Nittany Lions Scandal
Ahhh college football Saturday's are the best, you can sit in front of the tv and watch about 50 plus games being played over the course of 12 hours and multiple story lines will undoubtedly develop as the day goes on. Today, on the day that has been hyped as "the game of the century" and "the biggest game ever" when Alabama and LSU play each other down in Alabama where college football is like religion, about 1,500 miles north a sad scandal is breaking in Happy Valley of all places. A former PSU defensive coordinator who was integral in the success of the Nittany Lions dominating and punishing defense and national championship teams in the early 1980s, has been accused of sexually assaulting 8 boys between 1994 and 2009. Jerry Sandusky was arrested and released after being arraigned on 40 criminal counts. The allegations ranged from sexual touching to sex with boys in their early teens.
In addition to Sandusky, PSU athletic director Tim Curley and another administrator were charged with perjury and failing to report the information they knew of the assault/contact. Apparently it has been alleged that a graduate student saw an assault on a 10 year old boy in the locker room and reported the incident to Coach Paterno, who has not been implicated, who then told Curley. Curley and the other administrator met with the graduate assistant, however, never reported the matter in violation of state law.
PSU will be in damage control mode this week and it will be interesting to see if these allegations are proven true, how deep does the knowledge go within the program, and does the NCAA, who has been very heavy handed in levying penalties on players and schools impose any sanctions or penalties. Penn State is 8-1 this year, sitting at No. 16 in the AP poll, and currently undefeated in Big Ten play. After being off this week, Penn State is home for Nebraska next weekend.
My name is Christopher Fusco. I am the managing partner of Callahan & Fusco, LLC with offices in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.