Jerry Sandusky A Tragedy In College Sports

Jerry Sandusky, assistant football coach for Penn State by all outward appearances seemed to be an outstanding citizen who worked with the legendary Joe Paterno and founded The Second Mile, which was a charitable organization that helped disadvantaged youth. Unfortunately, for the children, Jerry Sandusky was also a serial child rapist. Another tragedy is that although you would think if anyone knew of the abuse, they would have helped these children, in this case, people in high places knew of the abuse and did nothing. Some of the most powerful people, which included President Graham B. Spanier, Senior Vice President-Finance and Business Gary C. Schultz, Athletic Director Timothy M. Curley and the Head Football Coach Joseph V. Paterno, at

Jerry Sandusky joined the coaching staff in 1969 and retired in 1999. However, after his retirement, he continued to have access to the Penn State campus athletic facilities. This crisis that involved Sandusky was one of the worst in the history of college sports. In addition, the scandal also produced the harshest penalties by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The crisis began with two events that happened over ten years ago. In May 1998, a mother reported to the University Police that Sandusky showered with her 11-year-old son. Consequently, the investigation did not reveal a crime, but Sandusky was told not to shower with any children and the case was closed. All four of the Penn State officials were notified of the police report and moved on as if nothing had occurred. On February 9, 2001, a football assistant coach, Mike McQueary, witnessed a sexual encounter involving Sandusky and a 10-year-old boy in the showers of the Lasch building. McQueary reported the incident to head coach Paterno, who then met with Curley and

At this point, the boards of trustees are still unaware of the incidents that have occurred. After eight and half years, on January 7, 2010, the university received subpoenas from the Pennsylvania attorney general for personal records on Sandusky. Furthermore, investigations were launched and the crisis escalated quickly, resulting in charges of child sex abuse. In addition, the trial occurred in 2012 and on July 23, Sandusky was found guilty of 45 counts of child sex abuse. In light of this, the board of trustees removed Joe Paterno and President Graham Spanier from their positions. Subsequently, Schultz and Curley both stepped down. Moreover, the National Collegiate Athletic Association barred the university from any postseason games for four years starting in 2012, scholarships were cut, and Coach Paterno’s wins for the past 14 years was taken off the books, which was 111 wins from his once-record 409 victories. Some think these sanctions were harsh, and even surprised some sports journalist (Crandall, Parnell & Spillan,