Bizarre Turn Of Events At Penn State
By Gary Gerard,
dumbhoosier.com
I don’t have any inside information regarding what happened
at Penn State, just a lot of speculation, cynicism and
skepticism.
Seems one of Paterno’s assistant coaches, Jerry Sandusky, is
an alleged serial child molester and he brought kids to the
Nittany Lions locker room to do the deeds. Worse yet, some
of the kids were part of a non-profit group he founded to
provide care for foster children – Second Mile.
All this came tumbling out last Friday when Sandusky was
charged with 40 counts of sex crimes against eight different
victims from 1994 to 2008.
On Wednesday, head coach Joe Paterno was fired because he
didn’t alert the police when a graduate assistant student
told him that he witnessed Sandusky raping a 10-year-old boy
in a school shower.
Paterno reported the incident to school officials, but not
the cops.
The university also saw its president, Graham Spanier,
resign.
I’ve read the grand jury report about what this Sandusky guy
is alleged to have done with these young boys. It’s
jarringly disgusting.
So, frankly, I feel no pity for Joe Paterno. He is a victim
of his own shortfalls with regard to the sexual molestation
that was being perpetrated by one of his coaches – some of
it in his own locker room.
People are making a big deal about that fact that Paterno
was fired via a telephone call. I find that ironic, because
if Paterno would have simply picked up a telephone and
dialed up the State College, Pa., police department 13 years
ago, dozens – who knows, maybe hundreds of molestations –
could have been averted.
Dozens of young lives could have been spared the lifelong
agony of reliving their execrable victimization.
See, in 1998, a police report was filed against Sandusky. At
that time he was a prominent coach with the team. He
reportedly inappropriately touched an 11-year-old boy in a
locker room shower. He would bring kids from the Second Mile
there to show them around.
The boy was interviewed. A second potential victim was
identified and the local child welfare types were brought
in. Sandusky admitted showering naked with and hugging one
of the victims.
These were deemed “boundary issues” and not sexual assault.
The authorities basically told him to knock it off. A year
later, he retired from Penn State.
The district attorney declined to prosecute. Sandusky
retired from coaching in 1999. Coincidence?
State College is a pretty close-knit, small town. You
telling me that word didn’t get out?
Then, in March 2002, the aforementioned graduate assistant,
Mike McQueary, witnessed the rape in the shower.
You telling me nobody else heard about that either?
A janitor also saw Sandusky allegedly committing a sex
crime. You suppose he kept that to himself?
And all the while – for years – Sandusky is showing up
at ball games and practices with young boys from his Second
Mile charity in tow. Hanging out with them. Showing them
around the locker room.
I don’t know what Paterno knew and when he knew it, but my
guess is people throughout the entire organization –
players, coaches, trainers, janitors, et. al. – had
suspicions that Sandusky was a lecherous pervert and just
looked the other way. Wink, wink. Nod, nod.
Might be time to retire, there, Jerry. But don’t worry, you
can still come around. You’re always welcome here.
And let’s talk about this McQueary guy for a bit. He
witnessed a 10-year-old being raped in a shower in a locker
room. He left, met with his dad and decided to report the
incident to Paterno.
Now, McQueary was a quarterback for Penn State. At the time
he witnessed the rape he was 28 years old, coaching under
Paterno. Football was the guy’s life. Safe to say, he is not
some wimpy little graduate assistant. He is a Division 1
quarterback.
To be fair, McQueary has not been able to tell his side of
the story because the investigation is ongoing. But I would
like to know, instead of going to meet with his dad, why
didn’t he go grab a baseball bat and whack Sandusky in the
back of the head?
Or, failing that level of violence and the resultant
potential for legal ramifications, just stick your head in
the shower and yell something like, “Hey, you old perv, get
away from that kid!”
Then, I don’t know, maybe wrap the poor kid in a towel, and
call the cops.
After McQueary talked with Paterno, Paterno reported the
incident to the athletic director. Then McQueary told his
story to the athletic director and another administration
official, the guy overseeing the campus police.
A month or two later, according to the grand jury report,
Penn State officials told McQueary that they banned Sandusky
from bringing kids onto the campus.
Apparently that was good enough for McQueary, who didn’t do
anything else to drop the hammer on Sandusky – a guy he saw
raping a 10-year-old boy.
In 2004, he was promoted to wide receivers coach and
recruiting coordinator.
Interestingly – and ironically – McQueary is still
coaching for Penn State. He won’t be at the team’s final
home game this weekend because of death threats, university
official say. But he still has his job. I would expect that
to change. Given the circumstances, seems it would be pretty
tough for him to continue coordinating recruiting.
I don’t know all the legalities involved here, or if there
is any criminal culpability, but it seems pretty clear there
is some moral equivocating going on. I really don’t care
who, but somebody – Paterno, McQueary, Spanier – needed to
call the cops. We’re talking about a felony here.
Seems like the folks in State College will try just about
anything to avoid tarnishing the hallowed glow of Penn State
football.
How’s that workin’ out for ’em?
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