Jerry Sandusky Scandal: Why Cleaning House Is Right Choice for Penn State

Despite the fact that riots erupted on the campus of Penn State following the dismissal of legendary head coach Joe Paterno, the university did what it had to do. In addition to firing Paterno, president Graham Spanier was removed from power as well.

The board of trustees certainly had a very difficult decision to make, but I believe it made the correct one. Allowing Paterno to finish the season and go out on his own terms would have been ideal, but it wasn't something the institution could afford to do.

Keeping Paterno on as head coach for even one more game would have almost been like absolving him from any blame in the Jerry Sandusky child sex scandal. While we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that Sandusky is the true villain in this case, if he is indeed proven guilty, school administrators are partly responsible.

After assistant coach Mike McQueary allegedly witnessed Sandusky sodomizing a young boy in a Penn State locker-room shower, he reported the incident to Paterno. This prompted Paterno to go to athletic director Tim Curley. Both Curley and senior vice president Gary Schultz decided to keep the issue in house after speaking further with McQueary.

Paterno, McQueary, Curley and Schultz all should shoulder some blame for not contacting the authorities. Paterno and Schultz have already lost their jobs, while Curley looks to be a lame duck on administrative leave.

McQueary has retained his job to this point, but that is unlikely to be the case once a new coaching regime takes over next season. While it couldn't have been easy for the university to make such drastic and sweeping changes, Penn State has to be as far removed from the controversy as possible.

A clean slate is absolutely necessary, and it appears as though that is exactly what Penn State will have at the conclusion of the football season. Removing those in power wasn't simply necessary for the football program's sake, but it needed to be done for the institution as a whole to save face.

There are always going to be those who disagree with a certain decision, but purely from a morality standpoint, Penn State did the right thing. Whether Paterno and Co. knew the full extent of Sandusky's alleged actions is questionable, but they certainly knew something.

To stand idly by while knowing that Sandusky had inappropriate contact with a child at the very least is unacceptable. The students who rioted may not have taken that into account, but if they step back and assess the situation from Penn State's point of view, they will realize firing Paterno and others was a necessary evil.