White Out at the Wrong Time



Penn State has always been known for their "white outs" at home games.

For years, Penn State fans have flocked in white to Happy Valley to support one of the nation's consistently best football programs. Over the years, fans and haters alike have come to - at the very least - respect the Penn State program as doing things the right way. Love him or hate him, the sight of Joe Paterno on the sidelines conjures up images of one's grandfather overseeing a well-oiled machine that has prided itself on class, integrity, and a genuine family environment.

As it turns out, since 1998 the Penn State upper echelon of decision-makers were employing their own, very different version "white out"...

Who among us wasn't brought up using white out to fix our mistakes? Penn State University's administration apparently learned a different technique.

While the football program sauntered on in a national spotlight (it's only controversy being the "will he" or "won't he" banter regarding Joe Pa's retirement), the unconscionable was occurring behind the scenes. Jerry Sandusky, their defensive coordinator from 1977 - 1999, was apparently sexually preying on young boys. What's more is he was using the university program to help access victims.


Here's what we "know" based on reports surfacing from media outlets:

• In 1998, a parent accused him of inappropriately touching her son. She notified police who set up a meeting between Sandusky and the mother (monitored by their detectives) in which Sandusky stated that "maybe" he touched the son inappropriately, apologized and said that he "wanted to die." Subsequently, the Centre County DA Ray Gricar chose not to pursue charges. In 2005, Gricar went missing, with his work laptop found in the Susquehanna River. By the way, touching a kid inappropriately is pretty cut and dry...
• In 2002, Penn State graduate assistant Mike McQueary (star QB for the Nittany Lions in 96-97) reported to Joe Paterno that he walked in on Sandusky anally raping a young boy. Paterno notified AD Tom Curley and Penn State VP Gary Schulz. The men interviewed McQueary TEN days later, ultimately deciding not to notify police.
• Through 2009, Sandusky ran an overnight football camp for children on the Penn State campus. He also volunteered as an assistant coach at a local high school.

Moreover....he wrote a book (pictured below):


Are we being serious right now!?!?! THIS is the title of his book. You can't make this stuff up. Is he fucking with us? The balls on this guy....

How does this happen? It's funny, you watch movies like "Varsity Blues" and "Friday Night Lights" and you think that this stuff never happens. You think that it's fiction that only happens in menial hick-ish towns where nobody cares what goes on anyway.

We now have a legendary Division I football powerhouse that will never be the same again, because it prioritized its legacy above doing the right thing. They are about to learn what Ohio State just did...The cover up is ALWAYS worse than the initial act. In this case, the initial act is pretty freakin' terrible. But coupled with a cover up? Tough to even put into words.

Let's say, hypothetically, that they truly did not have enough proof to pursue any of these charges. Wouldn't you rid your program of this guy based on the repeated allegations? Wouldn't it be easy to "go in another direction"? I realize that he wasn't "on staff" for most of the time during which the allegations occurred, but they still allowed him to be highly involved with university. They let him host an overnight camp for boys for Christ sake!

"Hey Jerry, we're going to go in another direction. Thanks for everything. By the way, try to stop raping little kids." That's all it would've taken for PSU to sever ties. Proof or no proof, why the need to keep around a former coach with that much baggage. 

If we're going to call a spade a spade....They covered this thing up. The WRONG kind of white out. I have a hard time believing that Joe Paterno was intimately involved in any coverup, but at the same time ... he didn't have a problem with Sandusky hanging around? How did any of them even look him in the face after the 2002 allegations? One of their own, McQueary, SAW him raping a kid. That's not enough?

"I'm gonna ask you again, Mike...Are you sure they weren't just wrestling?" All kidding aside, I find it hard to believe that Joe Pa was involved in any cover up....but he let this scumbag use his PSU brand to market his camp and - even worse - to access his victims.

McQueary has stayed on and is currently the recruiting coordinator and WR coach for the program. Wonder how he feels about his school's "faith" in his credibility. This makes Ohio State look like the University of Divinity. What small potatoes now. You're talking about supposedly credible men (the AD and university VP) consciously covering this up, and a slew of others (Paterno included) who are guilty of at least looking the other way.

Honestly, I didn't like Penn State before this. But that was of a rooting interest. I've always respected their program for the ideals that they have embodied. It will be tough to root for them moving forward if they don't gut the whole program.

It's sad that it has to end this way.....but it's time to clean house.