If you have ever said, thought,
shouted or even denied that “We are Penn State,” then this statement is for
you. Regardless of how you judge the
coach or the university administrators involved, there is no question that
terrible things were done in the name of Penn State football to young boys who
did not know what was coming to them.
Great wrongs were committed, and we don’t even know truly to how many or
for how long. But you can know for sure
that there are boys out there angry and in denial, confused and alone because
of the abuse they received when all they wanted was a father who loved them to
showed them a game they wanted to play.
A season of penance is required.--a
season in which we do not indulge in the euphoria, the rush, the unified cheer
of football. The great wrong must be
righted. We cannot go back to cheering
and partying as if nothing had happened.
We cannot push all that aside and carry on as if it were all just the
same as before. We must make a statement
of disavowal—that we refuse to accept the sins that were committed against
innocent fans. As fans we speak out for the youngest and most vulnerable among
us who were abused.
An act of penance: so for the next
season we refrain from celebrating, from giving ourselves over to the euphoria
and excitement of cheering Penn State football, and we do it in a disciplined,
orderly manner so as to make our moral statement clear—that we abhor what was
done in the name of Penn State football.
No matter what your religion, no
matter what your commitment to Penn State football, you know that we cannot
continue as if nothing happened. We must
make show our moral fortitude, we must purge ourselves of this crime. Disavow the spectacle for one season.
