Dr. Ablow: Legacy of Joe Paterno Is That He Taught Hundreds to Play Football, Millions How Not to Be a Man
In a comprehensive report put out yesterday by former FBI head Louis Freeh, it was found that the highest ranking Penn State officials knew they were dealing with a molester in former coach Jerry Sandusky but did nothing to stop it or protect the child victims. Instead, they wanted to be "humane" to the molester and protect the school's reputation.
Psychologist Dr. Keith Ablow weighed in on the mental and psychological states of the four men at the
center of the investigation -- head coach Joe Paterno, the university's president and senior vice president, and the former athletic director. Freeh's report stated that the men knew of at least two incidents and chose instead of reporting them to cover them up.
On today's America Live, Megyn Kelly asked of Ablow, how four grown men get to that point.
"How does a group of men decide to be part of organized crime?" he answered. "These are people who are narcissistic, completely self-centered, whose careers mattered more to them literally than the rape of children."
Ablow continued, saying that if Paterno's courage had to be judged, he would have been graded with an "F." In the end, what did they care about? Whether they were carried high on the shoulders of football players, whether kids were [being] raped? That's the answer; that's the legacy of Joe Paterno. He taught a few guys, or hundreds, how to play football; he taught millions how not to be a man."
Of the group, Ablow said of their psychological state, "these are character disorderd men."
"It's the opposite of heroism. It's one thing to teach men how to run through blockers when they're running full tilt at you, but that's nothing like having the moral courage to oppose evil at cost to your own career. That, Joe Paterno never understood."
Still, Paterno's family said in statement that they believe that he didn't fully understand what was happening. To that, Ablow said he doesn't agree.
"I would invite his family to my office and say, 'I wonder if you were duped by him, too' ... Remember, he looked the other way; ten kids were raped. That's your father, that's your grandfather. Accept it; move on."
