Is the Media Whitewashing Joe Paterno?

I'm outraged over the media coverage of Penn State former football coach, Joe Paterno, who died recently of lung cancer. All of the news coverage I've seen is all about the "legacy," "ethics," "values" and "successful career" of the "Legend." In the midst of a flurry of condolences, there are glaringly none for the young boys who allegedly suffered -- let's call it what it appears to be -- rape. Come to think of it, I'm not just outraged; I'm disgusted and deeply saddened.

No media condolences or empathy for the ruined lives of these young men. No mention of the physical and emotional pain and anguish they likely carry with them for the rest of their lives. In the midst of accolades for a famous coach who admitted he knew about the rapes going on -- likely repeatedly, and never told the police a thing about it -- empathy or compassion for the victims is glaringly missing. There was a line "1/4 mile long" according to ABC News, of "10,000" according to The New York Times, to honor Paterno at his wake on Tuesday. You don't see tears for the victims in the eyes of the multitude of mourners gathering around Paterno's statue at Penn State. No tears for the boys who have to read the plaque that says "Educator, Coach, Humanitarian."

I spent a good part of the last few days looking for any media mention about the many young men who suffered abuse and Paterno's silence, and found little or none. Yes, Paterno claimed to report the initial incident to his immediate superiors, and later in hindsight after his firing and just before his demise, to his credit, said in an interview he "should have done more." That's about all there is -- and that's just a footnote to the lede "Fallen Legend" Paterno glorification.

On "ABC World News with Diane Sawyer," reporter Dan Harris called Paterno "the mythic embodiment of success with honor." What honor? That's my favorite TV network newscast, but please Mr. Harris, keeping forced sodomy quiet, protecting the "legends" of Penn State football is not honorable in any way. I do give Harris and ABC a little credit however, Harris reported, "after he died on Sunday, many of his fans and players said they thought it was not just cancer that killed him." Matt Millen, NFL Analyst, said on-camera "he died of a broken heart." But ABC went on to report that the legend's son, Jay Paterno, denied it, saying "Joe-Pa was completely at peace."

On the new "CBS News This Morning," which I also like, Paterno's son and daughter appeared live Tuesday, introduced by Erica Hill saying "Joe Paterno's career was cut short..." Perhaps it should have been rewritten to say that the functional lives of the alleged victims were cut short and irreparably damaged. New co-anchor, Charlie Rose, said to the young Paternos, "Our condolences. Talk about his legacy." Does Rose mean Paterno's and Penn State's legacy of shame? Daughter Mary Kay Paterno-Hort: "He always taught us commitment and loyalty... He was always concerned about other people." Obviously the commitment was to the university and its mega-million-maker football program. It appears Joe Paterno's human concern was for the coaches and university's reputations, at the expense of the young men who suffered for years.

When Ms. Hill asked son Jay Paterno about the former Penn State president and trustees attending services, he seemed shocked, "the focus (on Penn State officials attending the services) takes away from what we are trying to do in the next couple of days. We are celebrating a 61-year career at Penn State. We're celebrating 85 years of a life lived at a very high level of integrity, of morality, loyalty to Penn State."

Integrity? Morality? Loyalty? If indeed his legendary father knew about the recurring rapes in his football team showers and only relied on an assistant to report it only to lower-level school officials, and only once -- and then never said another word of follow-up on the problem -- can we call that "a very high level of integrity, of morality?"

Alleged sexual abuser Jerry Sandusky, of all people, contributed to the media disgrace quoted in the New York Times, "Joe preached toughness, hard work and clean competition. Most importantly, he had the courage to practice what he preached." Clean competition? Practicing morality? Call it gross denial.

I do appreciate the football players left in the middle of the scandal, who observed a moment of silence for the victims of sexual abuse before the game right after Paterno was fired. At least that was mentioned in Paterno's New York Times obituary, but only in a middle paragraph. So many more column inches were published about Paterno's Legend, "Many alumni and fans remain upset with the board over Paterno's firing and how it was handled. 'He was a human being and he made mistakes like everyone else,' said Samantha Gyurko, a 19-year-old sophomore from Bridgewater, N.J. 'I don't think his legacy should be tainted by one mistake.'"

The Associate Press, and Sports Illustrated's website reported that even President Obama offered "condolences and prayers" to the Paterno family. Not to the rape victims, though. I wish our president had at least mentioned the injustice and utter sadness of the whole mess.

I offer my condolences and prayers to the young men first and to those who ever suffered abuse of any kind, from trusted legends or not.

