Technically, Sean Lee never won a football game at Penn State.
Of course, during his time from 2005-09, Lee was a part of four seasons for the Nittany Lions that actually won 40 games. But with the latest NCAA sanctions that have stripped all victories at Penn State since 1998, Lee is now one of the many ex-players unsure what to think about their alma mater and what has transpired in recent weeks and months.
Speaking at a local Dick's Sporting Goods where he was part of a "Shop with a Jock" program for the Boys & Girls Club, Lee said the scandal of former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, who has been convicted of 45 counts of sexually abusing children and the school's 13-year cover-up is a "horrible" situation for everyone involved.
"There is no right way to look at the situation because it is so tough and so horrible what happened. I think, for me the best thing we can do is do what's right from this point forward and make sure there are procedures in place so that this never happens again," Lee told reporters. "I feel the issue is making sure the healing process for these victims is taken care of."
Still, Lee is still sticking by his university and the late Joe Paterno, whose statue has been removed at Happy Valley this week.
"Penn State is still a great university. Great academics, great people up there. So supporting Penn State doesn't mean you're supporting the actions of what happened at all. I don't think anybody should support the actions at all," Lee said. "Coach (Paterno), when I was there, did a lot of great things for the university, did a lot of great things for me personally. The way things were handled I don't agree with. More kids got hurt because they didn't take care of it when they should have and I don't agree with. But the things Coach did before and did for me helped me in a lot of ways."
While Lee admits it's hard to grasp the fact that all of his college success has been wiped away, he is willing to accept the process for the well-being of the situation.
""If taking away the victories is going to help the healing process, then so be it," Lee said. "The guys who played are always going to remember what we accomplished."
