Former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. (Associated Press)
Gazzolo: The cries went unheard for far too long
Last Modified: Sunday, June 17, 2012 9:54 PM
By Jim Gazzolo / American Press
It should have been the ultimate feel good story.
A grown man, successful in his career and a hero to a community, takes time out of his busy life to mentor and guide young boys who are searching for male role models.
Most of the boys were fatherless, but gave their trust to a man known to most as a helping, caring person with goodness in his soul.
What it has become is a sickening, sad saga of a man who turned that trust into evil.
As Jerry Sandusky sits on trial for sexually abusing the very boys who trusted him, we are left to wonder how it came to this.
All last week, we heard the cries of the boys who are accusing Sandusky of doing the unthinkable to them over an extended period of time that lasted well over a decade.
For the record, it should be noted that Sandusky is innocent until proven guilty. But, we will let the process make the final call on that.
What we really have to ask ourselves is why were the cries of these boys, which anger and make us feel ill now, went unheard for so long by so many?
That is what should scare us.
If these screams of horror can go unnoticed then how many other cries for help do we not hear?
Clearly, the adults let the children down. And that’s not just one adult and one child we are talking about.
An entire group of people let an entire community of kids down. They continued to keep boys in harm’s way despite the rumors and accusations that we now know took place on more than one occasion.
Unfortunately, when we ask the biggest question of where were the adults, we already know the answer. They were off watching football games.
We now know that those cries for help were muffled by the cheers coming from inside Beaver Stadium at Penn State, where Sandusky helped build a dynasty.
The assistant football coach continued to get pats on the back when he should have been given punches in the face. We can’t celebrate and punish at the same time.
More alarming is that the boys who testified this week said they kept quiet in most part because they didn’t think the adults would believe them. Makes you wonder what else we are missing by not listening to our youth.
Some have also mentioned that they were worried if they spoke up that the blame for bringing down the Penn State program might fall on their heads.
That tells us something even more concerning. These kids believed that a football game or program was more important than an individual’s life.
That might be the worst message of all.
Nothing should be more important than protecting children from the evils that lurk hidden in the darkness of not only the night but also silence.
Sandusky will be judged by a jury of his peers. The rest of us will be judged by how we listen to youngsters in the future.
Jim Gazzolo is managing sports editor. Email him at jgazzolo@americanpress.com
Posted By: Nikki On: 6/19/2012
Title: Nurse effects
Preach on, my brother! This is a sad, sad case. Worst part though, it could possibly be going on in more places than at Penn State. I very often pray for these young men & their families.
Posted By: j. driver On: 6/18/2012
Title: my grandson
My grandson was molested by a 12 year old boy an even after speaking with Detectives and Social Services who will not return calls to his mother nothing has been done. He spoke with everyone he had to and they even saidm he would only inow some of these things if it actually happened to him. And now he thinks he did something wrong, how do you help a child if the systen does not help,
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