 

 

 

Follow Norris J. Chumley, Ph.D. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Jesusmysteries

Comments

[Justine 21]

04:14 PM on 02/11/2012

It's a lesson for every human being. Maybe you'll want to call it "karma". But when harm is done to one person - be it child abuse, domestic violence, rape, vandalism, theft, or even 'bearing false witness', laying blame among the 'innocent' - there is always more than one victim. It takes on the form of a plague, and humanity for as long as it exists will never have a cure.

My thoughts go out to all of the victims - the boys who were sexually abused; the boys' families who have to come face-to-face with this knowledge through the trials, news reports, print magazines in every check-out aisle, and online blogs such as this one; the people who have never reported being sexually abused and live with this knowledge alone everyday; the people who work/worked with sexual abusers like Jerry Sandusky and are put in a position that no one should have to be in which calls attention away from their own accomplishments; the families of those co-workers, current students, and fans who will always have to confront an issue when they themselves were never in a position to act and now have to defend the choices of the ones they love. What's done is done. Now is the time to heal and move forward with lessons learned - not look back with contempt; that only feeds the epidemic.

[iLdoRight]

01:19 AM on 02/05/2012

Though I don't know all the facts, situations like this remind me of an attitude that permeates so many establishments that had some exposure in a song done by Hank Williams, Jr. that had a line something like, "Lets cover it up, lets hide it before it starts to smell".

[Michele Somerville]

03:36 PM on 02/02/2012

Is the media whitewashing Joe Paterno? Yes.

[eVizions]

05:35 PM on 01/30/2012

This article made me laugh. I've been hearing Paterno bashers spouting off inaccuracies and conjectures for the past few months, and it's "articles" like this that feed that. The majority of the "facts" stated here are inaccurate. The author also ignores the current evidence about what really happened in favor of pushing his personal beliefs, and yet tries to pull them off as if they were facts. When you're willing to lay the facts out on the table, Norris, I'd love to listen to what you have to say. Until that point, however, please inform your readers that what you are writing is conjecture, not fact.

[John Smith 90125]

11:17 AM on 01/29/2012

>> I'm outraged over the media coverage of Penn State former
>> football coach, Joe Paterno, who died recently of lung
>> cancer. All of the news coverage I've seen is all about
>> the "legacy," "ethics," "values" and "successful career"
>> of the "Legend."

A lot of dubious people get a whitewash after they die. After Reagan died, nobody talked about Iran/Contra and the murder of Nicaraguan civilians. After Tim Russert died, nobody talked about media complicity and silence surrounding the two illegal wars. At least, not for a while.

What's really galling and disgusting character assassination of the dead who cannot defend themselves anymore, such as the relentless insults and lies after Kurt Vonnegut died.

Whitewashing shouldn't happen, we should tell the truth about who a person was, but it's going to happen anyway. On a positive note, I saw today an obit list for 2011, and for the first time one of the US media called Orlando Bosch a terrorist. Nobody did that when he was alive, despite his crime of blowing up an airplane and killing dozens of innocent people.

[rsttho557949]

04:19 PM on 01/28/2012

Its articles such as that should make people realize that there is a God of the Bible. If one looks at the lifestyle of Joe Paterno, it was not one of a megalomaniac. The man lived in a modest house, walked to work was married to same woman for his lifetime. He was approachable. Now if you told me that he was arrogant, lived in a huge gate guarded home, was divorced a couple of times and was using his influence to get some of his player out of hot water with the law, then you have a pattern that Joe Pa was about "him". I didn't see that. Seems o me that he was a humble and good man that would not have allowed a sexual/predator to go unchecked in his program.

But my point is this: it’s very difficult to please people but easy to please God. These phony false morality people want to make Joe Pa the villain in this story. He didn't rape anyone. One of the requirements to return to God is forgiveness (Matthew 6:14-15). I can understand why Jesus said that there will be many left knocking on the door trying to enter heaven- they don't have the forgiving heart (Matthew 7:21). My other point: God is not the figment of man’s imagination. If he was, He would be as cruel of they are. There would be no Jesus if man had “invented the story”. Man is not about forgiveness.

[thinkingwomanmillstone]

08:08 PM on 01/27/2012

Nicely summed up. Saint Joe did not have anyone's best interests in mind but his own. There are other incidents in his career where he was questioned about the behavior...including many counts of criminal behavior by his players...where he shut down the questioner entirely. There are also incidents within the university where Paterno maintained players were not to be subject to the same conduct standards and discipline of other students. The beatification of this man is insulting to the victims here...the children. Paterno wasn't a vicitm...he was an integral part of the system and climate that allowed these children to be abused.

