Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Upon further review Joe Paterno rose to the occasion while everyone else sunk.



Two major events have occurred since the firing of Joe Paterno which prove that the news media are not only incompetent and dishonest but also hypocritical beyond anything anyone would have thought possible.

And both revelations are about as damning as could be imagined both against ESPN, whose commentators condemnation of Paterno and demands for his firing were some of the loudest, and the school officials at Central Mountain high school, where Sandusky's Victim One went to school.

The first revelation concerns the molestation charges against Syracuse assistant coach Bernie Fine. One of Fine's accusers secretly tape-recorded a phone conversation he had with Fine's wife in 2002 in which the sexual contact with Fine was discussed and where Fine's wife admitted she knew everything her husband had been doing. Fine's accuser says he took the tape to the Syracuse Post Standard in 2002 along with his allegations against Fine and played the audiotape for them. The newspaper declined to report the allegations saying that, even with the tape they wanted more corroborating evidence before they would report it. In other words the Syracuse Post Standard gave more of the benefit of the doubt to an accused child molester than the news media in general gave to Joe Paterno, a man with a polished solid gold reputation for 60 years. And there has been no outcry by any of the sanctimonious self-serving members of the media who railed against Joe Paterno focused on the Post Standard for "having knowledge of" sexual abuse and not reporting it.

It gets a lot worse. It has also been revealed that the victim took the same audiotape to ESPN more than ten years ago with his allegations against Fine and played the tape for them, No one at ESPN did a thing. For ten years. They didn't talk to their own lawyers.They didn't refer it to any child protective agency. They didn't refer it to any law enforcement agency. They did nothing. And now try and hide behind the excuse that they didn't have enough corroborating evidence to do any more.

This is the same ESPN whose commentators called for Joe Paterno's firing immediately for, in their factually challenged hypocritical world, "not going to the authorities" or "not doing enough", The same ESPN whose commentators said Joe Paterno going to the administrative head of campus police the next day with McQueary's non-specific report wasn't enough. The same ESPN who accused Joe Paterno without a shred of proof, of being aware of child sexual abuse and "not doing enough". The same ESPN that had an audio tape confirming from the mouth of the abuser's own wife, the sexual abuse of a ball boy at Syracuse university. And did nothing.

And are the same sanctimonious self-righteous group of journalists insisting that anyone at ESPN who had been aware of those tapes for the last ten years and who is still with ESPN be fired? No,  of course not.

We now know that the same media types both on television and in print who smeared Joe Paterno on their front pages with the word "Shame", without a shred of proof, did absolutely nothing when put in Paterno's shoes.

Unfortunately the second set of revelations makes it even worse for the media

New revelations were made by the mother of Sandsusky's Victim One that will forever shame even further everyone in the news media who attacked Paterno as well as the trustees of Penn State who buckled under the pressure exerted by the media mob and threw Paterno over the side to quiet them down.

Keep in mind that the fictional narrative by the press in their attack on Paterno, their reason for demanding he be fired was that he had knowledge of sexual abuse and didn't do enough when it came to reporting it, ( something that has already been proved to be completely false).

According to the mother, in a piece that can be read here, the principal of the high school her son attended, Karen Probst, was present in 2009 when her son openly accused Sandusky of molesting him and not only did the school principal do nothing, according to the mother the principal actually tried to talk her and her son out of reporting it.

Additionally, according to the mother, Steve Turchetta, the boy's high school coach repeatedly allowed Sandusky to come to the school and take the boy out of school not only without parental consent but without even any parental notification. And Turchetta continued to allow Sandusky to take the boy out of school even after the mother found out and protested.

The mother states that eventually there was a meeting at the school after the boy had told all to a school counselor and had gotten so emotional they finally believed him. At that meeting the mother states that when she insisted they go to the police, the school officials tried to talk her out of it. They told her to think about it and think about what the accusations could do to her family.

All of this information was available at any time any real journalist wanted to take the time to actually investigate and learn the facts. But all of them, like Sean Gregory at Time Magazine, Andy Staples at Sports Illustrated and just about everyone at ESPN except Lou Holtz, were too busy smearing Paterno to bother. It was Paterno they went after. Because it was Joe Paterno's picture that sold newspapers and got web hits, not Karen Probst's.It was going after Paterno that made the very small and sanctimonious feel very big.

The irony is, that in the end, Joe Paterno did more and with less knowledge, and did it faster than anyone connected to either the Sandusky allegations or the Bernie Fine allegations, all of whom had more knowledge that he did.

And isn't it ironic ( or perhaps par for the course) that ESPN, whose commentators like Jay Bilas and others were some of the most vocal for saying Paterno didn't do enough, had an audio tape that contained an admission of the sexual abuse of a Syracuse ball boy for ten years and did nothing.

So what will ESPN do now? Will they accuse themselves of "not doing enough"? Will they accuse themselves of allowing a sexual predator to remain free? Will there be any media condemnation by others of ESPN?Anyone hear any media condemnation? Anyone demanding people at ESPN be fired? Or will they all hide under their sheets?

So now class lets review the facts: Joe Paterno the day after getting a non-specific non detailed sanitized version of events from McQueary went to the administrative head of the Penn State campus police with Mc Queary's allegations against a man he knew and worked with closely for 26 years, without hesitating or calling Sandusky to get his side of the story. Karen Probst, Victim One's high school principal, Steve Turchetta his high school coach, the school's assistant principal, the school guidance counselor, Ray Gricar, the DA at the time who declined to prosecute, the Syracuse Post-Standard, and ESPN all had specific allegations and in the case of  the Fine, a tape recorded admission of child sexual abuse and did absolutely nothing for years. These are some of the people who yelled the loudest about  Joe Paterno and moral responsibility. These are some of the people who demanded Joe Paterno be fired for not doing more.

People are angry about what happened to Paterno. They should be even angrier now and should demand not only the restoration of Paterno's reputation, they should demand retribution.

Journalists who falsely accused Paterno should be fired and so should anyone who had knowledge of the events surrounding Sandusky and Bernie Fine. That includes journalists and school officials.

There should be demands that Sean Gregory at Time Magazine who wrote that Joe Paterno "knew a ten year old boy was being raped in a shower and didn't report it to authorities"  with no evidence to substantiate it be fired. So should his editor for allowing Gregory's dishonest report to be printed. So should an ESPN columnist named Jemele Hill who wrote her own dishonest column about Paterno simply parroting the false reporting of other journalists and making the same false claims. Anyone at ESPN with knowledge of the Bernie Fine tape should be suspended or fired. The two senators in Pennsylvania, Democrat Bob Casey and Republican Pat Toomey should be eviscerated, their offices deluged with phone calls for withdrawing their sponsorship of Paterno for the Medal of Freedom without any facts, just acting like spineless politicians reacting to the mob . And last but not least every trustee at Penn State who voted to fire Joe Paterno, which is all of them, should resign. They are the people who disgraced Penn State, not Joe Paterno.

The Penn State trustees made a mockery of every value that a university tries to instill in its students and proved, ironically that the trustees can't be trusted. They should all in good conscience, resign. If not their resignations should be demanded since it was they, not Joe Paterno who betrayed the values of Penn State,denying Paterno any form of due process and capitulating to a dishonest incompetent, out of control mob of journalists.

The day after Paterno was fired, students at Penn State demonstrated and demonstrated angrily. They knew, as college students tend to know, that a gross injustice had been done to Joe Paterno and they were motivated by something that the Penn State trustees and those in the news media either lost a long time ago or never had in the first place -- ideals.

