The news lately has been focused on a bunch of people who decided their careers were more important than stopping an alleged pedophile. But what would you have done?

Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky didn’t do a great job keeping his behavior hidden, even showering with boys where others could see. So the big question has been, why didn’t someone step up and stop his claimed inappropriate behavior with young boys?

Famed coach, Joe Paterno, knew what Sandusky was doing, but he turned a blind eye. Why? A columnist for the Boston Herald, Gerry Callahan, did the best job explaining his actions. Of Paterno, he wrote:

The kids in the shower with Coach Sandusky? They were a nuisance. They were threat to the fairy tale that Paterno had spun for decades.

Paterno has been like a god in college sports, and exposing Sandusky’s actions could have potentially hurt his own career.

We can all say right now that we would have stepped up. But there are always risks when taking such actions, especially for rank and file employees who don’t have oblivious college fans supporting them. (more…)