Column: Speaking Truth to Power
John U. Bacon
College football coaches are far from the richest people in sports, but they could be the most powerful. That might seem far-fetched, but not to the disciples of Bear Bryant, Woody Hayes, and Tom Osborne, to name just three, who rose to become almost spiritual leaders at their schools.
At University of Michigan president James Duderstadt’s retirement banquet in 1996, he said being president wasn’t easy, but it came with some nice perks. He even got to meet the man thousands of people considered God. “No,” he said, “not Bo Schembechler, but the Dalai Lama.”
It got a laugh, but it also revealed how much presidents both fear and resent their coaches’ power, which can eclipse almost everything else on campus. The best that schools can hope for is an enlightened despot, one who keeps things clean – while winning ten games a year and beating their arch-rival.
Michigan has been lucky. Its biggest icons – Fielding Yost, Fritz Crisler, and Bo Schembechler – were not just revered, they were restrained, refusing to resort to the dirty tactics their opponents used on and off the field.
No one in the history of Penn State stamped the school more than Joe Paterno did. He led the Nittany Lions to five perfect seasons, and did it the right way. He didn’t spend a dollar to expand his humble ranch home, instead donating more than $4 million to expand the university.
As Mark Twain said, once a man earns a reputation for hard work, he can sleep until noon. Likewise, Paterno’s image eventually took on a life of its own, one so powerful no mere mortal dared question it.
The acid test was his former top assistant, Jerry Sandusky, who received the first formal complaint about his questionable conduct from a boy’s mother back in 1998. This introduced a pattern of reports, with all of them systematically squelched by Paterno and Penn State. Having seen Michigan’s coaches spend 16-hour days together – which is typical at that level – I find it impossible to believe Penn State’s coaches weren’t all too aware of Sandusky’s behavior, and the danger it posed.
Finally, last week, the avalanche of evidence became too great even for Paterno’s image to withstand. But it’s instructive to note this case was finally broken not by the people at Penn State, who had ample reason to take serious action more than a decade ago, nor by the conference or the NCAA, which have vested interests in keeping the good ship Paterno sailing along. Even the writers who follow the team never reported a thing, because doing so would cost them their access, the lifeblood of any beat writer.
When reporters asked Paterno’s fellow coaches what they would do in his situation, the tough-guy coaches turned wimpy surprisingly fast, refusing to criticize him even after the gory details began to emerge. One claimed he couldn’t say what he would do without knowing the “policies and procedures” of Penn State. This begs the question: How much do you really need to understand about any school’s policies and procedures to know instinctively a helpless boy must be protected, and the man punished?
Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo, much to his credit, replied more directly. Last week he had his eleven-year-old son join him on a team trip, and said the news from Penn State “sickens me.” Here’s to one honest man.
No surprise, then, that it was not any of the parties above that finally took concrete action, but the federal government. If self-policing does not work at one of the most respected programs in the country, can it work anywhere?
I have researched college football for almost two decades, and can say without question that this is the ugliest chapter in the sport’s long history. But until more people are willing to speak truth to power, no matter the cost, I’m afraid it won’t be our last.
About the author: John U. Bacon is the author of “Three and Out: Rich Rodriguez and the Michigan Wolverines in the Crucible of College Football,” currently on sale in bookstores. The book was recently No. 6 on the New York Times bestseller list.
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It’s interesting that you mention Jim Duderstadt. Here he is quoted in a recent column in the NYT by Joe Nocera.
I agree. Thoughts?
Dr. Harry Edwards made the same observation back in the 70s and 80s when black athletes was being recruited to play ball in major universities throughout the country. Many of these schools previously barred them from even attending their campus. Once it became known that these athletes could easily be exploited and the universities could make money off them, they went all out to recruit them. I’ve known athletes who have played ball at the U, got hurt and was discarded like a rag doll. I’ve known athletes who have played ball at the U who could not sit down and compose a simple business letter. Duderstadt is correct in his observation. While the situation at Penn is a shame, it is just as important for us to remember the exploitation of poor black boys in the college sports arena. Let’s not justify it be saying that they are given scholarships…an opportunity for a priceless education at a world class university and the possibility to play professionally. We know that college football is the money God because it finances all the other sports including the non-revenue producing sports in addition to making instant millionaires of the coaches but will punish a kid for selling “his” property.
Modest ranch: $595,484, location, location, location! He sold it to his wife for one dollar: [link]
Thank you very much John U Bacon! for doing the very important and brave work of pointing out that the Emperors and their Court wear no clothes.(Uncomfortable mental image – but it fits) And thank you to the readers who write and invite further discussion.(I would note, unfortunately,not a lot of folks stepping up to participate at this point)
Always VERY IMPORTANT stuff – speaking truth to power. Even more so when there’s a 600 pound gorilla in the room few are courageous enough to take on. Good for you, John U. – Power to U.
So John U Bacon,and all, whats the average person to do? I already do the un-American, non-loyal thing and stay away from the games. I do still wear my Michigan sweatshirt – maybe I ought to throw that away and stop watching the games. You know – hit where it hurts – in the pocket book. Perhaps in the end that’s the only way to strongly communicate – ENOUGH ALREADY!
Again,what does the average person do? Uncomfortable though it is, the citizens of the land are complicit in the fact that the Emperors and their Court wear no clothes.
All the more reason not to dismiss this topic and move our short attention span to the next hours hottest topic.
Again, as of this writing, the citizens of the land have fallen sadly silent. I hope that will change.
John, the truth is that much of the power stems from our use of money, which creates incentives for people (all of us to some extent) to compromise our integrity. Paterno used excessive wealth ($4+ million in donations) to leverage power to shape a system that denied the behavior in question. That’s not “the right way”, it’s the way of a money-driven system.
Nick: From what I can tell, this is his house. Here it is on a map. 4,000 square feet on 1/3 of an acre right next to campus (and adjoining a large park) isn’t what I’d call modest, but relative to his former income I guess it might be.