Jeff Byers Article on Growing Up With the Sandusky Children

Jeff Byers is the excellent play-by-play analyst for Penn State wrestling radio broadcasts. He's very, very good at that job. He also grew up in State College in the same neighborhood as Jerry Sandusky and his family. In this StateCollege.com article, he reflects on his own childhood there, talks about his friendships with the Sandusky children, E.J., Kara, and Jon, and discusses his memories of the Sandusky household. Generally, he just tries to express some of his thoughts and emotions. It's not all that dissimilar to what a lot of us have been trying to do during reflection of these events, but it's an interesting take on the inherent conflict those who knew Sandusky one way must now be experiencing as they learn of others who knew him differently.

I don't want to filter the piece's goodness by over-presenting portions of it, but these words toward the end contain a few of the many complexities involved:

I am proud of the way the Sanduskys are dealing with unimaginable circumstances, of how the university and community have responded to help the survivors of child abuse, of the neighborhood I grew up in and the memories I get to keep. I also am proud of the alleged victims for telling their stories and surviving and bringing the reality of their situations to light.

It is terribly important and my heart aches.