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

[SwirlinLingerie]

Again, I can't disagree with most of these feelings. They are fair and accurate. But again, imagine if you grew up in Iowa City and this was Hayden Fry and Bill Snyder, they'd looked out for you since you were 18, they were your idols, and Hayden told you he'd tell the proper people and this would be addressed so it never happened again. Hayden Fry. Hand on your shoulder and looking you in the eye. Your boss. Your hero.

I get the outrage though. You'd hope McQueary would have so many sleepless nights he would have gone to authorities years ago. No matter his shock, he realized the injustice at some point, whether it was that exact moment or months later. He failed miserably. But my outrage is just as strong as for Paterno. Hopefully they both have to live with the consequences.

 

[EddyP]

Again, I can't disagree with most of these feelings. They are fair and accurate. But again, imagine if you grew up in Iowa City and this was Hayden Fry and Bill Snyder, they'd looked out for you since you were 18, they were your idols, and Hayden told you he'd tell the proper people and this would be addressed so it never happened again. Hayden Fry. Hand on your shoulder and looking you in the eye. Your boss. Your hero.

I get the outrage though. You'd hope McQueary would have so many sleepless nights he would have gone to authorities years ago. No matter his shock, he realized the injustice at some point, whether it was that exact moment or months later. He failed miserably. But my outrage is just as strong as for Paterno. Hopefully they both have to live with the consequences.

McQueary's fate was sealed the moment he left that locker room and did nothing. Paterno's was the moment he heard about it and did nothing. Both should not be there on Saturday or ever again.

 

[GoHawks24]

The more I read up on this incident, the more I believe that JoePa was just trying to sweep it under the rug. That said, somehow I think he gets off the hook due to his "legendary" status. It's all about who you know, your status, and the $$$ you have. It's a pretty messed up world that we live in.

 

[GoHawks24]

Again, I can't disagree with most of these feelings. They are fair and accurate. But again, imagine if you grew up in Iowa City and this was Hayden Fry and Bill Snyder, they'd looked out for you since you were 18, they were your idols, and Hayden told you he'd tell the proper people and this would be addressed so it never happened again. Hayden Fry. Hand on your shoulder and looking you in the eye. Your boss. Your hero.I get the outrage though. You'd hope McQueary would have so many sleepless nights he would have gone to authorities years ago. No matter his shock, he realized the injustice at some point, whether it was that exact moment or months later. He failed miserably. But my outrage is just as strong as for Paterno. Hopefully they both have to live with the consequences.

I agree that blame rests with the both of them. I can KIND OF understand why McQueary may have not taken action the moment he witnessed it, but why in the hell wasn't he raising ?'s and talking to "higher ups" after no action was taken after a few weeks/months??? The same goes for JoePa. Very, very shameful handling of the situation pretty much all-around.

 

[Bigtenchamp]

Of course Joe Pa knew.

It's sad to see but somehow if you think about it the guy is 85 years old and still coaching.

There is something going on up in his skull that lacks perspective for sure.

However the fact that this would be covered up shouldn't be shocking to anyone. This kind of sweeping under the rug, protect our image and money is about standard.

 

[edr247]

It's easy to sit on a computer and rant about how you would have acted differently, when in reality, you really can't say what would happen in such a situation. Between the shock of witnessing such an act and the uncertainty that comes from being on the bottom rung of the power structure, it's not surprising that the grad assistant went to his father and then to the head coach. Does this absolve him from all responsibility? Hell no. But it puts him pretty far down on my list of worst people at Penn State.

I mean, if we're assigning blame, why don't we put more blame on the assistant's father? Surely, somebody outside the system should have spoken up? Or was he concerned more about the program or his son's future? What about the janitors? At least the one who did witness Sandusky in the act has the excuse of now having dementia and residing in a nursing home. But after witnessing the event, which he described as more appalling than his experiences in Korea, he didn't report it to anybody other than his colleagues and his immediate supervisor. But even if he didn't report it, why not the other people who he told? People who acknowledge that Jim (the janitor) was extremely traumatized by the situation? People who knew Sandusky was in the showers with a boy, and that he was literally prowling the parking lot for hours after the incident?

