DAILY BEAST: As the school is rocked by scandal, many claim it seemed mainly concerned with protecting its reputation. Jacob Bernstein and Jessica Bennett on Penn State’s closely guarded secrets. Plus, profiler Mary Ellen O’Toole on the difficulty of identifying predators…
The university’s inaction has drawn comparisons to the Catholic Church—another institution where monsters were protected as they preyed on the vulnerable. Like the papacy, there appeared to be a code of omerta and patriarchy. And like the papacy, Penn State was terrified of what might happen should a scandal taint its sainted image…
At The Philadelphia Inquirer the experience was similar: inquiries from reporters were met with disdain from the school and its legendary coach, who obsessed about his Nittany Lions team “as if it were a wartime army.” That’s how staff writer Frank Fitzpatrick put it in a recent article, saying: “The reputation for integrity that Paterno and Penn State developed has been a shield of sorts. It deflected criticism and potential problems.” … (more)
