Nasty Little Man

JoePa, rape, and the culture of athletics

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno stepped in it last week at the Orange Bowl when commenting on the case of Florida State's AJ Nicholson, who was accused (not charged yet, by the way) of sexual assault and promptly sent home by FSU head coach Bobby Bowden. When asked about it, Paterno said this:

"There's some tough -- there's so many people gravitating to these kids," Paterno started. "He may not have even known what he was getting into, Nicholson. They knock on the door; somebody may knock on the door; a cute girl knocks on the door.

"What do you do? Geez. I hope -- thank God they don't knock on my door because I'd refer them to a couple of other rooms.

"But that's too bad. You hate to see that. I really do. You like to see a kid end up his football career. He's a heck of a football player, by the way; he's a really good football player. And it's just too bad."

The National Organization of Women (NOW) of PA called for Paterno's resignation, and the commentators have been chiming in. Most have recognized the insensitivity of the remark. Nancy Eshelman of the Patriot News suggested that it was the ramblings of a batty 79-year-old while Walt Moody of the Centre Daily Times thinks Paterno is nearing his Woody Hayes moment.

In sports, we have come up with the term "Woody Hayes incident" to describe when a coach does something to get himself canned. The aging Ohio State legend was fired the day after belting a Clemson player who made a game-clinching interception in the 1978 Gator Bowl.

Paterno would never strike a player -- although he has been known to chase down a referee -- but if he has a "Woody Hayes" it will be in front of a microphone.

He's said some other incendiary things over the past few seasons -- remember wide receiver Tony Johnson "didn't do anything to anybody" when he was charged with DUI.

How long will it be before he says something that can't be spun with the "Just Joe being Joe" or the "out of context" excuses?

That's something no one wants to see.

There are two different topics being discussed here. One is rape and sexual assault and the justifications that have been used over the years to excuse it, i.e. "she asked for it". Clearly, Joe whiffed on this and should apologize.

The other issue is the one that Paterno was really trying to get at and that is the culture around big-time college athletics. It can be overwhelming, and Moody noted this, too:

Having seen Paterno enough over the past few seasons, my guess is he took the question as an opportunity to express his frustration with the number of people who hover around college players. There were plenty hovering at the Penn State team hotel in Miami Beach.

I spent a season broadcasting minor league baseball in North Carolina. It was low-A ball, so the players were young, ranging in age from 19-23. These guys, at a low level of pro ball in an obscure Southern town, had groupies, and they did not handle it with dignity, to say the least.

As the patriarch of the PSU program, my hunch is that this culture frustrates Paterno.

Clearly, he misspoke, in light of the allegations against Nicholson, and should apologize. But I'm certain his intent was not malicious. This is not an offense worthy of ending his career. Hopefully, he won't commit such an offense in the future and will be able to retire gracefully.

posted by Kinder Gentler Little Man @ 7:28 PM