The students at Penn State saw that the ideals preached at Penn State were trampled on by a mob of out of control self-serving journalists and a spineless collection of trustees. And they were justifiably angry. They knew a gross injustice had been done. The factually challenged Stuart Scott, reporting on the demonstrations for ESPN said of the demonstrators, "Don't they get it"? Here is a flash to Stuart Scott and the rest of the news media. They got it. You didn't.

When Paterno was given the sanitized version of the event in the shower by McQueary he went straight to the administrative head of campus police, the police agency that had the jurisdiction over any crime committed on the campus of Penn State. Joe Paterno went to the proper authority, he went immediately and he went as high as he could go. The news media, the Penn State trustees, the politicians, ESPN and everyone else who attacked Joe Paterno, given the opportunity, went as low as they could go. They will be remembered for it. And they should all lose their jobs. But before they go, they owe Joe Paterno one big apology.

349 comments:

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Anonymous said...

Can we wait till all the facts come out? Everyone responding to this article has their own opinions or are lawyers. OK, we get it that many do not like Penn State, but lets all wait until all the facts come out.

Marc Rubin said...

"...Actually, ESPN already came out and showed their 10 year old interview with the Syracuse victim on Sportscenter on Nov 17th. They explained that they did not air it 10 years ago since after additional investigation by them and the local law enforcement authorities, no one could find evidence to support the claims of the victim..."

Funny how ten years later, all of a sudden there is all this evidence to support the claims of the victim that ESPN said didnt exist ten years ago. And where was all the evidence ESPN used to support their claim that Paterno knew a boy was sexually assaulted in the shower and didnt report it to authorities? They didnt seem to need any evidence for that.

Anonymous said...

What you claim makes no sense.He reported it to the administative head of Penn State campus police. Just becuase you would have to go in and ask to see a desk sargent doesnt mean Paterno did. And nowhere in any grand jury summary or statement coming from Penn State officials has anyone suggested Paterno violated any Penn State policy,or accused him of such including the grand jury AND the attorney general who said clearly that Paterno fullfilled ALL his legal responsiblities. I assume you understand that means reporting it to the proper authorities. I think the lack of common sense and knowledge of the law lies with you not Joe Paterno.

First, the grand jury deals with legal issues, not Penn State policy issues, so it is not going to address whether he complied with PSU policy, only whether he meet legal obligations. The two are different.

Second, did you read the Penn State policy? He was required to notify the police and to notify VP of Student Affairs, and should have no matter the hour. He did neither. He instead waited 24 hours to inform the Athletic Director. It is right there in PSU's policy manual.
http://studentaffairs.psu.edu/womenscenter/pdf/protocol.pdf

Third, completely apart from Joe Paterno's direct actions, he is the leader who created the organizational culture of insularity of keeping what goes on in the FB program inside the FB program that is a prime causal factor in this event. He created the command climate. His leadership created the environment where a janitor would fear for his job first, or lead McQueary to call his football coach (?!?) rather than the police as a first action after witnessing a horrible crime. Completely apart from nitpicking who said what to whom when as they played phone tag, this was enough to fire him based on undisputed facts.

Anonymous said...

The author may wish to read this: http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/154204/espn-syracuse-newspaper-held-off-publishing-bernie-fine-sexual-abuse-allegations/

The Lososes said...

What Paterno did (or I should say didn't) has nothing to do with ESPN or whatever else they are trying to cover. Paterno didn't do the right thing and as a mother I'm glad he is gone.

RavieNomNoms said...

Thank you very much for posting this. I am a Penn State Alum and I was absolutely heart broken when all of this came out in the media.

From the very beginning I have felt the media single out JoePa as the sacrificial lamb to slay. Of course they would, he is the only name that most people in the country know. It is sickening to me.

I don't condone what happened at PSU, but I am completely disheartened at the fact that JoePa was singled out and what did he do? He just laid there and took all the abuse when he did, in my opinion, his duty. I feel like people should put themselves in his shoes and ask if they would have done any different than he did.

The Lososes said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

During the riot, following Joe's firing in State College, journalists and reporters were egging on students to wreak more havoc. They said things along the lines of "throw stuff from the balconies, aren't you mad?" and "come to the main street to riot" as they guided angry students into a bigger mob. I know one reporter is being investigated following the riot and more should. Not only do they owe Joe an apology, they owe the entire university and town of State College.

Marc Rubin said...

"..any truly honest reader couldn't justify agreeing with them, as nothing is backed up with sources..."

Unless you want to continue looking like an idiot id suggest the next time you complain about naming sources you dont sign your post "anonymous".

And if you could honestly read instead of touting yourself as an honest reader you'd understand the point was the media making statements about Paterno with NO sources to back it up. As for any claim Ive made other than the media had no sources or facts to justify anything they asserted about Paterno, Ive named the sources and they are there. You're just clearly an "honest reader" who honestly can't read.

hillstone said...

Great job, we all hope the entire truth will come out, I believe too often people jump to conclusion. Main stream media especially. We all have to remember each media persona is trying to outdo the other, and while the main story and accusations will be remembered for a lifetime, apologies and retractions are on always on page 9, next to the classifieds.

Anonymous said...

Umm...ESPN received the tape from a 30 year old victim that already reported it to the police. Why didn't the victim just give the tape to the police? Paterno, on the other hand, was given an eye witness account of the current abuse of a 10 year old child that was being performed in his locker room! He should have done more! Knowing what he knew, he continued to allow Sandusky access to his facilities after that, and unlike ESPN, there was no police investigation of this abuse! Because no one in the chain at PSU reported it! I'm not condoning ESPN, they should have reported it to police but comparing the JoePa situation to that at ESPN is like comparing apples to oranges. ESPN didn't allow Fine access to their facilities to continue on with his pedophilia!

Anonymous said...

Did you ever hear 2 wrongs don't make a right? No doubt there is epic failure by many, but it does not clear paterno of his lack of action as well, just adds more to the list of people who morally and ethically failed to protect these kids. The fact that you think what paterno did not do is ok cause others did worse to be honest is sickening.

Marc Rubin said...

"There is no undisputed fact that Paterno got a "sanitized" version.."

There is Paterno's own statement.He said he was given a "non-specific" account by McQueary of what he saw that contained "none of the details" that McQueary gave to the grand jury. If you want to quibble with my use of the word "sanitized" go ahead. And if you don't want to believe Paterno's own statement which I take as evidence,your free to do so. The grand jury believed him, the prosecutor believed him, the attorney general believed him and most people outside the news media believed him. But if the news media also believed him there would be no Joe Paterno story, no chest thumping, no web hits and a spike in ad dollars so its in their interest not to believe him. You can believe as you choose.

Anonymous said...

Once again, another person making out Joe Paterno to be a king. Or even higher: a god. I grew up in the Penn State area, heard about Penn State night and day, passed by inflatable Nittany Lions on the front lawns of neighbors, and became disgusted by the reverence for a college football team and its coach.

I agree that the media is a huge corporation out to make a buck and Paterno was a huge news story. Nevertheless, Joe Paterno was at fault, just like anyone else who knew about the situation who may be hiding under the radar.

People need to pull their heads out of their asses and realize that the rest of the world thinks you are insane for worshiping a college football coach.

Christian said...

