Vox/Sandusky

I chose the stack on Transgender myths because honestly, I live a rather sheltered life and love taking any opportunity I can to learn. I was particularly intrigued by the card that explained gender identity in children, which I was honestly under a different impression of. I did not know that a child could determine a gender identity, considering their brains are not fully developed and they have experienced so little life. In terms of presentation, there are things that I both like and dislike about it. I like that the presentation is unique by the means of cards and that the colors blend well and seem appropriate for what the site is being used for. I also liked that you could see all the headlines in one screen so that you could easily pick what you wanted to read. However, I went to vox.com and could not find the cards from there, so if they are trying to gain attention and reads, it may not be the best idea.

When I first heard about the Sandusky situation, I did not know what to think about the situation. The news broke when I was in high school and if I’m being honest, I was not huge on the news in high school as I was too involved with my own athletic career to really spend time doing anything else. Pathetic excuse, especially considering where I am now. When I really took the time to learn what happened, I was disgusted. Purely disgusted. How could someone do that and how could someone else, someone so loved by so many, just let it happen? I was curious and wanted to know more, but also in too much of disgust to search for more answers.

Being a little bit older and a little bit wiser, reading the Patriot News now is even harder. I actually googled ‘Jerry Sandusky’ and learned based on recent news that he is now trying to appeal and actually appeared in court today. To me, that is just sick and cowardly. Why not take responsibility when all these people are scarred and suffering because of your actions? Reading the specific allegations are the hardest part for me, simply because of what they are; specific. Imagery, in this case, is not as welcome as usual. I commend Ganim’s reporting and I can only imagine how hard it must have been with her, having an even closer look at the case. As a women in sports media, I can only imagine the stigmas she encountered and roadblocks, considering the situation.

A look back at the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State

I don’t remember exactly how I heard about the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State, but I know I immediately took notice of the situation.

As a lifelong college football enthusiast, Penn State has always been considered one of the premier programs in the nation, and their longtime head coach Joe Paterno one of the sport’s most revered coaches. To have any situation cloud the program means it’s something to keep your eye on.To have this happen at the hands of someone Paterno kept on staff for over 30 years was a horrifying fact, even before it became painfully apparent Paterno knew more than he let on.

There was more than just one fact that jumped out at me from these stories. One that was certainly eye-opening was that the former district attorney who was involved in the case, Ray Gricar, had been missing for seven years and considered legally dead. Also, the fact that there was a sting operation involving Sandusky in 1998 that yielded some evidence but not enough is disconcerting to say the least. This turned out to be a string of what Ganim calls “missed opportunities” in which people had the chance to take down Sandusky but, for various reasons, were not able to follow through.

Reaction to Sandusky at Penn State

When I first heard about the Jerry Sandusky scandal I thought to myself, ” damnnnnnn.” I also remembering feeling a wave of different emotions: sad, scared, frustrated, disgusted etc. Growing up an athlete and playing various different sports, it was always my coaches I felt I could to if I was ever having problems outside of the sport. To think that a coach would take advantage of his players and sexually abuse them really made me sad, but also very angry. Also some of these boys were very young, which I find to be even more disgusting.

I can’t remember much else about what I thought about this case after the heat of it kind of died down, I know I was a junior in high school when it happened though. I will note that I didn’t think much of it until about a year or two ago I was watching Law & Order: SVU and there was an episode where a college coach was sexually abusing his players and even some of the high school recruits. This episode was definitely made after and about Sandusky. I also think there was another episode (maybe Law & Order: SVU) where another kind of coach was molesting his summer camp campers and they finally spoke up after about it years later.

What I find to be the most interesting and gut wrenching is how when Sandusky was first reported to having touched a player inappropriately, DiNunzio didn’t even speak to the child’s mother. It just blows my mind how schools will do anything to brush something under the rug, especially if it could hurt a sports team or their reputation. It’s also insane how long this was going on and no one did anything about it.

Sandusky Scandal at Penn State

In 2011, I was a junior in high school. The news about Jerry Sandusky rocked the news world and it was hard to comprehend. It was hard to comprehend how a scandal of this magnitude could happen and to children. I just remember feeling sick at the thought.

The quote from The Patriot News: “I’m infuriated that people would not report something like that,” she said. “I still can’t believe it. I’m appalled. I’m shocked. I’m stunned. There’s so many words. I’m very mad. They could have prevented this from happening,” wraps up the sentiment of how I reflect back on the Sandusky Scandal. It is disheartening that the truth took so long to come out and how many people missed the opportunity to come clean.

Penn State Scandal

Joe Paterno looked like my grandpa.

He always did. The big glasses and stern expression that melted into a smile so often. That’s how I knew him for years. After my mom lost her father when I was in eighth grade, we would watch the Nittany Lions and say, “hey grandpa” whenever JoePa was on TV. I was a closeted Penn State fan because Paterno looked like my grandpa, and like Grandpa Vic, he was a good man.

That was the hardest part for me when the Sandusky news broke. I did not know who Jerry Sandusky was, and I found his actions absolutely disgusting. Just another pervert terrorizing young men and ruining their lives, I thought. It was heartbreaking, but unfortunately on par with other scandals I had heard about growing up.

