Gator's Blog: It Isn't Fun Talking About Penn State
The child sex scandal in State College, PA is about as sick as it gets. Believe me when I say that it has been no fun talking about it over the last ten days, yet it seems every day there is more to the story that keeps it relevant. This is one that everyone has an opinion about because it truly affects all of us.
You don't have to be a parent to show compassion for the victims or share your vitriol for Jerry Sandusky. Sadly, when all of the facts come out in this case, I think it will be more disturbing than we ever thought possible. The number of victims continues to climb by the day, which leads to a couple of sad conclusions; Sandusky assaulted far more children than anyone wants to think about or there are a lot of sickos out there that want to try and cash in on an inevitable class action lawsuit against Penn State and Sandusky despite never coming into sexual contact or otherwise with the coach.
I offer the cautionary phrase of, "let this play out in the legal system", and do so with some trepidation. What if the system in that neck of the woods is so corrupt and inept in its handling of the case that we never know the truth? What if the ultimate goal was and is to protect Penn State University and Joe Paterno at all cost? I gotta tell you, from the initial reports, it seems that the corruption and or cover up runs deep and starts from the highest levels of power.
If a cover up of epic proportions is discovered that implicates the school's President, Athletic Director, Head Football Coach, Assistant Coaches, Prosecutors, local police, State police, and any other higher ups I've forgotten to mention, then there should be dire consequences. Penn State University could and should face expulsion from the Big Ten Conference. This goes well beyond coaches making long distance phone calls during recruiting dead periods or players accepting gifts, tattoos, or money, we're talking about unspeakable acts and a potential cover up to save a University and its administration from being knocked off their mountainous pedestal and eventually being demolished to their very foundation.
The truth is that if this happened at a mid level program, they would be done. But this is Penn State, a place where Joe Paterno has stood as the epitome of integrity in college athletics. Throwback University has been eroding for years without much notice, between the countless arrests and violations by the players to the sham that is the NCAA all time winningest coach and now they're poised to be blasted to oblivion by their own doing...ironically silence, not doing anything and not saying anything
So between Paterno hiring PR firms to help his image, Sandusky doing creepy television interviews, Coach McQueary's potentially contradictory emails, and the resignations of those in charge, I really hope that closure comes swiftly for the alleged victims in the case and that justice is served without controversy. Unfortunately, it looks like the key players in this case are poised turn this into a long, drawn out circus.
