The Penn State scandal cannot and should not go away. But it is now joined by the Fine Case of Syracuse basketball. While the extent of the allegations (8 victims and 40 counts of abuse at Penn State vs. 3 victims and no official legal charges yet at Syracuse). The cases have similarities:
- A long time, well-respected assistant coach at a very successful, big-time college sports program
- Initial denials by administration and other coaches
- Abuse is of at-rick boys, who have little or no other voice to support them
- Abused boys were allowed to "sleep over" at coach's house with little or no supervision
- Abuse was originally investigated years ago, but not believed or pursued with vigor.
People with a lot more time and resources than I have will undoubtedly explore these similarities over the next few days. The questions we should be asking are:
- Are there other scandals out there waiting for someone to believe them? The accusers in the Syracuse case brought their allegations years ago (2002) and no one believed them. They are of questionable character, to be sure, and the primary victim of abuse also had sexual relations with the abusers wife, as well as trying to extort money from him years after the abuse.
- What are the conditions that exist/should be avoided that made this type of abuse possible?
- How can we create a system that allows us to believe accuser/victims without opening up coaches and institutions to unfounded allegations?
- Is it possible to have a successful division I athletic program over a long-period of time without creating a separated sub-culture of exceptions for the athletes?
More questions will be asked an answered. For now, Syracuse is not Penn State. Boeheim is a highly successful coach, but not the campus godfather that Joe Paterno was, and consequently did not wield the same kind of power that Paterno did. There has been no grand jury investigation at Syracuse (though the police and the FBI are involved). That said, the abuse is similar, and the conditions are at least somewhat comparable.
Shame on Syracuse (lack of institutional control again?).
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