Thread by @TomJunod

This is a love story.
It is a love story that takes place against a backdrop of predation, pain and survival. 1/

Last week, I posted a thread about Betsy Sailor and Irv Pankey. In 1978, Betsy survived a brutal sexual assault by a @PennStateFball player named Todd Hodne. Irv, who also played for Joe Paterno, knocked on her door and became her friend, protector, and “guardian angel.” 2/

He did not become her boyfriend. There was love but no romance. Betsy was engaged to a man who lived in Johnstown. Irv had a girlfriend. After Betsy graduated PSU in 1979, they each went on to their own lives. They didn’t see each other again for more than four decades. 3/

They were reunited last September after they told the story of Betsy’s courage and Irv’s care and belief to @pinepaula and me for our story #Untold. They met in State College, where @nicole_noren filmed them for “Betsy & Irv,” now on @ESPNPlus. So much had changed. 4/

They each had been married and had children and grandchildren. In recent years each had endured the grief of losing their spouses. When Irv once again knocked on Betsy’s door, they had four decades of mutual respect to fall back on. But there was something else. 5/

I was there for the reunion and didn’t just see it — I felt it. We all did. There was an unmistakable recognition of what years ago went unsaid. Betsy and Irv had parted once. They weren’t going to part — or be parted — again. 6/

Last week, Betsy Sailor and Irv Pankey spoke to @pinepaula about their past and their present. When they met in State College, they did what they didn’t do long ago — they embraced. They soon started talking on the phone, and met again at the Santa Barbara Film Festival. 7/

This time, they kissed. “I got to kiss him for the very first time after 40 years,” Betsy says. “And it was a lovely kiss, and I hope to do more of that in the near future.” Or, as Irv puts it: “We’re in the ride or die stage right now. It’s all good.” 8/

“I’m crazy about him,” Betsy says, tearing up. “That’s just the only way I can say it. I feel so honored to be by his side. He’s just such a great guy. I think I have my car in sixth gear and I have my gas pedal on the ground and I’m ready to go.” 9/

“We’re riding off into the sunset,” Irv says. “Calling it a day. Peace out! I hope we can enjoy each other’s company for the rest of our lives and just move on. We’re 65 years old. We ain’t got time to be messing around. Let’s just get to it, you know?” 10/

They are still a continent apart, Betsy east and Irv west. But that will soon change, and they realize they’ve had a connection all along. “It’s her story,” Irv says. “It ain’t my story. But there’s the feel-good part of knowing what a simple gesture of kindness can do.” 11/

Todd Hodne had 12 known victims in Pennsylvania and Long Island. Betsy Sailor was one of them, and Irv Pankey helped her. Many of the others did not have an Irv. Many of the others had their lives shattered, and an ensuing 43 years of silence. 12/

Irv does not see himself as a role model but sees his gesture of belief as an example that shouldn’t be difficult to follow. “That’s just me. If it causes somebody else to reach a hand out and help somebody, hey, can’t nothing be any better than that.” 13/

“I don’t see it as a big deal. But I guess in the grand scheme of things, it’s just a gesture of kindness. I think we’re kind of missing that a little bit in this country today. If I can help somebody reach a hand out….” 14/

Betsy Sailor showed extraordinary courage both during and after her attack, and Irv Pankey showed extraordinary kindness in reaching out to her. They both inspire, and both offer examples of how even the greatest evil can be confronted. 15/

As @oceanbike wrote last week, in a post that kept echoing across the Twittersphere:
“So many of us were Betsy but there was no Irv in our lives.
If you see a Betsy, be an Irv.”
/End/