Joe Paterno is very much in the wrong.
If the details aired in public from the Penn State child rape scandal are accurate, Paterno has a lot of blood on his hands.
He was notified of a first-hand account of the abuse in 2002, at a time when he was the most powerful man at Penn State, and did nothing more than his legal obligation.
In 1998, his defensive coordinator was the subject of a legal investigation over alleged child sex abuse.
Paterno didn't know anything? Even when his defensive coordinator retired the next year in the prime of his coaching career?
The odds are good that there were backroom deals and payoffs along the way. Perhaps a deal to allow his coach to retire gracefully while protecting his secret. We don't know that. We hope it will come out in court, if true.
Paterno is one of the most legendary coaches in the history of college sports. He has long maintained a squeaky clean track record. This is about the most drastic fall from grace you can get, and that in itself is a huge story that should be covered.
But this is not a sports story and should not be framed as one.
Where is the focus on Jerry Sandusky in the media? He's the one charged with 40 counts of various charges, including three counts of indecent assault of a person under 13. He's the one who allegedly raped all those kids and changed those lives forever.
How many? That's the scary question. Victims are still coming forward. Between his position of power on campus and his so-called charity for young boys, we might only be at the tip of the iceberg here. And that should make us all shudder.
Sandusky appeared on national television Monday night for an interview with Bob Costas. Based on his responses, you came away with the feeling that he's either incredibly stupid or incredibly arrogant. I'm going with arrogant.
How else do you admit to showering with kids, "horsing around" with them, hugging them, touching their leg, but expect people to believe that none of it was in a sexual manner?
There is no such thing as a grown man "horsing around" with a child in a shower.
When was the last time someone who was the subject of so much legal and public scrutiny, someone universally demonized for their alleged crimes, agreed to appear on national television at the height of the storm?
He thought it would be smooth sailing. He thought he could give a few weak answers and everyone would buy it. He was in a position of incredible power at Penn State for 30 years. He was used to that kind of reaction.
He thought he could get away with it.
Let's hope his camp isn't arrogant enough to try to buy off potential witnesses for the trial that lies ahead.
And let's hope there is no one left at Penn State willing to help this monster.
Josh Lewis can be reached by phone at 634-2654, by e-mail at [email protected], on Twitter at twitter.com/joshlewis306 or on his Bruins blog at bruinbanter.blogspot.com. Was there a better quote this week than Doug Gilmour's "last time I spoke to Tie Domi, I drafted his son" line during his Hockey Hall of Fame induction speech?
