Let see preface this entire post by saying that I don’t know what my own answer is to the question I’m posing: should Penn State cancel or postpone this Saturday’s home game against Nebraska?
But I think it’s one job of the blogger to provide a forum for relevant discussions not being had elsewhere, and whether the answer is “yes” or “no” I certainly think this question is relevant.
As you probably know by now, Penn State canceled its scheduled press conference with Joe Paterno earlier today, less than an hour before it was to begin. Over 150 media members were already there, waiting for their chance to question the coach about the Jerry Sandusky scandal, when the announcement was made that the press conference would not go on. (Reportedly, the cancellation of the press conference was not Joe Paterno’s decision. Relatedly, news broke right after the cancellation that Penn State is planning an exit strategy for the coach.)
My very first thought was this: if Penn State cannot even plan for and hold a press conference, when they have had plenty of time to prepare since this became a national story, how on earth can they put on a major college football game less than a week from now?
I wondered this from both a logistical standpoint and a moral/emotional standpoint.
So let me ask you, and then break down my own thoughts on it a bit further:
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Beaver Stadium image source: PSU.edu
There are many, many layers to this, so I do not think by any means that the answer is simple.
On the one hand, this is Penn State’s senior day, it is a game with huge ramifications in the Big Ten and national bowl picture, and canceling would negatively impact scores and scores of people who were in no way responsible for the heinous acts of Jerry Sandusky or the despicable enabling of Sandusky by Penn State’s athletic department leadership.
On the other hand, at least eight children are confirmed to be on the record with details of sick, evil abuse by Jerry Sandusky, and while the Penn State athletic department and university may not be wholly complicit in any of these acts (though at least one current member of the Penn State coaching staff saw one these acts actually being performed), a number of other people at Penn State, including even Joe Paterno, are at the very least implicit in the continued occurrence of Sandusky’s deplorable deviance after first learning of the accusations against him.
So I think you balance out any “unfairness” with the awful nature of what happened.
The question would be this: is canceling the game anything more than punitive? If not, what’s the point in canceling it? But perhaps it would be more than that.
Hosting a major college football game is no easy, thoughtless task. An athletic department and a coaching staff must be fully engaged in the logistics of the event. It seems to me that every ounce of spare energy and resource that the Penn State athletic department has should be focused on getting to the bottom of exactly what went wrong that allowed innocent children to be horribly abused in its buildings. If the game would take away from that effort, then perhaps it is worth canceling.
Again, I don’t know, although I’m leaning towards a postponement, at a minimum. I’m hashing these issues out in my own head as I type them. What I am more interested in are your thoughts, and certainly I’ll continue the dialogue with you in the comment section.
- What angles am I missing?
- What is the most prudent decision?
- What is the most moral decision?
- Should this even be an issue?
There are relevant answers on all sides of these questions, and I’d love to hear what you think.
I know this: I think Penn State has done right by its football program over the last decade and a half at the expense of a number of victims who are now scarred for life. If the university and its athletic department have to take some drastic measures as they try to get to the bottom of what happened and show some level of remorse, compassion, and decency, I’m okay with whatever collateral “damage” must be felt by people like Penn State’s seniors, who would miss out on a special day and rite of passage if this game were to be canceled. That would be unfortunate, but in relation to the rest of this story, it would be relatively insignificant.
The comment section is yours. I look forward to your responses.
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Update: Thanks to everyone for the responses below and the many responses on Twitter.
The final thought I’ve come to is that if there is some plan to where the time and resources freed up canceling the game could be put to good use in working through this issue, the game should be canceled; but I have no idea what that plan would be. Absent that, let the game go on, and certainly Penn State fans should support the players like they always would.
To the point, I present the screenshot below, which was sent to me by MSF writer Amanda Lawson with the following note: “From my friend who played for Penn State not too long ago. These past couple of days have been so rough on him. I think a lot of the players are in shock. He posted this on Facebook. It’s from a message board.”
(Click to enlarge in a new window)
About Jerod Morris
