A great deal of outrage is being voiced toward a witness in the biggest scandal to hit sports in a long long time from the media to the governor to ordinary citizens posting on forums claiming they know exactly what they would have done and what the witness should have done. Most blame the witness and want him prosecuted for what they think is inaction.
See where you stand on this situation.
Studies show that the average person would avoid or remain silent when confronted with this type of situation
These are the facts about the witness:
1) He was born and raised in the small community where the situation happened.
2) His father was a close personal friend of the alleged perpetrator
3) He grew up knowing the alleged perpetrator from a very early age
4) His classmate was the son of the alleged perpetrator and they were close friends
5) The alleged perpetrator was a coach and he was a player recruited by the perpetrator
6) He spent a great deal of time with the alleged perpetrator and never suspected or encountered anything like what he witnessed years later.
7) The coach of the university in this small town had achieved the status of a Deity
8) The alleged perpetrator was this Deity's right hand man and heir apparent
9) The witness's family, his father, his idol and the administration of the university he has loved and revered all his life all seem to respect and adore the alleged perpetrator
10) In 1977 the alleged perpetrator starts a charity to help underprivileged kids
11) From 1977 to 2002 the charity grows and the alleged perpetrator achieves the status of a SAINT for his charitable work
12) the alleged perpetrator receives public acclaim and an award from Senator Rick Santorum.
13) In 1999 the alleged perpetrator gives up his successful career as an award winning defensive coordinator for one of the most respected defenses in football to devote himself to his charity.
14) The witness finishes his college career at the university that same year having spent 4 years as quarterback with the alleged perpetrator as one of his coaches.
15 In 2002 the witness gets his dream job chance to be a graduate assistant for the same university football team
View Jon Ritchie's 10 minute video describing the above situation in full detail with passion. Jon Ritchie is a very intelligent graduate of Stanford University who grew up knowing both the witness and the alleged perpetrator.
It is true that the witness is in a position where could lose his chance of a dream job while doing great harm to the reputation of the university he loves as well as creating problems for his coach and the local Deity. That could play into his reaction so take that into account before you weigh in on what you would do.
So try to imagine this event. You are walking into the locker room for your beloved institution and football program around 9pm. You here the shower running as you walk to your locker to deposit a pair of shoes. On the way out you glance into the locker and see this well respected charitable man and family friend and it appears he is holding a young boy against the wall and both are naked. You think it is a sexual assault. They see you and the activity stops.
At this point we don't know if anything was said or if the two in the shower left the shower but we think the witness then went into the office and called his father.
Did the witness see the activity stop?
He says "I MADE SURE IT STOPPED"
I can imagine the witness was shocked, confused, dumbstruck with disbelief and he decided that calling his father was what he had to do. He and his father talked til midnight and went to see the coach the next morning. The coach went to his boss the AD and the VP in charge of the campus police. I'm not sure what else he could or should do. He told his boss the coach and fully disclosed his opinion of what he thought he had witnessed to the Athletic Director and more importantly the head of the Campus Police.
What would you have been able to do if confronted with the most respected family friend you know in a similar situation? Remember this family friend is viewed as a Saint in your community for his charitable work.
NOW READ the VICTIM 2 section of the GRAND JURY REPORT on which those who accuse the witness base their outrage. Notice there are no quotes. No Q&A just a summary of charges as composed by the Grand Jury. It is not comprehensive and there is no cross examination. Based on this one sided incomplete brief summation of the events of the night of March 1, 2002. To me it makes these big mouths look incredibly unfair and stupid. This report is all anyone has to go on to determine exactly what happened.
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