Letters
Comparing Apples to Orange Bowls?
Dear Alibi,
[Re: Opinion, “Servants of the Pair of Cleats,” Nov. 24-30] So let me get this straight: One sick individual perpetrating a heinous crime while working in the profession of football coach is comparable to a decades-long and well-documented history of abuse by priests in the Catholic church? One shining example does not a pattern make. What am I missing?
You will get no argument from anyone that "child rape" is repugnant, reprehensible and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, but why are you crossing your fingers and hoping further cases will emerge to support your flimsy theory? Has football wronged you in some way? Or do you find the athletic prowess of others appalling in general? And why the fancy new term “child rape”? Did we not as a society understand the immensity of the words child molester or pedophile? Or does this new moniker help to re-elicit the gag reflex we all felt when we learned the lurid details?
I do agree that in both cases, these crimes against humanity were covered up to protect the assets accrued by those involved, but then shouldn't we direct our ire at money corrupting both sport and spiritual guidance? Or perhaps you could have investigated the work patterns of convicted pedophiles. Surely, more than one school janitor has been found guilty of these despicable acts. Research would help to confirm (or refute) your accusation of the fawning eyes of sports fans being complicit in this horrendous crime. Or maybe instead of attacking everyone's new favorite redheaded whipping boy, you may have delved into the body of psychological research that helps explain why a person responds the way they do when they witness a role model doing something unspeakable. This is not to say Mr. McQueary is absolved of his behavior, but it would further intelligent public discourse about the issue, instead of simply piling on the quarterback coach.
It seems to me the writer could have been a journalistic hero and given the readers of the Alibi some real content that would better our understanding of this problem instead of simply jumping on the sensationalism bandwagon.