Joe Paterno

[ljbab728]

Somehow I just think this will be the situation that finally ends his career:

http://espn.go.com/college-football/...tuns-community

Even without any direct implications, I think this will just be too much for him and it's way past time.

I started going to college football games before he became the head coach and I've never understood why he is so revered unless it's just longevity. In his early career, Penn State was known for avoiding a good bowl game matchup just to help their chances. Bear Bryant and Alabama did the same thing, however. I'm sure he is a decent coach and may be a very nice man in person but he's not deserving of the Saint Joe title but a long shot.

[FritterGirl]

End times imminent? According to the New York Times, yes.

Hate seeing JoPa go out this way, but he himself had a chance to make a difference and decided not to. To me, it looks like a case where hubris and ego got in the way of his moral obligation; a "win at all costs" mentality. In this case, unfortunately, the children bore the burden of his selfishness. And to think he won't even get a slap on the wrist. I wonder if any of the children's families would have grounds to sue, should they wish to make their own stories public.

[Roadhawg]

He reported it to his superior as soon as he found out.

[FritterGirl]

He did report it to his superior, but also knew it was being covered up around him... for YEARS!!! He could have, knowing what he knew, gone around his superior to report it immediately to law enforcement officials. He is guilty by association in this, I'm afraid.

[ou48A]

Jim Traber says that Penn St will be sued and that it could bankrupt the entire Penn State University causing the entire university to be shut down.

[Roadhawg]

Maybe they can borrow some money from the Catholic Church Alter Boy fund

[dankrutka]

Jim Traber says that Penn St will be sued and that it could bankrupt the entire Penn State University causing the entire university to be shut down.

Well, that sounds like the type of stupid thing that Traber would say.

[dankrutka]

Jo Pa should be fired for this. After his superiors did nothing he should have taken it to authorities. Kids were getting molested! Geeze!

[Roadhawg]

He did report it to his superior, but also knew it was being covered up around him... for YEARS!!! He could have, knowing what he knew, gone around his superior to report it immediately to law enforcement officials. He is guilty by association in this, I'm afraid.

Yeah... I just hate to see JoePa go out like this. Doesn't matter if he kept quiet for the sake of the school or the guy, either way it was wrong.

[ou48A]

Well, that sounds like the type of stupid thing that Traber would say.

Traber isn’t thinking. PSU probably has some type of insurance and or state laws that protect / limit the amount of damages that they could be sued for. Traber did not seem to be considering these as possibilities.
The state of Pennsylvania is not going to let a state university (PSU) be shut down or financially harmed in a huge way.... to the point of being shut down.

[MDot]

Maybe they can borrow some money from the Catholic Church Alter Boy fund

Borrow? Why not just ask the Catholic Church Alter Boy funds to sponsor them. Or Dick's Sporting Goods. We'll let them decide.

[PennyQuilts]

The whole story is very disturbing. So many places where things did or didn't get done and kids were hurt as a result.

[Hawk405359]

What's disturbing is seeing all the Penn State students sticking up for him, chanting on his lawn, and trying to justify that what he did wasn't being complicit.

I've always been a big Paterno fan. Always. But there has to come a time when your sport fan self is taken over by your adult self, and everyone involved in the program is guilty of covering it up. Paterno may have done what he needed to do legally to not be held accountable, but he failed the moral test in every way, shape and form.

[Pete]

I guess this all comes down to Paterno being told about a young man being abused in the Penn State showers and passing that information on to the athletic director. Sandusky was retired at the time, so Joe Pa didn't have direct authority over him; he was given an office and access to athletic facilities as part of his retirement factor.

That happened in 2002 and yet Sandusky continued on at the school, his football camps and nonprofit for kids.

How the athletic director and school allowed him to continue on like this is very hard to understand and justify. Charges should have been brought and the graduate assistant who saw the one incident should have testified.

Paterno is saying: "He was retired, not a part of my football program any more and I told administration." That's a fair argument but lots of people are wondering why he didn't do more to make sure this guy was prosecuted and kept away from young kids.

[Pete]

I just read the grand jury report and it has a lot more information, especially around this incident in 2002.

The main point of contention is in the accounts of the graduate assistant and Paterno, the athletic director and the university president. The GA says he told Paterno and then later the president and another university official that he was quite sure that Sandusky was having intercourse with the 10 year-old (!) boy in the Penn State showers. But they all claim he just told them that Sundusky was just "horsing around" so they merely told him not to take young boys into their showers any more and then told the leader of the nonprofit Sandusky helped start.

What no one did, however, was report the incident to the proper authorities (child and human services) or anyone else.

By not doing so, they violated state law not to mention common sense and decency.


I ran a nonprofit for at-risk youth and was required to attend training on exactly what had to be reported and how to do so. Even in the case of therapy by a licensed clinician, you are mandated to report if you think a child has been sexually or physically abused. There are very clear guidelines on this and I'm quite sure that Paterno and anybody who worked at Penn State or any other university were well informed about these policies as part of compliance required by the state.

So, Joe Pa should have reported the matter to the proper authorities, not just his boss. And the AD and university president should have reported it as well.

They all claim they were led to believe it was no big deal, but that's not what the GA said and why would he lie? And why would they hold all types of meetings and call the nonprofit if they thought it was just horsing around?

It also seems there was another incident they all knew about in 1998 when Sandusky was still coaching. That did get reported to the university police but it never went further.


So, all these grown men in positions of power knew of inappropriate physical contact with a grown man and 10 year-old boy in a Penn State shower and none of them did anything to report it or keep him away from the many young kids he worked with through the nonprofit and football camps???

