Honorable men, dishonored
Jerry Sandusky. NOT coach Mike McQueary. NOT Penn St. President Graham Spanier. NOT legend Joe Paterno.
Jerry Sandusky is the guy who is facing 40 counts of sexually abusing children between 1994 and 2009. NOT McQueary, Spanier or Paterno.
It is Jerry Sandusky who has proclaimed his innocence in an NBC-TV interview.
It is Jerry Sandusky who has yet to be convicted of anything.
Jerry Sandusky’s day in court will come.
Unfortunately McQueary’s, Spanier’s and Paterno’s day came and went when they were tarred and feathered by the press which ultimately led to their dismissals. None of them were given the opportunity to tell their side of the story.
Joe Paterno has dedicated over six decades of his life to developing character in young men. By most accounts, he was incredibly successful. And yet in one instance, his reputation has been destroyed, his career ripped from him. You would think it was JoePa himself that raped kids.
Nobody knows all the facts. Nobody knows what Paterno knew or didn’t know. Fact is, it took almost 17 years for charges to finally be filed against Sandusky. Obviously there wasn’t enough evidence at several points when suspicions were raised to charge him.
So let’s put ourselves in a similar situation. What would you have done? I guarantee it would not have been easy to make accusations against a trusted friend and colleague. Especially when you have not witnessed any of it yourself.
One more thing to think about – What if Sandusky is, in fact, innocent. What if he simply used poor judgement. What if what he says is true: “I have horsed around with kids I have showered (with) after workouts. I have hugged them, and I have touched their legs without intent of sexual contact.”
That is all irrelevant right now. McQueary, Spanier and Paterno have been sentenced without a trial.
Isn’t it ironic that Sandusky will actually be the only one who will get the opportunity to defend himself.
