Dear Coach Paterno

As the sun sets on your forty-six year career as the coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions, and the heinous actions of one man can no longer be hidden by the passivity of others, please consider this: Perhaps you were called to something greater than football. Perhaps there is another team for you to lead.

You see, there are thousands of institutions and organizations who don’t know how to respond in the wake of sexual abuse allegations. They have no game plan and their opponent is relentless.

Lead a new team. Teach others what you’ve learned. This may be your opportunity to coach more men and women than you ever did in the history of your career. This may be your opportunity to leave a legacy far greater than you could have asked for or imagined. Perhaps for such a time as this you’ve been placed into this world.

Coach Paterno, it’s the fourth quarter, your team is down by six, it’s your turn to call the play. Only this decision may not just affect a season, but years to come.

Speak No Evil

“He was a good man. Everybody loved him. He was a deacon in his church, and when he died, his funeral was packed.”

She blurted out the words as she told me her story,

Confusion outlining her face,

                                                  Torment highlighting her eyes.

I can only imagine what it was like for her to sit through holidays and reunions,

Hearing the living sing praises of the dead,

                                                         Pretending all is well,

                                                                           Knowing he was good,

                                                                                           Understanding he was bad.

He was a family member. And because she loved him and her family, she didn’t speak of his evil, and no one ever asked.

And she did as children often do,

She protected the guilty,

                                          To protect the innocent.

Perhaps to some, she would be considered a hero.

                                                                    She hid the crime.

                                                                                              She took one for the team.

But should sin ever be protected?

                                 Should a child ever bear the wounds of a hero?

                                                                     For the sake for the family?

                                                                                          For the sake for the team?

Perhaps if someone would have asked, she would have told. And she could have laid down the wounds long carried. And someone would have been a hero,

                                                       For the sake of the child,

                                                                         For the sake of the family,

                                                                                               For the sake of the team.




When was the last time you spoke to your child about sexual abuse? Be a hero.




Image'>http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=3062">Image: David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net