Not much can be said regarding the Penn State sexual abuse scandal, other than negative expletives. It is a heinous act of a terrible man. Not only that, his terrible acts against children were covered up.
The punishment for Jerry Sandusky should be swift, vicious, and powerful. He should never be allowed to set foot in our society ever again. I believe his punishment should be worse than that, but this is a sports blog, not my political opinion.
But what about the highly respected Penn State head coach Joe Paterno? His shine in the coaching spotlight seems to be waning, and it seems his position as coach will be taken from him. But does he deserve more?
Paterno knew about this. Yet, it was never reported. Why? Why the hell was this not reported? It's possible, but not confirmed, that Sandusky had been doing this for far longer than the 90's. But it still went unreported. Ugh, it's sad that Paterno, or any other coach on the athletic staff, didn't say anything about this. The state of the children ranks way higher than the prestige of a college football tradition.
Can you punish an elderly man like Paterno, who has been highly respected throughout the decades? That's the question. I believe the answer is yes, but in the form of monetary contributions to charities. Covering up this situation was wrong and despicable. What Paterno can do in this ordeal is to give back. Help those that have came forth and charities of the like with money. Maybe it isn't the extent of true justice, but prison wouldn't do anything for a man like JoePa, who could pass away the first day of incarceration.
As for Penn State itself, the NCAA will know what to do. Is the dreaded death penalty in order? Doubtful, because this didn't directly correlate to recruiting or cheating. Jerry Sandusky was a man who created a foundation (Second Mile) to prey on young children. That in itself had nothing to do with Nittany Lion football. The fact that it was covered up by the athletic department, however, is the real issue. Can the NCAA punish that? Sure. But I don't know if just taking away scholarships is the right idea. Penn State should contribute to charities as well for their punishment.
Let's hope a controversy like this never happens again.
All opinions are solely those of Dustin McWilliams. McWilliams is a sports writer at the Denton Record-Chronicle. If you have any questions or feedback, please message McWilliams at dmcwilliams82@gmail.com
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