This article is completely biased. You claim that Paterno did not have specific details of what Mcqueary saw in the showers when he did. And even if for some reason he didn't have all the details, why not take the time to find them out? It's not difficult. Morally I don't see how you could hear about something that serious and not take more of an interest. Is he that wrapped up in football that he doesn't have enough time to figure out all the details that happened? Sounds to me like he just didn't care that much, which makes me sick to my stomach. Where is the desire for justice? Why did Paterno not show a desire to see this sicko thrown in jail? Did he think that Mcqueary was lying about what he saw? Oh that's right, Paterno likes guys who lie about seeing a serious crime and are trying to ruin an ex-coaches reputation. Paterno liked the fact that Mcqueary was a liar so much that he decided to put him on the coaching staff!

You are trying to justify Paterno's mistakes by pointing out other people that also made mistakes. That doesn't make it ok. Sure Paterno got the most publicity in the subject when there are others responsible. That's the price of fame. But nonetheless Paterno is responsible too, even if he did get the short end of the stick in terms of the media.
"Journalists who falsely accused Paterno should be fired And so should anyone who had knowledge of the events surrounding Sandusky and Bernie Fine." -Paterno had knowledge of Sandusky's acts buddy, proving my point.

And as far as you saying that Paterno went to the highest authority, have you ever heard of the Police? No not the campus police, the POLICE. Get the report to somebody who doesn't work for the school and won't worry about protecting the school's reputation.

If you are in Paterno's shoes, this is how you handle the situation: You meet up with Mcqueary, you ask him for every single detail of every single thing he saw. You look him in the eye and say, 'Do you swear to God that you are telling me the absolute truth and this is what you saw?' and then you go to the REAL Police. Paterno already knew that Sandusky had first been accussed in 1998, so I doubt Paterno believed that this was some made up story. And if he did, why hire this liar on your coaching staff? I wonder if Paterno ever asked Mcqueary about that incident again in those nine years after. It doesn't seem like he did. But why would he? He's the glorious head coach of Penn State football, he doesn't have time to worry about whether or not children are being brutally violated by a man who could have been brought to justice if more was done.

Anonymous said...

@Kevin
Schultz is the head of campus police

Anonymous said...

Sweet turtleneck

Anonymous said...

This would be an awesome post except for the fact the old man admitted himself he should have done more.
That doesn't admit guilt, but it pretty clearly admits regret, which says to anyone with real common sense that Joe didn't do the right thing.
This blog is amateur hour, which is perfect for all the fans and alumni looking for any morsel of defense of their beloved myth that was torn down. But enjoy listening to yourselves mouth breathe while the rest of the world untangles what everyone in State College covered up for more than a decade.

Anonymous said...

When JoePa said "With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I'd have done more," it only means that with the information he has now, he wish he would have done more. It means that if he knew the contents of the grand jury report at the time, he would have taken more decisive action.

Anonymous said...

I love the random Pitt fan saying that Penn State degrees are worthless. Well crap, I guess I'll just go ahead and throw this medical degree out the window then. I sure hope you don't end up in my hospital someday! Although maybe that would be good for you, since the entire university, its students, staff and alumni are all child rapists. Whew! You should pat yourself on the back for spreading the word, you are a hero! Because you must know that the PSU Alumni Association is one of the largest in the world, right? Those HR people really have their work cut out for them!

Sam Cooper said...

This is spot on, and also I wrote something like this while the scandal was unfolding.

http://onwardstate.com/2011/11/09/paterno-takes-responsibility-while-others-hide/

Anonymous said...

"Funny how ten years later, all of a sudden there is all this evidence to support the claims of the victim that ESPN said didnt exist ten years ago. And where was all the evidence ESPN used to support their claim that Paterno knew a boy was sexually assaulted in the shower and didnt report it to authorities? They didnt seem to need any evidence for that."

Where is the evidence? It's still Davis' word and the tape. The only revelations I have heard are regarding Davis' sexual relationship with his abuser's wife and the brother being a sexual offender himself while the dad denies any of it is true. Not defending Fine but your statements have little basis.

The evidence ESPN had on Paterno was everywhere. There was the 1998 incident. Another in 2002. Eight first-hand accounts from victims with very similar stories. No one tried to demonize Paterno on Sandusky's level, not even close. To speculate that Paterno would be fired was completely fair. If Penn State started the year 0-3 we would have heard the same speculation. People everywhere wondered for years when he would call it quits.

You are defending a man who allowed a sexual predator to roam PSU's campus and inside athletic facilities for more than a decade. Lots of facts still need to be sorted out but you shouldn't run to Paterno's defense because PSU acted too quickly while also questioning Jim B's defense of Fine. He was doing the same thing you are doing now.

Your turtleneck is stunning by the way. I didn't know they made them go that high anymore. Very stylish.

buckeye808 said...

Hey Rubin (or any other Paterno water carrier that wants to jump in), you've spent a lot of time on this story and seem to have all the answers. Explain Paterno's meaning with this sentence for me: "Sue and I have devoted our lives to helping young people reach their potential," Joe Paterno said in his statement. "The fact that someone we thought we knew might have harmed young people to this extent is deeply troubling. If this is true we were all fooled, along with scores of professionals trained in such things, and we grieve for the victims and their families." Specifically, "...to this extent..." and "...we were all fooled, along with scores of professionals trained in such things,..."

Joe Scala said...

CALL THE POLICE!!! If you know of this and don't go IMMEDIATELY to the police there's something wrong with you.
Tapes, reporters, ESPN.... who cares?? Go to the police and let them investigate.
Why is this so hard to understand? Shame on Paterno and his crew, and shame on those involved with the Syracuse scandal. They deserve whatever they get, and probably more.

Anonymous said...

Joe clearly knew he was responsible for not exposing Sandusky when he was quoted in saying, "I only wish I would have done more."

If Joe truly did all he was able, his quote would have read, "I only wish I could have done more." Diction, my friends, is a powerful rhetorical tool, one that Paterno should brush up on before any court dates.

Anonymous said...

Joe Scala nailed it - we can point fingers all we want. The bottom line is this - if you see something, do something. 60-year-olds showering with (or even touching) little boys/girls is not acceptable. Do something about it.

If a co-worker says something degrading to another co-worker, do something.

Just don't stand by and allow incidents to go underreported or not reported at all.

Anonymous said...

This is perfect! Thank you for getting it right! Finally someone does! PSU DID riot because we wanted Joe to be treated fairly; JoePa DID do what he was supposed to; and the media DOES suck.
Sincerely, PSU proud student :)

Anonymous said...

Another shining example of blind loyalty and the damage it does. Step away from the Happy Valley kool-aid and drink some reality punch.

Anonymous said...

I don't mind the blogger defending Paterno but don't say things like the guy "rose to the occassion". Rising to the occasion means doing everything in your power to capitalize on an opportunity to do good. Paterno told the AD and moved on. If that's rising to the occasion...

I love that we can defend our point of view freely in this country. To attack every dissenting opinion, however, is not very professional nor does it reflect well on the integrity of your writing.

Anonymous said...

You make many great points, but I do not think you understand how much bigger this is than Joe Paterno. He may have done the most out of anyone, but there is no way you can say he did not deserve to get fired because others who did less did not. He still did not do enough, and that will reflect on him and all of the others that did not do enough forever.

Lion coming out of hibernation said...

