Penn State scandal reminds us of our ethical responsibilities
Published on Tue, Nov 15, 2011 by BY PAM STEVENS | MANAGING EDITORRead More Editorial
“Success with Honor” is the motto of Penn State’s athletic program, unfortunately those words were not taken to heart by the football coaching staff or even the school’s president over the last 15 years.
With the investigation into Assistant Coach Jerry Sandusky finding more and more victims of the alleged sexual abuse and discovering that there were so many who knew about the abuse, it makes one wonder how did these men sleep at night? Where are their values? Their integrity?
How do you go to work every day, as it seems assistant football Coach Mike McQueary did after witnessing Sandusky sexually assaulting a 10-year old boy in the shower, and look at Sandusky in the face, let alone have any respect for him on the football field?
According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, “McQueary told a grand jury that he witnessed former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy in a campus shower in 2002. McQueary did nothing to interrupt the violence and instead reported it to Paterno, who relayed the account to Penn State’s athletic director. The school never reported the information to law enforcement.”
The mother of “victim 1” went on Good Morning America and expressed her outrage at the lack of ethics by all of those who knew this was going on and did nothing to stop it.
“I’m infuriated … Even if they had the slightest inclination that anything inappropriate was going on it should have been reported, or at least brought to my attention,” she said.
I’m even more concerned about the students at Penn State who are appalled at the firing of Head Coach Joe Paterno. They must not understand the magnitude of what went on and how the lives of so many young boys and their families have been changed because of the actions of some very selfish men.
Having other adults basically stand by and do nothing to prevent it from happening again and again is a huge ethical breach.
Can they not understand that it was the responsibility of Paterno to call the police the second he found out about the misconduct?
It is unfortunate that Paterno’s incredible career had to end in such a scandalous way. Had he made the correct decision back in 2002, his career would still be in tact.
Edward Queen, on CNNOpinion said it best: “Under the tutelage of Coach Joe Paterno, the football program has never been sanctioned by the NCAA for a major violation and boasts one of the highest graduation percentages for athletes in Division I-A football. But just as a major program is only as good as its last win, so is one’s honor, one’s ethical status.”
Our ethics in this country are taking a turn for the worse and putting the career of a college football coach over that of the children he is charged with abusing is just one more reason our ethics should be cause for concern.
Did we not learn our lesson from The Catholic Church’s handling of priests accused of sexual abuse?
We are now seeing poll numbers rise for the recently accused Republican Presidential candidate hopeful Herman Cain after he was accused of sexual harassment. One more example of questionable ethics being ignored.
This country’s standards have been diminishing at an alarming rate and until we stop letting power and money take the forefront to criminal activity it will continue to happen and eventually our ethical system will be nothing more than a joke.
With the investigation into Assistant Coach Jerry Sandusky finding more and more victims of the alleged sexual abuse and discovering that there were so many who knew about the abuse, it makes one wonder how did these men sleep at night? Where are their values? Their integrity?
How do you go to work every day, as it seems assistant football Coach Mike McQueary did after witnessing Sandusky sexually assaulting a 10-year old boy in the shower, and look at Sandusky in the face, let alone have any respect for him on the football field?
According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, “McQueary told a grand jury that he witnessed former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy in a campus shower in 2002. McQueary did nothing to interrupt the violence and instead reported it to Paterno, who relayed the account to Penn State’s athletic director. The school never reported the information to law enforcement.”
The mother of “victim 1” went on Good Morning America and expressed her outrage at the lack of ethics by all of those who knew this was going on and did nothing to stop it.
“I’m infuriated … Even if they had the slightest inclination that anything inappropriate was going on it should have been reported, or at least brought to my attention,” she said.
I’m even more concerned about the students at Penn State who are appalled at the firing of Head Coach Joe Paterno. They must not understand the magnitude of what went on and how the lives of so many young boys and their families have been changed because of the actions of some very selfish men.
Having other adults basically stand by and do nothing to prevent it from happening again and again is a huge ethical breach.
Can they not understand that it was the responsibility of Paterno to call the police the second he found out about the misconduct?
It is unfortunate that Paterno’s incredible career had to end in such a scandalous way. Had he made the correct decision back in 2002, his career would still be in tact.
Edward Queen, on CNNOpinion said it best: “Under the tutelage of Coach Joe Paterno, the football program has never been sanctioned by the NCAA for a major violation and boasts one of the highest graduation percentages for athletes in Division I-A football. But just as a major program is only as good as its last win, so is one’s honor, one’s ethical status.”
Our ethics in this country are taking a turn for the worse and putting the career of a college football coach over that of the children he is charged with abusing is just one more reason our ethics should be cause for concern.
Did we not learn our lesson from The Catholic Church’s handling of priests accused of sexual abuse?
We are now seeing poll numbers rise for the recently accused Republican Presidential candidate hopeful Herman Cain after he was accused of sexual harassment. One more example of questionable ethics being ignored.
This country’s standards have been diminishing at an alarming rate and until we stop letting power and money take the forefront to criminal activity it will continue to happen and eventually our ethical system will be nothing more than a joke.
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