It’s been a couple of surreal weeks in weeks in Happy Valley.
As the child sex abuse scandal continues to unfold, we can only sit back and shake our heads in disbelief. How did something like this take place at Penn State under iconic coach Joe Paterno? It’s hard to imagine a scandal of any type taking place at University Park, let alone something so horrible.
It’s easily the worst scandal in the history of collegiate athletics.
In today’s edition of Morelli OnLion, we’ll take a closer look at the scandal that has ripped Penn State University to the core. We’ll explore what has taken place and what needs to happen as the university moves forward.
An American Tragedy
As we sit and continue to dig through the facts surrounding the child sex abuse scandal at Penn State, one thing keeps coming to mind: This could easily have been prevented.
If Mike McQueary had simply called the Penn State police that fateful night when he saw former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky allegedly assaulting a young boy in the showers at the Lasch Building, this scandal would have turned out differently. Or, if coach Paterno had called police the next day, this would have turned out differently.
Imagine – just for a moment – how this would have played out.
In all likelihood, Sandusky would have been arrested. McQueary and Paterno would have been hailed for their bravery in putting a child predator behind bars. The two could have formed a foundation to help victims of child abuse. Sure, it would have been a black eye for the university for a short period of time, but it would have faded over time. Paterno would still be coaching, as would McQueary. Instead, Paterno has been fired and McQueary is on leave because he has received death threats for not reporting this heinous crime.
The truth is that both McQueary and Paterno are cowards.
McQueary is probably the most culpable here. If he did indeed witness what is in the grand jury presentment and simply left the Lasch Building, shame on him. All of the talking heads on television and radio keep telling us that we don’t know what we’d do if we were in McQueary’s shoes. No, we don’t know. Perhaps we’d take matters into our own hands and stopped the assault. Perhaps we would have called the police and had officers come to stop the assault. I can tell you one thing I would not have done – left the building.
But it appears – at least in the grand jury presentment – that is exactly what McQueary did. He left. He called his dad and then went to Paterno’s house the next day. It has been said that Paterno is the most powerful man in State College. All Paterno had to do was call authorities. One phone call to the Penn State police, State College police or Pennsylvania State Police would have done the trick. Instead, all Paterno did was run it up the flagpole to his boss, Athletic Director Tim Curley. Curley then passed the buck to his boss, Penn State Vice President Gary Schultz.
It was a series of passing the buck and sweeping things under the rug that led us to where we are today.
Paterno’s firing set off a riot in State College. Students who thought the coach had been done wrong by the Penn State Board of Trustees stormed the streets of State College last Wednesday, ripping down light poles, overturning a TV news truck and destroying public property. It was on display across the globe. Just when it appeared that things couldn’t get any worse for Penn State, they did.
If you are one of those dyed in the wool blue-and-white alums who thinks that Paterno got a raw deal, you need to go and read the 23-page grand jury presentment. If you can get through 23 pages of disgusting details that will make your skin crawl and you still support your old ball coach, it’s probably time to look in the mirror.
There are no excuses for Paterno and McQueary at this point. McQueary lacks an element of human decency. It’s hard to imagine him ever coaching again. Can you imagine him on a recruiting trip, trying to convince parents to send their children to Penn State – or another school for that matter? He’d get laughed right out of their living rooms.
As for Paterno, his lack of action shows no leadership whatsoever. Turns out that the man who preached “Success with Honor” has no honor at all. He turned a blind eye while a child predator continued to roam free for over a decade. It’s shameful.
Both McQueary and Paterno need to sit down with the media and explain their actions, or lack thereof. Sure, there will be some “no comments,” but perhaps we will get some answers. Heck, Sandusky is at the center of this firestorm and he conducted what can only be described as an odd telephone interview with Bob Costas on Monday night.
So here we sit, the once-proud Penn State football program in shambles. McQueary has shamed the university he once played for. Forget paid leave, he should be fired today. As for Paterno, he will not be remembered for his 409 wins, but for his failure to do the right thing morally.
This truly is an American Tragedy.
Chris Morelli is an award-winning writer/editor who lives in Centre County and covers Penn State athletics for gantnews.com. He’s also a regular on “Sports Central,” which airs on ESPN Radio in Altoona and State College. E-mail him at morellionlion@gmail.com. Also, be sure to check out Morelli OnLion on Facebook!