It’s a Guy Thing at Penn State, and That’s a Problem - Commentary - The Chronicle of Higher Education
With the horrifying facts and allegations surrounding the Penn State football program still unfolding, I took it as a given that most people would share my moral outrage and, particularly, my shock that the athletic department did nothing to stop the victimization that reportedly took place within its facilities, and nothing to ensure that the man accused of such crimes be dealt with through the criminal-justice system. I took it as a given that these reactions were unqualified.
I did not see this moral certainty as having anything to do with the fact that I am a woman until I attended an event recently and had the opportunity to discuss the Penn State events with a group of acquaintances. I learned that while nearly everyone is outraged by what happened at Penn State, not everyone condemns those in the athletic program who did nothing to help the alleged victim of Jerry Sandusky’s “horseplay,” and who did nothing to ensure that the justice system would sort out whether Sandusky’s “touching” and “showering” with young boys amount to crimes.
In fact, what I learned from those who expressed an interest in helping me understand the supposed moral complexity of the situation was that, as a woman, I could not fully understand the pressure Penn State administrators were under, or the conditioning that goes on in a big-time college athletic program to keep secrets and respect the authority of the coach. And, of course, as a woman I could never understand the elitism that is a part of a legendary football program, so that when Penn State administrators were presented with the awful allegations, there were, according to those with whom I spoke, many ethical issues to consider, and many reasons why the administrators would keep quiet and conduct their own “investigation.” But consider this, as well: Not a single top decision maker in the university’s powerful athletic hierarchy is a woman.
The absence of women in power in college athletics is a fact of life within our education-based sports programs. It did cause me to imagine, however, whether such a fact is significant. That is, might things have been done differently at Penn State if women, or at least a woman, had a seat at the table when the report of Jerry Sandusky’s unspeakable abuse of a young boy was reported? Could a person not conditioned in the culture of traditional male-dominated sports hierarchies have made different calculations about how to react and what to report? I believe the answer to those questions is an emphatic yes.