Jerry Sandusky and Penn State Sex-Abuse Scandal: Gone but Not Forgotten

I'm not a college football writer.  I write for the Kansas City Chiefs, sadly.  When this story first broke out, I did write an article about it.

I watch college football and pay attention to the big games and stories.  It occurred to me, all I hear about now is conference championships, big games and bowl game chances.

So, I went to the College Football page.  There was nothing about this story.  I went to the Big Ten page—again nothing.

Then I went to the Penn State page.  I was pleasantly surprised to find quite a few articles, some old and some new about this issue.

This story should not be put on a back page, now, or ever.

I understand that many students at Penn State, and other universities, go about their lives, study hard, look forward to their teams playing, going to bowl games and winning.  It's part of big-time college.

This story, however, is much bigger.

Right after the story broke, there was a very misguided response by many Penn State fans, students and alumni.

I know that part of the reason we saw the outpouring on campus the night Joe Paterno was fired was because so many of those people were kids.  The vast majority were probably between 18 and 22.

I hope that many went home over this Thanksgiving vacation and spoke with their parents about this horrific ordeal.

I understand that most of those out there protesting do not have children, or have never been the victim of sexual abuse, as I was.  At least I hope they weren't.

I hope their parents or other loved ones talked with them and gave them a wider view of the big picture, to help them understand the significance the importance of the issue.

Many blamed the media and even people like me who spoke out.  If you see some of the comments on the article I wrote, you'll know what I mean.  You will, however, see a few comments that make speaking out worth it.

One out of every four girls before she reaches the age of 18 will be sexually abused.  One out of every six boys will be sexually abused before 18.

In most cases, it is a family member, or someone close to the family.

Chances are, you know one of those people, but chances are, they will never tell you.  In fact, someone reading this may very well be one of those children.

Keep this on the front burner.  Not every day, but don't let it slip away.  It's too important.

Many of you will have your own children one day.  As parents, we do our best, but we cannot watch them every second of every day and when we hear these stories, they scare the hell out of us.