Regardless of the puts and takes in this case, ESPNs reporting related to Joe Paterno was completely biased and unprofessional. It reminds me of the Tabloid jounalism that exists in England. ESPN, I thought you were above this. Apparently not. I guess the old adage is true that "misery loves company". This is why ESPN feels compelled to bring Joe Parteno down to their level. I am boycotting all ESPN radio and TV broadcasts as well as all Disney movies. I just visited the Magic Kingdom (for the 4th time)in April and I will never return until some actions are taken to report both sides of this story and call off the lynch mob.

Noneya business said...

This doesn't make Paterno not guilty, It's still messed up that he reported it only to the campus, when he should have went to the police. Going to campus authorities to report something won't do anything, they have a reputation to keep, and that's all they care about.....this changes nothing on my opinion. IF anything, it shows how many MORE people are guilty of being negligent and corrupt.....

Dr. Amy said...

You forgot to mention PA's hypocritical Governor, then atty general, who allowed Sandusky to continue his behavior after victim 1 came forward. If he had arrested Sandusky, the grand jury could have continued to investigate, and Sandusky would likely have been prevented from being around kids. Corbett was hollering the loudest to have JoePa fired. Where are the calls for Corbett's resignation.

numbers said...

Why are you giving Lou Holtz a pass? I heard him several times on November 9th adding his own voice to the cacophony of ignorant voice that piled on to the angry mob syndrome. He called for Joe's just as loudly, if a little less clearly, than anyone else.

Anonymous said...

This is so sad. More than sad. Last I heard there were 17 victims...and this is what the news coverage comes down to..."do we support JoePa or not?". Why does that have to be the focus? Why not allow this to be our wake-up call to search out pedophiles...somehow? Couldn't our focus be on better ways to help the victims? It's reported that one victim has been bullied out of his school. But, hey, let's talk more about JoePa...not about how these poor kids are going to pay for all the frickin' therapy their going to need for the rest of their lives...it's more fun to rant.

I saw someone post this, and it has become my favorite quote when it comes to this subject, "I think perhaps your love for JoePa as the winningest coach is outweighing your concern for the victims."

I don't care who it is that had knowledge of this going on...JoePa, somebody sweeping the floor at ESPN, some kid delivering papers could have overheard something...all of them are accountable. How anyone could have this type of knowledge, even as a rumor, and not want to investigate it themselves (to protect a child), is beyond me. (How McQueary refrained from physically hurting Sandusky is beyond me when he saw what was going on in the shower.) So, NO, Paterno did NOT rise to the occasion...nor did anyone else. NO ONE helped those kids, they allowed them to be raped, repeatedly.

Paterno has always been well known for handling things "in house" and maybe this time things (Sandusky's affairs) got completely out of control and were bigger than he ever imagined. Whatever the case may be, those poor boys were failed by everyone around them...hopefully that's a pattern that has changed.

I am interested to see if and how long this post will stay up.

Anonymous said...

Get well Joe Pa ! You have a bigger battle over cancer to worry about ! The finger pointers out there are not worthy enough to wash your socks let alone point fingers at you !!!! You have done more good in 1 month than any of us will do in a life-time. God Bless you !

Anonymous said...

Hello-
I agree with everything you have said, but I also want to say: When you write an article, be sure to have spot-on grammar and spelling. I understand this is a blog, and you obviously feel strongly about this subject (you have every right to), but you will have a hard time getting anybody in charge to pay attention if you give them any reason to look down on you. I do not mean any offense to you, my apologies if you take any. Your passion is enough to make anyone sit up and pay attention: don't give them any reason to doubt you.

Anonymous said...

this post doesn't bring anything new to the Sandusky investigation, all it does is repackage the thoughts of all the angry Penn State Alumni and Students. Yes JoPa was fired, and probably used as the face for an entire group of people who failed to prevent young boys from getting raped. Yes ESPN did use JoPa to make a bigger news story out of an already sad event.....BUT the fact remains anybody who has knowledge of kids being abused, manipulated, or inappropriately touched should report it to the police as well as your superiors. If you failed to do so you are implicated you are guilty in a moral crime against humanity. So Yes I agree ESPN in the Syracuse investigation should be implicated and held responsible ...but how does using that investigation or the mother not going to the police pardon JoPa? No i disagree..talking about how other people have failed when it comes to reporting children molestation..does not say well since they didn't report it, it's okay that JoPa and penn state administrators didn't report it either. He knew that a member of his staff was in a shower with a young boy naked... he told his boss not the police..and then allowed him to stay on and have an office and free access to all football facilities. Why? stop drinking the kool-aid Penn State students and alumni.

Anonymous said...

Well written, many good points. As a Penn State fan and someone who admires and respects what Joe has done, it is a shame he got fired in this way.

And I say that because he should have been fired a few years ago (how many years ago is debatable) for recruiting failures, coaching inability, regression of the program, and outright selfishness to stay this long and then this year profess he has 5 more years left with the program in total mediocrity.

The koolaid drinkers will scoff at this, but it's the cold hard truth.

Lorraine said...

@ 11-30-11 10:13 am "In 1998 Joe wanted Sandusky fired but the BOT refused to because there were no charges filed against Sandusky and they didn't want a lawsuit for wrongful termination. Joe forced Sandusky (one of the nation's leading DC) to retire." You have just proven why Joe did NOT do enough in 2002. He KNEW there was a problem with Sandusky in 1998 and when he gets ANY information about it continuing again, he should have gone straight to the police. If he had, they might have been able to find the boy and also get physicial evidence which would have locked up Sandusky before hurting any other children.

Anonymous said...

In the wake of the Sandusky scandal, it was reported that Paterno had transferred whole interest in his house, valued at over $500,000, to his wife "for a dollar plus 'love and affection'" in July 2011. While a lawyer for Paterno stated that the transfer was part of a "multiyear estate planning program", others claimed it seemed more likely a preparatory move in case personal liability was found relative to the scandal

Anonymous said...

marc - I think I finally know why you are defending Paterno so much after reading all your responses in this article and the next. You are very similar, an arrogant jerk like him!
Most of your point is the media lies, bash the media! Yes, I do agree with this, but you only prove how bad it is as you "publish" posts with wrong information. And then when people correct you, you get mad.
My favorite was when you you kept telling someone they were wrong about state police and said they weren't at the demonstration and a person told you her husband was a trooper there. I didn't notice a response to that. And with you central mountain dates being wrong, you couldn't just say sorry, I was wrong and fix it? You have to be a jerk about it? If you are going to point out others' flaws, you might want to stop being like Joe and take some critisism yourself! Oh, and there could be spelling or grammar mistakes in here. I'm far from perfect and I don't know all the facts about everything so I'm sorry if it is torture for you to read!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful article. We live in a "bomb-first, ask questions later" society, and ESPN's hypocrisy is outrageous. I'll never watch a program on that station again.

Anonymous said...

re: the transfer of interest on his house...maybe the fact that he is in his mid-80s and has lung cancer has something to do with it? Completely normal for anyone to that age in those circumstances to transfer assets because of estate reasons.

Also, the chief of police (Schultz...perjury) was informed. If you call 911 on PSU campus, it is the university police who are called. They have jurisdiction, not State College police. You could make the argument that he should have called State Police, but that would have made him legally liable

Anonymous said...

Everyone keeps saying he didn't report this to police, but he reported it to Schultz, and Schultz was the head of campus police.

Anonymous said...

If you always relied only on hearsay to form judgments about people, you'd have no friends.

Anonymous said...

Maybe what needs done now is: Let's call for the firing of anyone at ESPN that "might" have known about this and didn't report it...They do not get to make any statements..they are all guilty and they should all just loose their jobs..What's good for the goose....

