We Are.....Full of It!

So on a technicality, the Paterno's and former players are suing the NCAA! This story needs closure, and this is anything but. While this may not be their intent, it comes off insensitive & baseless. But, collegiate athletics is big business. Seems selfish & misguided to me to drag this on when Sandusky was indeed found guilty of multiple sexual assaults on young boys & is in jail. As a state employee, I am obligated to be a 1st responder if a child's livelihood could be in danger. Didn't all of the staff & administration @ Penn State have that responsibility as well (it is called Penn State University right)? Why Joe Paterno's legacy has become the focal point of this sordid affair is beyond me. Whether he actively participated in the molestation of children is not the issue at hand. The issue is that he was informed about it, questioned by the authorities and his inaction allowed a pedophile to exist on Penn State facilities for an additional decade! Even JoePa, before his death, admitted that he should have done more! 

For the Paterno family, state officials, and former players to have the audacity to sue the NCAA simply to restore some victories and get off of probation is asinine! Not only does it highlight the culture of cover-up and embody how Joe Paterno was regarded as a deity in State College, but it also is a serial waste of financial resources that would be better served to lower the cost of tuition among other things. Nobody wants their loved one's name dragged through the proverbial mud, but the truth is far more important than maintaining a pristine image. Was the Freeh report flawed and full of hearsay? Possibly. However, Spanier, Schultz, and Curley were arrested and were awaiting trial long before Louis Freeh was commissioned by Penn State to do an internal investigation. Their coverup of Sandusky's molestations as well as the accusations of perjury are far more damning than any information produced by the Freeh report. All Freeh did was corroborate the legal finding previously published. Why wouldn't the NCAA act so swiftly and severely to punish Penn State? These weren't some janitors or some rogue booster that was involved. Spanier was the university president, Schultz was the university treasurer, and Curley was the athletic director! If that does not scream "lack of institutional control" under NCAA bylaws I don't know what does. 
Penn State supporters will argue that no advantage was gained on the field of play as a result of this fiasco. I would argue that a great advantage was gained. If this were known beforehand, Paterno would have lost his job (from 2000-2004, Paterno's job was in serious jeopardy). This coverup allowed Penn State to continue to field successful football teams and recruit the top players in the nation. While that premise is based on many assumptions, the Paterno family's lawsuit is as well. So much like this article does, I call bullshit on this lawsuit!

http://m.espn.go.com/wireless/conversation?uri=PAGE%3Ageneral%3ASTORY%3A9324939

Sympathy seeking versus Problem solving

Shoutout to my man Sergio Richardson for the link to the article. Like the author Tamika Mallory, I abhor reality television. Every time my fiancee tunes in to Real Housewives of Atlanta or Bad Girls Club I run upstairs into my sports viewing bubble. I too tire of the representations of Black women and all minorities. To clarify, when I say minorities, I don't mean just myself and my fiancee; I mean everyone who is not a member of the financial upper echelon. So I'm just as likely to condemn My Big Redneck Wedding or Duck Dynasty as I am Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta. Where I disagree with Mallory is this focus on Black women. While it is true that Black women on these shows are often represented in a less than flattering light, the rhetoric many of them spew about how their are only negative representations of them on TV is counterproductive. It almost comes off as if those women are the equivalent of the kid with a cast who exaggerates his injury to garner sympathy. While I empathize with the Black women that are dismayed by the portrayals on reality TV, I would caution them to not just make it about them. While we are selfish individuals by nature, no one wants to hear about your laments at the end of the day. I challenge all of these women to come up with solutions to this growing issue. If little girls are emulating the women that they see on reality television, where does the fault lie? Why would television producers try to project a positive image of minority groups when we are the biggest consumers of this drivel? Solutions-oriented thinking is what is needed to combat this growing issue. Every week videos and news reports, posted all over the internet, poking fun at our ignorance and depravity are among the most popular. If we truly determine the lifespan of television programming, then it is a must that we do more than simply write in to the networks/producers. Getting the children involved in activities that get them outside of the house is a good start. Actually sitting down and coming up with positive programming alternatives may help as well. The common refrain I hear as to why these shows are so popular is that they are an escape from the mundane drudgery of everyday life. This is bigger than a Black/White issue or a Black Man/Black Woman issue, this is an international issue of the media making fun of our pain for profit. Instead of pointing fingers or simply writing letters to complain or boycotting Tyler Perry, let us get together to foster real solutions to provoke real change.









http://newsone.com/2533345/black-reality-shows/