The Price of Ignorance

This past Thursday saw the release of Penn State's independent inquiry on the handling of allegations against Jerry Sandusky, who was convicted last month of 47 charges relating to sexual assault.  You can read all 267 pages of the report here but the main take-away is former Athletic Director Tim Curley, ex-Vice President Gary Schultz, former president Graham Spencer, and former head football coach Joe Paterno conspired together to conceal the allegations against Jerry Sandusky.  The report has left a maelstrom of controversy and debate surrounding the university.

Attorneys for Curley and Schultz claim the report is lopsided and have continued to state they acted appropriately on what they knew.  However, the report cites among over 430 interviews that a janitor who witnessed one of the rapes said he was afraid to report it to police because it meant he would have been fired.  He said "football runs this university" and if Joe Paterno, who Jerry Sandusky worked under, didn't like someone, they would be gone.

The report also shows how these four top officials made no effort to mention a criminal investigation into Sandusky to the Board of Trustees from charges in 1998 and 1999.  None of these four, Paterno even having an office just feet from Sandusky's, made an effort to discuss Sandusky's conduct with him nor prevent him from bringing children onto campus.

Whether or not these men knew the extent of the truth is still up for debate, but what is evident is they did not want to know.  Joe Paterno passed away in January, leaving his family to issue a response to the report, but before passing had admitted that he wished he had done more.  His family defended him, saying he reported what he had been told and had left it up to higher administration to "do their jobs."  If true, this is still concerning considering there was no follow-through by him on an employee under his supervision.  One would think it reasonable that if a supervisor had an employee under an investigation, they would have an interest in the outcome of that investigation.  This "pass the buck" attitude shows that even if Paterno didn't know what was going on with Sandusky, he didn't want to know.

So then what is the price of ignorance?  Eight known victims of sexual abuse, the tarnished career of a hall of fame coach, pending charges against the university's top officials, and an immeasurable amount of damage to Penn State University's reputation among others.  All of this occurred because people decided they would be happier not knowing.  That's why victims need to be believed, regardless of a person's standing, reputation, or negative publicity.  How much of this could have been avoided if only people had believed the victims and were willing to put them ahead of a reputation?