Anonymous said...

All I can say is that a lot of you are lucky you are not standing face to face with myself or any of the people I know when you try to defend Joe Paterno or anyone else in the program. You would be treated a little rough and I don't think you would like it.

Anonymous said...

Joe Paterno was a great football coach as evidence of his wins. He fails BIGTIME as a man and as community leader. All those wins doesnt mean anything when Paterno turned his back of a child being raped. The author of this blog has it all wrong, his loyalty misplaced. I AM CONFIDENT THIS BLOG'S AUTHOR WOULD FEEL A LOT DIFFERENT IF IT WAS HIS CHILD IN THAT SHOWER.

Anonymous said...

Oh spare me this sanctimonious crap. Yea ESPN journalists may be at fault for this whole Bernie Fine thing, but that hardly excuses Joe Paterno. Paterno fulfilled his legal obligation sure, but he didn't meet the moral obligation, and he should have gone to the police. Sure, he went to the campus police, but that when that didn't happen he should have gone to the actual police. Don't act like somehow this Syracuse thing excuses Paterno's behavior.

Anonymous said...

You are one STUPID FUCK...I ask only *ONE* qustion. When McQueary brought to light the allegations to Joe Paterno, how much investigation did he do or the University do.

I'll prove to you how much. They can't even tell you the little boy's name that was ASS RAPED by Sandusky.

Pedophile U..."We are PedoBears", "We are PedoBears"...will be LUCKY to survive an NCAA Death Penalty when this conspiracy that dates back to 1998 is uncovered.

Anonymous said...

While I do agree with your opinions about the media, you said several times that Paterno received a "sanitized" version of the story from McQueary. The trial hasn't happened yet, and nobody - you, the media, Penn State students - has any real facts concerning with JoePa did and did not know. He could be completely innocent, or he could be as guilty as the many other people you've listed in this post. Time will tell.

Anonymous said...

ESPN only covered this as much as they did because they don't have the shitty NBA to cry about 24/7. remember, they covered this as a news outlet when really they are a sports coverage outlet. people forget that ESPN is not a news outlet. if people would have watched BBC world news, CNN, and FOX, their perception of what happened made more sense and was less radical. why? because they actually understand how to handle news topics better than a non news outlet.

Anonymous said...

I have to respectfully disagree with the main points of this article. While nobody in society should ever turn a blind eye to such behavior, it is incumbent upon the media to support these claims with more facts before they "run" a story. Seeing as the Syracuse police did in fact have this case and were investigating it, I would have guessed that both media institutions would have held off on running the story until the police could verify the accounts. Since the police found no wrongdoing, they could not have run their piece or they would have been held liable and could have been sued since it would have been character assassination on their part. Now take Joe Paterno for instance, most educators and individuals in public institutions are mandated to report child abuse, since their very jobs depend on it. So before you compare apples to oranges or in this case Nittany Lions to SU Oranges, at least know your facts regarding the appropriate due process involved. You do bring up some interesting points about doing the right thing, in which both cases, it seems like the right thing was not done in either place.

Anonymous said...

This is an article that has two points it asserts and only data/logic to back up one:

ESPN is a hypocritical news outlet (proved)

Paterno should keep his job (merely asserted because he did less wrong than others, but unproved)

Anonymous said...

Regardless of if you agree or disagree with the post, you should not discredit an idea simply because of a spelling mistake. To think that one's intelligence is primarliy based on their ability to spell is simply rediculous, so if you don't have anything productive to say then don't say it. I'm sure that the author understands the difference between principle and principal by now seeing that there are almost 20 posts about it. What I don't understand is why the last 19 people thought that once wasn't enough. Heck, I've probably made a spelling mistake by now, does that make me stupid and my point invalid? I certainly hope not. So PLEASE, english Nazis, shut up!

Also, whether or not you agree with the post's position on Paterno, it does make very valid points about the hypocritical media and how it doesn't seem to answer to anyone which allows it to get away with murder. ESPN should have to answer to some one and people should lose their jobs. The media needs accountability, and ESPN should just tell us the scores, show us the highlights and that it.

Tom Beatty said...

Thank-you so much for writing this post. While your at it you might also examine the role of the Govenor and the State Police Commissioner, who fanned the flames of the media mob, even when the AG tried to point out that Paterno was not an object of the investigation.

Anonymous said...

You literally have lies within the story. Paterno never called the police, that is why he is scrutinized. He turned over the information to someone within the Athletic Department.

Had Paterno actually reported the information to the police, he would have no guilt on his conscious.

Anonymous said...

Dude give it a rest. I have been reading you for three years and I can't for the life of me understand what's possessed you to get on this particular crusade.

Gamblar Jones said...

For screaming about fairness, your column is incredibly biased. You've certainly painted a pretty ivory white picture of what you believe Paterno did, but you don't have any more facts than those you are making allegations against.

Because ESPN did something equally immoral, at best, does not mean that they owe an apology to Joe Paterno. Should heads roll? Possibly. There's several stories in the last decade where the Penn State football program has used its reputation as a means to get football players out of crimes. This story falls under the same gray area.

ESPN's failure is not that they didn't report, but that they didn't have a credible reason to report in 2003 or in 2011. There wasn't enough evidence to make an accusation.
Paterno had more than enough evidence to make an accusation: either that Sandusky was a sexual freak or that McQueary was a liar of dynamic proportions. That neither were sent far away from State College for their actions is highly questionable and at least merited an investigation.

The editor who authorized the original story on Fine should at least be suspended.
Perhaps the talking heads (not journalists) need a timeout as a reality check for how much power they actually wield.

At the same time, if Paterno had given himself one of those from time to time, he might not have tried to call his own shots in matters that were beyond his control. That was ultimately his undoing.

Anonymous said...

I did not go to Penn State but 100% completely agree with your article and completely disagree with what has happened to JoePa because of this. I just saw a recent article on Yahoo! news that may pique your interest: http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/daily-take/201111/media-outlets-including-espn-kept-some-standards-bernie-fine-case-not-others

Anonymous said...

Upon further review, you are a fucking moron

Anonymous said...

Dear "KW" (Posted on NOVEMBER 29, 2011 12:25 PM)

The Penn State students didn't riot because of their football team, they rioted because of everything in this article. The riot was aimed at the media, because they experienced the lies and inaccuracy first hand.

And just so every unknowledgeable person here knows...Sandusky was messing around with children LONG before Paterno knew, and when Paterno did know, he did everything he should have.

Great article Marc.

Anonymous said...

"Joe didn't do enough." It's been said and written many times. There are two things folks overlook. First, there is something known as the "chain of command." In an institution like PSU, it is respected and followed, it has to be to maintain order. Joe followed the chain, he had no choice. Joe had spent his entire life following the rules, and he did that in this case. Secondly, why didn't he follow up? Maybe he did. You see, the victim was a minor, regardless of how Curley and/or Schultz handled Joe's report, if he inquired at a later date about the progress of the investigation, they would have told him absolutely nothing! Because it would have violated the boys privacy.

buckeye808 said...

yawwwwwwwnnn.

Anonymous said...

THANK YOU!

