A
anon_xdc8rmuek44eq
Guest
MSU and PSU heavily featured. It's a trash article, but still - this is what's out there....
https://deadspin.com/how-big-colleges-prey-on-fan-loyalty-to-fight-back-agai-1823903554
The Penn State community’s reactions to Joe Paterno’s firing in the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky scandal represented the most glaring recent showcase of the fury and power of a fanbase that feels threatened. Years after the child sexual abuse at State College came to light, there are still people passionately arguing that ESPN and other media outlets deliberately lied in their reporting, recklessly casting doubt on established facts as activists try to repair the institutional and personal damage done by a sexual predator and his enablers. The reconsideration of Paterno’s legacy forced a split in the Penn State community, leading to an intensely personal battle between diehard, dead-end fans and reformers.
Now, Michigan State fans seem to have taken the wrong lesson from Penn State’s shortcomings. As the spotlight shifted from Larry Nassar—a serial abuser who will spend the rest of his life in jail—to other reports of sexual assaults in the MSU community, some of the most beloved figures on campus came under scrutiny, including the two men most responsible for the school’s glory. No one is going to excuse a monster like Nassar—no one possibly could—but die-hard fans are far less willing to acknowledge the question marks surrounding Tom Izzo and Mark Dantonio’s handling of their respective programs. Their unprecedented success works to insulate the coaches from criticism, and it makes the Spartan fanbase vulnerable to manipulation in their school’s time of crisis.
https://deadspin.com/how-big-colleges-prey-on-fan-loyalty-to-fight-back-agai-1823903554
The Penn State community’s reactions to Joe Paterno’s firing in the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky scandal represented the most glaring recent showcase of the fury and power of a fanbase that feels threatened. Years after the child sexual abuse at State College came to light, there are still people passionately arguing that ESPN and other media outlets deliberately lied in their reporting, recklessly casting doubt on established facts as activists try to repair the institutional and personal damage done by a sexual predator and his enablers. The reconsideration of Paterno’s legacy forced a split in the Penn State community, leading to an intensely personal battle between diehard, dead-end fans and reformers.
Now, Michigan State fans seem to have taken the wrong lesson from Penn State’s shortcomings. As the spotlight shifted from Larry Nassar—a serial abuser who will spend the rest of his life in jail—to other reports of sexual assaults in the MSU community, some of the most beloved figures on campus came under scrutiny, including the two men most responsible for the school’s glory. No one is going to excuse a monster like Nassar—no one possibly could—but die-hard fans are far less willing to acknowledge the question marks surrounding Tom Izzo and Mark Dantonio’s handling of their respective programs. Their unprecedented success works to insulate the coaches from criticism, and it makes the Spartan fanbase vulnerable to manipulation in their school’s time of crisis.
