A closer look at a horrific story previously cited, after-the-jump ...
But first: Top Comments appears nightly, as a round-up of the best comments on Daily Kos. Surely ... you come across comments daily that are perceptive, apropos and .. well, perhaps even humorous. But they are more meaningful if they're well-known ... which is where you come in (especially in diaries/stories receiving little attention).------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Send your nominations to TopComments at gmail dot com by 9:30 PM Eastern Time nightly, or by our KosMail message board. Please indicate (a) why you liked the comment, and (b) your Dkos user name (to properly credit you) as well as a link to the comment itself.
Regular readers know that in my weekly compendium diary I include a “weekend read” — often (though not always) an extended read — that I found interesting enough to recommend. Last week I did so with a truly lengthy story, and received this reply from (as the humorist Dave Barry would say) … ‘alert reader’ RickBoston:
If those journalists are not finalists for a Pulitzer Prize, then something is broken.
Thanks for sharing it. You might want to consider featuring in its own diary or as a Top Comments story.
Upon reflection …. I believe he’s got cause. Thus, tonight’s topic.
Last week, I perused the ESPN site late one night to get some sports scores .. and they had a featured story on someone with these words: “He would become perhaps the most dangerous person to ever play college football".
I saw that one of the authors was Tom Junod— an outstanding essayist and (sometimes) investigative journalist whose work I had previously been impressed with, so I took extra note to read the story (his co-author is Paula Lavigne).
When I read it, I was shaken … and not just from the horrific story of a college football player who committed multiple rapes (convicted of one while in school) and then more back on my native Long Island, culminating in a murder … who died in prison in 2020 … yet whose story was “Untold”, as the article’s title states.
He grew-up not far from me (three years younger) and the year after I graduated from high school: probably played against my alma mater. My brother Pat (a year younger) said he attended the game his school played against us (our alma mater won, 28-7). Pat said that though his teammate Tony Capozzoli got the headlines, this guy (even as a sophomore) probably played in that game. That was shock #2.
Shock #3 — even though three years younger than me — when I saw his high school graduation photo in the story … he looked like someone who could have been a classmate of mine. I was tired, yet so shaken I had to read the entire story.
And I also suggest that — when you have some time — to read the entire story at some point. For those who would find the subject matter too sordid, I’ll try to highlight key parts (and give some additional historical perspective). The authors try to answer three questions: “What did he do, why wasn't he stopped and why doesn't anyone know about him?” … and I’m not sure even their thorough investigation can say for sure. The criminal justice system failed miserably at several key inflection points.
He was someone who seemed to be amoral: always getting into trouble, and especially fond of knives (which play an outsized role in his crimes). He was recruited to play college football (along with his teammate Tony Capozzolli) as a linebacker and while there: shoplifted and committed burglaries.
The next aspect that commanded one’s attention: it happened at Penn State University (beginning in the late 70’s).
When the Jerry Sandusky scandal broke there in 2011, it came as quite a shock to the sports world: as Penn State was one of only five Division One major football programs never to have even been investigated for a serious rules or misconduct infraction (not including paperwork issues, etc.) — alas, I cannot locate the citation to find out who the other four schools were.
Also for its longtime head coach, Joe Paterno, who was considered a symbol of probity, contrasted with the typical good-old-boy, big-time college football coach (where scandals often arise). Barry Switzer, the former University of Oklahoma and Dallas Cowboys coach (who fits that profile) said, "Joe's different from the rest of us." He was a Brown University graduate who listened to opera, had an 80% graduation rate from his players, quoted Robert Browning to his team and returned parts of his salary to enhance the school library. The Sandusky scandal ended his career (and soon after, his life) yet many believed was a one-off.
Alas, no: as Tony Capozzoli told the reporters, “To a fault, Paterno put the program ahead of everything else”.
Paterno (who began as an assistant at Penn State in 1950 and named head coach in 1966) had a chip on his shoulder towards the college football establishment, who had long looked down upon Northeastern college football. He made a point of recruiting players primarily from just three states: Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey.
In the late 60’s and early 70’s, Paterno had some teams that went undefeated yet were not considered national title contenders. One of those times (1969) President Nixon was on hand to present a plaque (signifying a national title) to the winner of a seminal Texas-vs.-Arkansas regular season game — despite the fact that Penn State was also undefeated and the bowl games were several weeks away. Although a conservative Republican, five years later Paterno asked during a 1974 commencement speech, "How could Nixon know so much about college football in 1969 …. and so little about Watergate in 1973?"
Now, the case of Todd Hodne has re-opened the past, even though Paterno suspended him for a year after Hodne was convicted of a burglary. He was believed to have raped several women while on the team, although many women who reported them (and always with the threat of a knifing) were told they lacked evidence. One courageous woman (Betsy Sailor) did go all-in — with brave witness stand testimony — and Hodne was convicted of rape.
Incredibly, the local judge did not revoke his bail and order him remanded into custody — instead, allowing him to return home to await sentencing. And did that ever have unintended consequences. Before we turn next to his second crime wave: there actually is a hero in this saga worth noting.
This was an offensive lineman (who went on to a successful NFL career) and was one of several team members who attended a preliminary hearing on the case of Betsy Sailor (with Paterno’s permission) ... which she assumed was to intimidate her. Yet sometime after that hearing, he walked-up to her door and said:
'Hello, my name is Irv Pankey, and I just wanted to let you know that I was in the courtroom today and I listened to what you had to say. And I believe every word that you said. And, you will never have to be afraid, or be alone again. I will be by your side.'"
This he did, along with some of his teammates he recruited, who made her feel not only protected, but also part of the campus community again.
Hodne returned to his (and my) native Long Island, where he committed several more rapes. He was arrested and sentenced to a term of seven-to-twenty-one years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault, and a single count of attempted second-degree robbery.
He was paroled at the short end of that range, despite strident protestation from Suffolk County prosecutor John Collins, whose preservation of files from Hodne’s extensive rap sheet provided much of the material that ESPN had to work with.
After parole, Hodne attempted to rob a cab driver named Jeffrey Hirsch, who was a father of four. Hirsch resisted, and Hodne wound up killing him in the struggle in 1987.
Hodne died of cancer in 2020 at age 60 in New York state prison after being arrested and convicted for Hirsch’s murder.
That county prosecutor said, in his losing bid to prevent the 1986 parole:
“Todd Hodne, to this day, remains among the three most dangerous, physically imposing and ruthless excuses for a human being I have ever faced in court.”
That includes serial killers.
Although I hope (at some point) that you’ll decide to read the entire story— if that’s something you’re not in a frame-of-mind to be able do … do not be surprised if this reporting does (as RickBoston suggests) win an award.
To close with a song dedicated to the special bond formed, with a film entitled Betsy and Irv— this classic sung by Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders.
Now, on to Top Comments:
(Nothing from the field this evening).
And from Ed Tracey, your faithful correspondent this evening ........
In the diary by Joe Pac about not writing-off the besieged city of Mariupol just yet — I like this comment made by originalcinner about a more descriptive name for weaponry than model numbers.
Next - enjoy jotter's wonderful (and now eternal) *PictureQuilt™* below. Just click on the picture and it will magically take you to the comment featuring that photo.
TOP PHOTOSApril 20th, 2022
|
And lastly: yesterday's Top Mojo - mega-mojo to the intrepid mik ...... who rescued this feature from oblivion:
(Alas, this is not working … sorry, hope it’ll be fixed by tomorrow)