Spanier's Humanity Adds to the Black Parade of Failure in Happy Valley

Were it not so tragic, it would be a riveting study in almost complete systemic failure. The Penn State tragedy- and yes, it should be called the Penn State tragedy- continues to reveal example after miserable example of professionals charged with maintaining safe environments and/or responding to danger within them, utterly failing to do the right thing. Almost every single time, and over 15 years.While many label Mike McQueary a particularly key failure for not physically intervening when he saw Sandusky raping a child, I don’t even count him. What McQueary saw constituted a traumatic event. While every decent person wishes he had done more for the boy being victimized, McQueary reacted the way far more of us would than we might admit or even suspect. Ultimately, he did what he needed to do and went directly to the top of the empire that is Penn State. That godlike figure did the bare minimum required of him and washed his hands of it. I never bought Paterno’s explanation that amounted to ‘I’m an old fashioned guy who couldn’t imagine the rape of a boy by a man.’ Paterno was anything but naive and navigated the very adult world of a multi-billion dollar industry for decades. He made the choice to punt what he was told to “superiors” who were anything but superior to him. Those two, AD Curley and VP Schultz, apparently sanitized what was actually said to them by McQueary, and further stocked a minefield for Happy Valley boys by imposing an unenforceable ban on Sandusky with regard to PSU facilities.Former Penn State President Graham Spanier signed off on this deal with the devil, and now, it appears, also agreed with Curley and Schultz that the “humane” thing to do with regard to Sandusky was to not alert authorities to what they knew. Whether this was blind and misplaced loyalty, a deeply cynical bargain to protect the Brand, or something in between, the decision of these sophisticated and highly educated men doomed far more than we’ll ever know.But even that cold and feckless response was bookended by stunning sets of failures, beginning (as far as we know) when Victim 6 returned home in 1998 and informed his mother that he’d been made to shower with Sandusky. When PSU police were alerted, a sting was set up and a detective actually listened to Sandusky acknowledging showering with the boy, not denying touching his genitals, and admitting it was wrong. Then, two psychologists interviewed the victim, one concluding that Sandusky’s behavior was classic grooming and the other (with some of the most dubious reasoning I’ve ever encountered) concluding the opposite. But somehow within the response and follow-up, the report crediting the child’s account never reached the case worker, and perhaps the DA as well.Around 2007 Victim 1 was stalked by Sandusky, this time at Central Mountain High School where Sandusky was a volunteer coach, apparently with the run of the place. Vice Principal Steve Turchetta, it appears, had his suspicions about Sandusky but they were never enough to keep Turchetta from dutifully, and without the knowledge of the boy’s mother, calling him out of class for private meetings with the coach. The  boy finally broke down and disclosed to Karen Probst, the school principal, who alerted his mother. According to her, Probst advised that she “think about" the gravity of the allegations before deciding whether to report them further.  This after listening to a broken, desperate boy disclose a nightmare. But I suppose there was brutal logic behind Probst’s subtle warning: Sandusky was untouchable. Victim 1 was merely the latest in a long line destined to discover how much.We know of 10 victims. With a career of study and professional experience, I’d bet a fortune there are far more. No system is perfect, and different systems with varying responsibilities made decisions with regard to Sandusky.  Regardless, within them it was the choices of professionals- not children or untrained bystanders- but educators, law enforcement and child protection professionals, that dropped the ball and thereby shielded Sandusky for years. Whether or not he is convicted now, it is those systems he thrived in that need to be put in his seat next.