When I think about what Jerry Sandusky might have done to those young boys, I get angry. Really freaking angry. I know in this country we are innocent until proven guilty, but when it comes to something like this, I can't but help but assume that he is a scumbag.
I have a lot of opinions on this situation, but what I am going to do is keep away from my thoughts on Sandusky because most of them are too raw. Instead, I am going to try to focus on Joe Paterno, the cover-up and State College. As with a lot of things, I'm not sure I can provide decent segues, so I am going to write them in list format.
-First, let's talk Joe Paterno. As you may have read, the grand jury felt that he fulfilled his legal obligation of reporting Sandusky to the authorities. He is not the bad guy in this whole thing. If anything, he exhibited some bad judgment. Unfortunately, when it comes to Joe Paterno, I think the bad judgment was damning. This guy is the most popular man in the state of Pennsylvania, so much so that he has convinced the school to let him remain the coach until his mid-80's. He was not just the head football coach, he was the most important man at the university. These allegations are going to rock the entire university and as the public face of the university, he needed to go. To me, it's as simple as that. Some may say that his 61 years at the school should give him some leeway, but this isn't a scandal about illegal benefits to players, academic fraud or recruiting violations. No, this is quite possibly the worst thing eve to happen in college athletics. Ever. He needed to go. The president needed to go. Everyone needed to go. The only way to move on is to clean up the mess and start over.
-Next, let's talk about the cover-up. I have been reading bits and pieces of what happened, but I think ESPN gives a really good (and chilling) timeline of events. When Sandusky is caught assaulting a minor in the shower in 2002, it was not the first time. In fact, Sandusky had already been investigated by the State College police four years earlier in 1998. The grand jury transcript reads that the State College police eavesdropped on a conversation Sandusky had with one of the victim's mothers where Sandusky admitted to showering naked with the boy, asked for forgiveness and said he wished he was dead. The police department at that time decided not to press charges. Four years later, Paterno is told about Sandusky assaulting a boy in the shower. He takes it to the athletic director, Tim Curley, who then takes it to the senior VP for finance and business, Gary Schultz. Neither man reports the incident to police. So either Curley and Schultz saw nothing wrong with what happened or they were covering up for the program. For all I know, they thought this was an isolated incident - one that would go away if they swiped it under the rug. Unfortunately, this was not a single incident. Sandusky had been a sexual predator for years. This cover-up was the WORST possible thing that could have happened. Had they acted at that time, they could have stopped Sandusky from assaulting more boys in the future. It is sickening. I hate the whole situation.
-Next, let's talk Mike McQueary, the then 28 year old Graduate Assistant Coach who alledgely witnessed Sandusky sexually assaulting a minor in the shower. It is totally baffling to me how McQueary simply walked out of the lockerroom that day without doing anything. Yes, he did report Sandusky to Paterno the next day (after talking it over with his father!), but how he could witness what he did and not at a minimum say something to stop the assault is baffling. How the hell does a 28 year old man not go in there and try to beat the crap out of that scumbag? Seriously I don't get it. Now I know there will be people who will defend McQueary. Perhaps he felt that no one would have believed him. Perhaps he was in such shock to see someone who he felt such respect for involved in such a horrific incident. Whatever the situation, I cannot believe that he didn't do more. I imagine he will have to live with that for the rest of his life, but that is still infinitely better to live with than what that 10 year old boy has to live with.
-Ok, now on to State College. My ex-girlfriend's family was from central PA. They loved JoePa and never saw any problem with him being 75 years old. They never saw any problem with him coaching the team like it was 1970. They never saw a problem with his coke bottle glasses. They never had a problem with his rambling incoherence. In fat, they embraced it all. JoePa could do no wrong. He was the moral backbone of not only the University, but the entire region. I get it that people are mad. Paterno did not commit those horrible acts, but is getting punished. Sure, it sucks that that happened to your idol, but to think that rioting solves anything is just ridiculous. The Board of Trustees won't change their decision. You are just disgracing yourselves. Stop. You are Penn St - you tell us that you're better than that. Let's see it.
-Next, let's talk about how Paterno was fired. In case you hadn't heard, Paterno was sent an envelope Wednesday morning with a number to call inside it. Paterno called the number and on the other end were two board members who told him he was relieved of his duties. Look, I agree with the board firing Paterno now rather than letting him retire at the end of the season, but that is just a cruel way to go about your business. I mean, that sounds like something the Mets would do (or better yet, something the Mets have done - just ask Willie Randolph). While Paterno might be a lightning rod at the current time, he didn't deserve to be fired the way he was. At the very least, the board should have had a face-to-face meeting with Paterno. It was only right.
-Finally, what does the future hold for Penn St football. Man, I don't know. Whoever was going to be the man to replace Paterno would have been in an impossible situation. There is no way that person could have succeeded and that is assuming Paterno was to retire on his own accord. Now that he is forced out, I don't see anyway this program can stay competitive. The current players are never going to get over this. The incoming players, who committed to play for Paterno, will probably go someplace else. I think it is going to get really bad for Penn st in the next couple of years. It might be that they go out this weekend and beat Nebraska and finish the season with 10 or 11 wins and a Big 10 title, but the long-term future is really, really cloudy.
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