The Jerry Sandusky scandal is just starting to unfold, and it's going to get a lot uglier before it gets any better. Many of those involved have made statements over the past few days, but one of the more interesting sound bites comes from Joe Paterno's son, Scott. According to Ivan Maisel of ESPN, Scott feels that based on the circumstances, his father did all he could do.
"Unfortunately," Scott Paterno said, "once that happened, there was really nothing more Joe felt he could do because he did not witness the event. You can't call the police and say, 'Somebody tells me they saw somebody else do something.' That's hearsay. Police don't take reports in that manner. Frankly, from the way he understood the process, he passed the information on to the appropriate university official and they said they were taking care of it. That's really all he could do."
I sort of understand where he is coming from, sort of. But this is the type of information that Joe Paterno needs to do more with than just take the necessary course of action. And for the record, this is certainly the type of thing the Police would investigate on that kind of evidence, especially if it's coming from the leader of the program in Joe Paterno.
The head coach might have done enough to escape accountability in this instance, but that should not have been his goal. If it was, then this whole situation could unfold in a very unfavorable way for him.