Paterno, McQueary need to do right thing
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On Sept. 11, 2001, Penn State graduate assistant coach Mike McQueary burst into Joe Paterno's office to tell him the World Trade Center had been attacked by terrorists. Paterno told him to stop horsing around and shooed him away. It wasn't until moments later that Paterno realized the horrible truth.
I'm wondering if Paterno did the same thing when McQueary came to him in 2002 and told him he witnessed an alleged heinous, criminal sexual act the day before between former longtime Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky and a young boy in the showers at Penn State's Lasch Football Building. Is Paterno just now realizing the horrifying impact of what McQueary saw? Or did he fully understand it at that moment and chose to do nothing more about it than what was legally required?
We have heard so much about The Paterno Way over the years.
I'm wondering if the long-standing Paterno mantra -- "Success With Honor And Integrity" -- needs to be changed.
You know, to something like "Winning With Deep, Dark, Terrifying Secrets."
Not the way any of us expected the old coach to go out, which he surely will after this season.
If not sooner.
Paterno and McQueary, now Penn State's receivers coach, recruiting coordinator and on-field point man for the offense, need to take an immediate leave of absence. It isn't just the right thing to do, it's the only thing. The Sandusky sex scandal is so much bigger than the home game Saturday afternoon between No. 12 Penn State and No. 19 Nebraska.
Paterno released a statement Sunday saying that the "witness" -- McQueary -- was clearly "distraught" in their 2002 meeting but "at no time related to me the very specific actions" alleged to have been committed by Sandusky. That is hard to believe. Pretend you are a boss. If one of your employees comes to you in a bad emotional state, are you not going to ask him or her exactly what the problem is? Or in McQueary's case, exactly what he saw? If you don't, you would be an inept boss. Paterno, at that time, certainly wasn't inept.
First Published November 8, 2011 12:00 am
