Just about everyone in the nation, sports fans and non sports fans alike have heard about the Sandusky child sex scandal. For those who have been living under a rock and haven’t heard, Sandusky has been accused of having sexual relations with young, male children who were under his charge in various sports programs for years. The big news, though, is that after the Jerry Sandusky grand jury report came out, people started speculating that legendary Penn State coach Joe Paterno knew about the abuse all along, and did nothing to stop it.
In fact, not long after the Jerry Sandusky grand jury report was released, Paterno himself admitted that he had suspicions that something was going on, but was unsure what to do to stop it. This is disappointing to say the least but many people feel outraged by this statement. Some people can understand why Paterno kept quiet for so long, while others feel he deserves the firing that he got and then some. No matter where you fall on this spectrum, just about everyone agrees that what Paterno did was wrong and allowed abuse of children to continue for far longer than it would have had he just taken a stand and done more to stop a terrible crime.
The Paterno defenders understand that Joe felt torn between his loyalty to Sandusky and the team and his desire to protect the children. Plus, these defenders are quick to point out that Paterno wasn’t completely sure of what was happening. While he had suspicions, he was afraid of making possibly untrue accusations that, once spoken, could not be taken back.
There is little doubt now that Jerry Sandusky is a heinous child abuser who deserves the most severe punishment under the law. There are those who also believe that now ex-coach Joe Paterno also deserves to be punished for being a selfish man who cared more about his team and winning than he did about the safety and welfare of the young children being harmed. These accusers feel Paterno should be indicted on charges of conspiracy for his role in the cover-up.
However you feel we can only hope that Joe has the dignity and respect to fully disclose what he knew and what he did to prevent these crimes and accept any judgment under the law like a man. That is the only thing that will prevent incidents like this in the future.
