Fans Left with Questions, by Gwen Shrift, Philly Burbs, November 13, 2011

Fans Left with Questions

By Gwen Shrift
Philly Burbs
November 13, 2011

www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/courier_times_news/fans-left-with-questions/article_ecc077dc-31f3-55e1-a353-66220b544e9b.html

Doug Brownlie watches the Penn State football game at Kenny's Bar in Upper Southampton Saturday.

Why didn't Mike McQueary save that little boy from a sexual assault?

This is what fans wanted to know Saturday as they watched Penn State play Nebraska at Kenny's Spirited Eatery, a popular bar and restaurant in Upper Southampton.

A week ago, all but the most diehard Penn State fan wouldn't have known McQueary's name. Jerry Sandusky, the alleged perpetrator of the assault on a boy about 10 years old, would have been a distant memory to Nittany Lions fans from his days as Joe Paterno's potential successor.

In a week that fractured a university, Sandusky was arrested for assaults on young boys over several years and McQueary, now an assistant coach, emerged as an eyewitness to the rape of a child in a Penn State locker room nearly a decade ago.

"He made eye contact, and left the room. Disgusting," said university alumna Jaclyn Ward of Newtown Township, who read the state grand jury's indictment of Sandusky.

"I think he's most at fault," Brian Kuntz of Upper Southampton said of McQueary, a former football player who would have had no trouble overpowering the 60-something Sandusky. "A big guy — you kiddin' me?"

"That red-haired guy (McQueary), he should be sent to jail. He should have broken it up," said a retired businessman from Lower Southampton who declined to give his name.

The Penn State-Nebraska game was historic, but not for the reasons football fans like to gather on brilliant fall afternoons.

It was the first in 46 years to be played under a coach other than Paterno. It was likely the first time one of the assistant coaches was barred from the field due to "multiple threats." It was the first home game since the arrest of the former high-ranking Paterno deputy on charges of raping young boys.

Patrons watching the game over lunch and drinks said the university was right to play the game, despite the upheaval in Happy Valley.

The past seven days saw Paterno fired, president Graham Spanier fired, two high-level administrators arrested, a grand jury report released containing stomach-turning allegations of child molestation against former defensive coordinator Sandusky, who also was arrested, and the death threats against McQueary, who is an assistant coach — not to mention a student riot after Paterno's ouster on Wednesday.

"They should be playing," said Elizabeth Burns of Ivyland, who was lunching with Ward and another friend. "These kids (on the team) have worked all their lives. This isn't about the school or the football team."

Some patrons questioned why Paterno did not go to the police after learning of the allegations against Sandusky. The ex-coach informed his boss, but never took the matter further.

"For me, (if) he knew about it, as a responsible leader, he should have been right over there," said Doug Brownlie of Upper Southampton. "I just don't get it."

"If Penn State looked the other way, there's a problem here," said the retired businessman. "I'm a Pennsylvania taxpayer, so I'm subsidizing Penn State, and I don't like it . . . I think (Paterno) knew about it, and he looked the other way. 'It'll pass.' I think he made a major mistake in his career."

McQueary has been put on paid leave. Paterno has retained a criminal defense lawyer. "That tells you everything," said Brownlie. "He feels vulnerable."

Contact: gshrift@phillyburbs.com