July 12, 2012 Abuse Scandal Inquiry Damns Paterno and Penn State By In 1998, officials at , including its president and its legendary football coach, were aware was being investigated by the university’s police department for possibly molesting two young boys in the football building’s showers. They followed the investigation closely, updating one another along the way. One of those officials, Gary Schultz, articulated in dire terms what the incidents might suggest: this opening of Pandora’s box?” Mr. Schultz wrote in notes that he would “Is keep secret for years. children?” “Other The officials did nothing. No one so much as spoke to Mr. Sandusky. Last month, Mr. Sandusky, for three decades one of top coaching lieutenants, ’s was convicted of sexually attacking 10 young boys, nine of them after the 1998 investigation, and several of them in the same football building showers. , the former federal judge and director of the F.B.I. who spent the last seven months examining the Sandusky scandal at Penn State, issued a damning conclusion Thursday: The most senior officials at Penn State had shown a and consistent “total disregard” for the welfare of children, had worked together to actively conceal Mr. Sandusky’s assaults, and had done so for one central reason: fear of bad publicity. That publicity, Mr. Freeh said Thursday, would have hurt the nationally ranked football program, Mr. Paterno’s reputation as a coach of high
July 12, 2012 Abuse Scandal Inquiry Damns Paterno and Penn State By In 1998, officials at , including its president and its legendary football coach, were aware was being investigated by the university’s police department for possibly molesting two young boys in the football building’s showers. They followed the investigation closely, updating one another along the way. One of those officials, Gary Schultz, articulated in dire terms what the incidents might suggest: “Is this opening of Pandora’s box?” Mr. Schultz wrote in notes that he would keep secret for years. “Other children?” The officials did nothing. No one so much as spoke to Mr. Sandusky. Last month, Mr. Sandusky, for three decades one of ’s top coaching lieutenants, was convicted of sexually attacking 10 young boys, nine of them after the 1998 investigation, and several of them in the same football building showers. , the former federal judge and director of the F.B.I. who spent the last seven months examining the Sandusky scandal at Penn State, issued a damning conclusion Thursday: The most senior officials at Penn State had shown a “total and consistent disregard” for the welfare of children, had worked together to actively conceal Mr. Sandusky’s assaults, and had done so for one central reason: fear of bad publicity. That publicity, Mr. Freeh said Thursday, would have hurt the nationally ranked football program, Mr. Paterno’s reputation as a coach of high
INQUIRYFAULTSPATERNO07-12.docx