Why aren't we just as mad about Syracuse?

Three men have accused former (recently fired) Syracuse assistant head basketball coach Bernie Fine of molesting them as teenagers.  Though there are some clear differences between this situation and the nightmare at Penn State (mainly that the police investigation has just begun at Syracuse, while at Penn State, there has been a grand jury indictment handed down), the number of outraged columns and angry TV segments has been far fewer, in a case where there charges are just as damning.

The comparisons between the two situations on the surface are obvious; Bernie Fine and Jerry Sandusky were the top lieutenants to two icons of college sports (Jim Boeheim and Joe Paterno).  All signs point to the fact that both men used their positions of power in the most inappropriate way possible, by sexually assaulting young people.

I admit Sandusky’s use of his charity makes his actions appear more reprehensible; however, levels of moral wrongdoing always come out in shades of gray (put another way, who is to say we know Sandusky is worse than any other child molester?  They’re all sick people, all just as morally bankrupt and sick as each other). 

The sexual exploitation of young boys is horrific, no matter how many times or how the deed was done or the circumstances surrounding the situation.  Crime pervades society because it all stems from a thought, often a sick thought brought to action, if someone gets away it, they will repeat it until they’re caught.  This is what we saw in here, and such situations truly are the pits of society.

The moral outrage over the actions of Sandusky and all of the pathetic bystanders was palpable and warranted.  The media and the public at large both viewed the situation as disgusting, as they should have.  The coverage of Sandusky’s actions crossed over beyond the platform of sports journalism, it was being covered by CNN, even MSNBC, the self-proclaimed place for politics, broke rank and covered this sports story. 

Why?  Because this story was more than just sports news, it was news and it showed us the flaws of humanity, not just because of Sandusky’s actions, but also because of the Penn State student’s reaction.  How can a place be so far out of step with reality that they have put a football program and a man on such a pedestal that no matter what happens he cannot be taken down?  These are questions we will likely never have a real answer to.  That makes good news, so it was getting covered like crazy by every type of news outlet. 

Even David Brooks of the New York Times weighed in on the situation, talking about the bystander effect and why, despite the anger people felt towards all who had known and could have stopped the situation from furthering, there’s no guarantee they would have actually stopped it themselves.  A morally chilling thought and the kind of deep analysis and thought such a situation deserves.

After a while all the pundits, and some right away, discussed this story through a common frame.  They felt that we should focus on the victims, pray for the victims, and not allow the machinations of the story over shadow the fact that children’s lives were inextricably changed.

So, if that should be the focus and was the focus, why can Bernie Fine, Syracuse legend and program builder Jim Boeheim’s top assistant, get away basically scot-free from the same media and public who was so outraged at the actions of Sandusky because of what it did to the kids?  If the focus truly had been the kids, the level of outrage would be just the same.

I know it’s early in the story, I know the story is much more shaky, I know that it’s weird that such a similar story would come out directly after the Sandusky saga, and that’s why the elite media has stayed away from it (aside from the early reporting by ESPN).  But the story certainly deserves more attention than it’s been receiving, because if the lives of children were changed, and even somewhat ruined forever, that story deserves to come to light, period.  And stories that deserve to come to light must be covered.

Why aren’t we just as mad about the situation at Syracuse?  I really don’t know, but I do know that we should be.