Jon Sandusky: Cleveland Browns Official Shouldn't Suffer for Father's Follies

Amidst the horror and the tragedy of the Jerry Sandusky scandal that has enveloped Penn State, ousted Joe Paterno and pushed college football well off to the sidelines, there remains at least one man with a somewhat familiar name in all this who actually deserves the benefit of the doubt.

That man is Jon Sandusky, Jerry's son. Sandusky is currently the director of player personnel for the Cleveland Browns and, contrary to early reports, has declined to leave his post in the interim to tend to the situation.

Of course, it would be eminently understandable if he did. Whether Jon knew about his father's transgressions or not, this is still a crisis for the Sandusky family, though it's impossible to compare the devastation rendered to the victims and their families by Jerry's sickening behavior over a 15-year period.

Jon played for JoePa and his father from 1996 to 1999, during Jerry's final seasons on Paterno's staff in Happy Valley, and served as an intern for the football team for two years thereafter.

The younger Sandusky shouldn't be expected to speak on the matter anytime soon, given its sensitivity in the context of his life and the potential repercussions that any remarks about his father might have.

For now, though, if there's anyone with close ties to this whole situation who should not come under fire and whose job security should not immediately be threatened, it's Jon. At this point, there's no telling how much Jon knew or didn't know about the sexual abuse of children in which his father was for so long engaged. For all we know, Jerry could very well have kept his actions hidden from his family entirely.

If anything, it would be well within the bounds of reason for the Browns to allow Jon to take a leave of absence if he so chooses, as this entire ordeal has more than likely taken a significant emotional toll on him, creating an unavoidable distraction (not to mention a media fiasco) for a man whose task of helping Mike Holmgren turn the Browns into a winner is difficult enough without personal matters of this magnitude interfering.

And if the Browns are even entertaining the thought of letting Sandusky go, if for no other reason than the taint that just his name may bring to the organization, they would be wise to wait and see if Jon has any culpability in this case whatsoever before even entertaining the thought of letting him go.