They’re both built on the reputation of their leaders. Good coaches recruit good players, making them look like better coaches. Good preachers gather more followers which makes their bullshit more believable.
The great irony is that in both environments, the ego of the leader is almost certainly over-inflated, and the institution would be just hunky dory without them. Penn State found a new coaching staff. The Catholic Church will elect a new Pope.
The people doing the cover-up will justify the lies by telling themselves they are doing it for the greater good, but really they just want to protect themselves.
andros_rex@lemmy.world 1 year ago
In rural Oklahoma - high schools exist to field football teams. You drive into a town and the water tower will say “State Champions ‘92” - their quarterback was on the team, owns the car dealership and consequently owns the town. It’s not about religion necessarily - it’s more that Oklahoma is a set of petty fiefdoms run by terrible men who are okay with anything as long as they can watch the game at a brand new stadium built with bond money.
OpticalMoose@discuss.tchncs.de 1 year ago
andros_rex@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Fun fact - in the 1920’s, 1 in 3 white people in Indiana were members of the KKK. It was as about a mainstream a thing as being a rotary club member - they even had charity matches against the Knight of Columbus.
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 1 year ago
My aunt in the 90s said membership in the klan in Atlanta was as prevalent as membership in the boy scouts. I have little reason to doubt her.