PSU: in the wake of the Freeh report

[the_archfiend]

Although this is the first post I've made on WTTFTG in a month (F***book and contributing to RationalWiki are taking up much of my online spare time as of late), nothing could be more timely than detailing the beginning of the end of the disgusting Penn State coverup of Jerry Sandusky's crimes. This link from Deadspin runs down the details of Louis Freeh's report on the ridiculous efforts by PSU's alleged academic leadership to do practically everything in their power except report Sandusky to the proper law enforcement officials. 

As you've probably read by now, Joe Paterno is far from the saint that some really stupid people (Franco Harris, anyone?) made him out to be. Some other stupid people (Matt Millen, anyone? No? How about Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett?) have some major issues concerning conflict of interest problems with Sandusky's victim farm (errrr...charity, sorry) the Second Mile Foundation as well. But the person who takes the "you don't shit where you eat" prize for ending up embroiled in a controversy he had absolutely no good reason to blunder into in the first place is baseball pundit Bill James, who stepped in a big pile of his own crap (examples here and here) before his bosses - the Boston Red Sox - told him to STFU, already. 

There's a difference between being a successful contrarian and coming off as a complete dope; James, unfortunately, seems to have grown tone deaf to what that difference actually is.

Comments

[unhipster.livejournal.com]

What is it about sports that turns people so fucking crazy? And, you know, morally abhorrent?

[the-archfiend.livejournal.com]

I strongly suspect that the old saw of "money is the root of all evil" is true here, even if the money only comes indirectly from wins on a college football field. JoePa (and PSU) got rich by dint of being involved in one of the most successful programs in Division I football, and anything that interfered with that (like, say, an assistant coach getting prosecuted for multiple counts of sexual assault against minors) couldn't see the light of day for that reason.

As someone who follows sports but doesn't consider it a religion, I'm made just as sick to my stomach by all of this as you probably are.