Perils of Middle Management

The road of profit for rural southern Virginia was once again my companion yesterday morning and evening.  In my late teens and 20s I've unwilling supported towns like Emporia and South Boston; but these days I have learned to walk with Highway 58, not against her.  She still gives way for bored and racist sheriffs to wield their authority from the cruisers they squeeze to get in and out of, but I've become wise.  No longer do I entertain the judges who are great-great grandsons of Confederate losers (no name calling, they did lose the war); instead 58 and I have an understanding--I need her, and she has rules of engagement.  So on a foggy morning drifting over Kerr Lake, I listened to the tabloid ESPN reporters smash Penn State football coach Joe Paterno.  At the end of my day, with a slight headache and darkness surrounding me, my vehicle, and our friend 58; I listened to a new set of ESPN professional gossipers bash Penn State football coach Joe Paterno.  After having my fill of the spectacle, I reached for silence and I thought to myself, poor middle managers.


Coach Paterno is at the center of a horrific situation that happened a decade ago; child molestation at PSU.  However, Paterno is nor the accused or the accuser; not the offender nor the victim.  Nope, he's not the rapist or the raped; but he is the middle manager.  His boy and former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky is the culprit and was the one that was arrested for child abuse; but Joe is the middle manager.  A graduate assistant saw Sandusky with one of the boys and told Joe and the campus cops, maybe.  Joe told his boss and the school president and the campus police did nothing.  The president, the AD, the kid who saw the rape, and Sandusky all did nothing; but Joe is the middle manager.  Therefore, Joe Paterno gets the blame for an entire football program and university turning their backs on a molested child.  Now, because sports media (supposedly appalled that no one did anything on behalf of these children) can't stop talking about Joe, he did the wisest thing in this situation--resign.  They camp in front of his house, they speculate on his current moves and past conversations, and they defame some one they have worshipped for at least 20 years.  Joe should've had his armor on for days like this.

See, the middle managers have the tough job of supervising a mixture of intelligent, hard-working, carnal, ignorant, or self-centered employees while being supervised by individuals whose tunneled bottom line viewpoint has made them (the top supervisors) possibly out of touch.  It's the middle managers who take the brilliant ideas or foolish directives of presidents and owners and smoothly apply them to an organization.  They work tirelessly to ensure their subordinates are productive by upper administration standards; and sometimes their knowledge gets rejected by upper managements' result driven ideals.  Tough, yes but the worst part of this often sour deal is the principle simply called "the face".  Middle managers are often times strategically placed as "the face" of an organization for the higher ups; who generally don't possess what they themselves feel will coerce the public to be attracted to their product.  The drag, however, with being "the face" is that when the stuff hits the fan, the middle manager is in perfect position to block it all.

How does this relate to the Penn State drama?  Let's review:

• Joe Paterno's (middle manager) "friend" abused a child
• Middle managers' wide receivers coach saw it happen, but did nothing except...
• [Allegedly] tell campus police, who also did nothing, but...
• WR coach told middle manager, who told his higher ups who....
• Did nothing and purposely covered the incident and more than likely....
• Told the middle manager not to saw a word...
• In the meantime, boys got their childhood snatched from them

 Of course the WR coach could have called the police, but he had an option to slide the concern to Paterno, and he took that option.  Yes indeed when Paterno told his bosses they could've stepped in; but that's what the middle manager is for.  And because he didn't, that was all ESPN and Penn State needed to point a finger.  Yeah, the cops could've have started the investigation immediately, but Public Enemy told us what 911 was years ago.  Because at the end of the day (overused phrase), it's all about the State University of Pennsylvania, which obviously is much more important than a young man's development after abuse.

Ladies and gentlemen, if you know about this story please understand that Penn State as a whole is responsible, not just the face of the organization, Joe Paterno.  But like most cash machines, the owners and/or president won't appropriately address the stain if they don't have to--because in reality they don't.  On the other hand, the ones that actually do the work, that make the money, that build the brand, do have to address it; for they are the only ones the media, fans, and nosey people world wide are familiar with.  Unless enough heat from the professional gossipers grows to the point of no return; those beneath or above the middle manager--the cats who either ordered the problem or carried it out, will get away free. 

Dedicate a significant portion of your day, each day, to stop sexual abuse; because it's more than real.

Peace