But, as more victims came forward and the magnitude of this issue became apparent, questions began to surface about the involvement of university officials and other coaches, namely Paterno, in covering up Sandusky’s crimes. I could not believe it and I still don’t accept the notion that he knew. It may seem irrational, but my mom and I had created a strange attachment to this man, and were devastated to think he could have taken part in hiding something so awful. We always say he died from heartbreak.

In terms of Sara Ganim’s work, I was shocked and grateful for her honesty. Explicitly stating the ways in which Sandusky abused his victims makes some of these stories difficult to read, but it was important for her to do so. As she stated, Sandusky was revered as a god in the eyes of Penn State fans and vague accusations of “abuse” would have likely been brushed off. I think this is a delicate balance with any controversial story. Also, what’s with the DA disappearing and being declared dead? I’d like to hear more of that story.

Sandusky reaction

Two things stand out in my mind with the Jerry Sandusky case:

2011 was the year that I joined Twitter, and the first time that I started to pursue and examine news in a more mature and nuanced lens. This mostly had to do with my age, but I think it’s interesting, especially since this is when the story came out.

I remember a lot of people I admire and followed on Twitter at the time posting the Freeh report, and encouraging people to read it to see just how far this went and the horrible things that went on without intervention. I distinctly recall getting to about three pages into it and it just being too much for me. I still haven’t gone back to read it, but that memory sticks with me.

What is most gut-wrenching about reading the coverage is how little was done to put Sandusky to justice before he finally was. This spanned over decades, and no one really did anything. Sandusky was protected in part because he was a public figure. The reporting is comprehensive and takes me back to when I first was reading the story. It is disgusting and terrible, and reading about it again brings up those feelings again.

Penn State Sandusky Reaction

When I first heard about the Penn State scandal, I wasn’t too intrigued. The story was sickening and disgusting. It reminded how people can put on a facade to reach a position of power and then abuse their standing by preying on those who are helpless and vulnerable. At that time, I hated hearing stories like this so I didn’t do any research. I would hear people talking about it and that was it. I kept in out of my mind and I in a way I was in my own state of denial.

When I got to college, I discovered ESPN’s 30 for 30’s and I was hooked to sports documentaries from that point on. About 3 years ago I watched “Happy Valley,” a documentary covering the Sandusky scandal. This was when I was able to get all the details and really learn about what happened. I felt justice was served in terms of Sandusky, but I still to this day remain on the fence about the decision to let go of Coach Paterno.

Looking back on it now, I was most surprise about how many people chose to ignore it. There are allegations stemming from as far back as 1998, but the Penn State scandal didn’t arise until 2011. And even then, he was allowed to continue running his 2nd Mile program and stay around little boys.

In the second article, I was surprised that some parents never reported the abuse to the police because they thought they were protecting their sons. But in actuality, they were aiding Sandusky and allowing him to continue his heinous crimes.

And one of the most shocking facts, was that Sandusky’s adopted son, Matt fought to stay with the Sandusky family when through the abuse. Its even more shocking that Matt’s suicide attempt and abused was published for everyone to see. Even though Sandusky is portrayed as the monster, I’m sure Matt was very embarrassed and ashamed.

Jerry Sandusky reaction

I was 15 years old when Jerry Sandusky was arrested, and at that point I consumed news mainly in the form of watching nightly TV news with my family. The most vivid memory I have of this case is how upset my mom was over it. She’s very much interested in sports, but she also has a strong moral compass and wants sports to be used as something that can teach children, like me at the time, about life. Obviously, the Sandusky case epitomized the opposite and she was disgusted that a coach could do the things he did.

Reading this coverage was interesting primarily because it repeatedly laid out the timeline of the entire situation. I don’t think I fully grasped the scale of that when I was 15. For me, the most gut-wrenching part of the whole situation is how many people know and the inaction of those individuals. It reminded me of how in Spotlight the abuse in the Catholic Church was described in ways such as people “looking the other way” or that “everyone was just doing their job.” One of the most effectively crafted pieces of these stories was in the fourth article on the site that lists how “McQueary’s eyewitness account became watered down at each stage” as it was passed along to each individual.

In the second story in this series, a mother of one of the victims mentioned how so many other people saw Sandusky as a God. That struck me because it proved how investigative resources need to be used even regarding those who are perceived to be “good people.”

PSU Reaction

When the Jerry Sandusky-Penn State case broke I was in high school. I really didn’t care much for college sports yet but my first reaction was “all of my friends who are penn state fans are going to be pissed.” That and I was appalled at how something like this is able to go on for so long without anyone saying or noticing anything.

After reading the articles from the Patriot, a few things surprised me. The first is how it was swept under the rug for so long when there was comparable evidence.

The second is the fact that so many people showed their pride. To me it displayed one of two things. The first is that they didn’t really care about what happened and just cared about a winning season. The second, however, is that they stand together as Penn State and will continue to wear the blue and white through the good times and the bad times.