Life and the Game of Adjustments

Chima Okoli was a senior captain when the news broke. He recalls being summoned to an emergency “squad meeting” and told the shocking and horrifying details. He remembers with distaste the media horde that followed every movement of anyone involved with Penn State football. He thinks back on the student protests and the riots. And while he acknowledges the severity of the crimes committed and the lack of responsibility and accountability surrounding the situation, Okoli’s sadness involves his entire motivation for attending Penn State in the first place. “It broke me down. It broke my heart. That’s not what that school’s about. And the whole reason I went there is because it was a different model of doing things. And now it’s the smudge that will never come off.”

Most know the story of the Penn State football scandal by now. Assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was found guilty of numerous counts of child molestation over a 15-year period during his time at Penn State, and several members of the administration and staff, including legendary head coach Joe Paterno, were involved as part of the investigation. Although Paterno didn’t receive legal punishment, he was fired due to the belief that he didn’t do enough to prevent the crimes from occurring. Paterno, the man who promised integrity and leadership when recruiting Okoli out of high school, had been removed as coach with four games left in Okoli's Penn State career.

“He definitely had a hard time [getting through the scandal],” says former teammate, co-captain and friend Quinn Barham, now a strength and conditioning coach for North Carolina State’s football team. “There was a point in time where he hated Penn State. People judged us when we would walk around in public wearing Penn State gear. It made us really doubt ourselves.”

It’s been four years since the scandal, and Chima Okoli is describing the play-by-play approach of an offensive lineman, but he might as well be teaching life lessons. “You see the center pointing everywhere; it’s like an orchestra, or directing traffic. Every offensive line play is three plays in one, because you never know what the defense will do. If the defense does this, we do this; if they shift to this we’ll do that. At any given time, any of those situations can occur. And you have to be ready for it.”