Why Paterno's behavior was more disturbing than McQueary's

S

SwirlinLingerie

Well-Known Member
Here are some more facts that make Paterno's role even more disturbing.

*Curley played for Paterno - seems doubtful that Curley would go against his wishes.

*Paterno chased Curley and the current president out of his house a few years ago when they suggested Paterno may be getting a little old for coaching.

*McQueary not only played for Paterno, he also grew up in State College.

Think about all that.

It'd be like a star quarterback from City High, who went on to captain the Hawkeyes and then became a grad assistant for Hayden Fry, walking into the locker room and seeing Bill Snyder or Bill Brashier assaulting a child.

The next day, the former City High and Hawkeye star, shaken to the core, visits Hayden at his house, and is so upset he brings his father along. All he has ever known is Iowa City, Hayden Fry and the Hawkeye coaches who not only gave him a scholarship, but also coached him for 5 years and then gave him his huge opportunity, a one in a million chance, to join the staff. He probably feels he owes his life to Hawkeye football. It is his life. All he has known.

And all those things probably go through his mind as he sits in Hayden's living room and recounts the horror of what he saw. Hayden, the legend, tells him he did the right thing by coming to him, that he'll take care of it and notify the appropriate people.

So Hayden passes it along to the AD and says something may have happened in the shower, do with it what you will. And of course, this AD used to play for Hayden.

The local kid and GA - McQueary - was sent a pretty clear signal with the chain of command and inaction. As the months went by and he didn't hear of any further investigation, he could have taken a stand and taken on the entire university, the only school, coach, city and employer he had ever known, or he could have kept coaching. It's easy for us to be pretty cavalier of what we would have done, but how many of us would have taken on Hayden Fry, Bill Snyder and the entire university?

Given Paterno's relationship with the AD and the President (and his power over both), it's pretty clear who was at the core of keeping Sandusky protected.
 
I can't fault an early twentysomething for putting his faith into a 80 year old living legend, supposedly the most powerful man in State College, getting things solved.

I blame the 80 year old man. If he wanted it to happen, Sandusky would have been in jail a long time ago.
 
ICHawk24 said:
I can't fault an early twentysomething for putting his faith into a 80 year old living legend, supposedly the most powerful man in State College, getting things solved.

I blame the 80 year old man. If he wanted it to happen, Sandusky would have been in jail a long time ago.
Click to expand...

This 100%.
 
Agree 100 percent with the above.

McQueary did what he thought he had to do to bring it to supervisors' attention. He's young, probably still relatively new to the expectations and requirements of dealing with instances of harassment, sexual abuse, and -- heaven forbid -- child sexual assault. It can be debated whether he did enough to report what he saw.

Anyone who has been in a supervisory or leadership role for any length of time, however, as Paterno has been, knows what those expectations and requirements are. His response was clearly deficient and unacceptable. Whether he broke any laws is unclear; it appears the local prosecutor is protecting him as a witness and won't charge him with anything.

But whether he followed the university's protocol in dealing with such appalling behavior is quite another issue and should be the subject of an internal investigation.

The university has a huge mess on its hands. More heads could -- and should -- roll. Will be interesting to see whether the university, the donors, the supporters, even the local media, circle the wagons around Paterno, or whether they aggressively seek the truth and attempt to do what's right in this case.
 
Has McQueary testified as to what he told Paterno the day after the incident?
 
SwirlinLingerie said:
Here are some more facts that make Paterno's role even more disturbing.

*Curley played for Paterno - seems doubtful that Curley would go against his wishes.

*Paterno chased Curley and the current president out of his house a few years ago when they suggested Paterno may be getting a little old for coaching.

*McQueary not only played for Paterno, he also grew up in State College.

Think about all that.

It'd be like a star quarterback from City High, who went on to captain the Hawkeyes and then became a grad assistant for Hayden Fry, walking into the locker room and seeing Bill Snyder or Bill Brashier assaulting a child.

The next day, the former City High and Hawkeye star, shaken to the core, visits Hayden at his house, and is so upset he brings his father along. All he has ever known is Iowa City, Hayden Fry and the Hawkeye coaches who not only gave him a scholarship, but also coached him for 5 years and then gave him his huge opportunity, a one in a million chance, to join the staff. He probably feels he owes his life to Hawkeye football. It is his life. All he has known.

And all those things probably go through his mind as he sits in Hayden's living room and recounts the horror of what he saw. Hayden, the legend, tells him he did the right thing by coming to him, that he'll take care of it and notify the appropriate people.

So Hayden passes it along to the AD and says something may have happened in the shower, do with it what you will. And of course, this AD used to play for Hayden.

