Just when I thought the Jerry Sandusky child abuse case at Penn State had reached a state of closure, former federal judge and FBI director Louis Freeh uncovered yet more information about the scandal.

Very often when a crime is committed, it is the cover up more so than the crime that gets people in trouble.

Charges were filed against Sandusky Nov. 4 2011, who was arrested the following day. Both former head coach Joe Paterno and university President Graham Spainer were relieved from their duties on Nov.9.

On June 22, five months to the day of Paterno’s passing, Sandusky was found guilty on 45 of 48 counts of child sexual abuse involving 10 victims in a span of 15 years.

Freeh’s 267-page report states that  Paterno, Spainer, Athletic Director Tim Curley and Vice President Gary Schultz knew about Sandusky’s acts for over a decade, yet didn’t report it to authorities “to avoid the consequences of bad publicity.”
For this, I say the Penn State football program deserves the death penalty for at least four years. Nike already took action by removing Paterno’s name from its child development center, as did his alma mater, Brown University from its honors. I believe Penn State should follow suit.

If Southern Methodist University’s football program received the death penalty for two seasons (1987-88) simply for paying their players, then Penn State’s cover up definitely merits punishment from the NCAA.

If Penn State wants to truly rebuild its image as a university and its football program, they need to remove any association from Paterno and perhaps take down his statue. Some may say it’s too extreme, but what Sandusky did and the cover up was far more extreme than removing a person’s name or statue from the campus.

This is an issue that’s bigger than sports and it should be treated as such.

If Paterno and other officials believed that saving the reputation of a football program was more important than the damage done to Sandusky’s victims, then the perception of integrity and doing the right thing held by the institution was all a farce.

Paterno dedicated 61 years to that university in which he made “Happy Valley” (State College, Pa.) a place known for integrity, respectability and developing great student-athletes.

In this case, failure of institutional control by college officials and Paterno outshines all that. Paterno has been the face of the university for much of the past 50 years. They can’t possibly rebuild their reputation with his name being attached to any future recruiting.

This is a societal problem. Very often we tend to hold these sports figures, like Paterno, in such high regard that we are blinded by their accomplishments.

There were witnesses to Sandusky’s doings, yet no one reported the acts to police because, according to the report, “they were afraid to take on the football program. They said the university would circle around it. It was like going against the President of the United States. If that’s the culture on the bottom, God help the culture at the top.”
Penn State students should still be proud of the education they receive. The chant “We are … Penn State!” is just that. It’s not “We are … Joe Paterno!” so it’s time for the university to turn the page on that chapter and start the rebuilding process.

Daniel Ornelas may be reached at prospector@utep.edu.