As we await Joe Paterno’s final fate at Penn State pertaining to the Jerry Sandusky pedophile case (where Paterno was expected to act more swiftly and comprehensively out of moral obligation, if not legal expectations), many PSU fans (as well as sports fans across America) are experiencing what is known in the psychology world as cognitive dissonance. What this means is that people often experience distress when attempting reconcile two opposite and competing views (in the case of Paterno, his “good guy” status of running a clean program for 40+ years versus the accusations where he acted passively when provided with the news of Jerry Sandusky raping a child in the PSU locker room shower). If you are struggling to make sense of all this, and how such a respected and revered figure like Joe Paterno could also be the same guy who did very little to help an innocent child who was raped on campus, then you are experiencing cognitive dissonance.
The Responsibilities of Coaches?
Perhaps the bigger question, though, is the pedestal we have come to place coaches on these days – a position that gives off the impression either indirectly (Joe Paterno simply maintaining a clean record for many years) or directly (Jim Tressel writing books on character and morality) that coaches are somehow “above the fray” and incapable of making bad decisions, cheating, or acting irresponsibly. Is it time we re-frame the roles and responsibilities of coaches – in other words, simply responsible for building winning teams, and not responsible for morals, character development, leadership, integrity, and all those other wonderful adjectives that have over the years become what we expect from coaches? Keep in mind aside from youth sports (and even this is questionable), coaches are hired to develop winning athletic teams. Coaches are not hired to be moral saints — that only comes along as a bonus if the coach can also win games. We don’t expect superior morals from our accountant, barber, or mailman, so why do we expect our coaches to never make mistakes? This is not meant to minimize the crimes at PSU, but instead to have us reflect on what pedestal we have put coaches on over the years.
With all the big money being given to coaches these days, and all the commercialization of sports through the mainstream media, it’s easy to see how coaches have transformed into bigger-than-life characters – making their transgressions become even more shocking and alarming. It’s obvious that Paterno should have done much more than passively mention to his superiors that he heard a concerning story, but if we only knew Paterno as simply a football coach would our reaction today be so shocking (remember, he fulfilled his legal obligation to report to his superiors)? Of course we would have still wanted him to do more, but many people would have also minimized his exposure and placed his value within the university perhaps differently. In other words, his lack of action would still be bad, but would it be this bad? Maybe – but it’s also possible more people would quickly turn their attention away from the football coach and toward college administrators more responsible for the culture and reputation of the university – not to mention the welfare of the victims.
Should Society Re-calibrate the Way Coaches are Perceived?
My purpose in writing this today is not to minimize the value of coaches today, but to perhaps help us recalibrate our views of what coaches should be in the eyes of society. Coaches teach athletes how to play sports – and really good coaches sometimes go above these expectations and provide life skills, off-field mentoring, and appropriate social modeling. But these are the exceptions, not the norm. Similar to how accountants go to work to crunch numbers, or journalists go to work to write stories, some coaches would like to go to work and teach X’s and O’s and not assume the greater responsibilities of teaching and mentoring athletes when those responsibilities should be the responsibility of parents. Why is it that we expect coaches to be responsible for life skills development, but don’t expect that from college professors, employers, or other adults who are involved with kids?
It’s clear that in the aftermath of the past year, one in which major college coaches including Jim Tressel, Joe Paterno, and Bruce Pearlman have faced harsh criticism from perceived expectations, that maybe it’s time to revisit the role coaches play in the overall success of society. Should these men and women be expected to be perfect, or should we never have had such lofty expectations of coaches in the first place? The crimes that occurred at Penn State are horrific, and it goes without saying that anyone/everyone who came into information about child abuse should have acted swiftly and responsibly (including Joe Paterno), but maybe it’s also time for us to re-position coaches, the expectations of coaches, and the magnitude of the responsibilities that have been placed upon coaches.
Perhaps we wouldn’t have as much cognitive dissonance if we viewed coaches as more human and capable of human errors rather than “Gods” simply because they know how to draw up winning plays on a sports field.
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