We've been on the receiving end of allegations of coverup of sexual assault before, haven't we? And while they pale in comparison to the heinous crimes at PSU, we've had questions of responsibility and "how much did ____ know?" with the rhabdo cases and the drug issues, no? Let's take the emotion out of it so that the ones responsible are identified and so that proper justice is administered.

Anyway, personally, I don't know if JoePa was directly involved in a coverup, or if he just decided it wasn't his problem to follow it up once it moved up the chain of command, but I think its finally time for him to step down. It's just time.

 

[GoHawks24]

I don't care what type of situation it is. If I see a child getting molested by a grown man, he's toast. That's just me though.

 

[GoHawks24]

I do agree that not only one person is to blame for all of this, but how did this go on for so long with multiple incidents before the justice finally got involved? It just really smells to me and it seems like JoePa should have known what was going on, but swept it under the rug. Hell, they didn't allow Sandusky at the actual PSU football facilities starting in 2002, but do at a charter school until 2008?

 

[tm3308]

I don't care what type of situation it is. If I see a child getting molested by a grown man, he's toast. That's just me though.

I'd certainly like to believe I'd risk everything for the sake of the kid in that situation. But until you're actually faced with that decision, it's easy to say you'd risk throwing everything you'd ever dreamed for out the window.

 

[CAARHawk]

Pretty sure there are a couple of ex Iowa employees who can tell you about the trouble with trying to handle something like this "in house."

 

[ssckelley]

The fact that 10 year old boys were sodomized puts them all at blame equally for having the power to stop it and doing nothing to very little. It is a shame they felt a greater responsibility to protect Penn State university than protecting those boys.

 

[FalseMirage]

The more I read up on this incident, the more I believe that JoePa was just trying to sweep it under the rug. That said, somehow I think he gets off the hook due to his "legendary" status. It's all about who you know, your status, and the $$$ you have. It's a pretty messed up world that we live in.

Add to the list the fact that there are people falling on the sword in order to preserve Joe's legacy. Unfortunately (for JoePa) there are very few people buying his claim that he didn't know the sordid details and as a result the world now knows that Joe Parerno decidedly did not do things the right way and that empty claim is now nothing more than a joke.

Not only did he not handle it the right way, the only way he could've handled it more wrong would've been to get in the shower with a little boy himself.

This is what history will remember JoePa for: wiling to turn a blind eye to horrendous acts that will scar the lives of innocent victims because to do the right thing and stop a child molester would have been an obstacle to his record number of wins.

Win at all costs, especially when someone else is paying the price.

 

[racerhawk]

I don't care what type of situation it is. If I see a child getting molested by a grown man, he's toast. That's just me though.

No, it's not just you.

The grad assistant, Paterno, the AD...they're all just people like you and I.

The grad assistant physically witnessed the rape of a young boy. That SHOULD have elicited some kind of protective instinct in him.

I'd venture to guess that most men would save the child from being traumatized, pound on the assailant, and call the police. Most men, I believe, wouldn't run from the building.

Remember that if the grad assistant in question is that former QB, he was surely physically able to stop what happened. That's really rough if you think about it. Letting something like this happen when you could stop it.

I know I would've stopped it.

 

[racerhawk]

Why are there so many examples of total leadership failure in our culture these days?

How many examples of "handling things in house" have to happen before they start teaching these as examples to young leaders. Total leadership failure.

 

[silvanthalas]

This specific grand jury investigation has been going on for what, 2 years now? Curley and others were called to testify in JANUARY.

And Sandusky was still on campus several times LAST WEEK.

Yeah, they knew all along, and they all chose to hope it all went away. They all need to go away to jail for a long time.

 

[ssckelley]

This specific grand jury investigation has been going on for what, 2 years now? Curley and others were called to testify in JANUARY.

And Sandusky was still on campus several times LAST WEEK.

Yeah, they knew all along, and they all chose to hope it all went away. They all need to go away to jail for a long time.

Wow, just wow! They knew of the investigation and they let this disgusting monster on campus????

Shut down college football at Penn State for a few years. They do not deserve to play. I know this is not a NCAA jurisdiction but this is a 100k times worse than anything SMU ever did.