Unanswered questions

I find that I must comment on the letter from R.L. Horst, entitled “Sad unintended consequences” (CDT, 7/22).

Yes, there certainly were a multitude of “sad unintended consequences.” Mr. Horst proposes that Joe Paterno passed the buck. Paterno “coulda/shoulda” (have) informed the police.

First, Mike McQueary reported to Paterno that he had seen Jerry Sandusky “horsing around” with a juvenile in the shower at the football coaches’ locker room. This in itself was not a crime. As matter of fact, Sandusky was found innocent of any charges involving sexual assault against this victim.

Second, if Paterno’s action of reporting the incident to his superior (Tim Curley) caused the resulting actions against Paterno, Graham Spanier, Curley and Gary Schultz, then why is the current recommended policy of the NCAA just what Paterno did?

Finally, Paterno was the third person to hear about the 2001 Sadusky incident. If Paterno was indeed the primary cause of the entire fiasco, then what “coulda/shouda” been the role of Dr. Dranov, McQueary’s father and/or Mike McQueary himself? Maybe one or all three “coulda/shoulda” done one or all of the following: Did they call the PA ChildLine and Abuse Hotline (800-932-0313)? Did they call the police from the McQueary home? Most importantly and probably the root cause of the problem, why did Mike McQueary call his father instead of the police from the Lasch Building?

This story was originally published July 25, 2017 at 10:58 PM with the headline "Unanswered questions."