victims were (are) a bunch of young boys whose lives have been shaped and molded in a cloud of perversion.
i cannot begin to fathom the darkness. or even come up with words to express the horror inflicted on the innocent ones.
so i’ll think about joe paterno.
he’s 84 years old. the most storied football coach of my lifetime. maybe any lifetime. beloved by players. praised by his contemporaries. hailed as a model of honesty, integrity, hard work, and timeless values. he was a simple, loving, dedicated father and husband. and a coach with no parallel.
but he made a life-defining mistake. and it will discolor his legacy permanently. it will haunt he and his wife for their remaining days…and his children and grandchildren for all of theirs. all of the good of his 84 years will be tainted.
i wonder what he and his wife, sue, are talking about tonight? what are the words of consolation they are sharing? i want to feel sorry for him…even though he doesn’t deserve my sorrow. this was not how his life was to wind up. it was not how this man was to go out.
i’m sure there are many lessons to be learned from this tragedy. maybe we’ll learn some of them along the way.
but remember this: none of us are ever far from failure. we are all one bad decision away from shipwrecking our lives and crushing the ones we love. our choices matter. our decisions bear consequences. our behavior counts.
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