Finally somebody is educated enough to realize why WE, the Penn State student body are upset. The 2-faced reporters that gave everybody related to Penn State a bad name should step back for a second and re-evaluate their own moral rights and responsibilities. It is WRONG to judge a book by its cover. Just like it is wrong to spread a terrible rumor about a living legend just to better your career. By no means do we support Sandusky in any way I personally hope he spends the rest of his life alone in prison. JoePa deserved to walk away from Penn State with Pride and Dignity and thanks to you (the media) he will NEVER be able to do that. WE stand behind JoePa and WE STILL ARE PENN STATE!

Anonymous said...

seriously guys? Paterno was correctly fired and everything the media has reported is accurate. If you read the grand jury report there is ABSOLUTELY 100% NO DOUBT OF WHAT SANDUSKY DID!!! It's also very clear that paterno knew all about it. come on think like adults.

Anonymous said...

As a current penn state student and someone who was present downtown during the "riot" I can say that the majority of individuals at the event were there angrily BUT PEACEFULLY demonstrating their opinion over 2 facts. 1) All week the media came up and did not ask students our opinion of Sandusky, Curly, Schultz, or even Spanier. They did not ask us how this would affect THON (the largest student run philanthropy in the world which raises money for pediatric cancer research as well as the support of families with a child suffering from cancer) which has raised over 78 million dollars since its founding. No. What they asked us was "What do you think about Joe?" "Should Joe be fired?" "Did Joe do enough" etc. And finally after several days of nonstop media pressure the BOT fired Joe to help save face (as well as complete a 10 year long mission to see the outstanding coach go). As well as 2) to angrily protest the fact that whether or not you think Joe "did enough" that does not change the fact that he did the most with the least amount of knowledge and, despite all of that, is currently the only man who was fired (even though he said he would resign). Spanier was allowed to resign on his own terms and Curly, Schultz, and McQueary are all on different forms of "leave". Of the close to 5 thousand students who were present downtown that evening, 90% were onlookers and those who simply were there to protest. It was the second wave of individuals (those who showed up an hour afterward) who thought it would be appropriate to drink beforehand and "fuck shit up" that came to ruin the protest. Penn State's image is hurt, for now. And if individuals want us to just sit down and accept that and stop voicing our opinions and concerns then maybe we should just give up being true Penn Staters all together. I'm sure those unfortunate souls at the Hershey Med Center would rather suffer than recieve a dime from THON right? I'm sure the homeless throughout the country would rather we not send our Habitat for Humanity students to help. The students in Happy Valley are doing their best as of right now to ignore the hurtful comments of their countrymen and keep on being the great people that you all do not want to believe we are. But kick a dog enough while he's down and he'll stay down and with that so will all the good we do for people. Maybe in the future more comments of encouragement will come forth, but I doubt it. No, instead ignorant members of society will continue to bash us because they would have it that the students be blamed for the actions of one man as well. Those who have always hated Penn State are simply capitalizing on an opportunity that has taken my school 150 years to hand them. Oh, and despite the caption in the long-winded Sports Illustrated article on the subject, only one media van was toppled, and I'm damn proud of that. I have lost all faith in the media since this incident and whole heartedly agree with this post (except for the misspellings). For The Glory.

Anonymous said...

Well said and you're clearly getting support for your views. The media has committed libel and slander by reporting opinions as facts. Tom, you should write another post urging people to write their congressman and ask them to put an end to irresponsible journalism. What happened to Joe is criminal. A whole life of greatness forever tainted in a week because the media needed to sell ad space. Its not the first time this has happened. We see it in politics all the time when we watch Fox News or MSNBC. The media has the power to manipulate the masses. Something has to be changed.

Anonymous said...

JoePa does not get a pass just because the media is reprehensible. It's unfathomable to think that no one in Happy Valley knew what Sandusky was doing for 15 years. We'll never probably know how many kids were unnecessarily harmed because of Penn State's legal, and more importantly, moral shortcomings, and that definitely includes Paterno. Shame on all of them.

Anonymous said...

Dear Tom,

THANK YOU. Enough Said.

For the Glory of Dear Ole State.

PSU Alum, '86

Anonymous said...

Wow, your blog highlights the true hypocrisy in this situation and is an excellent statement of what has been so unjust in public and media reaction. Almost more enlightening are the idiotic negative responses to your blog, mindlessly regurgitating distorted media snippets without taking the time to understand what they are commenting on.

The groups doing the most to directly act on behalf of the children are the Penn State students, initially at their vigil, and the alumni who had raised over $300,000 within two weeks of the indictment release.

Thank you and I hope those unjustly punished in the court of public OPINION know that the sensible support them.

I challenge any naysayer here to come close to the Penn State University and student committment to children's well-being.

Hansy S. said...

Excellent post and spot on. Paterno is admired by many and personally did nothing wrong. This was a difficult situation for him and he acted appropriately. How can we ignore the thousands of students Paterno has helped, a library with his name on it, a huge throng of students that admire him and see through this sham. Certainly bring Sandusky to justice. Leave JoPa alone and live a peaceful, admired life. He deserves so much more.

Anonymous said...

Tom, you're an idiot. And all the morons agreeing with you are idiots. You should all be lined up over a big hole, pushed in and covered over with dirt. Excusing Paterno because other people also knew and did nothing is ludicrous. And if you don't like my comment, go eff yourselves, all of you. Fucktards.

Anonymous said...

Honestly man, you are even worse than the media outlets you are referring to! Paterno and Scultz are scum and completely turned a blind eye since Sandusky "retired" ....Clear cover up job and Paterno was without question, very much involved

aapm74 said...

So the essence of this blog is: since ESPN failed to report allegations of a sex crime, Joe Paterno is actually a hero. Where's the logic in that?

In Paterno's own words from the grand jury presentment, from his call to Curley: "fondling or doing something of a sexual nature to a young boy." He called Curley, and did nothing further. Good job Joe.

ESPN may be guilty, but that does not absolve Joe Paterno.

Anonymous said...

I think the biggest thing that keeps tying Paterno's guilt to the situation is this. The fact that Sandusky had all of these things on the PSU campus available to him - after he had been fired - is the most suspicious of them all.

Joe knew. At what time is the biggest question.

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry your coach got fired. But just because ESPN and others failed too, it may make them hypocrites but it doesn't exonerate Paterno. And, as far as them focusing on him, yes it's unfair, but it's how the world works. If I get a DUI tonight, no one will care. If an athlete/politician/celeb gets a DUI tonight, everyone seems to care, or at least the media thinks we do.

PS- The Disney boycott is hilarious.

Anonymous said...

Why is JoePa hiding behind his lawyers? There's nothing stopping him from speaking up about what he was told, what he told others, etc. If he's afraid of incriminating himself, then the question of his culpability is answered. Even Jerry Sandusky has defended himself publicly. JoePa can clarify everything. Why doesn't he? I never thought that JoePa was the kind of man who would let some shyster make him clam up like a common criminal.

Mark Medina said...

Dude are you delusional? The grand jury report specified that Joe Paterno was told in pretty graphic terms from McQueary what happened. Not only did he just pass it up the chain of command without following through. He allowed Sandusky access to the facilities all the way up to the week before the grand jury report was published. Stop going on a rampage off false facts. Paterno deserved to be fired because he didn't hold Sandusky accountable enough on his watch.

Anonymous said...

@ NOVEMBER 30, 2011 3:58 PM

Are you aware that the defense attorneys not only know who the 2002 boy is but he is testifying on Sandusky's behalf that nothing happened? I'm in no way saying Sandusky is not guilty.