[eVizions]

05:58 PM on 01/30/2012

Paterno more often held his players to a higher standard than other students. Now that his entire career has been put under a microscope and every detractor has been able to air their issues, I'm surprised at how little actually surfaced. If you put any other head football coach under the microscope like we have with Paterno, you'd find most, if not all, have a LOT more skeletons in their closets, despite the fact that none have a tenure close to the length of Paterno. Was he perfect? Definitely not, but to claim that he didn't have any one's interests in mind but his own is ridiculous, especially considering he was the only person involved in this heinous incident who actually followed protocol.

[strangegal]

01:36 PM on 01/27/2012

WE DO NOT KNOW ALL THE FACTS. One Day at a time! Playwright Larry Myers wrote a play
actually a cycle of plays called "Penn State Pentagram." Dr Myers is a Nittany Lion loyalist, fan of the teams, most praiseworthy of a superb institution. However, he also speaks for "40 Days of Prayer" which counsels victims of violence. He recently spoke at the anti-gun rally vigil honoring Mrs Gifford in San Francisco at Buena Vista Gardens. He read from his "2012 Brady Bunch/Guns."
He appeared at the Gutanamo Demonstraion with his ironic anti-torture play "Guatanamo Glamourin San Francisco ." He travlled to most East Coasrt "Occupation" sites penning a cycle "Occupation Preoccupation"
OUTRAGED BY THE ATTaCKS UPON INNOCENCE HERE & having experienced hideous stuff in his own life , he wrote a sixth play "Sandman & The God Particle."
Myers is a patriotic Presidential historian who runs the Global Theater at St John's University across the street from The World Trade Center, worked for "Crime Stoppers" in original incarnation , acting guru & religions authorit His plays dramatically, poetically & prophetically examine this from many perspectives. The Daily News has called Myers :"One of Off Broadway's Wittiest & More Prolific Playwrights." Page Six Celeb Page of the NEW YORK POST said "Myers is prolific quirky odd peripatetic... post Katrina, Post Joplin Tornado & Post Gulf Oil leak volunteer & taught theater arts at St John's prestigious Law School .. enlightened, informed, respectful and CLASSY!

[charlesrfd2003]

12:40 AM on 01/27/2012

One of the superiors was the head of the police. Further, Paterno had hearsay knowledge of one sexual misconduct. He did not have information of a rape. There is no evidence that he was aware of recurring rapes. This writer has ramped up the story. Also, if one reports something like this, one goes home and does not discuss it. One stays out of the investigation. Paterno is a headline but is not the substance of the story at Penn State.

Those who fired him did not even give him the courtesy of a face to face meeting. They threw Joe under the bus.

[loutrerouge]

03:44 AM on 01/27/2012

I have seldom seen such misplaced support as Paterno loyalists.

Paterno was a powerful man who failed to do his UTMOST to protect the powerless, full stop.

[Bob 267888]

05:48 AM on 01/27/2012

No it is not full stop. Joe Paterno is also a man who inspired loyalty based on 40+ years of doing the right thing on and off the field. Ask guys like Adam Taliaferro and Lloyrd Carr. I really wonder what exactly people who are upset about Joe Paterno wanted him to do. He received information about misconduct that by McQueary's own admission was not truly detailed. What exactly is the utmost that you want him to do. He is not a prosecutor, so he cannot prosecute Sandusky. He is not cop, so he cannot arrest Sandusky. People say go to the cops. Well, effectively he did. He took that information and gave it to his superiors, to include the supervisor of the campus police. So what else did you want? Some have said that he should have banned Sandusky from campus. But they fail to realize it was the Board of Trustees who gave Sandusky the retirment package that allowed him access to athletic facilities. So again, what exactly did you want Paterno to do. I agree that he should have followed up with the university after the reporting the incident, and have issues with him failing to do that. I have a sneaking, however, that what folks really wanted was for him to go screaming to the media in an effort to gather together a lynch mob to go after Sandusky. Kind of like what many of the media have done to Paterno.

[nittanycouple]

06:02 PM on 01/26/2012

Penn State students & alumni raised over a million dollars for the national abuse organization,

Penn State football donated their bowl game money...over 2 million dollars to help start a research, counseling center on campus..

Penn State university will build, & fund this center, it will be the flagship program in the country that hopefully will be the first of many across the country.

These are a few of the examples of what Penn state is doing for the victims...past & future.

