Briggs' Thoughts on Penn State Scandal

The following op-ed was written by Henry Briggs, a former president of Malvern Borough Council:

The strongest commandment among the adults involved was "Thou shalt not rat." It is rampant throughout our society, from elementary school to the "Blue Wall" to Wall Street, trumping "the Golden Rule" and other moral imperatives.

In the Babel of the self-righteousness and chest beating, has anyone noticed that some of the alleged perpetrators have denied the charges? How different is the mob of kids at Penn State, who ran rampant through the campus in defense of Paterno, from the mob of adults who have already convicted him?

Grand Juries exclude defense attorneys from the process; they're not allowed in the room. A grand jury simply decides on the need for a trial. It does not decide guilt or innocence.

National tradition considers a person innocent until proven guilty by a jury of their peers. In this case the "suspects" have been found guilty by a mob of their peers. The evidence sure points to guilt, but what happened? Do we now lynch before looking?

Similarities between Penn State and the Catholic Church? It's a lot harder to turn in a friend and mentor than some unknown person. Fans, Paterno, Sandusky and McQueary share the bond of Penn State football. The difference between this and Catholic priests? None. They, too, have bonds with their peers, parishioners and superiors. Obviously pedophiles must be stopped, but it's not always so easy - for Catholics or football fans.

Differences between Penn State and the Catholic Church? When the Penn State Board of Trustees discovered the crimes, they acted immediately; when the Vatican discovered the crimes, they instituted cover-ups that spanned decades. Penn State is one university among thousands, who, presumably, don't allow the sodomizing of boys; how many Catholic parishes, diocese, etc... let this happen? This case involves one adult at Penn State acting over 10 or 20 years; we'll never know how many priests did the same thing or for how many decades.

There are fine people and programs at Penn State.  Who's going to remember that when they go college shopping?

The taxpayers of Pennsylvania will pay an enormous amount of money for the lack of leadership and moral fibre of a few at their state university.

Can the inevitable suits against Penn State even be tried in Pennsylvania? Surely the jury pool is tainted. And will judges, who are state employees, have a conflict of interest?

Wouldn't it be great if this triggered a review of college football, if colleges got together ``for the purpose of reaffirming their intention of continuing intercollegiate football in such a way as to maintain the values of the game, while keeping it in fitting proportion to the main purposes of academic life'' ?  That's what 8 colleges did in the late 30's in forming the "Ivy League".  These are considered the best in the country. They got there without the $71 million Joe Paterno brought Penn State each year. Wouldn't it be great if college presidents could be paid as well as their football coaches?

People don't start out to be corrupt. They start on the bright side by "cooperating" with others. "Cooperation" becomes "co-optation" when they are manipulated into doing things they know are wrong. After that, it's a small step to the dark side and full "corruption". You see it every day in politicians and commerce.

It's just a little harder to see when the perpetrator wears a halo.

[Edited 11/15/11, 1:25 p.m., to correct that the author is a former president of Malvern Borough Council. Previous version incorrectly identified him as a former mayor.]