Another story about the Sandusky child rape story at Penn State that doesn’t ask the real obvious question.
Why was Sandusky, who admitted to the inappropriate act of showering with a child in 1998, allowed to maintain his tenure status for 13 years at Penn State after Joe Paterno removed him as defensive coordinator?
In May 1999, Paterno told Sandusky he wouldn't succeed Paterno as head coach. On July 1, 1999, Paterno announced his surprise early retirement effective at the end of the 1999 season. Paterno never removed Sandusky. Sandusky retired or was allowed to retire after another season. If Paterno's actions in May 1999 were because Paterno knew about the investigation that began in May 1998 and produced a report, then that's where things get nasty.
During the entire 1999 season, Sandusky brought a fourteen year-old boy with him to every home game overnight at Toftree's. Sandusky and the boy sat at the coaches' table for the pregame banquet and Sandusky sexually molested the boy in the shower and room while the surrounding rooms were filled with Penn State coaches and players.
If Paterno know (as your 'removed' suggests), then Paterno sat with the boy and Sandusky at the coaches' table and watched them spend the night for an entire season.
Sandusky was also allowed to bring the boy to the Alamo bowl - where he sexually molested him.
That is a problem no amount spinning can erase. The other problem is the failure of the grad student—and a future PSU coach—to stop the rape. His, and everyone else’s, first instinct was to protect the school and the football program.
It should not be surprising that so many of the people who actually live in State College and surrounding area are connected. Once you strip out the students this is a very small community. Heck, some of the names on the PSU Board of Trustees are the same as when I attended Penn State from ‘61 to’65. Everybody who is anybody knows everyone else that is anybody.
The entire community—perhaps incuding the Alumni Assn.— circled the wagons to protect the school.