While nothing is official, Penn State head coach Joe Paterno has expressed his desire to finish out the 2011 season and retire following its conclusion. This decision comes in the wake of an alleged child sex scandal involving former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.
The university has yet to comment on Paterno’s plans, so it isn’t yet known whether he will be permitted to finish out the season. Paterno is undoubtedly one of the greatest college football coaches of all time and it would be a shame to see him forced out, but it would be the right decision for Penn State at this point.
At the very least, Paterno had suspicion that Sandusky inappropriately touched a young boy. This is due to the fact that assistant coach Mike McQueary reportedly witnessed an incident in a Penn State locker room shower and notified Paterno.
In turn, Paterno told athletic director Tim Curley. After discussing the matter with McQueary, Curley and all parties involved made a decision to not alert the authorities. Perhaps they were unconvinced of what McQueary had seen, but it was certainly a questionable decision.
Now, with so many details coming to light, it appears as though Paterno and other university officials made a huge mistake by keeping the information to themselves. Even if Paterno didn’t realize the full extent of what allegedly happened, he should have taken action.
Because of that, Penn State simply cannot allow Paterno to coach another game for the Nittany Lions. In a perfect world Penn State would be able to honor Paterno’s wishes, but the university has to think about how Sandusky’s alleged victims would feel.
Had Paterno immediately gone to the police, then Sandusky’s alleged actions could have been stopped and countless other victims might have been spared. Because of his nonchalant handling of the situation, though, Sandusky was allowed to go undetected for nine more years.
If Paterno, McQueary and Curley are allowed to retain their jobs, then it essentially means that the university is saying they handled the Sandusky situation responsibly. While Paterno and McQueary were both in compliance with the law, common sense should have come to the forefront.
Perhaps Paterno was afraid to say anything due to his long-standing business relationship with Sandusky, but when it comes to suspicion of child abuse, action needs to be taken. Sandusky is the criminal if he is indeed guilty, but the actions of Paterno et al were unacceptable.
Penn State was lax in its response to the allegations against Sandusky, so the for officials to sit on their hands is over. If Penn State truly wants to make a statement that it is behind the alleged victims, then it will fire anyone with prior knowledge of the scandal, and that includes Paterno.
