Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Creepy

I don't remember feeling as uncomfortable as I did as I listened to Bob Costas' interview Jerry Sandusky.

For a guy who says he is not guilty of all charges against him in the Penn State child sex abuse scandal, Sandusky certainly didn't sound like someone who is innocent. I actually found myself cringing the more I listened to him.

When asked is he was innocent on all charges, Sandusky said yes. When asked if he was completely innocent, he said something to the effect of, well maybe he did some of those things like showering with underage boys, horsing around with them, hugging them and touching their leg but in a non-sexual manner.

Later, when asked, if he was a pedophile, Sandusky said no, but when Costas followed up by asking if he was sexually attracted to boys, Sandusky responded by repeating the question, then said he enjoys spending time with children and being around them, and then, several moments later, said he was not sexually attracted to little boys.

The whole thing gave me the creeps — and I'm not even a parent.

I've been involved in sports all of my life, both as a participant, a coach and a reporter. Rule one, there is a distinct line a coach or instructor must never cross with a player — no matter what the age. And I have never seen nor heard of any coach at any level showering with his players or horsing around with his players in the shower.

In the end, there is enough blame to go around when it comes to this whole story and the ones who helped perhaps cover-up what happened at Penn State should be held accountable. But let's not lose sight who the biggest culprit in this tragedy is — the person who did these horrible things to these boys.

I know everyone is innocent until proven guilty, but the more I hear from Sandusky, the worse he looks.