If you were curious as to where Penn State’s top administrator stood on his athletic director’s impending arrest, wonder no longer.
In a statement, PSU president Graham Spanier expressed unconditional support for AD Tim Curley as well as another top school official, who have both been charged with perjury and failure to report suspected sexual abuse of a minor. Former Nittany Lions assistant Jerry Sandusky was indicted by a grand jury Friday on 40 counts involving alleged sexual activity with children; Curley and PSU vice president for finance and business Gary Schultz testified in front of the grand jury last January and, per the charges, perjured themselves as well as failed to report suspected sexual abuse to the authorities.
Despite the damning accusations contained in the grand jury’s indictment -- which can be read in its entirety HERE if you feel like making yourself sick to your stomach -- Spanier is unequivocal in his support of Curley and Schultz.The allegations about a former coach are troubling, and it is appropriate that they be investigated thoroughly. Protecting children requires the utmost vigilance.
With regard to the other presentments, I wish to say that Tim Curley and Gary Schultz have my unconditional support. I have known and worked daily with Tim and Gary for more than 16 years. I have complete confidence in how they have handled the allegations about a former University employee.
Tim Curley and Gary Schultz operate at the highest levels of honesty, integrity and compassion. I am confident the record will show that these charges are groundless and that they conducted themselves professionally and appropriately.
Spanier’s name appears in the grand jury’s indictment of Sandusky, with it being determined that the president signed off on the course of action taken by Curley and Schultz in 2002 when they became aware of an alleged sexual encounter involving Sandusky and a minor male -- in a shower of the school’s football building. The course of action taken by the two administrators did not involve alerting authorities to the alleged sexual encounter that was witnessed by a football grad assistant. Instead, Curley and Schultz told Sandusky that he was not to bring any more children from Second Mile -- Sandusky’s charity -- into the football building.
In other words, Curley, as well as Spanier to an extent, decided the best course of action was to sweep this incident under the rug instead of report it to authorities for a proper investigation. Or, as Pennsylvania’s attorney general put it...
“The failure of top university officials to act on reports of Sandusky’s alleged sexual misconduct, even after it was reported to them in graphic detail by an eyewitness, allowed a predator to walk free for years – continuing to target new victims.”
Penn State, you should be embarrassed. And not because one of your former assistant football coaches is allegedly a pedophile; rather, you should be ashamed that some of the top administrators of your institution of higher learning allegedly acted in such an unconscionable and reprehensible manner. A housecleaning from top to bottom is in order, and should be demanded by any and every graduate of what is a university with a carefully-crafted and previously pristine image.
If the allegations involving PSU officials that are detailed in the grand jury’s indictment are proven true, both Curley and Spanier should step down immediately, as should anyone else in between them on the institutional food chain who played a role in what amounts to a coverup of the most heinous of alleged crimes.
There’s nothing more precious than a child -- not even your university’s sterling reputation.
As for how all of this will affect Joe Paterno? The coaching legend was lauded in the grand jury’s indictment, praised for learning of the 2002 incident and immediately reporting it to Curley. We can’t help but wonder, however, if these deplorable incidents coming to the public light could be the impetus for JoePa to shuffle off into retirement.
If that turns out to be the case -- and the chatter is already leaning in that direction -- it will be a damn shame. The man deserves to go out on his own terms and not under a cloud of controversy.
Thanks to the decisions made by his bosses as well as the alleged conduct of one his most trusted assistants, however, that may not be possible.