Penn State Scandal: Charges Against Jerry Sandusky Won't Taint Joe Pa's Legacy

Former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky has been charged with sexually assaulting eight boys over 15 years, but these horrible allegations won't blemish Joe Paterno's legendary career.

Two Penn State officials have been charged with perjury for attempting to cover up the issue. However, all indications are that Paterno has handled this case perfectly.

Nils Frederiksen, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania attorney general's office, dismissed the notion that Paterno was involved in the coverup.

"Joe Paterno was a witness who cooperated and testified before a grand jury," Frederiksen said. "He is not a suspect."

It's possible that Paterno will testify during the actual trial, but that's nothing more than premature speculation at this point.

The main allegation in this case comes from a graduate assistant, who said he saw Sandusky assaulting a boy in the shower at the team's practice facility in 2002. The graduate student and his father then immediately reported the incident to Paterno, who relayed the information to athletic director Tim Curley.

Curley and Gary Schultz, vice president of finance and business at Penn State, have been charged with perjury for failing to alert police and other agencies of the incidents.

"Despite a powerful eyewitness statement about the sexual assault of a child, this incident was not reported to any law enforcement or child protective agency, as required by Pennsylvania law," state attorney general Linda Kelly said.

These allegations cast a massive shadow over Penn State as a university, but Paterno should be free from criticism.

After hearing about the incident, he immediately reported it to his bosses. Then, he was fully cooperative with law enforcement during the investigation.

Joe Pa has racked up more wins as a coach than anybody in college football history. His off-field legacy is just as impressive, if not more so.

Despite these allegations, that shouldn't change at all.