It should have been the ultimate feel good story.
A grown man, successful in his career and a hero to a community, takes time out of his busy life to mentor and guide young
boys who are searching for male role models.
Most of the boys were fatherless, but gave their trust to a man known to most as a helping, caring person with goodness in
his soul.
What it has become is a sickening, sad saga of a man who turned that trust into evil.
As Jerry Sandusky sits on trial for sexually abusing the very boys who trusted him, we are left to wonder how it came to this.
All last week, we heard the cries of the boys who are accusing Sandusky of doing the unthinkable to them over an extended
period of time that lasted well over a decade.
For the record, it should be noted that Sandusky is innocent until proven guilty. But, we will let the process make the final
call on that.
What we really have to ask ourselves is why were the cries of these boys, which anger and make us feel ill now, went unheard
for so long by so many?
That is what should scare us.
If these screams of horror can go unnoticed then how many other cries for help do we not hear?
Clearly, the adults let the children down. And that’s not just one adult and one child we are talking about.
An entire group of people let an entire community of kids down. They continued to keep boys in harm’s way despite the rumors
and accusations that we now know took place on more than one occasion.
Unfortunately, when we ask the biggest question of where were the adults, we already know the answer. They were off watching
football games.
We now know that those cries for help were muffled by the cheers coming from inside Beaver Stadium at Penn State, where Sandusky
helped build a dynasty.
The assistant football coach continued to get pats on the back when he should have been given punches in the face. We can’t
celebrate and punish at the same time.
More alarming is that the boys who testified this week said they kept quiet in most part because they didn’t think the adults
would believe them. Makes you wonder what else we are missing by not listening to our youth.
Some have also mentioned that they were worried if they spoke up that the blame for bringing down the Penn State program might
fall on their heads.
That tells us something even more concerning. These kids believed that a football game or program was more important than
an individual’s life.
That might be the worst message of all.
Nothing should be more important than protecting children from the evils that lurk hidden in the darkness of not only the
night but also silence.
Sandusky will be judged by a jury of his peers. The rest of us will be judged by how we listen to youngsters in the future.
Jim Gazzolo is managing sports editor. Email him at jgazzolo@americanpress.com