In Defense of Paterno

Would you stop with the blackmail crap? All Paterno had to do was pick up the phone and call the police.
 
paterno, being old fashioned, probably thought he did what he was supposed to do by telling his superior, then didn't want to hear anything about it because it was wrong, disgusting, whatever. He probably broke ties with the coach and thought that was the right thing for him to do. i.e. he would let someone else take it to the police. WHAT HER FORGOT.... was that the man was still a predator and that HE SHOULD HAVE TAKEN IT TO THE POLICE because it could happen to more kids. POOR POOR POOR USE OF JUDGEMENT. Unless there is more we dont all know, he should resign, period. all these people dropped the ball, how does none of them not say "if you dont report this to the police and prove to me that you did I am going myself.."
 
but, who knows how i would have handled it...it's easy to say I would've did this or I would have did that. I hope I would have did the right thing...
 
JonDMiller said:
There is no defense of or for Paterno in this instance. There was a 1998 incident in a PSU shower...in 1999 Sandusky resigned...then this 2002 incident in the PSU shower, and Paterno was informed the day after it occurred.

Sorry, there are some things you don't get the benefit of the doubt for not doing. Not reporting child molestation to the police would be at the top of that list.
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I think the 1998 incident and subsequent 1999 retirement at the age of 55 plays a bigger role in this than maybe we recognize.

In 2002 they believed that if they reported what they saw then the 1998 incident would become public and people would ask why they did not deal with this chold molester correctly 4 years earlier and why they were allowing him to bring young boys on campus as part of his Second Mile charity. So they swept it under the rug again. Once one bad choice is bad it often snowballs into a disaster.
 
when you get to a level that these administrators are at, they are supposed to know when an employee is to be fired, and when an employee is to be fired AND... the police are to be called. I can sometimes see examples where that line may be blurred for a manager/administrator/leader, but these high level, highly paid people should have seen the need for police intervention on this one, in addition to just terminating an employee. On top of that, even if they didnt go to the police (which was a big big big error), this guy should have never every been allowed on PSU campus...
 
HawkeyeMHA said:
when you get to a level that these administrators are at, they are supposed to know when an employee is to be fired, and when an employee is to be fired AND... the police are to be called. I can sometimes see examples where that line may be blurred for a manager/administrator/leader, but these high level, highly paid people should have seen the need for police intervention on this one, in addition to just terminating an employee. On top of that, even if they didnt go to the police (which was a big big big error), this guy should have never every been allowed on PSU campus...
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To many times when someone is embarassed by a situation they just want it to go away and never be spoken of again. When that is the motivation some very very very bad decisions are made to save embarassment.
 
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kuhntz said:
What if JoPa did try to follow up? What was he told by the rest of the administration? There is more information needed than what we know to pass that type of judgement Jon. He may very well deserve to have a tarnished legacy and be forced out of coaching...but we do not know the facts to make those judgments yet.
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I have to agree here. Maybe its the lawyer in me, but I want to know more about the facts/evidence before making an argument here, and especially before making a judgment.
 
ssckelley said:
Would you stop with the blackmail crap? All Paterno had to do was pick up the phone and call the police.
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I agree on both fronts. Paterno gravely errored and should/will pay the price in diminishing his perceived here-to-fore positive legacy, maybe more. He was wrong, wrong for his lack of action, follow-up, banishment of Sandusky, etc. etc. There is no excuse, even if he was told by his superiors to let it rest, or that it was "taken out of proportion", or what ever other reason he was given. But where I think that some of this story that is not being brought out yet.... is MONEY.

Somewhere, somehow, there was a protection put on this entire event, swept under the rug, or whatever you want to call it, due to something that Sandusky held over not just Paterno, but the entire University. My guess is money entitlements given to players over a long period of time. Fear of the death penalty (ala SMU) or a slow down in contributions, The University, as some businesses that are perceived "too big to fail", used poor ethics and many times very illegal acts to "protect" their image and reputation. No way does this guy get a lifetime office and pass to facilities without threatening to blow a very large whistle. There is a lot more to this and while they say the NCAA doesn't have anything, I think they have or will get a lot.
 
The facts will come out. But it seems to me, the moral evidence is there now to clean house. All of it. Sooner than later. The facts can either help restore images or reputations at that time, if that is to be. But the damage is done, many (more than just 1 or 2 children) were affected. Those individuals and their families deserve to see some sort of justice and punishment. Imagine how they have felt everytime they heard Joe Pa did this or Joe Pa did that, he is the face of the institution that apparently turned its back. His punishment may be reputation alone, but for others, yikes, if they are covering up something big, then they will hopefully pay a just price. AND, if it is a money coverup, they should do hard time themselves, no different then someone like someone on Wall Street fleecing the public of money based on false reputations or images.
 
Paterno's part in this will revolve around the fact he didn't follow up on this, sorry SEXUALLY abusng children is not the thing you leave up to a supervisor, he should have reported it to the Police, and if he was a coach under Paterno when this happened, he should have suspended him until it was cleared up, JoePa did neither
 
I have never agreed with Jon Miller more regarding his Paterno related posts. And I have to laugh at those who think Paterno did enough by passing it onto his "superiors". This was Jo bleeping Paterno. He didn't have any superiors. He could have easily made Sandusky go away and be done with PSU football FOREVER. He chose not to and hopefully we will find out why. Read the following article and take note of how Athletic Director Curley was unable to fire him-TWICE! I have read elsewhere that Paterno chased him out of his house. Cantankerous old coot. His reputation will be forever tarnished and rightfully so.

