Joe Paterno

[UMFan83]

NY Times is reporting that Penn State is planning JoePa's exit from coaching.

[BeerHere]

child abuse rape

 

Not that there was anything wrong with your post, but let's be clear about what this was. There are already some apologists out there trying to obfuscate the issue by calling it "abuse" or "fondling" or "inappropriate behavior."

Agreed. I have edited my post to be specific.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

NY Times is reporting that Penn State is planning JoePa's exit from coaching.

Haven't they been doing that for the last 20 years?

[BeerHere]

NY Times is reporting that Penn State is planning JoePa's exit from coaching.

The administrators are being charged with perjury and it looks like they can't charge Paterno with the same. However, it seems like there is grounds for some civil suits here. I'm no lawyer but no one took any reasonable steps to protect the kids here. I guess my point is this...whether criminal or civil I can't see a scenario where Paterno walks away from coaching and that ends it for him.

[Guest]

Additionally, how can McQueary stay on at Penn State after not only knowing this happened, but knowing that nothing was done about it. I can't blame him as much as Paterno, because he was just a grad assistant, but this is just sick stuff that was going on, I can't imagine being able to convince yourself that your eyes deceived you or that JoePa took care of it. I've seen it described as a cult of personality on BTF, and it really seems like it was this situation where he reported to Paterno, Paterno said he'd take care of it, and he'd already bought in from playing and coaching with him, so that was that.

 

I'm sure McQueary's feeling horrible shame from this, but honestly he should, it's an awful situation, and I'd constantly be second-guessing myself the rest of my life if I was him.

The parallels to the Catholic Church scandals are really amazing. There must be some larger phenomenon regarding human behavior at work here. Sandusky was protected for so long by what society considers a paragon of virtue. It really is shocking, disgusting, and morally reprehensible.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

I don't see how PSU can move forward without cleaning everyone out.

[BeerHere]

I don't see how PSU can move forward without cleaning everyone out.

Agreed but I think they need to go a step further....how about actually helping the authorities in the investigation of a serial pedophile and the people that helped him cover up the fact that he was raping children on there property with their knowledge? It has to be more than simply costing a few coaches and the AD their job(s).

[erik316wttn]

Here's a link in case anyone is interested:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/09/sports/ncaafootball/penn-state-said-to-be-planning-paternos-exit.html?_r=2&hp

[SouthSideRyan]

Additionally, how can McQueary stay on at Penn State after not only knowing this happened, but knowing that nothing was done about it. I can't blame him as much as Paterno, because he was just a grad assistant, but this is just sick stuff that was going on, I can't imagine being able to convince yourself that your eyes deceived you or that JoePa took care of it. I've seen it described as a cult of personality on BTF, and it really seems like it was this situation where he reported to Paterno, Paterno said he'd take care of it, and he'd already bought in from playing and coaching with him, so that was that.

 

I'm sure McQueary's feeling horrible shame from this, but honestly he should, it's an awful situation, and I'd constantly be second-guessing myself the rest of my life if I was him.

The parallels to the Catholic Church scandals are really amazing. There must be some larger phenomenon regarding human behavior at work here. Sandusky was protected for so long by what society considers a paragon of virtue. It really is shocking, disgusting, and morally reprehensible.

 

Yep, the worst part about the disgusting acts of the bishops is that they're supposed to be the people that youth go to for protection. Obviously, Paterno and the PSU admins are more there for the college-aged, but as someone who's been a staple of the community for 50 years, you could say Paterno achieved that status(on a much smaller scale) for State College.

 

Sandusky is exactly like the disgusting priests though, using his position of power, as a trusted authority figure, acting under the guise of helping troubled youths, just ugh.

 

This has somehow managed to upstage Dave Bliss.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

This has somehow managed to upstage Dave Bliss.

 

That was the comp I was thinking about.

 

Bliss accused his murdered player of being a drug dealer to hide the fact that he was paying him under the table.

 

That got him a 10-year show-cause ban, and the program got a couple years of reduced scholarships, a postseason ban and a non-conference ban, iirc.

 

This is way worse. Penn State football should be thankful if it avoids the death penalty here.

