By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
The conviction of former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky on 45 counts of child molestation and abuse seemed like the worst storm residents of Happy Valley could have endured. Now it seems that was just the opening gust of the hurricane. A series of emails recently turned over to investigators from a secret file in AD Tim Curley’s office suggests that university president, Graham Spanier, was more involved in the cover-up that previously thought and that former PSU head coach, Joe Paterno, was just as involved as many of us thought. Just 16 days after grad student, Mike McQueary, walked into the showers at the Penn State’s football temple athletic facility to find Sandusky behind a ten-year-old making “slapping noises,” an email issued from university vice president, Gary Shultz, to Spanier setting forth the agreement to report Sandusky’s actions. On February 26, 2001, Shultz wrote the three-part plan was to “talk with the subject [Sandusky]… contact the charitable organization [Second Mile]… and contacting the Department of Welfare.” In Pennsylvania, the Department of Welfare is required to investigate all allegations of child abuse. It works hand-in-glove with the law that requires educators and those working with children to report allegations of child abuse.
However, two days later the plan changed, due, it seems, in large measure to discussions with iconic coach Joe Paterno. Curley writes to Spanier:
“After giving it more thought and talking it over with Joe [Paterno] yesterday, I am uncomfortable with what we agreed were the next steps. I am having trouble with going to everyone, but the person involved. I would be more comfortable meeting with the person.. tell him the information we received… and tell him we are aware of the first situation.”
Talking it over with Joe? Who was running the athletic department at Penn State? As events unfolded the same question could be asked about the university itself? It seems obvious that Spanier and Curley had decided to report the suspected abuse of a child to both Second Mile (Sandusky’s charity and hunting ground) and state authorities with the resources to investigate and charge Sandusky. Now one word from JoPa and all that changed. (It is also interesting that Curley mentions the “first situation” since he has denied knowledge of the first known allegation of child abuse involving a 1998 claim that Sandusky abused an 11-year-old boy now known as Victim 6.)
The approach by PSU now was to be “humane” to the suspected serial abuser and get his side of the story despite full knowledge of another shower incident in 1998 where Sandusky stood accused again of improprieties that were never charged criminally but that raised suspicions among law enforcement and the prosecutor’s office. Curley writes in a second email that if Sandusky cooperates, they’d be willing to work with him. If not, they’d have to inform Second Mile and the Department of Welfare. Former university President Spanier was supportive of the new idea. But in a reply email it seems clear the President knew PSU officials were walking a tightrope legally and ethically:
“The only downside for us is if the message isn’t ‘heard’ and acted upon, and we become vulnerable for not having reported it. But that can be assessed down the road.”
When the rubber hit that road and the world found out that Sandusky had been coddled by every relevant authority at PSU, Spanier, Curley, and Shultz were gone immediately. Paterno also got fired amid protests of his innocence in the matter. No complaint was ever made to Second Mile or the Department of Welfare. Likewise, there is no evidence Sandusky got any professional help. PSU just forgot about the very great likelihood of sexual abuse on a small boy on its campus by one of its football heroes. And Sandusky sexually abused at least three more young boys after “good men” did nothing.
What’s also remarkably evil is the utter disregard by the academics involved for the welfare of that still publicly unknown child. Spanier, a sociologist and family therapist by trade, must have been well aware that the abuse would continue until Sandusky was caught or the child came forward. Sadly, both were long shots given what we know about child abuse and enforcement of laws against it.
I wonder what all those Paterno groupies protesting in the street following his ouster think now? As for Paterno, who publicly vowed to “pray for the victims,” and who died of lung cancer this past January, “feet of clay” doesn’t seem to do the man justice . Maybe heart of clay?
Source: CNN via Atlantic Wire
~Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
The NCAA won’t do anything, but where is the DA on criminal conspiracy charges? Does anyone know the terms of Penn State’s charter? Perhaps something could be done from that end.
OS and AY,
I doubt that the NCAA would do anything, even if they had the authority to do so. There are so many universities that have covered their eyes when it comes to player assaults on women alone that it would be a full time job just sanctioning colleges. Notre Dame’s football teams problems come to mind.
they should put blinders on the statue of joe paterno.
Raff and OS,
Interesting that you should state this should or should not involve the NCAA….. At present they claim they may get involved and are looking for a basis to do do….. A buddy of mine is the former head….. That says absolutely they do not have jurisdiction….. Time will tell….. They may very well amend each schools contract and insert a moral turpitude clause….. But this approach would deal with future sanctions….. What has been suggested is looking at the school as a whole and seeing if they have violated any NCAA rules in the last 5 Years…… Such as players eligibility……
raff, et al, I keep hearing about NCAA sanctions and even giving the football program the so-called “death penalty” like that imposed on SMU some years ago.
