It kind of reminds me of that scene from that great, mystical, esoteric masterpiece pretending to be a "teen comedy," about a troubled youth: Donnie Darko. Although in this case, the stakes are a little higher.
"Ling, Ling finds a wallet..."
So let's say you are an amazing football tactician. You have a long and illustrious career, winning games, mentoring young men, earning lots of awards and major cash for your university. You are a big man, lauded by people from all walks of life, a beloved figure.
You also harbor a secret. One of your long-time aides is a "serial predator." You were alerted to this fact by an underling many years ago, and you mentioned it to someone else in the chain of command, and then kind of looked away. You conveniently just let it go. And this predator was free to do his thing over the years.
Maybe your loyalty to a friend, your loyalty to the school made you want to just forget about it. Kind of a messy, ugly fact. Maybe it would just disappear. Plus maybe you think no sense rocking the boat, it's cushy as hell, you don't want to jeopardize your exalted position, and there's all that money and prestige to think about.
Maybe you didn't like what transpired, but you didn't do much to stop it. Maybe you hoped it would just go away. But unfortunately, it didn't, finally it all came to light. Sure, you still know how to win football games, and there are lots of people who still love and revere you. In fact they took to the streets to protest for you, hell, they even rioted to show how much they loved you.
But come on Joe, where were you on the "life-line" when it really, really, counted?! I mean, Dude, you failed the freaking test! Badly!
** UPDATE: I get a little touch of vertigo when I play the "morality game." It is easy to play when you are at a distance. Easy to see the "black and white" of a situation. But of course, in the human realm there is a vast spectrum of gray. And there are a million contingencies and explanations and divided loyalties. I look at the Ten Commandments and think, "Well, I never killed anyone!" But coveting a neighbor's wife might actually be justified in some cases, don't you think?! So he who is without sin should cast the first stone. Still there is some shit that you just know is bad, so bad, beyond the pale. And sometimes you do have to drop a dime on a friend...