Mike McQueary may be considered many things, but is Mike McQueary, whistleblower, one of them?
You probably have heard that Joe Paterno was fired for his role, or lack of a role, in the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal. However, McQueary, the graduate assistant who had eyewitnessed some of the abuse, also took a lot of heat for having the opportunity to stop an ongoing rape, and instead allegedly doing nothing. Now people are calling for McQueary’s head as well.
But unlike with JoePa, Penn State could run into legal troubles if it tries to fire McQueary.
McQueary had said that he saw Sandusky raping a 10-year-old boy in the Penn State showers, reports the Detroit Free Press. The graduate assistant and former football player probably had an opportunity to stop the rape, but according to the grand jury report instead choose to report what he saw to Paterno.
For reporting the abuse, McQueary did the right thing. For not taking immediate action to stop the rape, many believe McQueary did not do the right thing.
However, if the university tries to fire McQueary like it did Paterno, it may run into whistleblower protection laws, reports the Free Press. Generally, a whistleblower is an employee who reports a violation of the law by his employer. The laws protect whistleblowers by prohibiting any retaliatory acts by employers for reports of wrongdoing.
In McQueary's case, he reported the child abuse that had the potential to rock the university's football program. For his role, he could be considered a whistleblower. So if the university tries to fire him, the termination could be viewed as illegal retaliation.
So far, there has been no indication that McQueary will be fired. But with a possible Mike McQueary whistleblower status, the university should be careful not to add to its legal woes.
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