The National Organization of Women has denounced Penn State University Football coach Joe Paterno for defending one of his players against a rape charge by a female student of the college. While his words may not have been stated in the most diplomatic fashion (he should have said, simply "Let's wait until the facts are in in this case before passing judgement"), I understand and agree fully with his intent.

You see, when I attended college, although I lived off campus, I would often hang out around the dorms. Because I was single, I had the full meal plan so that I didn't have to worry about dinner, as it was funded by my student loans. And I lived a half block off campus. So I was very involved in the day to day college life. I would usually hang out in the dorm room of a couple of fairly close classmates, and would often crash there on nights when video game sessions were too intense for me to feel inclined to make the 2 block walk home.

The suitemate of these guys was a freshman, a smart guy and a pretty good student. He attracted the attention of a young lady, and they started dating. One night he took her home to his dorm room. My friends were in their dorm room as well, separated only by the shared bathroom.

Well, the two did what freshman college students will do, and the young man walked the girl home to her room. The next day, the girl had a case of "buyer's remorse" (there's GOOD evidence she was talked into what followed by a group of militant female supremacists who worked hard to dominate the campus, and were, I believe, a strong part of the reason the college closed its doors three years later, as their values STRONGLY conflicted with those of the heartland community where the college was located...but I digress). She reported the incident to the campus police as date rape, and the young man was arrested.

He would eventually be exonerated by the police, as my friends, mere feet away, swore strongly that there was NO evidence that she had protested his advances (and, as anyone who's ever lived in a college dorm can attest, a vocal protest can usually be heard halfway down the hall). As well, many of her friends in her hall testified that she didn't say anything about the possibility of rape after she returned to her room, and that she appeared to be in a good mood. The case was never even brought before a grand jury.

But the university DID take action. He was expelled from the university, with the incident on his record, to tarnish his image at any future university he might wish to attend.

Now, I have to take the middle ground here. I can't say whether or not rape occured. Only two people in the world can, and they had differing testimonies. I do know that delayed reporting is common in rape cases, and that the young woman's delay in reporting the incident is neither evidence for or against, and I do know (but knowing the character of the suitemates, I highly doubt) that in such cases, guys tend to stick together. And for this reason I remain conflicted to this day. But I CAN say that this young man's future was potentially ruined over what may well have been a fabricated allegation.

I can also say that I don't know what happened in the Penn State incident. I know less about it than I do the case I cite (where, even with all the facts, I STILL couldn't conclusively say whether I believe the rape occured or not). But I believe, very firmly, that we should let the investigation proceed without assuming guilt on the part of the player. And I believe that Joe Paterno should be able to go into retirement without this allegation by a female supremacist group staining his otherwise sterling reputation.