Thursday, 10 November 2011

Best Interests?

I'm sure you've all heard of the big scandal going on at Penn State. In the wake of that, both the university president and legendary head football coach, Joe Paterno, have been fired. This sparked outrage among students at PSU who subsequently rioted in the streets. Paterno had already announced his retirement shortly before the news of his firing came but it obviously wasn't enough. In case you've been living under a rock and didn't know, this who scandal began after reports surfaced that a former head coach under Paterno, Jerry Sandusky, sexually abused boys in the PSU locker room. Now, eight years after the incident, the scandal came to life. Paterno came under fire because this happened on his watch and he was notified of the situation. He told Penn State officials of the incidents and pretty much did nothing else in response.

The Board of Trustees fired Paterno as well as the president which begs the question: why was then graduate assistant (now assistant coach) Mike McQueary not penalized? In fact, he gets to keep his job and even coach at the Nittany Lions' game against Nebraska this Saturday. I may be ignorant on some of the details of this situation but how come nothing was done with McQueary? I mean, he was the one who saw these alleged incidents happen. He did notify Paterno and other officials but, still, he should've notified the police about this. I guess all could have (and should have) notified the police but if one goes they all should. McQueary should be fired as well. It's almost like the board is setting a double standard. They fired Paterno and others for not reporting this to authorities while not firing McQueary who supposedly saw it happen and did not report it to the police.

All in all, I think everyone involved did wrong and I just hate it for the kids who were involved. It's ashame that things like this happen in our world so much!

UPDATE: Penn St. put McQueary on paid administrative leave Friday. Reports say that he has left State College, PA as a result of receiving multiple threats. It's still just a slap on the wrist (not to mention he gets paid as well).

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