Joe Must Go?

Jerry Sandusky, former defensive coordinator at Penn State and once-believed successor to Joe Paterno, has been arraigned on sex crimes involving adolescent boys, dating back (knowingly) as far as 1994. Athletic Director Tim Curley and VP of Finance and Business (essentially having great connections with campus police) Gary Schultz have both been charged with perjury in failing to properly report the multiple incidents.




As a result, Joe must go.

Really? C'mon people!

Over the course of 15 years from 1994-2009, Sandusky used his Second Mile Organization, which according to its website, "is a nonprofit organization serving the youth of Pennsylvania....are committed to helping young people achieve their potential as individuals and as community members and providing education and support for their parents and youth service professionals," to lure his victims, at least eight in all.

One of his victims, now 27, testified that touching with a soap bottle lead to multiple instances of involuntary sexual contact.  According to his testimony, Sandusky even gave him money to buy marijuana, which he smoked while Sandusky drove him home. All of this happened after the boy tried to cut contact, both physical and communicative, with the coach. Nothing was done, because nothing was reported until now.

In 1998, the first known investigation into these disturbing events supposedly (still maintaining "innocent until proven guilty" even though this country works in the entire opposite direction) happened. Here, a boy and Sandusky were involved in "sexually inappropriate behavior" in the Lasch Football Building on the east side of campus. Schultz never reported anything to proper authorities, according to grand jury testimony.

In 1999, Sandusky retired at the young age of 57. This seems a bit more obvious now as to the reasons for retiring....

In 2000, a janitor saw Sandusky pinning a child against the wall and performing oral sex on the boy.

In 2002, a grad student saw Sandusky sexually assault a naked boy in a Lasch Building locker room. The grad student reported this to Paterno, who told his superior, A.D. Tim Curley, immediately. Curley then met with the grad student about a week later, and according to grand jury reports, nothing happened beyond that. Curley's report said the grad student mentioned nothing sexual at all, calling what he saw "just horsing around."

It was after this event that Curley banned Sandusky from bringing children onto campus, and he advised PSU President Graham Spanier of the situation.

Now seven years later in 2009, a boy was given expensive sporting event tickets, and physical contact initiated during the boy's overnight stays at Sandusky's State College home. Charges were filed and it has all led now to the situation we have in front of us.

So somebody please tell me where Joe Paterno is at fault here? @247SportsZone tweeted correctly yesterday: "According to laws when Paterno learned the information, he was to inform his superior right away. He told (Curly) who did nothing."  But @ztappe makes a good point too, tweeting that Sandusky was "still given free reign on campus after 98 allows for 02. No report of 02 allows for 09. PSU at least an enabler."  I couldn't agree more. PSU administration, such as Schultz and Curley, all the way up to President Spanier, played a part in this. Prosecutors have already stated that they (rightfully) are not charging Paterno because he did everything right. He passed on the info to his supervisor, as law requires. Paterno is even testifying AGAINST the defendants. So where is he wrong here?

My take: Joe could have done more, and I'm even willing to say that he SHOULD have done more. But here's the rub...he did proper thing of alerting his superior...his superior says he's got it under control, he's doing everything to get this right. Cases take months, sometimes years, to be put together. When nothing happens immediately, it's because they're working on it. After a year of nothing happening, THAT's when Joe probably should have said something. Here's the rub though: a 70-something year old is the one who is going to remember anything 10 months down the road?  Sorry Joe, you're old. That grad student would probably forget the details after 10 months, what do you think ol' senile Joe would forget?

More info has to come out before any final decision is to be made...made by law officials, made by school officials, made by sports personalities. The fans and non-fans have already made their decisions, when it has been less than 24 hours since news broke of this on SportsCenter. 

PSU fans who already want JoePa gone because they feel he's holding back the program now feel like they have a REASON for him to leave, one where he can't possibly stay for a 47th season. All Penn State fans, students, and alumni realize what Paterno has done for the University, but they also know that he is essentially only a figure-head, especially when he's "coaching" from the press box. (And notice, the last two seasons when he's done that, PSU has had their best records? 2008 to the Rose Bowl, 2011 currently 8-1 and controlling their own destiny to Indianapolis).  Penn State fans know it's time to clean house from a football perspective, and may believe that having a scandal will finally allow for the cleansing that the team has needed.

PSU non-fans love seeing the "creepy old guy" in the limelight for something other than winning, something other than being a coach for over 40 years. They have sat in the dark, and as soon as something happens in Happy Valley, they come out in floods saying "I always knew stuff was happening up there!" Ha, ya, I'm sure you did. And I'm sure none of this happens elsewhere. And I'm sure prostitutes being paid for in Miami means nothing because we expect it with Miami's track record. And I'm sure Ohio State's Pryor/Tressel issues should just disappear because "that's just sports, cheat to win!" Again, people, wake up.



EVERY single school has had issues. (In fact, Penn State, Stanford, Boston College, and Northwestern were the only schools in D1 to not have a major NCAA violation. BC and NW have had point-shaving scandals, leaving just PSU and Stanford. Oh, and Penn State is the only public school on that list, the other private schools not having "the intense pressure that other places have," according to Stanford A.D. Bob Bowlsby).  Penn State's motto, "Success With Honor" is seen emblazoned all over campus. "May no act of ours bring shame" is the take-home line of the Alma Mater. A clean program has always been what Happy Valley is all about. This makes the Sandusky case more disturbing. If it's happening in one of the two schools that has never had a violation, then what's happening everywhere else?

What's wrong with sports? We're human, and we make mistakes. Frankly, I'm tired of having to report stuff like this instead of the sports itself. Very disappointing. I wish every school, every program at every level, could adopt a "May No Act Of Ours Bring Shame" attitude to their program. Not only adopt it, but enact and enforce it. Good luck.

This article was written by a current Penn State senior student, one who has two nieces and three nephews all ages 3-10. If all of these accusations become proven true, I believe that Sandusky should go away for a very long time, I believe that those who did nothing should also go away - Curley and Schultz if they did hide everything, but also Spanier. All parties reported to their superiors, but Spanier is highest at Penn State, he needed to report further to authorities if anybody was to do so. 

This is my opinion. We want to hear yours. What should Penn State do to maintain their "Success With Honor" status?