Distractions

I went to Ann Arbor this weekend to hang out with GoBlue! and Keebz to sample the fine football culture that is the University of Michigan.  I intended this blog entry to be an amusing travelogue of the bars and restaurants of Ann Arbor, expecting to write of story of stumbling home through a haze of bratwurst, marzen, and whiskey. 

Well, actually, that’s pretty much exactly what happened.   After watching the start to the college basketball season on TV at GoBlue’s house, we sipped whiskey flights at my favorite bar, Ashley's.  From there, we were drowned by an enormous 9-piece beer flight at the Jolly Pumpkin Tavern and Brewery.   Steve also introduced me to Conner's, an Irish pub with murals of James Joyce (I am happy to report that they serve Guinness properly with the appropriate waiting time).  Finally, I finished long after midnight at the Heidelburg, a German pub with an arched roof rathskeller straight out of the Beatles' Hamburg day (Marzen.  Fantastic.  No idea what brewery.  Who cares at that point?)

It was a great weekend and I wish I could write of only that.  But the tragic and stunning developments in State College have dominated the psyche and the headlines of college football, and I am obligated to comment. 

Let me start with the few elements that are not in dispute.  The real victims here are the many children who have had their psychology permanently disturbed and have been robbed of joy of childhood.  Gerry Sandusky is a very ill, evil man who does not deserve any pity.   Athletic Director Tim Curley and Senior VP for Finance and Business Gary Schultz had ample opportunity and legal duty to notify the police and have an investigation initiated in 2002 when then graduate assistant coach Mike McQueary witnessed sexual abuse occurring in the locker room shower. 

Other parts of this story are more confusing and open to interpretation.  Events unfolded quickly this week.  On Wednesday, the board of Trustees terminated the employment of University President Graham Spanier and Head Coach Joe Paterno.  A few members of the State College community reacted. ….… poorly.  The question that reasonable to ask is: should Spanier have been fired?  Should Paterno be allowed to finish this season and then retire?  After reading the indictment, reflecting on mandatory reporter laws, and considering the entire context of Sandusky's behavior, I believe firing Spanier and Paterno is justified and essential. 

I do not condone, but I understand the emotional reaction of the students to Paterno's firing.  In a way, the Nittany Lion family is going through the Kubler-Ross stages of grief.  The first stage is Denial ("Sandusky is a slime!  JoPa did what was required of him- he turned it over to his superiors").  Then, Anger: the riots of Wednesday night.  Next, bargaining ("JoPa needs to leave, if he retires after the end of the football season, that would be ok").  Before one can reach Acceptance, one goes through Depression.  That is what we saw this weekend: the candlelight vigil, prayers and flowers outside the Paterno home, and a prayer at midfield amid a stadium in tears.  Playing the game against Nebraska, despite the loss, is a solid start to the healing process. 

How did we get to this point?  The indictment (http://www.crewof42.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Sandusky-indictment.pdf) details the facts of the case as discovered by Pennsylvania Grand Jury.  But they are not laid out chronologically.  Look at the sequence of events again is this timeline constructed by the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/11/11/sports/ncaafootball/sandusky.html).  You'll notice that the 2002 incident witnessed by McQueary is in the middle of the sequence; there were many episodes prior to that.   The question to ask here is: what did Joe Paterno know about Sandusky and when did he know it? 

On New Year's Day in 1998, Sandusky brought a boy to the Outback Bowl with the team (even listing him as a family member for the travel documents!).  Later that year, he takes the boy into the locker room and showers with him, making advances.  The boy's mom asks about the wet hair when he gets home and he tells her what Sandusky did.  She called the police, wore a wire when confronting Sandusky, and an investigation commenced.  Remarkably, the Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar chose not to prosecute.  We can all speculate on how he made this decision (especially weird because Gricar disappeared in 2005 and is presumed dead!), but one thing is clear: Joe Paterno was aware that lurid accusations were made against his then-Defensive Coordinator. 