[jersey cubs fan]

2) the grad assistant......I can't seem to get past the fact that this guy (he wasn't a kid at 24 years old) witnessed a child being raped (he saw a 10 year old boy getting sodomized in the Penn State showers) and all he could think of doing was calling his dad? It never occurred to him or his dad that they should call the police? As a human being, at an absolute minimum you call law enforcement. What he should have done was stopped the guy in the act and protect a ten year old child from an obvious pedophile while dialing the cops. That guy is a textbook definition of a coward, and so is his dad.

 

I'd like to think I would have gone right up to him and stopped it while in progress, but in reality I think most of us would have turned and ran out of complete confusion/revulsion. I understand having his first contact going to his father. But at that point, he and his father should have gotten law enforcement involved immediately.

[Sammy Sofa]

2) the grad assistant......I can't seem to get past the fact that this guy (he wasn't a kid at 24 years old) witnessed a child being raped (he saw a 10 year old boy getting sodomized in the Penn State showers) and all he could think of doing was calling his dad? It never occurred to him or his dad that they should call the police? As a human being, at an absolute minimum you call law enforcement. What he should have done was stopped the guy in the act and protect a ten year old child from an obvious pedophile while dialing the cops. That guy is a textbook definition of a coward, and so is his dad.

 

I'd like to think I would have gone right up to him and stopped it while in progress, but in reality I think most of us would have turned and ran out of complete confusion/revulsion. I understand having his first contact going to his father. But at that point, he and his father should have gotten law enforcement involved immediately.

 

Yeah, I can't really blame the grad student for reacting as he did because, quite honestly, I have zero clue how I'd react to seeing something so shocking and horrible and out of nowhere. I'd like to think I'd have stopped it, but I really just don't know. We don't have to deal with these types of things in our everyday lives, and we react to such shocks in weird ways if we are confronted with them. It is, however, shady that nothing happened once he talked to his dad, like Jersey said. Once you have the time to process this you need to tell someone who can do something.

[TruffleShuffle]

This is way worse. Penn State football should be thankful if it avoids the death penalty here.

 

lol

[Hairyducked Idiot]

This is way worse. Penn State football should be thankful if it avoids the death penalty here.

 

lol

 

I know, I know, your football coach, AD and president let a predatory pedofile wander around with only a token attempt to stop him from his continued molestation and rape of children. That's not really *that* bad, is it?

[Tracer Bullet]

This is way worse. Penn State football should be thankful if it avoids the death penalty here.

 

lol

 

I know, I know, your football coach, AD and president let a predatory pedofile wander around with only a token attempt to stop him from his continued molestation and rape of children. That's not really *that* bad, is it?

 

And they let him use his reputation, which was gained completely thru his connection to PSU, to do it. It's really a funny situation.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

This is way worse. Penn State football should be thankful if it avoids the death penalty here.

 

lol

 

I know, I know, your football coach, AD and president let a predatory pedofile wander around with only a token attempt to stop him from his continued molestation and rape of children. That's not really *that* bad, is it?

 

And they let him use his reputation, which was gained completely thru his connection to PSU, to do it. It's really a funny situation.

 

But they did take away his shower key and made him promise not to do it on campus facilities. Above and beyond the call of duty, imo.

[jersey cubs fan]

guys, I'm sure he didn't literally laugh out loud.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

guys, I'm sure he didn't literally laugh out loud.

 

And Paterno didn't literally enable a child rapist, and there isn't literally a plausible case that Paterno actively covered up for him by downgrading the seriousness of the allegations when he reported it to the AD and President.

 

Oh wait, those are both literally true.

[BeerHere]

guys, I'm sure he didn't literally laugh out loud.

 

And Paterno didn't literally enable a child rapist, and there isn't literally a plausible case that Paterno actively covered up for him by downgrading the seriousness of the allegations when he reported it to the AD and President.

 

Oh wait, those are both literally true.

I have been looking for some details of what Paterno told the AD and it wasn't in the deposition on ESPN. What did he say that downgraded the seriousness?

