by Amy Coleman, Staff Writer
The NCAA
imposed sanctions upon Penn State, due to its involvement in the Sandusky
Scandal. These include a 4-year ban on
bowl games, 40 initial athletic scholarships lost over 4 years, a $60 million
fine, vacating all 1998-2011 victories (dethroning Joe Paterno for most all
time victories in major college football), and 5 years’ probation, according to
USAToday.
The quiet
Happy Valley is once again polarized and Mike McQueary is in the center of it
all. This time he is the plaintiff. The well-known whistleblower of the Jerry
Sandusky scandal is now invoking the PA Whistleblower Protection Laws as
justification for a 19-page civil action with the Centre County Court of Common
Pleas on October 3rd.
The
particulars of the claim are three suits: violation of the Whistleblower statute,
defamation of character, and misrepresentation.
In essence, McQueary views that he was singled out by the previous administration
by not being given treatment similar to other Assistant Football Coaches at the
time. Also, his character was defamed
when then-University President Spanier made oral and written statements insinuating
that McQueary was lying about ‘blowing the whistle’ on Sandusky. And, Athletics Director Curly and Senior VP
Schultz misrepresented that they would make appropriate action so that McQueary
would rely upon these statements and not take further action to stop Sandusky.
Although
the reaction by the Penn State community has yet to be fully understood, it is
difficult to imagine a more brow-beaten group, should the court impose monetary
sanctions on the University. More
importantly, is it possible that any court-imposed sanctions could further
depress the Penn State nation after the NCAA-sanctions?
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| Gene J. Puskar/Associated-Press |
At 37,
Mike McQueary has spent most of his life as a Nittany Lion, at quarterback
1994-1997, Graduate Assistant Coach 2000-2002, Football Administrative
Assistant in 2003, and then Wide Receiver Assistant Head Coach and Recruiting
Coordinator until he was put on Administrative leave, according to the Penn
State Athletics website. Yet, many
students and alumni viewed McQueary as not doing enough in the Sandusky
scandal. On November 10, 2011, Andersen
Cooper 360° held a poll asking if McQueary should be allowed to coach because
he did not do enough. An overwhelming
86.19% of those who responded said “No.”
Was
McQueary’s biggest mistake not telling someone else? Hindsight
is 20/20, but perhaps his biggest mistake was driving the bus that would bring the
great “Joe Pa” down. And that is a wound
that will probably never heal, even after the NCAA sanctions and fines are long
forgotten. In
fact, a blog was published on October 08, 2012, several months after any such
commentary on the Sandusky trial, alleging that McQueary perjured himself when
he testified about what he saw that night in the locker rooms (Read the blog).
Of course, this blog does not present that Sandusky was innocent or that
he was not in fact in the locker room that night with a child. Instead, it outlines the difference between
hearing a sexual act in the showers and seeing it, no doubt as an attempt to
add skepticism as to what McQueary actually told Paterno so as to justify
Paterno’s actions. This blog is only one
of many out there seeking to avenge Paterno’s legacy.
In the
end, it is seriously doubtful that McQueary will be able to come back from this
in the sports world, let alone the small Penn State community which has been
closing ranks since a year ago when this scandal first broke.
