I Was Wrong....At First

I made a big mistake. 

It started off rather harmless, really. I just had sympathy for the scenario, so I thought. 

I was weighing the options where this Penn State debacle was concerned. In case you've been living under a rock, here's the skinny:  Joe Paterno, the legendary Penn State football coach, was fired after a story broke that his former defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, was arrested and charged with 40 counts of sexual molestation of eight minors. As if this weren't bad enough, the grand jury investigation (which went on for three years) referenced a particularly disturbing story. 

According to the report, Mike McQueary, then a graduate assistant, allegedly walked in on Jerry Sandusky sexually assaulting (read that "raping") a TEN YEAR OLD BOY in the shower at the Nittany Lion's facility. McQueary stated that he left and, later that evening, spoke with his father, who advised him to inform Coach Paterno of what he saw.  

Once given the info, Paterno informed the administration of what he was told. Sandusky (who was retired at this time and had an office in the facility as a professional courtesy, it would seem) was admonished not to return to the campus and had his keys confiscated. 

Here comes my mistake...

MY initial thought was this:  Well, Paterno notified the administration and it WAS their responsibility. And McQueary WAS only a graduate assistant. What was he, 21 or 22?  He was scared. That's only natural. Paterno said he would retire at the end of the year. That's good enough, right?

How wrong I was. 

Let me begin by explaining exactly who Mike McQueary is. 

McQueary was a high school standout at quarterback for State College High School, the "Baby Lions" whose campus was a few blocks away from Penn State University.  He was a Penn State quarterback from 1994 to 1997. The redhead still holds records in the annals of the Nittany Lion's history. After a failed stint in the NFL (Oakland Raiders) and NFL Europe (Scottish Claymores), McQueary came back home to Happy Valley as a graduate assistant.    In other words, he was groomed to be a leader for the Nittany Lions. 

By the way...in 2002 when this particular assault allegedly happened, McQueary was 28. 

Let me say that again: when this 6 foot plus, 200 plus pound MAN walked in on a grown man raping a ten year old boy, he was twenty-eight years old. Think about that for a second. 

Now, back to Coach Paterno.

Initially, I thought it was reasonable that he spoke to the administration. After all, he passed it up through the proper channels, right?

But let's stop for a bit. Joe Paterno had been the head coach at Penn State for 46 years. He WAS Penn State. There was no more powerful man on that campus than him. Possibly no more powerful man in the state of Pennsylvania. And all you could do was report to the administration?  No report to the police?

Why not get five of your biggest offensive linemen to go with you to Sandusky's office, then beat him within an inch of his life? Or at least ask him straight up what the deal was?  

The answer, it would seem, is that football teams are closed societies. They handle things internally, like police departments, military groups or churches. 

I believe McQueary saw what he saw and KNEW it was wrong, but thought about his career first. Had he turned Sandusky in immediately, or physically stopped him from raping the boy, he would have ostracized himself from the Penn State football family. His coaching career would have been over, or at least severely stalled. So he did what many weak-minded people do:  he did nothing. And NOW he says that he stopped Sandusky from continuing the assault. Here's my effortless refutation of his claim:  Hey, Mike. You stopped Sandusky from raping the boy, but you left the boy with him afterwards?  You're a liar, Mike McQueary. A BAD liar and a coward.

Joe Paterno chose his longtime friendship with Jerry Sandusky and his allegiance to football over the safety of a little boy. Shame on you, Joe Pa. Shame on you. 

Had Mike McQueary come into your office and said, "Coach, I saw Sandusky in the shower with Jay Paterno, III, your grandson. It just didn't look right. In fact, Sandusky had him in a compromising situation...", would you have behaved the same way?  No, Coach. I don't think you would have. I think you would have knocked over chairs and tables as you scampered out of your office to get your hands around Sandusky's throat. And that is the problem, isn't it?  These kids just didn't matter enough to you. 

I put my children's names in the place of these anonymous victims. I couldn't imagine, but I know there would be blood on my hands. With no remorse. Where was your outrage, Joe?  Where was your compassion, Mike?  It's missing. In favor of your allegiance to your precious institution. Your football program. 

God grants mercy to everyone. Be grateful for that. I personally don't have much for you. You shame yourselves. You shame us all.