[Hairyducked Idiot]

guys, I'm sure he didn't literally laugh out loud.

 

And Paterno didn't literally enable a child rapist, and there isn't literally a plausible case that Paterno actively covered up for him by downgrading the seriousness of the allegations when he reported it to the AD and President.

 

Oh wait, those are both literally true.

I have been looking for some details of what Paterno told the AD and it wasn't in the deposition on ESPN. What did he say that downgraded the seriousness?

 

 

The grand jury's report describes what the GA saw in rather graphic detail that I'd rather not retype. Then it says that the GA "reported what he had seen" to Paterno at the coach's home the morning after it happened.

 

Paterno then told the AD and President the report, but changed it to "fondling or something of a sexual nature," according to the grand jury report.

 

So we are left with a few possibilities.

 

1) The G.A. did a poor job of explaining to Paterno what he saw.

2) Paterno was carrying water for his friend by changing what the G.A. saw to something that sounds a little less serious.

3) The Grand Jury report was wrong.

 

We don't have enough evidence to know which of the three it is, but No. 2 sounds awfully plausible to me.

Edited November 8, 2011 by Hairyducked Idiot

[erik316wttn]

guys, I'm sure he didn't literally laugh out loud.

 

And Paterno didn't literally enable a child rapist, and there isn't literally a plausible case that Paterno actively covered up for him by downgrading the seriousness of the allegations when he reported it to the AD and President.

 

Oh wait, those are both literally true.

 

Literally?

[jersey cubs fan]

We don't have enough evidence to know which of the three it is, but No. 2 sounds awfully plausible to me.

 

Not reporting it immediately to law enforcement is reprehensible in my opinion, but I can't even fathom how much of a dirtbag he is if he covered it up.

[BeerHere]

guys, I'm sure he didn't literally laugh out loud.

 

And Paterno didn't literally enable a child rapist, and there isn't literally a plausible case that Paterno actively covered up for him by downgrading the seriousness of the allegations when he reported it to the AD and President.

 

Oh wait, those are both literally true.

I have been looking for some details of what Paterno told the AD and it wasn't in the deposition on ESPN. What did he say that downgraded the seriousness?

 

 

The grand jury's report describes what the GA saw in rather graphic detail that I'd rather not retype. Then it says that the GA "reported what he had seen" to Paterno at the coach's home the morning after it happened.

 

Paterno then told the AD and President the report, but changed it to "fondling or something of a sexual nature," according to the grand jury report.

 

So we are left with a few possibilities.

 

1) The G.A. did a poor job of explaining to Paterno what he saw.

2) Paterno was carrying water for his friend by changing what the G.A. saw to something that sounds a little less serious.

3) The Grand Jury report was wrong.

 

We don't have enough evidence to know which of the three it is, but No. 2 sounds awfully plausible to me.

 

wow. If that is true, just ugh, these people are deplorable.

[glavine93]

the public will probably be satisfied with getting rid of paterno (as the public figure) and the guys charged with perjury, but i hope they ax the president as well. the reports on what he knew back in 2002 are a little hazy, but i can't forget how on saturday he said:

 

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.

PSU had access to the grand jury report when this statement was made, and nothing changed from then until now except for the level of public outrage. if they read the report and had complete confidence in how things were handled, it convinces me that the problem is systemic.

 

the constant shifting of information and responsibility turned everything into a bad game of telephone. grad assistant tells paterno, paterno tells the AD, AD passes it off to the charity, someone mentions something to the president, and nine years later everyone is confused on who said what to who, and whether the communication actually specified legit rape or not (as if this was somehow the deciding factor on whether it was serious enough to report). i can’t believe how not one of these people got his head out of his stupid college bubbleville and realized that PSU is not the boss of law enforcement.

[TruffleShuffle]

This is way worse. Penn State football should be thankful if it avoids the death penalty here.

 

lol

 

I know, I know, your football coach, AD and president let a predatory pedofile wander around with only a token attempt to stop him from his continued molestation and rape of children. That's not really *that* bad, is it?

 

Most of it has nothing to do with football or the football program. there is no cause to even be punished by the NCAA, so yes, your statement was comical.