Sour Grapes

So I'm watching television and I see that Penn State hired a new football coach finally.  They decided to hire a guy who has no ties to Penn State football.  He has no head coaching experience.  He's pretty much the most not-Penn State person you could have hired outside of me.  Actually, I have a Penn State jersey I bought for 2 bucks at a yard sale, so there's my affiliation right there.  The backlash from it is amazing.  Many of the best Penn State players ever are absolutely upset over this.  LaVar Arrington basically said he's denouncing his Penn State life completely because of the hire.  I'm sure there are so many that believe Joe Paterno shouldn't have been fired in the first place that are not too happy with this either.  All I have to say is this, shut up.  Do you understand what the ramifications of who you hire are?  Do you understand what the last regime put themselves and others through?  Did you forget that CHILDREN were hurt and abused and everyone was completely silent about it?  Penn State is a college first.  This is the mission of Penn State taken straight from their website:


Penn State is a multicampus public research university that educates students from Pennsylvania, the nation and the world, and improves the well being and health of individuals and communities through integrated programs of teaching, research, and service.


At no point in that statement does it say ANYTHING about hiring a football coach you like.  Penn State is about education, not football.  Yes, you have a tradition.  However tradition takes a backseat to CHILDREN being abused.  Football takes a backseat to justice.  The people who want your football program to succeed have a duty to provide a safe and truly moral standard for any student coming into that campus, NOT JUST THE FOOTBALL PLAYERS.  Sorry about all the caps, but this bothers me to no end.  To not take into consider at all the victims of these heinous, evil crimes is both selfish and ignorant.  These people have to understand that in order to get the prize recruits to become a prominent national power again, they're going to have to avoid any and all stigmas associated with the last regime.  As hard as it is to understand and accept, Joe Paterno failed to provide a safe and morally correct environment.  If someone from the last regime is there, you're pretty much going to lose any and all prize recruits.  The first question asked by a parent will be, "so what role did you play in this Sandusky thing?"  I'd rather hear, "I was in New England, coaching Tom Brady", as opposed to, "I was there, but I didn't know much."  You have to take everything into consideration with these kinds of things.  Have some respect for Penn State for going outside of the "family" to improve the well-being of not only the football program, but the college itself. Not just recruits for football were affected by the scandal.  I'm fairly certain that a lot of kids that wanted to go to Penn State before the scandal are pretty anxious about being associated with the school now.  Understand what everyone is dealing with before you spout off about family.  And while you're at it, think about the families hurt by the evil that happened.