Penn State Scandal

[Pruitt]

So is this what "tradition" means? Protecting a brand over protecting children?

I have just finished reading about what's been going on at Penn State, and words - other than rage-filled invective fail me.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports...cqM_story.html

Here's a quote from the Washington Post -

They would all be party to a worse crime than any crooked, pay-for-play booster at Miami, Ohio State or even SMU ever committed: guilty of protecting a program before a child.

And this from the Detroit News -

“The fictional Joe Paterno would have said, "Hey, this is awful, but we have to clean it up. We have to do the right thing. It's going to look bad for us, but you can't let something like this go. We have to get Jerry some help, and we have to make sure he doesn't hurt any kids."

The real Paterno, as nearly as can be determined from the indictments, passed the information to Curley and then washed his hands. He apparently didn't follow up when there was no further investigation. He apparently didn't ask questions when Sandusky continued to enjoy his emeritus status on campus, complete with an office and access to the same building in which the alleged assault took place.

You know, if Paterno wasn't a beloved football coach... say he was an arena manager who knew that his head janitor was sexually assaulting children in the locker room... than he'd be in handcuffs already, and would probably be thanking the police for keeping him in protective custody, lest his enraged neighbors gave him what he deserved.

let's just watch the commentators and apologists circle the wagons to protect the program and its iconic face. Sickening.

[Trumpetbdw]

I spent last night reading most of the Grand Jury Presentment of facts.

This whole thing is sickening. But I place all of the blame on the AD and the President. Paterno did exactly what he was supposed to do. If you have read the Grand Jury Presentment, they lauded him for how he handled it, as well as the Grad Assistant. AD Curley's actions were deplorable, and he and President Graham Spanier should immediately step down.

Yes, this is going to negatively impact Paterno's legacy, and ultimately, in my opinion, will be the final reason as to why he resigns, or is forced out. I don't believe any of it is his fault whatsoever, and it's a shame that it will end this way.

Jerry Sandusky is a despicable person.

Here is CFT's take. This link includes a link to the 23 page Grand Jury document. It is sickening to say the least.

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports...support-to-ad/

Should Paterno have followed up? Likely yes. But to pin any blame on him is unfair. Ultimately, it was up to his "superiors" to take care of the situation correctly. And for all we know, he did follow up, and they told him to zip it, possibly threatening his job, especially considering the timing, and all of the rumors that came in 2003/2004 that they had already decided to drop Paterno. Is this his final year? I think this is the straw. This whole thing makes me sick. I have no other way to describe it.

[wxwax]

Rumorville in State College is that Paterno was out after this season anyway. He finally reached Bobby Bowden status up there. But if there were any doubt, this ought to erase it.

I do hold Paterno responsible for not agitating more once he knew a grown man was molesting a young boy in a Penn State facility.

The whole thing reeks of how the Catholic Church handled and is handling itself. Everyone's first instinct is to protection the institution, not the children. University President Graham Spanier devoted more words to praising his misguided subordinates, than he did for the victims his school helped violate.

Penn State President Graham Spanier called the allegations against Mr. Sandusky "troubling" and said it is appropriate that the allegations be investigated thoroughly.

"Protecting children requires the utmost vigilance," he said in a statement.

Mr. Curley and Mr. Schultz however, had his unconditional support, he said.

"I have known and worked daily with Tim and Gary for more than 16 years," Mr. Spanier said in a statement. "I have complete confidence in how they have handled the allegations about a former University employee. Tim Curley and Gary Schultz operate at the highest levels of honesty, integrity and compassion. I am confident the record will show that these charges are groundless and that they conducted themselves professionally and appropriately."

Spanier, Curley and Schulz have to be fired for their massive lack of judgment. And Paterno should step aside. This isn't going to go away. Paterno will eventually have to answer questions in public. I can think of no reason why he should be spared a public grilling. Let's see if his famous moral compass has been fixed in the last few days.

[wxwax]

Should Paterno have followed up? Likely yes. But to pin any blame on him is unfair. Ultimately, it was up to his "superiors" to take care of the situation correctly.

There's only one right thing for Paterno to say:

"I was wrong and I made a terrible mistake."

If he tries to justify his inaction, then he deserves to have his reputation permanently tainted. To blame someone else would be cowardly.

[Docta]

Tim Curley steps down as Penn State's athletic director. Is Paterno next?

[Trumpetbdw]

There's only one right thing for Paterno to say:

"I was wrong and I made a terrible mistake."

If he tries to justify his inaction, then he deserves to have his reputation permanently tainted. To blame someone else would be cowardly.

Paterno didn't sit on it. He followed his chain of command correctly. The Attorney General lauded his, and the GA's actions. (the name was obvious to fans, but the Harrisburg Patriot-News has revealed that WR coach and recruiting coordinator Mike McQueary was the GA) The actions of Curley, Schultz, and Spanier were reprehensible.

Paterno's statement tonight had to be general, due to the legal implications against Curley and Schultz. But in the 23 page document, it states clearly that McQueary (assumed) went immediately to Paterno. Paterno immediately contacted Curley, and met with him the next day, passing along the specific that McQueary presented him with. Curley and Schultz met with McQueary one and a half weeks later. Paterno was not invited to that meeting. McQueary gave more specific info directly to them. They said that they'd look into it. A few weeks later, they told McQueary that they took away Sandusky's keys, and reported it to his charitable organization, "The Second Mile". They never reported the situation to campus police.

