If the allegations are true, former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually abused boys he met through the Second Mile Foundation for 15 years. He will likely be behind bars for the rest of his life if found guilty, but he isn’t the only one at fault.
Current Penn State assistant coach Mike McQueary reportedly witnessed Sandusky sodomizing a young boy in a Penn State locker-room shower in 2002. He then notified head coach Joe Paterno who reported to athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz.
While Curley and Schultz met with McQueary, they decided to keep the incident in house and neglected to report it to the authorities. There are many reasons why they might have done this, with protecting the prestige of the university being one, but in the end, it all comes down to loyalty.
Sandusky was a good soldier for the football program for many years prior to his retirement in 1999. In fact, it was once thought that Sandusky could be the successor to Paterno. Sandusky developed into a legend in his own right and was beloved in the Penn State community.
Because of that loyalty, Penn State is now in the midst of perhaps the biggest scandal in the history of college football. Many will blame the likes of McQueary, Paterno, Curley and Schultz, and they certainly should shoulder some of the load, but Sandusky, I believe, manipulated them.
Many of his sexual attacks reportedly took place at Penn State facilities. I think this was most definitely a calculated maneuver on his part. He probably figured that Penn State was the safest place to commit such despicable acts because of his stature.
Even if he was caught, he would still probably get away with it. That is exactly what happened when McQueary et al failed to turn Sandusky in to the police. Sandusky knew full well that people like Paterno, who he probably considered to be a friend, wouldn’t blow the whistle on him.
Just like Sandusky manipulated the children he abused, he manipulated the university that gave him an opportunity. Sandusky used his status to continually gain access to Penn State facilities and he exploited that right.
As is often the case in these types of sexual abuse cases, the offender uses a position of power to trick the victim. Sandusky most certainly did that, but he did the same to Penn State. While McQueary, Paterno, Curley and Schultz failed to do the morally correct thing, their loyalty to Sandusky played a huge role.
