I was duped...

I was duped.  I confess.  Now I am not easily duped, for the record; in fact, with most things I am fairly skeptical.  But not this time.

Yes, for years I swallowed the whole Joe Paterno "victory with honor" bullcrap.  I believed that he wasn't like the other big-time college sports program coaches (such as Calhoun from UConn).  Even worse, I believe that he was inherently a good man.

Fast forward to now and a two things are pretty clear:

1. Joe Paterno knew of credible allegations against Jerry Sandusky, but basically sat on the information...until, of course, he was forced to testify in front of a Grand Jury.
2. Joe Paterno put the interests of a f&^king game before children being harmed.

College football is a game.  It is a cousin to just about any other game out there.  It is dominos on steroids.  Yet this game somehow over-powered the moral sensibilities of adults that people such as I took for granted.  Of course I believed that "JoePa" was a highly moral guy.  He graduated lots of his students.  Many Academic All Americans.  Again, he wasn't like "those others".  Yes, I was duped.

Even if you feel that Joe Paterno rightfully followed the rules by reporting the allegation of abuse to his "superior" (a laughable concept by the way, as he had no "superior" at Penn State), no one can question the fact that he did not follow-up EVEN ONCE on what was reported.

In the end, the rape of a 10 year old boy simply was not important in Joe Paterno's world.  It fell below his precious little game.  At one time "JoePa" seemed so big.  Now he seems so very small...just like his game.

Never again.