Much-maligned Penn State Nittany Lions coach Jerry Sandusky recently spoke out on his past conviction in a new interview with the Daily Mail.
The 80-year-old defensive coach was found guilty on 45 of 48 counts of sexual abuse that took place at his charity over a period of nearly two decades.
The Penn State Nittany Lions are still affected by the crimes for which Jerry Sandusky was convicted
While the Nittany Lions have been able to fight their way back to relevance in the football world despite the plethora of sanctions that ripped through their program following the conviction of Jerry Sandusky, their image was forever tarnished.
Penn State was given five years probation, a four-year postseason ban, a vacation of wins from 1998 to 2011 (112 wins), a $60 million fine, loss of forty scholarships from 2013 to 2017, limitation of scholarships to 65 and the entrance of an “athletics integrity agreement” with the NCAA and the Big Ten.
Still, they have won 11 games in four of the last eight seasons while failing to make a bowl game just once since the hiring of head coach James Franklin in 2014. They still managed to win eight and seven games in the two seasons following the dismissal of legendary head coach Joe Paterno.
While they have propelled themselves back to football relevance, the heinous crimes Sandusky was convicted of will always be synonymous with Penn State football.
Former Penn State Nittany Lions coach Jerry Sandusky denies committing the crimes for which he was convicted
In the new interview with the Daily Mail, Sandusky continues to deny committing the crimes that cost him his life and Penn State their image. It was the first time Sandusky spoke about his charges since the 2013 documentary about Joe Paterno.
“I never ever in my life ever thought about molesting anybody,” he told DailyMail.com. “I was accused of heinous crimes, which I’ve never committed. My wife was my only partner in sex and that was after marriage. I was in disbelief in terms of how this happened. Why were they [accuser] saying things that were so inconsistent with what they had said before?
“I believe I was wrongfully convicted by inconsistent, perjured testimony.” He maintains his accusers were “vulnerable and susceptible” people who were “coached and led” by law enforcement and two therapists – who he blames for the “inconsistent testimony”.
The former Penn State coach believes that his accusers were “incentivized” by money, adding that “nobody came forward on their own.”
Sandusky and his legal team have appealed with hopes that he will win the right to a new trial. Not only was Sandusky sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison at the time of the initial conviction and sentencing in 2012, but he was resentenced in 2019 due to a change in the law.
The new interview given by Jerry Sandusky has prompted a mixed bag of reactions from the public
In an area of crime wherein the accused are typically not given a second thought, there is a surprising amount of public reactions on social media issuing support for Sandusky.
Many fans still hold ill will for the former Penn State coach and many thought Sandusky was already dead. But a contingency of fans has appeared to begin to support Sandusky’s claim of innocence despite a continuation of first-hand accounts of Sandusky’s nature being shared to this day.
Ok then explain Jerry Sandusky massaging my upper thigh area 1979-80 at 2 TSM fundraising events while discretely viewing nude pictures of underage boys Sandusky associate Ed Savitz had in his possession? I guess that was all an honest misunderstanding also?
— Greg Bucceroni (@gregbucceroni) June 18, 2024
Sandusky’s wife standing by him doesn’t mean a whole lot considering she admittedly knew for years that her husband preferred young boys and still stayed married to him.
— TheNK0 🇺🇸 (@TheNK0) June 18, 2024
He maintains innocence because he almost certainly is innocent.
— Nick Smith (@the_sfrp) June 18, 2024
I thought for sure he was a pedo. Now it is reported that his conviction relied on regression therapy with witnesses. Remember the Mc Martin pre school conviction. A decade later the victims(regression therapy)became teenagers said none of it happened. Add in Paterno denying also
— Michael Johnson (@Michael86541543) June 19, 2024
Didnt know he was still alive
— 🚁 (@chasintatum) June 18, 2024
Jerry Sandusky is 100% innocent and it’s not even close.
— Eddie Butler (@ByTheWizard85) June 18, 2024
He’s a convicted felon and child molester and WTF is the matter with @nypost giving media attention to a child abuser!! Send him to Tennessee, they now will be putting all child rapists to death, no exceptions.
— Cereus Blooms (@BloomsCereus) June 18, 2024
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