Joe Paterno was not on trial at the grand jury hearing. He was only asked questions pertaining to Sandusky. Not questions regarding what he did or did not do. I challenge you to read the Grand Jury "Summary" (not the full report) and point out where is says that Joe ONLY went to the AD and did nothing more. Where does it say that he NEVER followed up, Where does it say that he DID'T approach the President about the matter. Where does it say that he DIDN'T go to the BOT. Point out where is says Joe DIDN"T try to have Sandusky removed from the campus. I'll say you the time.....it doesn't say that he didn't do any of these things. Joe wasn't on trial and wasn't asked these questions. A lot of people are doing a lot of assuming just because these things are not listed on the condensed version of the Grand Jury investigation.

The truth will come out soon and the media and many of you will look like fools much like what occurred at Duke.

Anonymous said...

@ Lorraine

How do you know what Joe did or did not due? Because that is what the media told you? Because it didn't list in the Grand Jury Summery that he did go to the police. Joe Paterno was not on trial at the grand jury hearing. He was only asked questions pertaining to Sandusky. Not questions regarding what he did or did not do. I challenge you to read the Grand Jury "Summary" (not the full report) and point out where is says that Joe ONLY went to the AD and did nothing more. Where does it say that he NEVER followed up, Where does it say that he DIDN'T approach the President about the matter. Where does it say that he DIDN'T go to the BOT. Point out where is says Joe DIDN"T try to have Sandusky removed from the campus. I'll save you the time.....it doesn't say that he didn't do any of these things. Joe wasn't on trial and wasn't asked these questions. A lot of people are doing a lot of assuming just because these things are not listed on the condensed version of the Grand Jury investigation.

Like I said in my earlier statement, he truth will come out soon and the media and many of you will look like fools much like what occurred at Duke.

Anonymous said...

As a photojournalist, I'm appalled you have lumped all news media together. You can only report the facts when they are disclosed. I know of many news organizations who reported that Paterno did inform authorities about what he said he knew. But there is no evidence that he did or didn't ever followed up to make sure something was being done. His moral responsibility. I see your argument, but when you have someone in his position - you would expect they would make extra effort in a case like this to follow through. Since Paterno isn't talking - we will never know what he really did or didn't do, and to what effort he gave. Until he speaks out, enough already. Personally I feel he had the moral responsibility to follow up and make sure something was being done to stop Sandusky. If he didn't do enough - this was the right move. If he did more that was disclosed to the media, that maybe it was too harsh. But until he speaks out - we will no know. The real issues one should not overlook, is that Penn State and local law enforcement dropped the ball on charging Sandusky years earlier. And whoever thinks that Sandusky is not guilty and shouldn't be punished, needs their heads examined and or doesn't have kids. Sandusky in my opinion sounded even more guilty after the Bob Costas report.

Anonymous said...

This is such a slanted and obtuse view of the events that have occurred. These are two separate situations entirely. I am not a partial to either school and really have no opinion on either. It is clear that the author of this post is very PRO-PSU.

First of all, let's compare the evidence.
-In the Sandusky case, there is a Grand Jury report and 3 year criminal investigation that led up to all this.
-In the Fine case, we have an audio tape where ESPN could not actually confirm it was Laurie Fine until recently because there was not video/audio of her to compare it with.

As the PSU scandal came to light, I remember people defending various parties not going to the police with the argument that they didn't actually SEE what happened, so they didn't want to be sued for defamation of character by Sandusky. But now when ESPN has an audiotape that may/may not be Laurie Fine (we now know that it is), where the woman on the tape is saying "I Knew what went on with Bernie" (she doesn't even say what that is - there is no explicit mention of abuse, keep that in mind) YOU WANT THEM TO GO TO THE POLICE? Sorry, but you can't have it both ways. If you are going to defend the PSU administration and JoePa with this then the same has to apply to ESPN.

My personal opinion is ESPN should have taken the tape to the authorities, as the PSU administrators should have gone to the authorities. Both are in the wrong. But to use an argument against ESPN which was the same argument used to defend PSU is shortsighted.

Bobby Davis went to the police in 2002 and they turned him away. He made the tape in 2002 in order to get the police to believe him, and took it to ESPN in 2003. At the time ESPN received the tape, Davis, the alleged victim, had gone to the police, and so he turned around to media outlets to try and get his story out there...why wouldn't Davis have taken the tape to the police himself if he would have thought it would help them believe him? This is probably the question ESPN was asking themselves.

So you see, comparing ESPN to JoePa is not a congruous exercise, and acting like the two parties were in the same situation just isn't so. Even so, if the situations were the same, I don't see how it makes coach Paterno's inaction any more acceptable or less disgusting.

Anonymous said...

Joe Paterno works for Penn State, ESPN does not work for Syracuse. BIG difference!! A news organization collaborating a story about such heinous crimes and Joepa getting a 2nd hand account from someone he hired, apples and bowling balls. ESPN knew it was reported to police and police said statute ran out.

Chris said...

awesome article. you kick ass.

Anonymous said...

ESPN and other reporting agencies are just business entities. They operate to make money, Period. Every one of us makes a choice to support businesses buy purchasing their product. If you truly want to see retribution for the defacing of an honorable man, then hurt these "businesses" but hitting them in the wallets. Don’t purchase the papers; push the agencies that advertise with ESPN to pull out. Only then will you see accountability for the publishing of false information.

Anonymous said...

This article is waaaay too slanted. How was Paterno given a "non-specific non detailed sanitized version of events"? The grand jury testimony states that Paterno testified to telling the PSU AD of reports that in the showers Sandusky "fondled or did something of a sexual nature to a young boy." How is this non-specific non-detailed and sanitized? Where does the grand jury testimony say he reported it to campus police.

And the PSU trustees didn't disgrace PSU. Sandusky did.

This whole article is a disgusting attempt to draw attention away from Paterno and toward other people and scandals. That is pathetic.

Paterno doesn't deserve all of the blame. But to make it seem righteous for the PSU students to riot after his firing is bizarre and ridiculous.

Anonymous said...

I agree about the media, and the principal should go to jail. Here's what I don't agree with:

When Paterno was given the sanitized version of the event in the shower by McQueary he went straight to the administrative head of campus police, the police agency that had the jurisdiction over any crime committed on the campus of Penn State. Joe Paterno went to the proper authority, he went immediately and he went as high as he could go. The news media, the Penn State trustees, the politicians, ESPN and everyone else who attacked Joe Paterno, given the opportunity, went as low as they could go. They will be remembered for it. And they should all lose their jobs. But before they go, they owe Joe Paterno one big apology.

WHAT SANITIZED VERSION?

Who said McQuery gave PAterno a sanitized version? YEs, Joe Pa went to the authorities AFTER he met with the AD. Joe runs PSU. The buck stops with him. If the campus police didn't pursue it, he reasoned, why should I?

Anonymous said...

I agree about the media, and the principal should go to jail. Here's what I don't agree with:

When Paterno was given the sanitized version of the event in the shower by McQueary he went straight to the administrative head of campus police, the police agency that had the jurisdiction over any crime committed on the campus of Penn State. Joe Paterno went to the proper authority, he went immediately and he went as high as he could go. The news media, the Penn State trustees, the politicians, ESPN and everyone else who attacked Joe Paterno, given the opportunity, went as low as they could go. They will be remembered for it. And they should all lose their jobs. But before they go, they owe Joe Paterno one big apology.

WHAT SANITIZED VERSION?

Who said McQuery gave PAterno a sanitized version? YEs, Joe Pa went to the authorities AFTER he met with the AD. Joe runs PSU. The buck stops with him. If the campus police didn't pursue it, he reasoned, why should I?

