Tom Corbett Needs to Go Away

Tom Corbett is a fucking asshole. There is no two ways about it. This is a man who, as attorney general of Pennsylvania, turned as big of a blind eye to the initial Jerry Sandusky allegations as just about anyone. Now, he's trying to preemptively cover his own tracks by suing the NCAA for overreaching its bounds.

To which I have to say, fuck off, Tom Corbett. Seriously, fuck off forever and never return.



Did the NCAA overstep its bounds? More than likely yes. Did the horrid scandal that occurred at Penn State break any NCAA rules? Not definitively, no. But that's not the point. The point is horrible actions by a monster preying on innocent children occurred on the Penn State campus, and those horrible actions were covered up by a remarkably unethical handful of Penn State administrators, including the athletic director and legendary head coach.

For not immediately and persistently reporting the allegations and ensuring they were not repeated, the entire football program was levied unprecedented sanctions from the NCAA despite the NCAA not even conducting an investigation of its own. That was probably bad form, but in the grand scheme of things, it pales into comparison to the bad form the administrators at my university displayed.

In the end, the university itself agreed and accepted all the sanctions, promising no appeal. Corbett himself lauded the actions of Mark Emmert and the NCAA initially. But now, as more and more people realize what a phony Corbett is, particularly with him refusing to take any responsibility for his own inaction as AG, he's going against his own initial reaction and forcing a lawsuit that the university itself seems to have no interest in pursuing.

Tom Corbett is doing no one any favors. This isn't helping Penn State. It's not helping the local businesses, who are doing just fine with the continued packed home crowds and 42,000-plus students on campus. It's not helping the students, who are finally starting to regain some pride in their school after the countless charity drives and new narrative following a surprisingly successful football season.

And most importantly, it's not helping the victims of these heinous crimes move on. Once again, their stories are being dug up in the media, reminding them once again of all that trauma they carry with them every day right there on their television screens or computers.

While Corbett insists this is about keeping that $60 million in-state and protecting the integrity of the law, let's get this straight: It's simply a ploy for Corbett to cover his own insanely stupid ass.

As a Penn State graduate, I'm offended by his selfish stupidity, no matter if his case has legitimate legal standing or not.

More importantly, as a human being, I'm offended that Corbett has the audacity to put his own self-interests ahead the good of the victims and the communities he is supposed to serve.

I want nothing more than for Tom Corbett to just go away forever. What an asshole.

Saddened, Disgusted, Heartbroken and Distraught

That's how I feel about my university right now. I've spent my entire life admiring Pennsylvania State University for its integrity, loyalty and dedication to molding young adults into leaders, an ideal encapsulated by head football coach Joe Paterno.

I've never honestly felt anything but pride for my alma mater — before, during and after I was a student there. It's the only school I applied to, the only place I wanted to go. Sure, there were times I was angry with some policies, disappointed with athletic results and frustrated with administrators, but I always could take pride in the way the university went about its business.

Now that entire feeling has been shattered. One disturbing, disgusting old man betrayed the trust of children under the guise of help, and the actions of this one horrible human being — and no matter how great of a coach Jerry Sandusky was, anyone who disagrees that he is an absolute monster is as sick as he is — have snowballed into a complete catastrophe.

Right now, people want heads to roll, and rightfully so. I am as big of a Penn State supporter as there's ever been, but I just cannot fathom anyone surviving this. Forget whether the allegations are true or false for a minute, as hard as that is to do. Just think of the simple fact that not a single one of these men named in the investigation reported potential child abuse to police. That is despicable and unforgivable.

Tim Curley and Gary Schultz should have been fired immediately. Joe Paterno and Mike McQueary should be the next ones to step down. And frankly, Graham Spanier should not be far behind, not after declaring his unwavering support for those indicted on perjury charges.

Forget what the minimum legal guidelines are. By all accounts, Paterno and McQueary met those standards, for which they should be credited. But the fact of the matter is everyone involved knew something inappropriate occurred between Sandusky and a minor, and none of them went to the police. Neither McQueary nor Paterno ever followed up with Curley and Schultz after essentially nothing was done. You can provide lip service all you want to protecting children is of utmost importance, but the fact of the matter is it wasn't to any of these men in this case. If it was, all of them would have went police immediately — not just one of them, but all of them. Yet no one did.

I can't even begin to tell you how heartbroken I am for the children and families that have had to go through this. They are the most important entities here, the people my university completely and utterly failed to protect. They must live with the deplorable events for the rest of their lives.

Selfishly, I'm also heartbroken for Penn State and its countless alumni all over the world. Everything we have been led to believe has now been irreversibly tarnished. Pride is no longer the first thing we think of when we think about our university.

I have tickets to senior day against Nebraska, a huge game between two ranked teams with giant conference implications. Just a few days ago, I couldn't have been more excited to go. Now I don't even want to make the trip because I'm so ashamed of the actions from high-ranking officials at my alma mater, members of the coaching staff included. It just feels wrong to support anything Penn State right now, a sad reaction indeed.

No one is without guilt here if any ounce of this is true, and it seems pretty clear that's the case. After 50-plus years of the "success with honor" motto being a staple of Penn State football and the university as a whole, it's all come crashing down.

There is no honor to be had here, and there won't be for some time. This won't be going away anytime soon. And as a once-proud alum, I am saddened, disgusted, heartbroken and distraught. Imagine how those innocent young boys and their families must feel.