Response to the Paterno Family Statement on the Sandusky Interview

I was shocked and saddened to to read that the Paterno family PR arm, led by Scott Paterno, has decided that, for some inexplicable reason, it is in their self interest to rush to judgment about both the content of my interview with Jerry Sandusky as well as how it will be disseminated.

Not only does Scott Paterno have zero credible information about the nature of the interview or our plans (when he called me after hearing I interviewed Sandusky he engaged in a 15 minute, profanity filled, tirade full of false accusations, multiple threats, and zero substantive questions before hanging up on me), the most bizarre part of the Paterno family decision to react before they have any of the facts here is that I have been in constant contact with their own sex crimes expert, Jim Clemente, both before and after the interview so that I could properly evaluate its results and interpret the responses.

I even asked specific questions of Sandusky based on Jim's suggestions and have, in writing, him complimenting my work when he was the first person to be given access to some of the audio and transcripts. I know that Jim and I do not agree 100 percent of how to interpret everything I have learned about this case, but he knows that I have been extremely sincere in my efforts to incorporate his knowledge and experience. He has taught me much about the horrors of child sexual abuse and how the perception of this case created by the media has not been helpful to the cause of combating that scourge.

I am baffled as to how why Scott Paterno thinks we can ever possibly put all of the pieces of this puzzle together without having the central figure in this story give his full account. It also appears that Scott, an attorney, has never heard of the concept of corroborating evidence, which exists for every Sandusky statement I plan to highlight. It is also incredibly demoralizing to me that Scott has chosen to attempt to destroy one of the very rare circumstances where a defense of his father is going to receive a credible forum in the mainstream media.

Joe Paterno said he just wanted the full truth to come out here and I have been dedicated over the past year, without financial compensation, to making sure that happens. How you can hope to get to that without Sandusky's account of events is beyond my comprehension.

Finally (for now), I must say that the irony of this reaction given what the Paterno family has endured with regard to others rushing to judgment is not lost on me. Neither is the reality that, had Scott's PR team reacted so strongly and swiftly to get out ahead of the grand jury presentment and the Penn State Board of Trustees reaction to it, none of this would have transpired the way that it did in the first place.