NOW Should Leave Paterno Alone, Go After Portland

Most sports fans know that, just days after Penn State's overtime victory in the Orange Bowl, the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) asked the Nittany Lions' aging Hall-of-Fame coach, Joe Paterno, to resign. The organization was upset with the following comments that Paterno made regarding Florida State linebacker A.J. Nicholson, who was accused of sexual assault and not allowed to compete against Penn State in the Orange Bowl:

"There's some tough -- there's so many people gravitating to these kids. He may not have even known what he was getting into, Nicholson. They knock on the door; somebody may knock on the door; a cute girl knocks on the door. What do you do?"

"Geez. I hope -- thank God they don't knock on my door because I'd refer them to a couple of other rooms," Paterno continued. "But that's too bad. You hate to see that. I really do. You like to see a kid end up his football career. He's a heck of a football player, by the way; he's a really good football player. And it's just too bad."

The coach's comments were tasteless, insulting, and, for lack of a better word, stupid, but they were said in the course of an interview and were not premeditated. Allegations of sexual assault should always be taken seriously, and blaming the alleged victim (even implicitly) is wrong and irresponsible. Then again, Paterno professionally mentors young men who have to deal with the pressures and temptations that come with "so many people gravitating" toward them. While we should not excuse what Nicholson allegedly did, it is OK for Paterno to feel sorry for Nicholson. Most of us feel for people who make poor, even immoral, decisions.

Paterno shouldn't have said what he did (and I wish he would issue a more substantial apology), but NOW shouldn't waste its energy going after JoePa. There is a problem with Penn State athletics, but it involves the university's second most famous coach: women's basketball coach Rene Portland. Penn State's women's basketball program has been very successful under Portland, perennially contending for the Big Ten title. But Portland also has a history of homophobia and has often been accused of creating an atmosphere where non-straight (and, some would say, non-feminine) players are not welcome. According to ESPN basketball analyst Michelle Tafoya, "Many observers would say the description of Portland as having a problem with gays is accepted fact. She created the perception herself with her statements to the media and has really done nothing to change it." The latest complaints leveled against Portland involve the dismissal from the team of Jen Harris, who claims that she was dismissed because she was thought to be a lesbian. (The university is investigating the charges.) Apart from general ethical concerns, treating lesbian players unfairly violates the university's discrimination policy.

Despite Portland's reputation, there seems to be little or no hard evidence that she has discriminated against lesbian (or presumably lesbian) players. On the other hand, there have been several complaints and rumors, and Portland's negative attitude toward homosexuals is no secret. NOW's time and resources, in my opinion, would be better spent seriously investigating such charges of systematic discrimination than attacking a 79-year-old man for a poorly thought out impromptu comment he made in an interview.