Strange Turn Of Events At Penn State
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Gary [email protected]
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!”[[In-content Ad]]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?
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!”[[In-content Ad]]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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