The following year, Paterno told Sandusky that he would not become Head Coach.  It is reasonable to surmise that Sandusky's odd behavior was at least a factor in this decision.  Sandusky announced he would retire at the end of the 1999 season, which culminated in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas.  Sandusky also brought a boy to that game, again listing him as a family member.  We now know that Sandusky sexually assaulted this boy repeatedly in the team hotel in San Antonio.  Although no one could have known of this activity in the room, it would have been obvious to all that Sandusky had brought along another young boy.  Paterno would have seen this and must have known about the investigation the year before.

Sick.  Wrong.  Creepy.  Yes, all three

I detailed those allegations from the indictment to provide the proper context for the 2002 incident.  (I'm skipping the 2000 incident witnessed by the janitor as this was never reported and the boy was never identified).  In this case, McQueary witnesses Sandusky raping a boy in the shower (described as "rhythmic slapping sounds").  He informs Paterno what he saw and Paterno in turn informs his superior (the AD and Senior VP for Finance and Business).

At this point Paterno has completed his legal duty.  As an educator (coach or teacher), he is a "mandatory reporter"; he is obligated to report any suspicion of child abuse or neglect (as a health care provider, I am also a mandatory reporter, but more on that in a moment).  Once he has made his report to his superior, under Pennsylvania law, he is done.  Here’s the explanation: http://news.yahoo.com/psu-scandal-stirs-debate-over-abuse-reporting-laws-210836127.html.  Under Iowa law, by comparison, have to ensure that a report is made to child protective services, which in my case is the Department of Health Services (DHS), but I don't have to make that report myself).  As we all know now, Curley and Schultz chose to cover up the allegations and did not make a police report (Dicks.  Creeps.  Assholes.  Yes, all three.  But we covered that already).  So the big question is: should Paterno have noticed that the police were not informed and should he have ensured that to happen?

Yes and no.

A little background here- I have made similar reports before.  Fortunately, child sexual abuse is relatively rare and I have only been involved in a few cases.  These situations are turned over to a specially trained sexual response team and they take it from there.  Once I call this team, I have minimal interaction or knowledge of the case.  If the police or out other authority chose not to prosecute, I wouldn’t even be aware of it.  Much more commonly, I see cases of suspected physical abuse or child neglect.  These happen more often than you want to believe.  In these cases, we admit the child to the hospital (a kind of protective custody) and I direct the Social Workers to make a report to DHS.  After that, I usually get very little feedback.  If DHS determines the child’s environment is safe, I can’t really do anything about it.  My point here is that, as Joe Paterno did in 2002, I would report the case and leave it to others.

Does this mean that JoPa did all he could do?  Of course not.  And he should have done more.  He knew full well of the allegations in 1998.  He had reason to be uncomfortable with Sandusky’s work with teenage boys.  And now he was told of a witnessed sexual assault.  He knows full well that the police were not notified by Curley and Schultz.  And he should have said or done something about it. 

Not yet convinced?  Ok, I hear you. I was still unsure at this point.  So I went to discuss the case with my Social Worker team in the ER.  We reviewed the mandatory reporter law and I described my experience with not doing anything more if DHS drops the case.  I described my ambivalence about JoPa’s actions, and then my colleague made a great point.  She said, “He knew all this and yet he still allowed Sandusky to come to their sports camps.”  Sandusky met his final victims through his Second Mile charity and in high school football practices.  It is tragic enough that Sandusky abused all those boys in 2002 and before, but then to have access to more is simply unconscionable.

Therefore, Paterno needed to be fired.  Its very sad that the legendary career ended this way, but it had to end (and only weeks ago I was cheering the record breaking win!). 

And what about President Spanier?  That’s easy.  He was Schultz’s boss.  He’s responsible for Senior VP’s actions.  You’re done.  There’s the door.

Saturday began the healing.

Chanting “We Are Penn State” before at the game must have felt so good.  A week of shock and horror needed a moment of holding hands and reaffirming that you are part of a larger community.  That you are so much more than one twisted child molester.  That after a prayer at midfield, you are ready to heal and accept the love of nation that is just as shocked as you are.  Let’s get back to football and autumn afternoons and bratwurst and game day pancakes and underdogs and upsets and marching bands and all that is good in this world.

Today we are all Penn State.

Fight on, on, on, on, on,

Hans