Dr. Mohler explains a change that is being made today in the policy manual for the institution he leads:
No one thought it would end this way. Joe Paterno, the legendary head football coach at Penn State University heard of his firing by the school’s board of trustees by phone last night. Just two weeks after achieving the most wins of any NCAA Division One football coach in history, Paterno was fired. His firing — a necessary action by the Penn State board of trustees — holds lessons for us all.
Almost a decade ago, a graduate assistant told Coach Paterno that an assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky, had been observed forcing a young boy into a sexual act in the school’s football locker room showers. Sandusky was himself a big name in Penn State football, and he was considered a likely successor to Paterno if the head coach had retired. Sandusky also ran an non-profit organization for boys, and he brought the boys onto the Penn State campus. He continued to do so even after his own retirement from Penn State’s coaching staff.
Read the rest here.
This whole sordid story sickens me. Coach Paterno and the others did exactly what pedophiles count on — nothing. Pedophiles have an uncanny grasp of human nature and they know that people are revulsed by their actions, and thus are hesitant to speak up. Why? Because most pedophiles appear as upstanding, friendly, helpful people. It’s impossible for ‘regular’ people to believe that the nice man across the street, or the priest who serves communion, or the middle school band teacher, or the college football coach could actually be molesting children. Most people erroneously believe that pedophiles are dirty, unkempt, drug-addicted Neanderthals when in fact the opposite is true. It’s time for America to take the blinders off, grow a spine, and report sexual abuse of children immediately.