The local kid and GA - McQueary - was sent a pretty clear signal with the chain of command and inaction. As the months went by and he didn't hear of any further investigation, he could have taken a stand and taken on the entire university, the only school, coach, city and employer he had ever known, or he could have kept coaching. It's easy for us to be pretty cavalier of what we would have done, but how many of us would have taken on Hayden Fry, Bill Snyder and the entire university?

Given Paterno's relationship with the AD and the President (and his power over both), it's pretty clear who was at the core of keeping Sandusky protected.
Click to expand...


Good post! I wish people would consider the circumstances before going all nuts about how they would have done this and that had they been there.
 
Well summarized. The kid went to the one man he believed would do the right thing and that he could trust and rely on for guidance. That took a lot of courage, and it was the right move.

But that man, (Paterno) and the other "adults" failed him.

The pattern is eerily similar to what's gone on for years in the Catholic Church.
 
It makes no sense to me how Curley and Schultz can be charged with perjury and not Paterno. He's f'n lying to the grand jury just like they are about what McQueary told him.
 
images
 
Agree with this post 100%. The same reason Paterno stays on well into his mid-80s coaching a kid's game is the same reason he didn't effectively deal with his pervert defensive coordinator.

Paterno did not want to let anything get in the way of his quest for a record number of football victories.

This is a sad, tragic story. Paterno needs to go - now
 
hawkdrummer1 said:
Well summarized. The kid went to the one man he believed would do the right thing and that he could trust and rely on for guidance. That took a lot of courage, and it was the right move.

But that man, (Paterno) and the other "adults" failed him.

The pattern is eerily similar to what's gone on for years in the Catholic Church.
Click to expand...

I sued the Archdiocese of Omaha on a sex abuse case. Same sh1t, different hierarchy. Protect the adults, to hell with the kids.

Reprehensible. Do you have any idea what kind of damage this does to a person?

Pedo State is gonna pay.

001378930001.jpg
 
silvanthalas said:
It really looks like the DA doesn't want to be the one to have brought Joe Pa down. Which makes him yet another coward in this.
Click to expand...

wrong...JoePa did not break the law. in PA, a coach is not a mandatory reporter but administrators are. JoePa did not lie under oath so no perjury charge either. pretty simple explanation if you take the emotion out of it.
 
I'm starting to wonder if Paterno will even finish the season.

He's so stubborn, I am not sure he quite gets it yet. This is going to get even uglier as the level of outrage increases, and Paterno's sense of entitlement and stubbornness get worse.
 
9YRPLAN said:
wrong...JoePa did not break the law. in PA, a coach is not a mandatory reporter but administrators are. JoePa did not lie under oath so no perjury charge either. pretty simple explanation if you take the emotion out of it.
Click to expand...

JoePa may have followed the legal letter of the law...

But he FAILED morally.

This is the guy that PSU fans want to paint as a GREAT MAN, not just a football coach.

A great man would have gotten to the bottom of this. No one rapes children on his watch.
 
Your line of reasoning would have merit had the appropriate action been taken. But it wasn't and Sandusky was allowed back. After witnessing what went on in the shower how can anyone in their right mind sit in the same room as the man? When it became obvious that Penn State was going to cover this up something should spark your conscience and realize that this isn't right. You are sitting in a coaches meeting with this pedo, how do you look this guy in the eye? The first time you see this man in a meeting you leave and call the proper authorities. If you don't have the guts to do that the very least you walk out and quit. This isn't like someone got wronged, something stolen, or someone sleeping with staff this is sodomizing a 10 year old BOY! How can anyone sleep at night with this knowledge?
 
SwirlinLingerie said:
I'm starting to wonder if Paterno will even finish the season.

He's so stubborn, I am not sure he quite gets it yet. This is going to get even uglier as the level of outrage increases, and Paterno's sense of entitlement and stubbornness get worse.
Click to expand...

This should not even be in question! Shame on Penn State for not immediately suspending Paterno pending the results of this investigation. Each day that Paterno is allowed to remain a coach is making Penn State look worse.
 
Sure, ssckelley, I get that. But it probably took McQueary months to realize nothing was happening with the investigation...certainly weeks at a minimum. At that point, he could call authorities, and some of us probably would have, but his life as he knew it would be over. He'd be looking at years of legal proceedings (he said/she said), possible lawsuits against him, likely being forced off the staff, unemployment, probably alienated in his community (his hometown and the only place he'd ever lived), his family being alienated, too...remember, he'd be going up against EVERYONE once Paterno and the AD made it clear they were ok with what happened. It would only be his word against the most powerful men in the state. Don't tell me that's an easy situation. He'd be throwing away his life and his dream.

In contrast, all Paterno had to do was make a simple call. Either tell the cops himself or tell the AD he needs to tell proper authorities. His life doesn't change. He is still the head football coach at Penn State University. And at the point, he makes the accurate claim Sandusky fooled us all.

With positions of great responsibility comes great responsibility. This isn't on a grad assistant working for free.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Share this page

Top