Buffalo Sabres owner and Penn State alumnus/benefactor Terry Pegula is “standing behind the university” as the school’s sex-abuse scandal shows no signs of disappearing from the headlines.
In a phone interview with TSN, Pegula called for anyone who can shed light on what really happened to step forward and tell the truth.
“This is not about covering your ass,” Pegula said. “Telling the truth now will go a long way towards getting everyone through this. If there’s going to be a blind allegiance to anyone or anything here, it needs to be the university and to the truth...that’s how we get to the bottom of what happened, that’s how we get our image back.”
In September of 2010, Pegula donated $88 million to Penn State for the purpose of building an arena and starting an NCAA D-I hockey program. Last week, he reaffirmed that commitment.
“I wanted to make sure everyone knows I’m solidly behind Penn State hockey because others were using (the scandal) against us in our recruiting efforts,” Pegula said. “I heard some of our recruits were maybe wavering a bit so I wanted to make sure they knew we’re fully committed to running a first-class program that stands for all the right things. That’s what we’re all about.”
It’s not hard to imagine what those recruits are thinking. Playing sports for Penn State will come with its share of challenges in the wake of this scandal. Given the choice between PSU and a school without a dark cloud hanging over its campus, where would you go?
