STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Happy Valley was perfect for Joe Paterno, a place where “JoePa” knew best, where he not only won more football games than any other major college coach, but won them the right way: with integrity and sportsmanship. A place where character came first, championships second.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Ex-Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky has been arrested on new sex abuse charges brought by two new accusers.
The investigation into alleged sexual abuse by former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky has brought the attention of Americans back to grand juries more clearly than since the days of the grand jury investigation of the actions of then President Bill Clinton. I wrote about the Grand Jury system for one of the first Case Study columns nearly seven years ago and, as more than six years have passed since then, it’s probably about time to address the topic again.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State will donate $1.5 million in bowl proceeds to a pair of groups that work with sex-crime victims, a gesture aimed at healing the school’s battered image in the wake of child sex charges against a former assistant football coach.
PHILADELPHIA — Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky sexually abused a boy more than 100 times, and threatened to harm his family to keep him quiet, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday by a new accuser who is not part of the criminal case.
Sometime during my first year of law school I received, as a gift, a sweatshirt that says across the front of it, “On the advice of my attorney, my shirt has no comment at this time.” It’s a common sentiment. Just about any time that a person is accused of a crime or involved in a situation in which they might be the target of a lawsuit, they tell the media that they would really, really like to answer questions, but their legal counsel has advised them not to. It happens so frequently that it has acquired a slang name– ‘lawyering up.’
Just one week ago I used this space to note a BBC report on the epidemic of child abuse in America which stressed the fact that only vigilance and reporting by the public can help stop the cycle of violence against children. Our child protection services caseworkers and police investigators do a spectacular job of investigating abuse after it has occurred but we perpetuate that abuse if we see the signs of it and fail to report it.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — After nearly a half-century on the job, Joe Paterno says he is still getting used to the idea of not being Penn State’s football coach. So is the rest of the shaken campus, after one of the most tumultuous days in its history. In less than 24 hours Wednesday, the winningest coach in major college football announced his retirement at the end of the season — then was abruptly fired by the board of trustees.