If Jerry Sandusky Is Sexual Predator, Is It Fair to Shift Blame to Joe Paterno?

If the grand jury report is true, former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually abused multiple young boys over a 15-year period. Some of those incidents reportedly happened at Penn State facilities, including an instance in 2002 in which he was caught in the act.

Penn State assistant Mike McQueary allegedly witnessed Sandusky sodomizing a young boy in a Penn State locker-room shower in 2002, after which he reported the incident to head coach Joe Paterno. Paterno then told athletic director Tim Curley, but a decision was apparently made to not tell the authorities.

Sandusky is clearly the monster in this situation, but people aren't willing to let things rest on that. Instead, many are in search of a scapegoat. McQueary, Curley and Paterno are all candidates, but due to Paterno's stature at the university, he seems to be the fall guy in this instance.

In the face of a possible dismissal, Paterno has taken it upon himself to announce his retirement effective at the end of the season. Penn State has yet to release its own statement on the matter and could decide to fire him, but for now, it looks like Joe Pa's tenure will end following the season.

While Paterno and any of the other high-ranking officials could have told the police, you have to look at things from Paterno's point of view. For one, he didn't even witness the act personally, and he was simply going off an account from McQueary.

One would assume that Paterno trusted McQueary since he was his quarterback at one time and Paterno thought enough of him to put him on his staff, but it was McQueary's word against Sandusky's.

Sandusky was Paterno's right-hand man for much of his tenure at Penn State and was a big factor in multiple National Championship victories. You would have to think that Sandusky was a very trusted advisor to Paterno, and probably a friend as well.

With all of that in mind, who was Paterno to believe? A young graduate assistant or a legendary defensive coordinator that just so happened to run an organization to help children called the Second Mile Foundation.

If Paterno witnessed the act himself, then that would be one thing, but it stands to reason that he had McQueary and Sandusky in his ear telling him different things. Paterno is looking like the fall guy at this point, but the reality is that he was probably manipulated by Sandusky.

Too often we, as a society, can't accept something for what it truly is. What it all comes to is the fact that Sandusky is the evil person who apparently sexually abused children. In retrospect, I'm sure all of the people at Penn State who became aware of the situation wish they had done more.

Put yourself in Joe Pa's shoes, though, and ask yourself if you would be willing to blow the whistle on your friend without what you believe to be reliable evidence. Paterno clearly realizes he made a mistake now, and I think that is most certainly punishment enough.