Rick Santorum: Penn State football should be barred from bowl games

Former Pennsylvania Senator and Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum says the Penn State football team should not be allowed to participate in bowl games this year in light of the child sex abuse scandal that has rocked the school in recent days, the Des Moines Register reports.

Santorum, an alumnus of Penn State, told reporters Tuesday that "it would probably be best to take a pass on a bowl game this year" in the wake of the scandal.

"I am not too sure if I was on a bowl committee I would be too anxious about inviting Penn State to a bowl game given the situation up there," Santorum said, according to the Register. "I think it would probably be best to take a pass on a bowl game this year. It is a tough thing for the kids, but this is way beyond the football team right now. I would make the suggestion that it would be in the best interests of everybody to finish the schedule and put this season behind us and move on."

Jerry Sandusky, a former Penn State assistant coach for the school's football team, was recently charged with sexually molesting eight young boys during his tenure at Penn State, and additional suspected victims have come forwardto authorities since his arrest.

Joe Paterno, who served as head football coach at the school for 46 years, was fired from his post last week in the wake of the scandal.

Santorum, a staunch Christian conservative, told the Register Paterno had campaigned with him in the past and that he knows some of the coach's family members. The former two-term senator also said he had been participating in "group therapy" with fellow Penn State supporters - including strangers who approached him wanting to talk about it.

"They just want to talk about it because they are so hurt by it," Santorum said. "It is so personal. You feel so betrayed that something like this could happen."