Two weeks ago, Joe Paterno and his #12 Nittany Lions were poised for a Big Ten Title and a legitimate shot at a BCS bowl game. Now, after the firing of "Joe Pa" this morning, Penn State is scrambling in an attempt to regain control of the team, and more importantly, the University's image.
It is fair to say that there has never been an incident involving college football that has shocked the world the way the recent allegations of sexual misconduct and the subsequent covering up of Jerry Sandusky's child molestation of kids at his Second Mile home have. The molestation charges, for which Sandusky is facing 40 criminal counts, spanned over a sickening 15 year period.
What's more despicable is Jerry Sandusky himself. The Second Mile program he founded received its very namesake from a biblical quote reading, "And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain." Jerry Sandusky was respected among those who knew him and revered by those involved with him at Penn State. Sandusky was even the once apparent heir to the Penn State coaching throne, and was one of the defensive masterminds back during his coaching days. Hiding himself behind the guise of religious do-good, Sandusky was able to create this home with his wife, Dottie, and have kids placed there starting in 1977.
When the beginning of the alleged sexual molestation occurred is still unclear, but what is clear is that a graduate assistant came to Joe Paterno back in 2002, telling Paterno that Sandusky had sexually assaulted a 10-year-old boy in the showers AT PENN STATE. This was not something Sandusky did away from campus, but in the very showers the players use at the Penn State facility.
Joe Paterno passed along the information to AD Tim Curley and University VP Gary Shultz. Paterno reportedly did not ask Sandusky himself, nor did he report the event to the police. From that point on, however, Sandusky was not allowed to bring children onto campus and was not allowed to attend youth camps that took place at Penn State.
These are signs of a classic cover-up. The school apparently found Sandusky's actions to be believable enough to keep him off campus with kids back in 2002. If information got out - which it obviously has - that something was awry with Jerry Sandusky, the university clearly did not want to be affiliated with it. So instead of doing the right thing, they chose to avoid it by distancing themselves from it, leaving the off-campus Jerry Sandusky to his own bidding.
The wording "the right thing" is not even applicable in this case: There should be no other plausible option. If you put yourself in any of these people's situation and chose to act the same way, every fiber of morality would have left your body. There are many despicable things done in the world today, but the rape of an innocent child - much less eight kids - tops the list.
After taking time and listening to the opinions flood in, and there have been plenty, I find myself having to question what college football has become. In an age where NCAA violations are as common as allergies, it appears that nothing will get in the way of coaches, and the universities main goal: Winning. Too often we hear of the Kiffin's and the Tressel's, coaches at big-time schools who cast aside rules and regulations in order to give them an edge over the competition. It has gotten to a point where the public can scan over misconduct and continue on without effect.
This scandal has blown up not only because it involves sports, but because it encompasses so many different angles. An apparently religious man who was the once the linebackers coach at Penn State has been accused of using his position in order to sexually molest children without good homes. And the university, in part, helped him cover it up by not reporting ANYTHING to the police.
Just typing those past two sentences made me cringe the same way I'm sure the heads at Penn State cringed when they heard what Sandusky had done in their showers. The problem for them was the damaging effect it would have on the school's image and football program. Would players not be interested in coming to Penn State? Would the school get in legal trouble if it was found out that an incident had taken place on their campus? They directly chose to sweep it under the proverbial table, hoping that the allegations wouldn't surface. "Joe Pa" and the higher ups at the University did the absolute minimal, and that is sickening.
In 46 years, Joe Paterno was never cited for illegally recruiting an athlete. Not so much as even a blemish on the record. It is safe to say that never again will there be a coach like Joe Paterno. He will always hold the record for longest tenure coaching at one school and he currently holds records for most games won. Sadly, none of this matters. Joe Paterno, the man who was known for doing things honestly, made a critical error that he will never live down by not informing the police of Sandusky's misconduct in favor of protecting the school.
Is Joe Paterno the only person to blame? No, not hardly. There are many who probably knew of the allegations and did nothing. But Joe Paterno is as much a representative of the school of Penn State as anyone else, and his actions were reprehensible. In the end, it is the kids from Second Mile that suffer the most. The victims and their families that had no idea such egregious atrocities were taking place in a place that was supposed to do so much good for the community. The only thing that's clear now is that by doing what should have been done immediately, the university could have avoided many of the very problems they are now faced with. Except now they are faced with problems on a much more severe scale.
