Penn State covered for Rene Portland and protected her while she ruined young women's lives, and Paterno, who ran that place, covered for Sandusky and allowed him to ruin young boys' lives. Comparing Geno's case to Penn State's debacle is ridiculous, they are nothing alike. And I've spoke with MANY Penn State grads who feel the same way; that a degree from Penn State has been tarnished because of what has happened.
Kait, PennState did not "cover" for Rene. They did not move quick enough for some and yes, people suffered and were scarred terribly. 100 years ago Oscar Wilde was jailed for being gay, others were killed like Matthew Shepherd in 1998. Penn State slowly and steadily tightened the rules until it was possible for what occurred in the end to happen. Pressure from the student body helped that occur. Pressure from the faculty helped that occur. Finally, when the discrimination rules were in place BOTH at the university and at the state and federal level it, actually, became possible for a group like NCLR to back Jen Harris in her suit and force Rene's leaving PSU. it takes time to change the laws. In the mean time it falls to the rest of us to provide care and support.
As I said you did not grow up through the era when such things were the norm because issues of sexual orientation were treated a moral and psychological defect. It was abhorrent, cruel, and tragically quite the norm. One cannot live history backwards applying the insights and values of today on situations 2 and 3 decades past. As much as I hated the her actions Rene was defending a position that was absolutely consistent with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church then and now. It is, also, the right of the Catholic Church to defend its teachings and had Rene been coach at a private school accepting no federal monies she would have had the right to enforce rules consistent with the church's teachings. Those disagreeing are free to disassociate.
Ironically, trying to push Rene and Sandusky into the same moral spectrum is an inappropriate approach because Rene would have despised Sandusky's actions for the same reason she did not want lesbian athletes on her teams.
Christian denominations that are addressing these issues today and are welcoming folks across the rainbow are suffering and struggling with membership losses because other members see those congregations as abandoning 2000 years of the church's teaching and struggle to reconcile the various Biblical teaching which are often in conflict with societal reality. Churches both led the civil rights movement and the resistance to civil rights, the same is true today.
