Penn State eclipses all other sports scandals

It won't surprise anyone if the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case broadens and deepens in the weeks and months to come, but the immediate ramifications of the story already make it the worst scandal in the history of American sports.

This is not even open for debate unless you think the 1919 Black Sox throwing the World Series is tantamount to the former right-hand man of the legendary Joe Paterno undergoing prosecution for assaulting young boys, sometimes in the Penn State showers.

Or Paterno, a coaching icon among icons, being toppled from his throne and catching flak from people in high places for failing to fulfill his moral obligation to stop a predator.

As a result of the growing reports of human suffering, the sudden dismissal of Paterno, and everything else that contributes to the sad and infuriating scenario at Penn State, Michael Vick's conviction for running a dog-fighting ring falls to No. 2 on the list of worst sports scandals.

And this is before we know the whole story, before even more hideous details emerge from the now ironically named Happy Valley.

The Vick story we think we know all too well.

An NFL superstar in his prime, he was stripped of his profession and fortune while being sent to federal prison for 21 months. Reports that he brutally killed underperforming pit bulls made him a reviled figure.

Since leaving prison, Vick has rehabilitated his image, except among some (many?) dog lovers and animal rights groups, while enjoying career resurgence with the Philadelphia Eagles.

But despite the best efforts to hone his image, dog fighting will be mentioned in the first paragraph of Vick's obituary. He'll never entirely outrun it.

His scandal, though, now pales in comparison to what's taking place at Penn State. It's not just No. 2, it's a very distant second.

All the biggest sports scandals that angered and upset America through the years seem trivial when held up against the allegations and fallout that brought the career of the 84-year-old Paterno to an end.

Pete Rose being barred from baseball for betting on games is always cited as a top sports scandal. So is Tiger Woods' comedown after his serial infidelities were exposed, leading to a broken marriage.

Jeff Gillooly arranging for a goon to smash Nancy Kerrigan's knee with a police baton in order to improve Tonya Hardings's chances for a figure-skating gold at the 1994 Olympics was considered pretty shocking at the time.

So was the news that sprinter Ben Johnson was being stripped of his 100-meter gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics because of steroids.

Steroids in baseball - in general and as they related to the outsized performances and otherworldly physiques of Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa eventually scandalized enough people.

Some would include the O.J. Simpson murder case and trial verdict as a sports scandal, but it doesn't belong. It created a scandal all right, but not one that implicated sports.

In any case, none of these events touched the core of humanity quite like the revelations from Penn State have. Or sent such devastating shock waves beyond sports. None created the same level of anger and disgust.

A football institution run by a man thought to be above reproach - the most powerful man on campus - was more interested in protecting its own image than in safeguarding vulnerable children.

That's the scandal; the biggest ever in American sports. Let's hope nothing else ever comes close.

Bob Molinaro, (757) 446-2373 bob.molinaro@pilotonline.com

Twitter @ BobMolinaro