Never forget Penn State’s depravity

I wrote last month that in fearing the fallout to his Penn State football program by choosing not to expose the monster that is Jerry Sandusky, Joe Paterno was among those cowards who instead protected a sexual predator for years.

Some readers took offense to my describing Paterno in such a manner.

They had a point.

I never should have been so easy on him.

Coward is too weak a word to fully portray Paterno and others whose silence empowered Sandusky to commit the sort of repulsive acts that led to him being found guilty of 45 counts of sexual abuse.

There is no description harsh enough to label Paterno and three senior Penn State leaders who looked the other way and kept quiet as a serial pedophile caused irreparable harm to young boys for more than a decade.

For this, make the 267-page report by former FBI director Louis Freeh required reading for all incoming Penn State students from this point forward. Demand that any young man or woman who decides to call the university home know every sordid detail in this awful part of its history. Hand them a copy of the findings that include 430 interviews and 3.5 million pieces of examined emails and documents. Display the report prominently inside the on-campus library named for Paterno. Encase it in glass with this quote from Freeh attached: "The facts are the facts. (Paterno) was an integral part of the act to conceal."

Tell those students never to forget.

For this, allow the life-sized statue of Paterno that stands outside Beaver Stadium to remain there as a reminder to all who pass of the former coach's lack of moral and ethical fiber, of his "callous and shocking" disregard for the victims as the Freeh report states. Do not, as former Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden has suggested, remove the statue because "every time they show (it) on TV, people won't remember the good years. They're only going to remember the things with (Jerry) Sandusky."

Damn straight.

Hang a sign on the statue.

Let it read: Never forget.

For this, implore the NCAA to stand behind its recent claims of punishing the worst offenders in a harsher manner and insist on knowing that if programs such as Ohio State and Southern California can face recent sanctions of postseason bans for impermissible benefits, how in the world doesn't this Penn State scandal point directly to the root of a lack of institutional control and a violation of ethics policies?

Hope that the NCAA considers levying serious infractions on Penn State football, even if the school is not a repeat violator, because the conspiracy by high-ranking officials to suppress such sadistic behavior for so long should override any matter of procedure.

Have the NCAA end its findings and written punishment this way: Never forget.

For this, allow for an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education to conclude that Penn State violated the Clery Act, which requires universities to collect information and make timely warnings to law enforcement of alleged crimes that pose an ongoing threat to the community. Sandusky posed a threat for 14 years and perhaps much longer. When dispersing the fines for such violations, demand Penn State officials write this in the memo portion of a fat check: Never forget.

For this, pray that suspended athletic director Tim Curley and former university vice president Gary Schultz are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law on charges of perjury and a failure to report the claims of sexual abuse by Sandusky. Have faith that when sentencing the two, the judge ends his remarks with this: "Never forget."

For this, hope that former Penn State president Graham Spanier is forever haunted by his involvement in looking the other way.

For this, forget about legacies and number of wins and the weird, laughable, football-worshipping culture that exists at Penn State and other top programs. Do not for a second accept those claims that these were merely "mistakes," and "missteps" by Paterno and others. Do not for a second believe Paterno should be judged on his entire body of work, the good of which was destroyed once he chose to shield the monster. This wasn't some secondary NCAA violation. This was a grotesque sense of power and entitlement.

And if you haven't, read the Freeh report. Read all 267 pages. Understand the unforgivable level this sick saga reached.

And when you have read the final disturbing word, know that describing Paterno and those who went along with the cover-up as merely cowards doesn't begin to properly illustrate their sins.

For this, above all, never forget.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on "Gridlock," ESPN 1100 and 98.9 FM. Follow him on Twitter: @edgraney.