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Penn State shows danger of putting sports beyond reproach

  November 10, 2011

To many at Pennsylvania State University, the widely admired football program long seemed beyond reproach. Now state prosecutors and police have accused longtime assistant coach Jerry Sandusky of sexually abusing eight boys over 15 years, and laid out a narrative in which campus officials, including legendary football coach Joe Paterno, failed to take reports of misconduct by Sandusky seriously. The scandal should lead to the immediate exit of Paterno. But it should also start a national conversation on how the pursuit of athletic glory has created sports subcultures on campuses in which no one is accountable to anyone.

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