Jon Sandusky: Browns Employee Foolish for Working Despite Dad's Plight

What are you trying to prove, Jon Sandusky? Why are you trying to ignore what’s going on in your personal life right now?

The Cleveland Browns director of player personnel has decided against taking a leave of absence, despite an appalling turn of events in his life. Sandusky, son of public enemy No. 1 Jerry Sandusky, needs to stop pretending this scandal isn’t consuming his life right now.

His father is accused of 40 counts of child molestation in a grand jury report that makes you gloomy, enraged and disgusted all at once. Aside from committing murder, this is as bad as it gets, and Jon’s dad is the man that has been accused of committing these heinous acts. Not only did he allegedly commit them, but now, accounts of the story are being played over and over on every media outlet that exists.

You can’t escape this story even if you have never heard of Joe Paterno. Obviously, the son of the alleged molester is going to be consumed by it.

Even if they don’t have the greatest relationship, this is his last name that is being associated with such terms and phrases as “showering with boys” and “rapist.”

This is potentially the biggest sports scandal of all time—and potentially even bigger than that. There is no precedent for the current situation at State College.

So, how can you tell me this isn’t drastically affecting the job the younger Sandusky does?

It’s clearly crept into the Browns organization, as coach Pat Shurmur has been forced to answer questions about it: "That’s a totally personal deal. I don’t know the details of any of that. I’m going to sit that one out."

I’m not here to say Jon has done anything wrong. He shouldn’t quit his job or be fired by the Browns. Obviously, he wasn’t the guy that created this mess. But he has to realize how big this story is. It’s not going away for days, months…even years.

So when he makes a choice not to take a leave of absence for a few weeks to mourn with his mother, the biggest victim in this alleged scandal, aside from all of the children and their families, it makes no sense to me.

The status of a new contract for Peyton Hillis really doesn’t sound that important anymore, does it? We are all only human, and you are foolish to think this isn’t completing overtaken his brain.

It’s the sort of story that sticks with you for a long time. So, imagine if this was your dad. Imagine facing the reality that your father may go to prison for the rest of his life and get beaten to a bloody pulp while incarcerated for the rest of his days.

It’s too heavy, too close to home and too damning to his family's name not to dedicate all of his time and effort to being with his family right now.

He’s doing a disservice to the Browns, his family and himself by acting like nothing is wrong.