Sex scandal damages Penn State

For those who haven't heard of the scandal unraveling at Penn State, here's a quick rundown: in 2002, then-28-year-old graduate assistant Mike McQueary walked in on defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually abusing a child in one of the showers at the school's athletics facility.

Initially, the story was that McQueary left, rattled, and, the next day, called his father and reported the incident to the Nittany Lion's legendary head coach, Joe Paterno, though recently sources have come forward saying McQueary stopped the act before leaving.

Paterno then reported the news to school officials, who did nothing.

In fact, nothing else happened until 2009, when a grand jury opened an investigation of Sandusky.

More details about the abuse and the school's cover up emerged last week. The Penn State board of trustees fired Paterno, who'd been the head coach since 1966, and university president Graham Spanier.

It's impossible to defend anyone involved in this disgusting situation. Anyone who would sexually abuse a child or allow someone who committed that act to walk free should pay for it.

I've always been a huge fan of Paterno, who managed to lead a first-rate Division I football program while holding his players to higher standards scholastically and preparing them for a life outside of football. It's unfortunate that his legacy is forever tarnished and all the good he did for the school will be forgotten, but he needed to go.

My issue isn't with the dismissal of Paterno, but rather the lack of the same for McQueary, who is now the team's wide receivers coach and has been placed on administrative leave and is still getting paid.

He did no more or less than Paterno, but has faced far less repercussions.

There's speculation that McQueary is protected under Pennsylvania's "whistle-blower" law, which safeguards lower-level employees in situations like his so long as they report the incident to a boss.

This is a little ridiculous. Sure, McQueary was nothing more than an assistant at the time, but it's not like he was a 17-year-old flipping burgers. He was a 28-year-old man and should be treated as such.

I'm 22 and have never been anywhere near a situation as dire as the one McQueary walked in on, but I'd like to think I would've done something.

How a person could see a child in that situation and not take some action to protect him is appalling. There is no excuse.

If McQueary did in fact stop the assault, how could he have chosen not to call the police, which would've put Sandusky away and ended this situation almost a decade ago. Instead, he failed on the same level of Paterno and the rest of the athletics department.

Sure, McQueary wasn't as powerful as Paterno and didn't carry as much weight at Penn State, but that isn't what this about. McQueary, the man, should be held to the same standards as the man that is Joe Paterno.

As long as McQueary remains employed by the university, the black mark this scandal left will remain.

Paterno was more than a coach at Penn State; he was an institution. There is no way to easily recover from his dismissal, let alone allegations of a child abuse cover up.

If the university wants to move forward, everyone involved, including McQueary, needs to go.

Mike Meiler can be reached by email at meiler.record@live.com.