Joe Must Go 

Penn State football is that shining city on a hill.

It is Camelot.

It is everything that is good about big time college athletics.

Not anymore.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am a Penn State fan.  I wouldn't consider myself a diehard by any means and I don't have any ties to the school nor the state of Pennsylvania. 

So, why do I root for Penn State?  Integrity, tradition, vanilla uniforms, black cleats, great teams, great coach. 

Coach Joe Paterno is all I have known at Penn State--heck, he took over in State College the year I was born (1966).

However, Happy Valley is anything but today with the news that Paterno's former assistant and defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, has been indicted on charges of sexually abusing eight boys over a period of 15 years. 

As a result, there are reports that the 84 year old Paterno is on the verge of stepping down.

I am in total and utter shock.  I just cannot believe that it could end this way.  Here he is, the greatest coach ever, a man who has run a squeaky clean program amidst a sea of collegiate misconduct, stepping down because of what could be the biggest scandal ever to hit college sports?

I've told myself to try to calm down--to temper my feelings and be deliberate because these are allegations and not proof--they are indictments and not convictions.  But, I keep coming back to the same questions...What did JOPA know and when did he know it?  Why was Sandusky allowed to remain a friend of the university after the alleged incident in 1999?  Why didn't the assistant who spotted Sandusky and a 10 year old boy in the shower call the police?  Why wasn't this issue dealt with in an up-front fashion by the administration?

Abusing and injuring children is by far and away the most heinous and despicable thing a person can do on this earth.  I am disgusted by the details of this sordid affair.

Do I believe that JOPA did anything illegal?  No.  I don't think he did. 

But, why did he continue to allow Sandusky to hang around?  Heck, the dude occupied an office across from the football building since he retired in '99.   He ran his football camps on a Penn State campus.  He was allowed to work out in the football gymnasium.

I realize that the man has not been convicted of anything.

But, the way this was handled by the school was despicable.

The entire Penn State administration, including the president, needs to resign. 

And sadly, Joe must go.