NCAA Creates Breath of Fresh Air to Waft Over Stench of Penn State and Paterno

July 23, 2012 - PRLog -- Optimism for the victims of Sandusky and the cover up by Penn Sate and Paterno can only come from changes in the institutional culture that allowed the abuse to go on for more than a decade; not only the institutional culture of Penn State but also every other institution of higher education in the country.

Until every janitor, graduate assistant, or other vulnerable employee of these institutions can feel supported instead of threatened for reporting an instance of observed or suspected child abuse, the culture will not have changed.

In my opinion, the NCAA action brings hope of the possibility of real institutional culture change on this issue.  While the NCAA is of these institutions it is also above them and thus has the leverage to turn hope for the victims and end of abuse into the reality of optimism that this heinous act can be curtailed and future victims protected.

In a prior blog post, I wrote about a case of child abuse in an institution of higher learning that occurred some 25 years ago and about which I had direct knowledge.  In that case the local police and the administrators directly in charge of the perpetrator were able to have that individual removed from his job, but not before the university top echelon claimed the individual was not their employee, referring to the issue as an assault; no mention of sexual abuse of a minor.  The institutional cover up was swift and protective of image, all at once.

In the end, the public never knew what happened, the victim was cognitively impaired and thus became an unreliable witness.  The police had a trail of evidence implicating the perpetrator in child abuse cases all across the country.  While the perpetrator lost his job, he was never convicted, received a years back pay upon threat of law suit, and went on unencumbered to possibly find other employment around unsuspecting children whom he could continue to abuse.

Meanwhile, the ultimate aftermath and “slap in the face” came in the form of a reprimand of the administrators who first became aware of the incident, made proper report to authorities and removed the individual from his job.  The reprimand came from the university that had claimed a year earlier he was not even an employee.

In its cover-up, just like Penn State, the institution showed no regard for the victim or other future victims.  When the institution acted to protect its own reputation it protected the reputation of the perpetrator allowing for unbridled abuse to continue.

I raise up this past case to show that these incidents are not unique to Penn State or the Catholic church.  Every institution of higher education is vulnerable and until they act to change their culture around this issue, there will be no hope for the victims and the lifelong suffering they experience.

The NCAA action against Penn State should be a wake up call for every institution of higher education in the country to create and write explicit policy regarding child abuse, its reporting and follow-up.  Just as we did with “sexual harassment” training for the workplace in the 1980’s, we need to have every employee go through “child sexual abuse” awareness and training in these institutions.

Only then will the culture change and hope can turn into the optimism that change is possible and can happen.

I congratulate Penn State for immediately agreeing to and signing off on these NCAA sanctions instead of engaging in some pessimistic and protracted legal battle.  In this decision, Penn State has acted responsibly to take a leadership role in self-correction and change.  Perhaps in four years they can become a national leader for the prevention of child sexual abuse on campuses of higher education.

http://www.optimismnow.com/optimism-blog/2012/7/23/ncaa-b...