In 2002, when Rick Santorum nominated the Sanduskys for the award, no formal accusations had been made against Jerry Sandusky. In fact, at that time, no authority outside of Penn State had been told of Sandusky’s crimes. The grand jury that ultimately indicted Jerry Sandusky wasn’t even convened until 2009.
Rick Santorum has never met the Sanduskys personally. Though saddened to see scandal taint the name of Penn State, Rick has stated publicly that he supports the firing of Sandusky.
