NCAA Restores Joe Paterno’s Wins: An Abuse Survivor’s View

Last Friday, the NCAA settled with Penn State and removed the last of the sanctions it had imposed on the school in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal. Over the last few years, there had been argument and even lawsuits as to whether the NCAA overstepped its boundaries in imposing the sanctions in the first place. In addition to removing the last of those sanctions, the settlement also frees up the $60 million the school was fined. It’s unclear to me in reading numerous news stories in recent days if those funds are to be used in childhood sexual abuse prevention or in compensating the victims in the Sandusky case or both. If it’s the former, I applaud; if it’s the latter, I don’t know how a monetary value can be assigned to the damage done by sexual abuse. Also, maybe I’m biased because there’s no possibility I’ll ever be monetarily compensated for the sexual abuse I suffered as a child, but I don’t think I’d want the money. I can’t see the connection between being given money and healing. I don’t think there is a way to compensate for the damage done. Money doesn’t even come close.

As part of the settlement, the 112 wins that were stripped from Penn State, 111 of them also stripped from Joe Paterno, were reinstated, once again making Paterno the coach with the most wins in major college football history. I don’t follow college football much, but apparently that’s a very big deal.

It’s unclear exactly what Paterno’s role was in the Sandusky case. He passed away in the midst of the investigation. It is clear, however, that Sandusky’s pedophilia was first reported in 1998 when police investigated a report that Sandusky had showered with a young boy. What did Paterno do when he found out about the investigation?

Mike McQueary, the former Penn State assistant coach, testified under oath in court that he told Paterno in 2002 he had witnessed sexual acts between Sandusky and a boy in the Penn State locker room. Paterno told his athletic director. Why didn’t he call the police? Why didn’t he insist Sandusky be fired? Before he passed away, Paterno himself said he regretted he didn’t do more. That’s hard to swallow.

You might be surprised to know I don’t disagree with reinstating the wins. Not for Paterno’s sake…definitely not. But stripping those wins away punishes every kid who played on that team from 1998 to 2011. That doesn’t feel right to me. Those kids earned those wins. How does punishing them help the victims in any way?

As far as Paterno, though, his actions/inactions during those years are exactly the same as the horrific betrayal of every person who allows abuse to happen to a child. As an incest survivor, I can tell you that betrayal causes a wound even deeper than the wound of the abuse itself. I can think of my abuser as evil or sick, but the betrayal of the person who looked the other way and allowed it to happen, just as Paterno did, well…there is no excuse for inflicting that kind of wound.

I think it’s unfortunate that in the minds of a lot of people, reinstating the wins somehow exonerates Paterno and reinstates his shining legacy. The players deserve the wins, so I can’t argue with the settlement. Paterno may once again be the winningest coach in major college football history, but he will always be the sorriest of men.