On my radio show Saturday morning, my producer/co-host Joe and I had our first chance to talk about the Penn State child sex abuse scandal on the air.
Plenty is discussed in this opening segment, which can be found below, but above all, I found it astounding that Joe Paterno became so big, that the entire culture surrounding the program became centered around him. It's a toxic culture. And it led to plenty of children's lives being harmed.
Due to the fact that Penn State cancelled Joe Paterno's weekly press conference on Tuesday, the media is yet to formally hear from the PSU legendary head coach.
However, when hundreds of fans gathered outside of his house on Tuesday night, Paterno briefly stepped outside of his front door and addressed the herd of fans and media that had been otherwise limited to images of him peeking out of his window.
Take a look at what Paterno, in the wake of perhaps the biggest story and most disgusting scandal in sports history to recent memory, had to say:
It's so hard to be mad at the guy, because of his demeanor, but the scope of this entire thing is just too great for me to go to a place of compassion for the winningest head coach in Division I college football history.
The facts remain that Paterno had knowledge of his former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky molesting, raping and abusing children from 1998 onward, and as recent as last week, Sandusky was on the Penn State campus.
Paterno was an enabler. He enabled a sick man to harm and potentially ruin the lives of a great number of young boys.
And perhaps as disappointing as his lack of action on the matter is the reaction from the Penn State fans camped outside of his residence.
Did you ever think that a man who turned a blind eye to a child sex offender would walk out of his house to hundreds of screaming fans cheering, chanting his name, calling for him to remain their football coach despite reports that he will be forced to step down?
I'm a huge football fan myself. But this is not a football issue. This is a morality issue.
Last I checked, the academic standards at Penn State weren't exactly the lowest, but this particular group of college students is down-right stupid.
Should they be blamed? Paterno has been the coach of their university more than twice as long as many of them have been alive. Many are likely born to parents who went to Penn State when Paterno was coaching. Hell, their grandparents may have even been fresh out of high school when Paterno took over.
Regardless, it displays a complete lack of perspective. Shame on them.
And somehow, someway, Paterno can make reference to the Nebraska game on Saturday. As if a football game even matters right now. Unbelievable.
LaVar Arrington was a two-time All-American linebacker at Penn State University, and has spent the majority of his time on air this week reacting to the Jerry Sandusky scandal, both as a guest and as a host.
Photo courtesy: Sports Illustrated
Arrington now hosts a radio show in Washington D.C., where he played out the majority of his NFL career with the Washington Redskins.
He is extremely passionate about the subject and reacted to the scandal on his radio show, "The LaVar Arrington Show with Chad Dukes" on 106.7 The Fan in D.C.
CLICK HERE to listen to LaVar's response on the situation.
In the wake of the aforementioned Jerry Sandusky scandal, Penn State alumni have been making appearances all over the media. None of which are defending their university, as it's simply impossible to do so.
All of them ashamed, heartbroken, angered, disgusted, etc.
ESPN didn't have to go very far to get a former Nittany Lion as their own Matt Millen, more famously known for being one of the worst General Managers the NFL has seen, is now an analyst for the mothership.
Millen played under soon-to-be former Head Coach Joe Paterno, and spoke about the situation on SportsCenter yesterday with Chris McKendry.
As you can see below, he couldn't keep it together. It's tough to go to a place of compassion when you're dealing with the raping of children and a decade-long coverup that ensued, and I give Millen some credit for attacking his fellow Penn Staters.
I found the entire interview (CLICK HERE) to be pretty gripping television. Apparently, "ROBinALASKA" finds it a laughing matter.
Beware, the Grand Jury's findings on the Penn State/Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal will make your stomach churn.
That being said, the document is a worthwhile read for anybody who has been following this story. Inside are first-hand accounts of multiple incidents with up to nine victims.
They're detailed. They're upsetting. They're further evidence why Penn State needs to clean house right now.
Alright sports play-by-play buffs. I give you the television call of a Lingerie Football League play in which this curvaceous ball carrier gets exposed to those lucky enough to be in attendance.
"She got her pants pulled down, and she still kept going! Down to the four yardline!"
You don't get that call too often in the NFL. Nor would you want to.
Remember when "pantsing" used to be a thing in school? No? Oh, come on!
Attn:Guy at the NFL that decides on who and how much players get fined Stop being a puppet, if you want to protect QB's, get better linemen
Not the worst thing to come out of the Twitter of an NFLer.
Sure, talking poorly of NFL brass will likely not go over well in the league office, but when asked about his Tweet, Babin claimed it to be sarcastic and then elaborated on the issue of players being fined for hits, pointing out its inconsistency.
"Oh, I'll call that one 15, I'll call that 40," Babin said, according to the Inquirer. "There's no blueprint, there's no grid system to say 'Okay, this is how it works, let's plug it in'."
The guy has got a point. The NFL as a league has been so good, so progressive in terms of determining what is right and wrong, changing rules, developing systems, etc. It does seem a bit silly to think that - while the rules determining what an illegal hit are clear - there is no definitive way to determine dollar amounts to different typed of blows.
Nice job, Babin. He thought it. He tweeted it. He meant it. And he made sense while doing so.