While McQueary spoke of specific acts that he witnessed with the AG, Curley and Schultz told different stories. Curley said specifically that it was "horseplay", and mentioned that there was no sexual conduct 3 separate times. Schultz "was unsure of what he remembered" regarding his conversation with McQueary, and eventually conceded that it was reported that the incident was sexual in nature. The AG found that McQueary was credible, and that Curley and Schultz were not, which led to their charges.

Spanier did nothing criminally wrong, but as the head of the university, and having been involved in the situation, he does need to take full responsibility and step down. Dude's a pompous windbag as it is.

Paterno did nothing wrong, and it seems was intentionally left out of the loop by an administration that was ready at that point to force him out anyway. Having been in a situation to report a possible abuse case myself in the past (not sexual in nature), I know first hand what they deem to be enough evidence, and in my situation, I didn't have enough for legit concern. At that point, Sandusky was already under watch for previous behavior, but no one in the athletic dept would have had any reason to know that.

And what we don't know is what Paterno tried to do. It's possible he tried more actions, but was thwarted. The scumbags above him have certainly shown themselves dirty enough to manipulate that situation, and I fully believe it was out of Paterno's control. He had no incentive for keeping the incident hidden, and it's obvious that hiding it would only make the situation worse. Knowing people who know the situation, I'm confident that this was out of Paterno's hands. Put it this way. If this happened in the science building, and the dean of that department was informed of this by a professor, with both of them meeting with Spanier, Shultz, or any other superior, would it be their fault if it was handled inappropriately above them? The only difference is that this involves a program in the public light, and Paterno was more difficult to throw under the bus than a random professor or dean.

That said, there's no way for it not to stain his legacy, unjustly in my opinion. And this will be the final straw. The chatter has been growing about him leaving, as it does every year at this time. He's not getting Bobby Bowden treatment, he's been much more successful at the end than Bowden, right now being in the driver's seat with a chance at their 3rd Big Ten title and top 10 finish in 6 years.

This situation will unfairly stick to him, and it's a shame. Paterno deserves much better than this, and I truly hope that he'll be remembered for everything else, and not this situation.

[Trumpetbdw]

Tim Curley steps down as Penn State's athletic director. Is Paterno next?

Paterno's will be announced prior to the bowl game. Spanier should be next, but I have a feeling that slimeball will survive. He's manipulative enough to survive it.

[Pruitt]

I would say that Paterno did, in fact, "sit on it."


By trying to keep it all in-house., he acted like anyone else whose primary interest was in protecting an institution and not in protecting individuals.

When referring to the "chain of command," you are referring to the hierarchy WITHIN the university. What happened at Penn State has implications for society as a whole, and therefore the right thing to do would have been for Paterno to go to the police.

A very simple matter actually.

And the fact that Paterno knew about what happened for 9 years, but never saw fit to go to the police, or to make any comments about what happened is outrageous.

The only way these actions are defensible is in purely bureaucratic terms. But in a case where there has been repeated maulings and buggerings of children, is that good enough?

[Trumpetbdw]

I would say that Paterno did, in fact, "sit on it."


By trying to keep it all in-house., he acted like anyone else whose primary interest was in protecting an institution and not in protecting individuals.

When referring to the "chain of command," you are referring to the hierarchy WITHIN the university. What happened at Penn State has implications for society as a whole, and therefore the right thing to do would have been for Paterno to go to the police.

A very simple matter actually.

And the fact that Paterno knew about what happened for 9 years, but never saw fit to go to the police, or to make any comments about what happened is outrageous.

The only way these actions are defensible is in purely bureaucratic terms. But in a case where there has been repeated maulings and buggerings of children, is that good enough?

Fair enough, but I just think that this whole situation was above Paterno. All he had was 2nd hand information, who knows what he was told after the fact. Considering the way that the story was changed between what was seen, and how the university twisted it, it is entirely possible that the university came to him, said that upon further investigation, it was merely a matter of horseplay, they're taking these precautions, and that should be the end of it. If that's the case, and it's a very realistic scenario, then what more could he think that he could do. If he had amended anything for the benefit of the AG, or become uncertain about the specifics like Shultz and Curley did, then absolutely, but he told them exactly what he knew and what he did about it. That's not the actions of someone who's trying to cover something up.

Again, who knows how the university twisted this, but I think it's entirely possible, and even probable that they fed Paterno a different story, downplaying the situation significantly, and considering at that point, they had no idea Sandusky was anything but a charitable individual to young kids, Paterno was forced to give him the benefit of the doubt.

We don't know what happened. I'm just saying this scenario is entirely possible, and based on circumstantial evidence, probable.

This situation is not about Paterno. It's MUCH bigger than that. The only reason people are trying to make it about him is because of his position, and the fact that he's the most public figure of the university. He's not the one who made the decision to allow access to Sandusky, or to remove access. That was Tim Curley. If he were anyone else, no one would have said word one about his role.

[Pruitt]

Of course, you are right, the situation isn't about Paterno.

But, the fact that he didn't involve the police in what was allegedly going on is inexcusable. In this matter, he is not criminally culpable, just morally deficient.