Curley's athletic department earned much respect
 
JonDMiller said:
A child was raped in the house that Joe built. This was four years after another such incident took place in the same house that Joe built.

You call the freaking police, what you dont do is give the guy emeritus status, keys to the facility, educational discounts for himself and eligible dependents, discount at the school book store, his own parking place, etc.

You just don't.

This will be Paterno's last year at Penn State, and I certainly have no problems with that.

I don't think Joe is some monster; that is Sandusky.

Joe has helped a lot of young people in his life and I don't forget that...but he has failed several young people the last decade or so because of not going to police. Sorry, but you don't get a do over for this sort of thing, and it's not wiped away.

Of anyone in the state, Joe was powerful enough in 1998 and 2002 to do this. He chose not to.

That is on him and will be forever.
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Jon, I believe you are a fan of Joe Posnanski. Did you know he is in the process of writing a Joe Paterno book? He has been imbedded in Happy Valley for the football season. Here's a podcast he did a week or so about it.

Grantland Network Podcast: Jonah Keri with Joe Posnanski - The Triangle Blog

I believe the book was mostly going to be a positive story on Joe Pa. Posnanski said the book would be out in a year or so. Imagine how much the book is going to change now.
 
skinnykilmer17 said:
I have never agreed with Jon Miller more regarding his Paterno related posts. And I have to laugh at those who think Paterno did enough by passing it onto his "superiors". This was Jo bleeping Paterno. He didn't have any superiors. He could have easily made Sandusky go away and be done with PSU football FOREVER. He chose not to and hopefully we will find out why. Read the following article and take note of how Athletic Director Curley was unable to fire him-TWICE! I have read elsewhere that Paterno chased him out of his house. Cantankerous old coot. His reputation will be forever tarnished and rightfully so.

Curley's athletic department earned much respect
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Makes me wonder what kind of dirt Sandusky has on Paterno.
 
If this has been addressed in one of the million threads, let me know, but has anyone answered the question about why Sandusky was allowed on in the facility but couldn't bring children? For me that is a glaring indictment that they all knew what happened when he brought children, so they needed to avoid that "problem."
 
theboat said:
If this has been addressed in one of the million threads, let me know, but has anyone answered the question about why Sandusky was allowed on in the facility but couldn't bring children? For me that is a glaring indictment that they all knew what happened when he brought children, so they needed to avoid that "problem."
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Its been addressed. There are just so many damning points that it is impossible to keep track of them all.
 
Jon's post is completely correct. Paterno, whether guilty of a crime or not, served as an enabler for Sandusky for at least a decade.
There was the 1998 incident, which Paterno KNEW about. And Sandusky retired shortly thereafter, put 2 & 2 together there. Then the 2002 incident which Paterno KNEW about.
Meanwhile Sandusky remained on campus regularly until last week LAST WEEK!!
i dont care if Paterno believed the allegations or not, he enabled Sanduaky to remain on campus and prey pn little boys for 10 f'ing years. At any given time Paterno could have kicked the pervert off campus, take his keys, call the cops, etc. He did not and that is what I fault him for.
 
Igothawked said:
Jon's post is completely correct. Paterno, whether guilty of a crime or not, served as an enabler for Sandusky for at least a decade.
There was the 1998 incident, which Paterno KNEW about. And Sandusky retired shortly thereafter, put 2 & 2 together there. Then the 2002 incident which Paterno KNEW about.
Meanwhile Sandusky remained on campus regularly until last week LAST WEEK!!
i dont care if Paterno believed the allegations or not, he enabled Sanduaky to remain on campus and prey pn little boys for 10 f'ing years. At any given time Paterno could have kicked the pervert off campus, take his keys, call the cops, etc. He did not and that is what I fault him for.
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on top of all this there is a report out there that says Sandusky admitted what he did in 98 to a mother of a victim and that the police listened in on the convo. Then they took it to the DA and he said he didnt have enough evidence for a case. Mysteriously the DA disapeared in 05 and is presumed dead.

this will get even worse than a child abuse case, there may be extortion, blackmail, murder?
 
Ahawkalypse said:
Igothawked said:
Jon's post is completely correct. Paterno, whether guilty of a crime or not, served as an enabler for Sandusky for at least a decade. There was the 1998 incident, which Paterno KNEW about. And Sandusky retired shortly thereafter, put 2 & 2 together there. Then the 2002 incident which Paterno KNEW about.Meanwhile Sandusky remained on campus regularly until last week LAST WEEK!!i dont care if Paterno believed the allegations or not, he enabled Sanduaky to remain on campus and prey pn little boys for 10 f'ing years. At any given time Paterno could have kicked the pervert off campus, take his keys, call the cops, etc. He did not and that is what I fault him for.
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on top of all this there is a report out there that says Sandusky admitted what he did in 98 to a mother of a victim and that the police listened in on the convo. Then they took it to the DA and he said he didnt have enough evidence for a case. Mysteriously the DA disapeared in 05 and is presumed dead. this will get even worse than a child abuse case, there may be extortion, blackmail, murder?
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agreed. And Paterno has the balls to lead a Penn State cheer on his front lawn tonight. Its sick and morally.inexcusable.
For any child abused after 1998/1999 i blame Paterno and the school.
 
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