Blind friendship

OPINION

I recently watched an interview with a former college president who was fired for not reporting child molestation to the proper authorities. Not only was he fired but he also had to serve a 90-day jail sentence.

His termination and incarceration stemmed from a football coach molesting young boys at a summer football camp the school hosted. According to the documentary, the abuse had been ongoing for years.

When the abuse was brought to the administrator's attention, he and the school's athletic director decided to try to address the matter internally. They wanted to get the coach counseling and keep the incidents from reaching the public.

Thankfully, the incidents did come to the public's attention because other members of the coaching staff reported it to the authorities. The molester was arrested and sentenced to a long prison term. The college president and athletic director were both fired.

The former college president was interviewed for the documentary. He was asked questions about the molester and how his actions were allowed to go unchecked for so long. He gave the usual answers and displayed no emotions.

He was then asked about all of the victims, which eventually numbered in the hundreds. Once again, he gave the standard answers and offered apologies, which did not come across as sincere. He still did not show any emotions and was very stoic when answering all of the questions regarding the victims.

Finally, the interviewer asked him about the athletic director who was fired for conspiring with him to cover up the molestation of the victims. This is when the former president began to tear up and his voice began to crack with emotions. He asked the interviewer to give him a few moments so he could compose himself.

Upon his return to camera, he talked about how it was his biggest regret that the athletic director had to lose the job he had held for over 30 years. Tears streamed down his face as he talked about what a "good man" the athletic director was and how he did not deserve to be fired because he was just trying to protect the school.

As I watched this, I became physically ill. This man did not care enough about the children to even offer a legitimate apology but he would break down in tears when talking about how his friend had been "wronged."

After watching the entire documentary I feel that the only thing the president regrets is that he and his "friend" got fired. He never showed any real compassion for the victims.

Monsters exist and sometimes their disguises are very good. It bothers me to think how many other monsters are out there looking the other way because their friends are "good people."

"The only thing necessary for the triumphs of evil is for good men to do nothing."

– Edumund Burke

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