I think they are all going to be fired, and that's probably the right thing to do.

[Jersey Boss]

I just read the grand jury report and it has a lot more information, especially around this incident in 2002.

The main point of contention is in the accounts of the graduate assistant and Paterno, the athletic director and the university president. The GA says he told Paterno and then later the president and another university official that he was quite sure that Sandusky was having intercourse with the 10 year-old (!) boy in the Penn State showers. But they all claim he just told them that Sundusky was just "horsing around" so they merely told him not to take young boys into their showers any more and then told the leader of the nonprofit Sandusky helped start.

What no one did, however, was report the incident to the proper authorities (child and human services) or anyone else.

By not doing so, they violated state law not to mention common sense and decency.


I ran a nonprofit for at-risk youth and was required to attend training on exactly what had to be reported and how to do so. Even in the case of therapy by a licensed clinician, you are mandated to report if you think a child has been sexually or physically abused. There are very clear guidelines on this and I'm quite sure that Paterno and anybody who worked at Penn State or any other university were well informed about these policies as part of compliance required by the state.

So, Joe Pa should have reported the matter to the proper authorities, not just his boss. And the AD and university president should have reported it as well.

They all claim they were led to believe it was no big deal, but that's not what the GA said and why would he lie? And why would they hold all types of meetings and call the nonprofit if they thought it was just horsing around?

It also seems there was another incident they all knew about in 1998 when Sandusky was still coaching. That did get reported to the university police but it never went further.


So, all these grown men in positions of power knew of inappropriate physical contact with a grown man and 10 year-old boy in a Penn State shower and none of them did anything to report it or keep him away from the many young kids he worked with through the nonprofit and football camps???

I think they are all going to be fired, and that's probably the right thing to do.

Why did the 22 year old man(GA) who saw the incident not report it to the police instead of calling his father? Even more troubling is why did this man not come to the aid of the child immediately? While Jo Pa is not blameless, I have more issue with the spineless GA.

[Jersey Boss]

Maybe they can borrow some money from the Catholic Church Alter Boy fund

http://reformation.com/CSA/allabuse.html

[soonergolfer]

I hope everything about Paterno's image is tarnished. He knew about boys being raped in his locker room and did not report to the police. He reported to his "boss", knowing that it would have a much better chance of being swept under the rug. His spur of the moment interview outside his house today was a joke. He was acting like it was a pep rally, telling the fans how much he loved them. This guy has not had any sense of reality in 15 years.

[MDot]

I hope everything about Paterno's image is tarnished. He knew about boys being raped in his locker room and did not report to the police. He reported to his "boss", knowing that it would have a much better chance of being swept under the rug. His spur of the moment interview outside his house today was a joke. He was acting like it was a pep rally, telling the fans how much he loved them. This guy has not had any sense of reality in 15 years.

I can feel the anger from your post. It comes off as harsh at first but when you use the phrase "boys being raped in his locker room" I suddenly got cold hearted and angry...

[Stew]

I don't know if paterno believed something nefarious was hapepening. He knew somebody CLAIMED they saw Sandusky engaged in illicit acts. As far as I know paterno had no first hand knowledge. The person who witnessed the crime is the one who should have reported it to the police. As far as I know paterno was not in a position to investigate these allegations so he passed the info to someone who was.

I think people are being way too harsh on paterno. *JMHO*

[Pete]

Regarding the GA, he obviously was so shocked by what he saw he wasn't sure what to do. He did say he was certain Sandusky saw him, so I doubt he kept carrying on.

When I ran my nonprofit, the volunteers were instructed to tell a supervisor if they thought something should be reported.

[Jersey Boss]

Regarding the GA, he obviously was so shocked by what he saw he wasn't sure what to do. He did say he was certain Sandusky saw him, so I doubt he kept carrying on.

When I ran my nonprofit, the volunteers were instructed to tell a supervisor if they thought something should be reported.

But not so shocked as to call his father instead of the Police. Sorry, but the GA was a 22 year old MAN, and a former player. My take is he was protecting his own self interest and not the interest of the child. There is no excuse for him not intervening on the spot, saving the child and calling the cops instead of his dad and then the coach. Cowardice.

[soonergolfer]

Don't kid yourself if you think someone else had more power at the school than Paterno did back in the late 90's. He was probably one of the most popular people in the entire state. I think JoPa is just as responsible as the GA. He knew of terrible felonies being commited by a friend, and failed to say anything to the autorities. If a teacher is required to report suspicion of child abuse of a student, I am not sure why a football coach isnt.

[Hawk405359]

Everyone should have reported it to the police. Paterno doesn't get off the hook morally because he told his superior then sat on it. Was he in a position to investigate it himself? No, but he was in a position to call the police, once it became painfully obvious that nothing was done, he was in the position to push for it. He had power there, he chose to let it slide for his program.

Paterno had all the opportunities in the world to do something, and this coming from someone who was a huge fan of his, he failed morally on every level. He covered his own butt. That's why the outrage against him isn't going too far, if a college coach is supposed to be some moral leader for the players, he failed.

[Stew]

But not so shocked as to call his father instead of the Police. Sorry, but the GA was a 22 year old MAN, and a former player. My take is he was protecting his own self interest and not the interest of the child. There is no excuse for him not intervening on the spot, saving the child and calling the cops instead of his dad and then the coach. Cowardice.

According to the grand jury report the GA was 28 at the time. There is absolutely no excuse for a 28 year old man witnessing what he claimed he saw not reporting it to the police immediately. He was the sole witness (other than the child and accused) so it was solely his responsibility to report it to law enforcement.