I lived in State College, Pennsylvania for three years in the early to mid 2000s. It's hard to live near and work for Penn State without developing some level of affection for the communty, and for the Nittany Lions football team.
I lived about three miles or so from the stadium and drove past it on the way to work. For about a year, my route home took me near Joe Paterno's house, and I even saw him walking across campus on a couple of my drives home.
Centre County, which is where Penn State is located, is most definitely a small, close knit community. It is a special place.
Which is why the news that has come out of there over the last few days is beyond sickening.
There has been a complete and total failure of leadership at Penn State, if you read the grand jury indictment. Complete and total. If you read the full indictment, I advise you to do so on an empty stomach, because it is truly sickening.
Athletic Director Tim Curley has stepped down and is on administrative leave. He's gone, basically.
Vice President of Finance and Operations Gary Schultz has "retired." He's gone.
Curley and Schultz have also been indicted for perjury in lying about what they knew in regards to Sandusky's predilictions via information received in 2002 from (then) graduate assistant Mike McQueary, who allegedly caught Sandusky in the shower one night at Penn State's Lasch Football Building having sex with a ten year old boy.
McQueary (now an assistant coach) told Joe Paterno what he witnessed. Paterno then told Curley. Sandusky's reprimand? His keys to the facility were taken away and he was told not to bring boys into the lockerroom or on campus anymore.
Nobody called the police. And that ban on bringing boys on campus was, as Curley admits, unenforceable.
That pisses me off, especially because, after the 2002 shower incident, there was another document victim, from 2005-2008 when he finally cut off contact with Sandusky.
Someone else allegedly had part of their innocence stolen because of massive inaction by supposed leaders of men.
Curley and Schultz apparently covered for Sandusky and tried to protect the repuation of Penn State. President Graham Spanier was apparently okay with the lack of action taken by Schultz and Curley. And as far as I can tell, Paterno did the bare minimum that was legally obligated of him, as did McQueary.
That's not good enough as far as I am concerned. It simply isn't good enough. And it might, correctly, cost some other people their jobs. Including Joe Paterno, as the New York Times is reporting.
It would be an ignomious end to a great coaching career, and it is an ending that no one could have ever seen coming.
