In Defense of Penn State

This is a short essay on why I can't distance myself from Penn State football, despite the tragedy of November 2011.

Football in Pennsylvania is divided into three parts. On Friday nights, people all over the keystone state will watch their local high school teams compete. Saturday is devoted to the local colleges and universities that compete and Sunday is strictly saved for the NFL. That was how I always knew it. 

I am from the western part of Pennsylvania, AKA Steelers Country. As funny as it sounds to some, the Steelers are a source of pride to the residents of the Pittsburgh region. Perhaps it has something to do with fact the Steelers were an awful football organization until they became a dynasty in the 1970's winning four super bowls. But as a child growing up in Pennsylvania, there was always one more source of pride for me as a young football fan and that was the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Some might be curious why I'm not a Pitt football fan. Well, I'm not saying that I wouldn't root for them if they were having a good season or even if they happened to make it to a national championship game. I would be openly supporting them. But Penn State has always been my team. The Pitt/Penn State rivalry means absolutely nothing to me since they did not play each other for over a decade. 

Penn State always meant more to me. It was probably because of the fact they were always more of a contender than Pitt. Maybe it was their uniforms, which had been unchanged basically since the 1950's. Or, maybe it was because of legendary head coach Joe Paterno. Truthfully, it was a little bit of everything, but probably had more to do with Paterno than anything.

JoePa was a source of state pride, especially in State College where Penn State University was located. Paterno was just a regular guy. He often chose to walk across campus from his home to his office. Even on game day! He even had his phone number in the book after national success. So many people can recall a personal encounter with Joe. That was why he had so much support from the alumni at Penn State. But it is also why after November 2011 I was doubting my support for PSU. Allow me to explain.

Everyone knows the story of how in November 2011 a former PSU football assistant was arrested for sexual abuse of a young boy. It was reported that officials within the university had attempted to cover up the alleged crimes by not reporting them to police. This included Paterno. The university became the target of a national scandal and under pressure PSU fired Paterno as well as the university president. At the time I was in favor of all of these moves. Now not so much, but I will touch on that later. 

My feelings that November were of shock, anger and embarrassment. I thought to myself almost constantly during the entire scandal that Paterno must have had us all fooled. "How could he do this" I would keep saying to myself. By the time the national media was calling for Paterno to either resign or be fired, I was in favor. I was so ashamed to be a Penn State fan, that I decided I couldn't support them anymore. I had a PSU hat that I threw away. I vowed to never root for PSU again. I was embarrassed to the point that when my girlfriend had gotten me a Penn State hoodie for Christmas, I almost told her that I wanted to get rid of it. But then I realized that it would probably not look very good on my part if I told her I didn't want her gift, so I kept it and I am glad that I did so.

After time went on I realized that I didn't hate Penn State, I now hated Paterno. A man who had given his life to PSU and making it a better place, must have become more concerned about his legacy and his football program that he neglected to tell the police about this alleged sexual abuse. I vowed that I while I wouldn't openly root for PSU, I certainly wouldn't root against them being that these current players had nothing to do with a scandal that had occurred years before they were even at thought. 

But then something funny happened. After the Freeh report was released, which was the report funded by the PSU board of trustees as an investigation into the alleged cover up, people began to voice displeasure about the report. There had always been devout Paterno supporters who believed the man was a saint and could do no wrong. I was not one of those people. In fact, I felt Paterno should have retired a few years prior so that PSU could still land a big name coach to replace him. Regardless, former players and alumni, most notably Franco Harris, who was also a legendary Steelers star, openly supported Paterno even though they faced opposition. At first I thought people like Harris were nuts. I thought the man clearly did wrong and there is no point in trying to support him through it. He covered up for a pedophile and that was that. But in recent weeks I have come to a different conclusion on this matter and have seen my pride for PSU restored.

After doing some research of my own I found out that Paterno had actually reported this alleged crime to his superiors, at least that was what ESPN was reporting. They stated that was the minimum required for Paterno to do, but that he should have reported to the police. What they did not tell you was that one of them superiors he did report to was the head of PSU police department. Some may say he should have gone to local police or even the state police, but regardless if something happens on a college campus that needs police intervention, campus police are the first responders and then the higher authorities step in. I didn't know this in 2011. Truth is the jury is still out on Paterno and we may never know what he really knew, but now my opinions of the man have changed to the point that I think he got a raw deal. He spent 61 years of his life trying to make Penn State a better place and with the national media ascending on State College, PA that November, it is easy to see now that PSU folded under the pressure of the media scrutiny and simply did something to appease them. I actually remember the first day of ESPN's coverage and without having all of the facts, they began asking if Paterno should be fired or resign. Sara Ganim of the Patriot News in Harrisburg, PA actually was the reporter that broke the story and won a Pulitzer prize for her work. ESPN came under fire for their poor handling of their coverage of the scandal. I think that says a big part of the story right there.

It has almost been two years since the scandal rocked Penn State and the nation. I have a change of opinion as well as others in the national media, most notably Bob Costas. If anyone is going to shed light on any wrong doing in the scandal, it will be him, but if he is saying we need to take another look, I believe he may be on to something. 

As for me, I am back to rooting for Penn State. I realize it might not be the most popular thing, but Bill O'Brien has done an outstanding job with PSU since the sanctions and scandal. He is the one that has restored pride and is making people like me believe again in PSU. 

Football in Pennsylvania is a rite of autumn. It's a part of the fabric of our region. For me, Penn State was a part of the fabric of my life and I can't cut it out. Regardless of what happens to the legacy of Joe Paterno, I am a fan of the current Penn State football team.