The Penn State scandal

I just watched most of the Penn State-Nebraska game today (won by Nebraska 17-14). It was the first game in a long time for Penn State without head coach Joe Paterno, who was fired earlier this week amid a major scandal involving former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. Paterno and numerous other associated with Penn State appear to have failed to report disturbing sexual allegations against young boys committed by Sandusky.

The whole situation is sad to me. Sandusky appears to be a monster. After reading the grand jury report, it was just sickening what he appears to have done. And it's a problem that Paterno and receivers coach Mike McQueary knew about at least one allegation for several years and didn't report it to the police, even if they each informed their superiors at the university. Both Paterno and McQueary deserved what they got.

I don't think Paterno or McQueary necessarily meant for more crimes to be committed, but that's just something you have to report to the police. I feel a little bad for both of them (McQueary has been placed on administrative leave and I'll bet he never coaches another game at Penn State), but not even close to as bad as I feel for all of the victims. Who knows how many kids and their families were harmed by the actions of Sandusky and how many more in the years before the grand jury investigation when Paterno and McQueary had some knowledge of the situation. Stuff like that can affect people for the rest of their lives. That's the real tragedy.