Sue Paterno Endorses Candidate Who Got Penn State Its Wins Back

Before someone tries convincing you that America’s relationship with college football is healthy, normal, and totally fine, remember this campaign video. Pennsylvania State Sen. Jake Corman is up for re-election this year; the Republican has been in the Commonwealth’s Senate since 1999, when he ran for the seat his father was leaving, and currently serves as the Senate majority leader. A few weeks ago, as first reported by Onward State, this video popped up on his campaign’s Facebook page. It’s of Sue Paterno, widow of disgraced Penn State coach Joe Paterno, endorsing Corman.

And Sue Paterno endorses him for exactly the reasons you would expect: “Most politicians would have stood on the sidelines when our community was under attack. But not Jake. He sued the NCAA because what they were doing was wrong—and he won. He restored not just our win but also our community.”

It’s “about more than Penn State,” Sue Paterno insists, before spending exactly one second mentioning the Special Olympics before the ad cuts back to a Nittany Lion statue, and that’s it. Vote for Corman because he helped Penn State get its wins back! Without which, its community would have been in disrepute forever!

It was, no matter how kindly Sue Paterno looks into the camera, not the loss of wins that ruined Penn State’s reputation. It was that longtime defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky molested young boys left in his care for years—and multiple leaders at Penn state, including Joe Paterno, did almost nothing in response when former assistant coach Mike McQueary told them he saw Sandusky raping a boy in a locker room.

That these details are left out isn’t much of a surprise. Sure, Corman’s NCAA lawsuit unearthed some truly embarrassing emails that exposed the NCAA as the fraud it remains to be. But the Pennsylvania legislature shut down earlier this week without reaching a resolution on a proposal that would temporarily lift the statue of limitations for two years so that older victims of sexual abuse by clergy could sue in court for damages, which a grand jury report had recommended.

Corman declined to comment when asked if he would support the legislation. When a press conference was held on the topic, the described him as noticeably absent. It’s about more than Penn State, indeed.