Jerry Sandusky, “Master” Of Defense . . . And Offense: Sports Illustrated Writer Jerry McCallum’s Follow-Up On His 1999 Sandusky Article

The Jerry Sandusky allegations have brought some unwelcome attention to Sports Illustrated writer, Jack McCallum.  His 1999 article about Sandusky was mentioned, in passing, in the grand jury presentment.  This week, Mr. McCallum wrote about his disappointment and shock at how his story had played itself out.
NO ONE, Mr. McCallum, can “blame” you for this story; at times, in your reflective piece this week, you seem to border on it.  Don’t.  You did a fine job with what you had at the time, especially, as you explain, the Sandusky piece was a replacement article for another you had planned.  And as we now know – and the allegations seem substantial – Sandusky was a master of both defense . . . and offense, in the worst possible ways.
 
Here’s how Mr. McCallum sums it up, but there’s much more there, so see his November 8th article in full, Jerry Sandusky fooled a lot people over years — including me.

Two things in particular haunt me. By the time I wrote the story, Sandusky’s showering with a youngster had already triggered a campus investigation, albeit one that never became public. And the revelations in the “Jerry Sandusky Grand Jury Report” — I recommend that to those of you who feel that Sandusky and Penn State officials are being railroaded fire up Mr. Google and read it — reveal that some of Sandusky’s worst behavior was going on right around this time. So I wrote a favorable story about a guy who was already a sexual predator.

The other thing haunting me is my last line in the story: “Here’s the best thing you can say about Jerry Sandusky: He’s the main reason that Penn State is Linebacker U … and linebackers aren’t even his enduring legacy.”

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