Jerry Sandusky Interview: Public Opinion Will Not Be Swayed by Sandusky's Words

For some inane reason, former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky decided to grant an exclusive interview to NBC News and Bob Costas.

For their own inane reasons, Sandusky's camp allowed him to proceed.

Clearly, neither party must have figured that disaster was going to ensue.

It is therefore only fitting that disaster ensued.

If you missed the interview, the video of it is embedded below. All you really need to know is that Costas put very tough, forthright questions to Sandusky, and that his answers didn't sound like those of an innocent man.

When asked what kind of activities he engaged in with young boys, Sandusky didn't even make an effort to hide the fact that he had done some things that normal people just don't do with children.

"I could say that I have done some of those things. I have horsed around with kids, I have showered after workouts. I have hugged them and I have touched their legs without intent of sexual contact," he said.

Later on, when Costas pressed Sandusky to admit that he had done something wrong, the only answer he could muster was, "I shouldn't have showered with those kids."

While Sandusky did flat-out deny that he engaged in any sexual activity with young boys, he didn't seem to know how to answer Costas when he asked if Sandusky is "sexually attracted" to young boys.

"Am I sexually attracted to underage boys?" said Sandusky. "Sexually attracted... no I enjoy young people. I love to be around them. I... but no, I'm not sexually attracted to young boys."

The text doesn't quite do this answer justice. When you hear it in the video clip, you'll notice that Sandusky pretty much didn't know what to say. That he had to pause several times to even find the words is pretty alarming given how simple the question was.

The complete package is about as damning as it gets. Perhaps there was a way that Sandusky could have done this interview in such a way that he would have sounded innocent, but instead he came off sounding like a man who is guilty of everything that he has been accused of.

And by now, virtually everyone knows what he is accused of. It's all explained in a grand jury report, and the exhaustive media coverage of the Penn State scandal has made sure to dwell on pretty much every last detail in this case.

This scandal has all but destroyed Penn State's reputation, and it has also cost longtime head coach Joe Paterno and several top-shelf administrators their jobs. Public opinion has played a huge role in the university's implosion. This a scandal unlike anything we've ever seen involving college athletics, and both the public and members of the media wanted to see heads roll.

After all, there was simply no way this whole thing was a big misunderstanding, right?

That's basically what Sandusky implied in his interview with Costas. By claiming his innocence, he is claiming innocence for everyone else as well. In so many words, he implied that the whole Penn State scandal as a hoax.

If he thinks anybody is going to take his word for it, he's not just guilty. He's crazy.