To all of you keyboard cowards....what will you do?

WE ARE....PENN STATE,,,& PROUD OF IT !!!

[Joseph Schmoe]

07:47 PM on 01/26/2012

You keep chanting and hoping current good deeds somehow magically erase the truth. Let us know how that works out.

[Mr Muckle]

04:35 PM on 01/30/2012

A bit late, don't you think? The abuse went on for years on your campus. What about the criminal behavior of football players and the coverups? Was Paterno as unaware of that?

[dadoorsron]

05:41 PM on 01/26/2012

This has to be one of the worst articles I have ever read. A human being died. His name was Joe Paterno. He was a legendary college football coach. He ran the football program with standards that is a blueprint for other colleges to copy. In death you celebrate life. Reflect on the man’s career and the 1000’s of people that he interacted with.

I don’t recall, Joe Paterno being named as Sandusky’s accomplice or having anything to do with Sandusky’s situation. The only thing on record is Joe Paterno followed Penn States Policies. The problem there is action was not taken against Sandusky. Paterno in a recent interview did say he should have done more. Paterno’s follow up on the situation was poor, yet I blame the University for it’s “Keep it in the family” ideology. Ever college has that mentality. What should happen is every state should legislate that the Law over rules college policy.

The Victims are mentioned every time Penn State is brought up. However, your outrage is that the media is using terms that have been attached to Joe Paterno’s name for the past decade. Joe Paterno died and his only blemish on his record is not following up with the President of the University. You should of written a article about the inability of a college to ban a alleged sexual preditor from their campus.

[mimiinpa]

05:13 PM on 01/26/2012

I am not a Paterno supporter but find untruths in Mr. Chumley's words. He said that Paterno knew of recurring rapes when grand jury testimony said that he knew of one incident and that he was not told that it was rape. And he reported it to the athletic director and the head of Penn Sate police not minor officials as the author states. I am amazed at all the inaccuracies from the media about this scandal. Paterno was not charged with wrong doing and he did testify at the grand jury. Of course he should have done much more but please get the facts right.

[tpeserik]

04:59 PM on 01/26/2012

Right on with this article, because as we all know, Paterno was the only person who knew anything about the crimes & kept it to himself. Interestingly, McQueary did the same thing as Paterno: told someone up the food chain & then didn't say anything else. How come Paterno is the only one being vilified? I'm not defending Paterno's actions, but we've already had time to look at his crime. By the way, he wasn't the actual abuser. The man screwed up, but wasn't the only one nor was he the worst offender. Let him rest in peace now.

[phal4875]

05:12 PM on 01/26/2012

By what logic is Paterno the only one being vilified? The athletic director and the SVP both got fired. McQueary is probably finished in college football. We hear the most about Paterno because his name is the most famous, and he practically ran the geographic area called Happy Valley. He is a person who could have stopped the abuse if he had cared enough to do so. He informed someone in general terms and then walked away. Would he have done the same if the reportedly abused child had been his grandson?

[loutrerouge]

03:46 AM on 01/27/2012

His failure to act given the power and influence he wielded makes him an accessory after the fact on a moral level. A child rapist went free for TEN years.

[EStreetShuffler]

03:11 PM on 01/26/2012

I also can't get my mind around the idea of a grown man who claims to have great concern for young people not do more to keep young people from being hurt.

At the same time, Paterno was clearly a guy who affected a lot of people positively for many years.

So how do you reconcile those two ideas? Do you judge a person by his worst moments or worst judgment only?

I don't know the answer.

There are a lot of people we honor much more than Paterno who were flawed and made choices we would normally not find admirable. MLK supposedly had multiple affairs while he was married. How much of his legacy should include that in light of everything he did in the civil rights movement? Jane Fonda hung out with the North Vietnamese and sat on an anti-aircraft gun in 1972. Should she be judged for what she calls a "lapse of sanity" or for her other accomplishments? Woody Allen married a young woman who had essentially been his step daughter," though he was never married to her mom. Is he just a creep or one of America's great filmmakers?

There are no easy answers to any of this, but in the days after Paterno's death, I heard many sports radio types try to put some perspective on this and note that there are many victims of crimes that occurred under Paterno's watch, and that should never be forgotten.

[dvmweb1984]

03:06 PM on 01/26/2012

It is unfortunate that Mr. Paterno's tenure at Penn will be always colored by the onerous crime of child sexual abuse. This should be a lesson to all in power to watch your staff and players and to act appropriately in any wrong doing. The negative will always be found out, even if it takes a while.