By now, you know the story.
You know that a man without conscience terrorized young boys in a building built on what was a foundation of success through honor. You know absolute evil was allegedly seen and done there. And you know that it has shattered the image of a proud program and the fans who basked in its glory.
Among the consistent wave of scandals that have plagued the college football world, one wondered when rock bottom would hit. When a scandal would trump anything we've ever seen. The answer is now. This is rock bottom. This is as bad as it gets.
I've always looked at sports as one of the most positive aspects of society. Most general news today is pessimistic and tells what wrongs have been done. Sports told us the opposite; what triumphs man or woman could accomplish. And I always preferred college sports to pro because there was always something that seemed more pure with college sports. It's about small towns, big crowds, school pride, massive tailgating and, especially if it's your alma mater, a love of a special place rising in unison to support a team.
No story, not even SMU's rampant cheating 25 years ago that led to the death penalty, has tarnished what's great about college sports than this.
Innocent people were brutally wronged. I hope and pray their lives are peaceful and happy ones from this day forward. I also hope and pray that none of their names are ever released. They've been through enough. There is so much anger towards the man who awaits trial for these heinous crimes that I lack the ability to type his name. While the justice process must be completed, after reading the grand jury report, there is nothing I can imagine or think of that is worthy enough of the punishment he deserves.
I'll let a higher power take care of that. As will I when it comes to Joe Paterno.
Paterno has always fitted well into what makes college sports special. He defined "old school." His teams played fundamental football. Despite the wave of Pro Combat uniform changes, he stuck to basic white and blue. He coached and won sons, then coached and won with their sons. He was a walking legend of school and sports history. To a large extent, he was Penn State.
Not anymore. Not now.
It's hard to fit Paterno in this whole mess. Maybe he did receive a generic account from Mike McQueary (whose actions were gutless and lacking of any compassion). Even then, when the school told the monster not to bring kids on campus (again, a gutless move), wouldn't Paterno have put two and two together, or realized this guy was not what the school needed representing them in any form?
I can't get out of my head the point made from an editorial in the Harrisburg Patriot-News:
"Paterno and Spanier both knew that a grand jury was investigating Sandusky for possible sexual abuse. They were called to testify. Yet Sandusky continued to have a private office on campus and access to any building."
As much as the man is revered, it's just hard to find sympathy for a guy who let this happen on his watch. He's paid millions to run the football program. The buck stops with him. For this to happen is unacceptable. For this to happen and not have immediate action take place is completely unacceptable.
But now, the other shoe has dropped. JoePa no longer is the head coach of the Nittany Lions. He has to live with what happened every day for the rest of his life. And while that is nothing compared to what the victims went through, it will not be easy for him. Since we may never know the whole story from his perspective, it feels right to believe a higher power will handle this better than all of us.
Let's hope this dies down quickly. Let's hope that this is something we'll never forget, but that Penn State can clean house and start a new chapter in its history.
Let's hope that truly, the only way to go from here is up.
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