‘How could this happen?’ is probably the most popular question in America right now. If you don’t know the grisly details of what is alleged to have occurred between former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky and at least eight young boys by now, grab a trash can and a box of tissues before going to your search bar and finding the Grand Jury report of the alleged sexual abuse. You’re going to need them, trust me.

By the time it’s all said and done, this could be the worst sports scandal ever. It’s already the worst scandal in the history of college sports, and trust me when I say that it’s far from over.

In truth, the events that are alleged to have occurred at Penn State have nothing to do with sports. They have nothing to do with football, but they have everything to do with those who run big-time college football programs across the country.

The truth is this could have happened anywhere. That’s not to let those at Penn State, including former head coach Joe Paterno, former school president Graham Spanier, assistant coach Mike McQueary (who saw one of the attacks occur) and others, off the hook. There’s no question that each of them could have, and should have gone to the proper authorities the instant they knew what had occurred.

The culture that has been created at big-time college athletics programs and large business across the country is one that protects image and reputation at all costs.

When Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel failed to report NCAA violations in April of 2009, he did so to protect the reputation of himself and his storied program. When the violations came to light last December, he ended up losing his job and the school and the program lost credibility. The cover-up isn’t always worse than the crime, but its ramifications can be just as devastating.

In the case of Penn State, those ramifications were the abuse of God knows how many children and the jobs of several of its highest-ranking employees, not to mention a reputation that may never be restored. The incidents at Penn State and Ohio State are not on the same level. Not even close. But they were both covered up for the same reasons.

So how could this happen? In the case of Sandusky, the answer is terrifying, disgusting and heart-wrenching, but it’s also pretty obvious. In the case of those who knew what he was doing and refused to act, the answer is far more complicated.

Power corrupts. It makes ordinarily good men do horrible, selfish things. It turns ordinarily brave men into cowards. In his 46 years as head coach of the Nittany Lions and 61 years with the program in total, Paterno undeniably did great things for the university. What took 61 years to build up, however, was torn down in three days. Just like with the university, his reputation may never be restored.

How could someone who claims to be so worthy of respect, who has donated millions to higher learning and bettered thousands of young men’s lives through football, do something so selfish? How could he sleep at night, knowing what he knew for nine years while Sandusky roamed free, preying on children? Paterno must have passed him thousands of times in the years between the 2002 incident and his conviction.

If Penn State sat on something this big for as long as it did, how many other things have they covered up during Paterno’s tenure? If Paterno was willing to cover up something this big, it’s safe to say it’s not the only thing he covered up in 46 years. Even scarier, Penn State isn’t the only school with a reputation worth upholding.

There are dozens of schools with the tradition and prestige of Penn State. We can hope that there has only been one cover-up that led to child molestation, but we can’t ignore the fact that there may be dozens of other, similar cover-ups that have led to countless violations of NCAA rules and the law.

The atmosphere of a college football game is unlike anything in sports. Stadiums across the country hold over 100,000 people. Every game serves as a stage for amateurism, for the betterment of young people through sports and the unity of a university, a city and sometimes even a whole state on an autumn afternoon.

For decades people have been traveling to State College, Pa. to watch football games. For decades they have received a message. For decades that message has been a lie. The system is broken. It’s time somebody fixed it.