Last November, Jerry Sandusky conducted an interview with Bob Costas of NBC that aired on “Rock Center.” Apparently NBC only chose to play a selection of the interview for its audience, because we’re just learning that Sandusky may have made somewhat of an admission of guilt while answering a question.
Sandusky had been talking about his involvement in The Second Mile charity before Costas pressed him.
“I’m a very passionate person in terms of trying to make a difference in the lives of some young people,” Sandusky said. “I worked very hard to try to connect with them. To make them feel good about themselves. To be something significant in their lives. Maybe this gets misinterpreted, has gotten depending on … I know a lot of young people where it hasn’t. I have worked with many, many young people where there has been no misinterpretation of my actions and I have made a very significant difference in their lives.”
Costas then challenged Sandusky.
“But isn’t what you’re just describing the classic MO of many pedophiles? And that is that they gain the trust of young people, they don’t necessarily abuse every young person. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of young boys you came into contact with, but there are allegations that at least eight of them were victimized.”
The video picks things up from there and shows Sandusky’s questionable answer:
Prior to this revelation, the most notable detail from the interview was Sandusky fumbling over the question about whether he was attracted to young boys. This answer is so compelling that the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office requested a transcript of the entire interview.
“And I didn’t go around seeking out every young person for sexual needs that I’ve helped. There are many that I didn’t have — I hardly had any contact with who I have helped in many, many ways,” he said.
When I look at that answer, I see a guy essentially agreeing that he helped many children and only pursued a select few for his sexual needs. Maybe that’s the justification in his mind of why what he was doing was fine.
The prosecution certainly can use the help after the defense seemed to have somewhat of a breakthrough on Tuesday when they played tapes that indicated police led one of the victims into his abuse claims.
NBC has also been criticized for sitting on the potentially damaging material for months without publicizing it. They should be. They had no business editing down that interview and only playing certain selections to the public. They should have shown the entire thing and let everyone decide what was important and what wasn’t.
