College football is a sport marred by cheating, scandal and egregious improprieties.
Recruiting scandals, improper benefits, free cars, free tattoos and anything under the sun have become a staple of the college game. It’s so accepted that fans and, in some cases, administrators turn a blind eye to missteps if it will give their program a leg up between the white lines.
The smudge left on a program’s reputation for cheating is nothing more than a black eye. It looks ugly for a short period of time, but soon the damage will heal and there will be no visible mark of the transgression.
But the allegations of sexual misconduct with minors by former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky cross into new territory.
Currently, nine victims have claimed he inappropriately touched or had sexual relations with them as young boys. The charges against Sandusky are twisted and perverted. But most of all, they’re damning.
They’re damning for Sandusky’s life. He hasn’t been convicted, but his name has been permanently and irrevocably tarnished.
Child molesters don’t get a second chance in the court of public opinion. He will forever be a pedophile and a sick man.
If he is convicted, all of those descriptions of him will be appropriate and warranted. He will deserve all the ridicule he’ll receive. There is no place for sympathy for someone who knowingly took advantage of underprivileged children for their own disgusting sexual urges.
But either way, Sandusky’s name will always be associated with this horrific scandal.
This incident is also damning for the Penn State football program.
How can any parent trust a Penn State coach that comes into their living room and says they will take care of their son for the next four years of his life?
In fact, those dominoes are already starting to fall.
Noah Spence, the No. 1 rated defensive end recruit in the nation and Pennsylvania native tweeted yesterday, “Um PSU might be a no no for me ewwww.”
Rival coaches will have a field day using this against Penn State when they’re going head-to-head for a top-notch recruit.
Once the best talent begins going elsewhere, the Nittany Lion faithful won’t want to support a lower-tier football program with the stain of indignity plastered at every corner.
Penn State is a prideful program with a great history, but this could set it back indefinitely.
And, most upsetting of all, this disgrace will be damning for the career and legacy of Penn State coach Joe Paterno.
Paterno, who has been the head man in Happy Valley for 46 seasons, has always been the symbol of all that was right with sport.
When college football seemed to be corrupt at every corner, Paterno was the beacon of light that still stood for all that was good about the game.
People hinted for years the game had passed him by and he should retire. They said he was nothing more than a figurehead for the program and did little, if any, real coaching.
Paterno never flinched at the naysayers and continued his historic journey, which included two national championships and three Big 10 titles, the last coming in 2005. He passed legendary Grambling State coach Eddie Robinson for the lead in all-time wins by any Division I head coach just two weeks ago.
Despite the laundry list of accomplishments and philanthropic deeds done by Paterno – he and his family have donated more than $4 million to different departments on campus, and the campus library was named in their honor after they helped raise $13.5 million for expansions – he will not be able to survive this bombshell.
Paterno reported Sandusky’s abominable acts, but the grand jury testimony paints a picture that shows Paterno as a conscientious objector to the entire ordeal. He did the bare minimum to appease the legal aspect, but he ignored every moral fiber in his body by not doing more.
This is a man who has preached for decades how helping kids is his life and how much each kid means to him. But when helping children in need had dire consequences for a colleague and friend of his, Paterno passed the buck.
There are few things more upsetting than seeing a legend of the game hang on past his prime and whittle away in mediocrity.
This is one of those moments.
Paterno has been in the game more than half a century, without a sniff of an NCAA violation.
He wasn’t one of the cheaters. He was a good guy. He was the good guy.
But the ripple effect of one man’s actions damned not only himself, but a football program and the legacy of the game’s most revered legend.
 
Rob Landry is a 23-year old mass communication senior from Mandeville. Follow him on Twitter @RobLandry85.
 
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Contact Rob Landry at [email protected]