Does anyone here know if NCAA even has any rules or jurisdiction in the case of criminal activity that does not relate directly to the football program? In the case of SMU, it was contributions of money and services to the program and players by wealthy supporters. That did come under NCAA rules. However, sex offenses, pedophilia and subsequent cover up may not fall under the rules.
I simply don’t know. Are there any sports lawyers reading this who might have an opinion?
Mark,
Excellent article. I was just discussing this issue with some people from Pennsylvania and they were claiming poor Joepa did not do anything wrong! Disgusting! I don’t know about the NCAA death penalty, but some sanctions should be forthcoming.
Nal:
“After talking it over with Joe, Curley writes to Spanier. . .”
That is two of the Three Stooges; all we’re missing is Moe.
SwedishJewfish, who is a former abuse victim, Registered Nurse, and anti-abuse activist, wrote a powerful and detailed piece yesterday on this same subject. Her story has 546 comments in response as of this writing. In deference to those with slow connections, this is only to the Permalink for the story. Click the “expand” button at the bottom if you want to read the comments, most of which are excellent, insightful, and I daresay, angry.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/06/30/1104688/-Breaking-New-emails-provide-more-evidence-of-a-Penn-State-cover-up-at-the-behest-of-Joe-Paterno
Mark A. Emmert is the President of the NCA – I just emailed: the following to him
memmert@ncaa.org
Sanction the PSU football program for its criminal conspiracy to cover up sexual abuse of a minor
http://jonathanturley.org/2012/07/01/down-in-the-valley-what-did-they-know-and-when-did-they-know-it-ii/
Happy Valley….blech
Mark exposes another facet of what Orwell called “bully worship”.
Don’t confuse that with the bully as an individual, link it instead to an ideology … the bully religion Orwell depicted.
We can see that it permeates our culture: our educational institutions, our military, our governments, and our legal system, especially when the definition is taken into consideration:
(Wikipedia, Bullying, bold added). Take Citizens United v FEC and the imbalance of power utilized by big money to create big politicians who like this system of domination.
And it certainly is symptomatic of a system of domination, of imperialism, of empire ideology, and it is fused with religion (Bully Worship: The Universal Religion). How many times have you heard it said “rape is not about sex, it is about domination, asserting power over another because there is an imbalance of power?”
One of the high holy days is upcoming, a day that has morphed by the jingoist propaganda within, into a day of the bully religion.
Power is worshiped on that day, using that power in the context of “an imbalance of power”, the heart of bullying, equates bully worship with hero worship.
Mike S once wrote about the other side of the coin of authoritarianism, which is the worship of power asserting itself over the less powerful, yes, bullying to put it in the vernacular.
The worship involved in the bully religion is insidious because it is beyond our conscious belief system, beyond what we want to believe is real, but is also hidden in plain sight.
The example Mark chose to elaborate on shines light on some of the other side of that authoritarian coin.
The NCAA should sanction the PSU football program with the death penalty if not perpetually ban the program..
After talking it over with Joe, Curley writes to Spanier that he’s “uncomfortable with what we agreed were the next steps.” What did Paterno tell Curley that made Curley change his mind? Even worse allegations?
Catullus,
Yep…. Especially when you’re the money maker in town……
Mark,
You still did a remarkable job….. I would probably not have been as fair……
Paterno was only interested in the welfare and glory of his football team. Any scandal would have hurt it. His football players got lots of breaks. Young boys who weren’t his players didn’t matter. And he had the clout to make things go his way. I’m not sorry in the least that he suffered from the scandal. His fame as a coach was very expensive to several boys who will probably suffer the rest of their lives b/c sexual abuse, especially by those the boys trusted, takes a bit of the soul.
Catullus:
Thank you for your comment. By their deeds, a bevy of old Romans taught me those rules.
Excellent post, Mark; it appears that Penn State, much like the SC, is merely applying the rules of power that you listed in a previous comment:
1. Power begets other power.
2. Power is always pragmatic.
3. Power avoids exhaustive hypotheses.
4. Power protects other power.
The “rules of successful application of power” are the most adroit explanation for how government and other institutions function that I’ve ever read.
There was an old geezer in the marina boathouse the other day who hailed from the vicinity of State Penn. We dogs were railing about the pedophile coverup but more specifically the contortion that State Penn had some educational purpose. I said that no corporation should hire some guy with a degree from a school that lives for sports. Compete with the Chinese in math and science one guy said. “Oh, No”, the State Penn guy says. “The sports money generated pays for all the sports programs and then some. It is a great school.” The guy from a small college in Ohio looked at him and shook his head sadly. “Geezer, you are in denial. Of course we have to send our jobs overseas. With schools like State Penn we dont have the brains to operate things in America.” “State Penn beats Ohio State Penn in football. Glory to Joe”.
AY:
You’re exactly right. This was a tough one to write without using four-letter words.
Re-Mark-able…….. There is just so much to say, but my anger would not be acceptable to the blockable terms in WordPress……