The End of an Era at Penn State

If you have turned on ESPN, or read any news site lately, you know what the main focus has been.

The sex abuse scandal at Penn State has completely consumed the media and the past days, and it seems everyone has a single opinion. Sandusky allegedly abused multiple boys over a period of 10 years, and now he is being charged with 40 counts of molesting young boys. So why all the talk of JoePa? Join me after the break as I chime in on the recent news.

This morning I was listening to The Herd on ESPN radio in between classes. For an hour or so, Colin Cowherd berated Joe Paterno, and his actions in the scandal. Not once did Cowherd mention Sandusky, the man charged with molesting boys. He places immense amount of blame on JoePa, and fails to mention the real culprit of the situation.

It’s a terrible situation, one that Joe Paterno is obviously upset about, as he released a statement today saying:

"“I am absolutely devastated by the developments in this case. I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief…This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more."

It seems as of late the media is out to crucify Joe Paterno, but refuses to identify the blame of the scandal on Sandusky. I’m not saying that JoePa is completely innocent, as he failed to report what he was told to the police. But, what do we know about what he was told. Mike McQueary was the graduate assistant who witnessed the heinous act that Sandusky was performing on a child. McQueary first reported the incident to his father, and then later apparently told JoePa. In the grand jury report, JoePa reported that McQueary relayed to him a very vague story, and left out specific details.

So what did McQueary say? He could have told him something as simple as, “Sandusky has a boy in the locker room.” Personally, I’m wondering why all the blame is being thrown at Paterno when McQueary was the man who witnessed the event. The media is blasting Paterno for failure to fill a moral responsibility of reporting the crime, but what about McQueary? He has yet to be placed on the crucifix that the media currently has JoePa fixated upon. If we have a moral obligation to report a horrifying crime as he witnessed, why hasn’t he been berated for his actions? McQueary obviously felt as if his father and Paterno were a better solution than the police. So, I belive the attention should be focused on McQueary’s failure to report what he SAW, other than Paterno reporting what could have been taken as a rumor or vague descriptions.

To defend JoePa is in my nature. JoePa is the reason so many people understand and watch football. He is my favorite football coach of all time, and he always will be. Currently, the media is berating him for something he didn’t do. So he may have known of Sandusky’s actions. If he did, he reported everything he knew to the Athletic Director. That AD and the rest of the upper tier at Penn State should have reported it to the police.

What I’m getting at is that JoePa is obviously regretful for his failure to be more agressive in the situation, but that is no reason to shun him like the devil and kick him out the door. Fire McQueary, and let Paterno do his thing until the end of the season, then let the man retire.

So CatCrave readers, while this isn’t completely relevant to us as Panthers Fans (Dan Connor is a Penn State alumni), what do you think? We want to hear your opinions on the current Penn State Scandal.