A Sporting Chance

It seems that whenever we mix adults and children in sports, the arts, clubs or religions, the pedophiles come out of the woodwork. These preventable tragedies happen over and over, but we don't seem to learn from them.

Children don't want to tell because they think they won't be believed. Adults don't want to tell because they are afraid they will lose their jobs. That's why pedophiles get away with their abuse of the innocents in our country.

When does the reputation of an athletic program, a theatre company, a ballet company, a social club or a religious center become more important than a child's life?

The warning signs have been shown to the public, but we don't want to get involved. And that's the bottom line. It's taking chances. It's stepping up to the plate and blowing the whistle. And, again, this is what the pedophile counts on. These monsters hope that we will continue to cover for them and pass the buck.

That's why we saw the Penn State University students rioting when they first heard about these outrageous actions by their coaches and President. They were disgusted with the administration. But, dumping a media vehicle over was not a good reaction on the part of the students, because it appeared as if the they didn't want the news to leak out and spoil the "important" game the following day. The student vigil the next day was much more appropriate, because it spoke to the victims of the cover up.

However, I think the comment that made me the angriest was when Coach Joe Paterno said, "Let's pray for the children." How dare he make such a hypocritical statement? Was he praying for the children when he took part in the cover up?

If Paterno had done his job of reporting Coach Jerry Sandusky to the cops when he first heard the allegations, there would have been fewer victims. But Paterno supposedly followed the chain of command and reported Sandusky to the university's President, Graham Spanier.

So, it was left to Spanier, who if he had been a real MAN and reported Sandusky to the legal authorities, instead of passing the buck by retiring him early, some innocents at Sandusky's "Second Mile" program could have been spared.

In the final analysis, this is where our federal government needs to take over and protect our country's children. It seems each state in the union has differing laws on the protection of children from pedophiles. That's why these monsters can continue their horrible deeds. They can just jump state lines and do it, again and again. We must also have an easy way of vetting the people we hire or appoint to be in charge of our children. We shouldn't have to go to the FBI to find out information or take the word of a former employer.