It’s been a pretty pathetic week in sports with the Joe Paterno/Penn State drama, the NBA lockout going on and Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos being kidnapped in Venezuela.
At times, spectator sports – amateur, collegiate and professional – sometimes needs to put into their proper context in society. For me, they serve as a diversion to life and entertainment – nothing more, nothing less.
However, this week, I’m learning in a very blunt fashion, that sports are a ruthless business and those who run it are in it more the power and prestige, rather than for altruistic reasons.
The aforementioned sentence is a pretty well-known statement; alas, it’s now been taken to a whole new, disgusting level over the past few days. I know better to believe big-time sports in a Pollyana-ish view, but I cannot believe what is going on in Happy Valley.
Big time sports can be an ugly business; however, when scandal erupts at a university – a place for higher learning – it’s beyond appalling. A university should be run with education and preparing students for the real word, not like a multi-national corporation.
I have a co-worker who loves the Nittany Lions, now he is pretty despondent and reacted to the news of Joe Paterno’s firing like it was a death in the family.
My little sister went there for a while and she’s absolutely disgusted that Paterno and the upper brass of the university have let the entire community down.
It’s just sad.
