McCreary quandary: Do the right thing or box with god?
November 12th 2011 14:44
My father always had a great saying to live by. He said "Don't worry about what the world thinks of you, worry about what you think is right" I have lived by this modicum. In school when I studied criminal justice I constantly lobbied for the injustice of the incarceration rate of blacks to my grades detriment. Recently I've argued about being underpaid to the detriment of my job. What I am getting at is there is always a cost to being right. McCreary problem was that he did not want to pay that cost.
Penn State's sex abuse scandal has dominated the news headlines all week. Public sentiment has gone from shock to anger to looking for everyone to blame. The first domino to fall was Joe Paterno on Wednesday and University president Dr. Graham Spanier. On Thursday, mass calls from radio shows and the Penn State campus went to call for the head of one of the only whistleblowers in the whole scandal Mike McCreary, to either step down or be terminated on sight. McCreary recently was granted a leave by the trustees at Penn State. I think the trustees are the only ones to understand the great obstacles that McCreary has had to go up against.
McCreary reported to a grand jury that he witnessed former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually molesting a 10 year old boy in the shower. He told his father and then told Paterno who told McCreary "he would take care of it" This resulted in the telling of Sandusky "not to bring kids on campus."
Could McCreary have done more? There is no question that he was part of the systemic problem at Penn State that allowed a pedophile to keep attacking victims under their jurisdiction. His dilemma was more than the outside world to comprehend. His dilemma was does he do the right thing and take on two legends on campus or does he continue his career?
Most who have commented this week say they would have done the first option. They argued that it is a grown man’s responsibility to report an unnatural act on a child and to go six years with this burden on your chest is unfathomable. Since they have put themselves in Mike McCreary’s shoes all week I would like to cement them.
Imagine you were a graduate assistant coach who was recruited by Sandusky and Paterno. You played your four years garnering their trust and attaining a second career as a coach. You revere these men even after Sandusky retirement in 1999, you know he is still a well-respected figure on campus. Besides this every other building you go into is named after Paterno, not to mention the statue that was resurrected in his honor in front the stadium. Then you witness what you did and report it to Paterno to no real response. So do you go up against Paterno get fired receive death threats and there is no saying that Penn State won’t pay off the victim so it will be your word against Sandusky or do you stay quiet and continue your career?
Understand this is not excusing McCreary actions at all. People with great personal convictions have fought injustices throughout history. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X both lost their lives to fight for people and be heroes. My complaint is McCreary didn’t want to be a hero he wanted to stay employed.
Penn State's sex abuse scandal has dominated the news headlines all week. Public sentiment has gone from shock to anger to looking for everyone to blame. The first domino to fall was Joe Paterno on Wednesday and University president Dr. Graham Spanier. On Thursday, mass calls from radio shows and the Penn State campus went to call for the head of one of the only whistleblowers in the whole scandal Mike McCreary, to either step down or be terminated on sight. McCreary recently was granted a leave by the trustees at Penn State. I think the trustees are the only ones to understand the great obstacles that McCreary has had to go up against.
McCreary reported to a grand jury that he witnessed former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually molesting a 10 year old boy in the shower. He told his father and then told Paterno who told McCreary "he would take care of it" This resulted in the telling of Sandusky "not to bring kids on campus."
Could McCreary have done more? There is no question that he was part of the systemic problem at Penn State that allowed a pedophile to keep attacking victims under their jurisdiction. His dilemma was more than the outside world to comprehend. His dilemma was does he do the right thing and take on two legends on campus or does he continue his career?
Most who have commented this week say they would have done the first option. They argued that it is a grown man’s responsibility to report an unnatural act on a child and to go six years with this burden on your chest is unfathomable. Since they have put themselves in Mike McCreary’s shoes all week I would like to cement them.
Imagine you were a graduate assistant coach who was recruited by Sandusky and Paterno. You played your four years garnering their trust and attaining a second career as a coach. You revere these men even after Sandusky retirement in 1999, you know he is still a well-respected figure on campus. Besides this every other building you go into is named after Paterno, not to mention the statue that was resurrected in his honor in front the stadium. Then you witness what you did and report it to Paterno to no real response. So do you go up against Paterno get fired receive death threats and there is no saying that Penn State won’t pay off the victim so it will be your word against Sandusky or do you stay quiet and continue your career?
Understand this is not excusing McCreary actions at all. People with great personal convictions have fought injustices throughout history. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X both lost their lives to fight for people and be heroes. My complaint is McCreary didn’t want to be a hero he wanted to stay employed.
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