Austin Scott pleads not guilty

I was actually rather surprised to see this bit on Yahoo News (rather than through CDT or The Harrisburg Patriot), but Austin Scott has entered a not guilty plea against his recent rape charges.

A few weeks ago when I first heard that Scott was being accused of rape, I was quite surprised. I was even more surprised to learn that JoePa had kicked him off the team, because Joe usually stands by his players and offers them moral support during difficult times. So to hear that he'd kicked Scott off the team seemed like an uncharacteristically snap decision—which initially led me to believe that there's far more to the story than what we're being told. Either that or Joe doesn't want to repeat the embarrassment of standing by a player only to discover that he's guilty as charged (Curtis Enis, anyone?).

Without knowing all the facts, it's hard for me to form an opinion on Scott's case, though this is hardly the first time a Penn State athlete has been accused of rape. I remember a few years ago when various wrestlers stood accused of same (though I don't quite recall how that turned out). Though on the field, it's turned out to be a blessing in the disguise, because Evan Royster has come to life in Scott's absence!