Anonymous said...

I agree about the media, and the principal should go to jail. Here's what I don't agree with:

When Paterno was given the sanitized version of the event in the shower by McQueary he went straight to the administrative head of campus police, the police agency that had the jurisdiction over any crime committed on the campus of Penn State. Joe Paterno went to the proper authority, he went immediately and he went as high as he could go. The news media, the Penn State trustees, the politicians, ESPN and everyone else who attacked Joe Paterno, given the opportunity, went as low as they could go. They will be remembered for it. And they should all lose their jobs. But before they go, they owe Joe Paterno one big apology.

WHAT SANITIZED VERSION?

Who said McQuery gave PAterno a sanitized version? YEs, Joe Pa went to the authorities AFTER he met with the AD. Joe runs PSU. The buck stops with him. If the campus police didn't pursue it, he reasoned, why should I?

Anonymous said...

I agree about the media, and the principal should go to jail. Here's what I don't agree with:

When Paterno was given the sanitized version of the event in the shower by McQueary he went straight to the administrative head of campus police, the police agency that had the jurisdiction over any crime committed on the campus of Penn State. Joe Paterno went to the proper authority, he went immediately and he went as high as he could go. The news media, the Penn State trustees, the politicians, ESPN and everyone else who attacked Joe Paterno, given the opportunity, went as low as they could go. They will be remembered for it. And they should all lose their jobs. But before they go, they owe Joe Paterno one big apology.

WHAT SANITIZED VERSION?

Who said McQuery gave PAterno a sanitized version? YEs, Joe Pa went to the authorities AFTER he met with the AD. Joe runs PSU. The buck stops with him. If the campus police didn't pursue it, he reasoned, why should I?

Anonymous said...

So Because other people screwed up worse than him, makes Paterno "rise to the top"? Please, get out of here. Another person or corporation or media outlet doing wrong doesn't make Paterno any better.

Joe Paterno failed his moral obligation as a human being by not going to authorities. It's as simple as that.

Condemning others' mistakes on his behalf is just wrong. In this case every one is and was wrong including Joe Paterno!

Anonymous said...

Paterno built a 60 plus year reputation for integrity, decency and ethics. It was not about money for him. It was about the teams and the University. It was rather simple for him. Those who say he must have known this or that are fools.

Almost Everytime the press interviews friends, neighbors and work assoticates of a perpetrator of evil acts (serial bombers, murderers, child molesters) they all express shock. They typically speak of how it seems so out of character etc... This case was no different. Jerry was very good at hiding his evil. His involvement with the Second Mile caused many to not question what one normally might. He is a bad guy and many who lack righteousness are permitting his bad acts to bring down good people.

Dr. Wright said...

Since anonymous has dominated all
the posts it would be good for
them to visit me at my Psychiatric
ward as the hatred for Joe Paterno
and Penn State presents deep concern for the stability of those
that are posting such ludicrous statements. It is sad what we have
come to in this country. The trampling of the heart attack victim at Target to get to that big buy rather than attend to the fallen victim on Black Friday immediately reminded me of the Penn State critics and arm chair lawyers. The media and ESPN was quick to trample Joe Paterno. The
facts are going to make some eat
crow, feathers and all!

Anonymous said...

Maybe you should listen to the interview with an ex-employee who says that Paterno thought the football players should be treated differently from a regular student. That doesn't sound like a person with a good set of morals. If it were up to me I would've had him charged with negligence, but unfortunately the law is not built that way with respect to child abuse. Can't wait to check back and see all the pissy Staters getting fired up. He did wrong, he deserves the punishment. As a PA taxpayer, if they didn't fire him I would've wrote to our good ol' Representatives.

Anonymous said...

Just in case facts or laws matter to anyone... In 1998, the DA/police investigated Sandusky and did not press charges. It's commonly understood that Paterno forced him out of the football program shortly thereafter.

In 2002, Paterno was a mandated reporter but not a witness. Per the law, he reported what he heard to administration, who met with the witness. By law, Paterno had no further right to info on the case. We don't know if he followed up, but if he did, Curley or Schultz would be prohibited from telling me anything

Anonymous said...

Oops... telling him anything...

Marc Rubin said...

"What Paterno did (or I should say didn't) has nothing to do with ESPN or whatever else they are trying to cover."

Then you dont understand a thing about morality do you. Or the phrase "the pot calling the kettle black". Or the fact that while there is solid evidence of what ESPN knew there is no evidence that Paterno knew ANY sexual assault at any time took place. So perhaps we need to add the word "hypocritical" to your english language definition assignment.

Marc Rubin said...

"Go to the police and let them investigate.
Why is this so hard to understand?"

He did go to the police. Just because he didnt do it in the way you see on TV or the way you think he should have doesnt mean he didnt do it. Why is that so hard to understand?

Anonymous said...

Really? I read what was reported to the grand jury. Paterno went to his school's police organization after hearing how a child was pined against the shower wall and was being sodomized. He STOPPED at that, even when nothing was done to stop Sandusky. That is enough for me to know he didn't do the right thing. As a teacher, I would be fired and could face criminal charges for not reporting it to DCFS. Shame on him and everyone else, poor media practices or not. If this were your child, would you have expected him to just stop at reporting it when nothing further was done? There are other services and agencies he should have reported it to. I base this on the facts presented in the grand jury report - he was made aware of what was going on! This report came out prior to him being fired. Does his great coaching record outweigh the safety of our children? Get your priorities straight.

Marc Rubin said...

"Joe clearly knew he was responsible for not exposing Sandusky when he was quoted in saying, "I only wish I would have done more."

Maybe if youd stop putting words in Paterno's mouth, stop twisting it to fit your arugments or beliefs and repeat what he actually said, you'd be more in a position to know the truth.

He said , "with the benefit of hindsight (meaning if he knew then what he knows now) I wish I had done more". And who wouldnt? If you walked by a house at night and saw a light on and then found out later it was a fire wouldnt you wish you had done more?

When will people get it through their heads that they dont have a scintilla of information or evidence that Paterno knew there was any sexual thing going on in that shower and that its only your fantasy and speculation when we have Paterno's own words that he didnt know that was going on and we have a grand jury,a prosecutor and an attorney general who confirms it. Wake up.

Marc Rubin said...

"Why are you giving Lou Holtz a pass? "

Im giving Lou Holtz a pass because in the segments I saw when people were trying to goad him into piling on Paterno he didnt take the bait and repeatedly said, "well I dont have all the facts..."

To this day he doesnt and neither does anyone else, yet its amazing how many people are so certain they know what we know for an absolute certainty they dont know. This is the standard definition of an unruly mob.

If Holtz responded in any other way than the responses I heard then I wont give him a pass.

Marc Rubin said...

"You have just proven why Joe did NOT do enough in 2002. He KNEW there was a problem with Sandusky in 1998.."

In court this would be inadmissable because its not evidence or fact but would be called a conclusion by the witness. It doesnt invalidate your point of view but we have Joe Paterno's own statements that completely contradict your point of view and say the opposite. Its up to individuals to judge for themselves who and what they want to believe on this score.

Marc Rubin said...

"For screaming about fairness, your column is incredibly biased."

Pointing out that neither you nor anyone who agrees with your point of view including the news media in their attacks on Paterno has one single fact on which to base their misrepresentations only seems biased if it exposes the biases you have that you want to cling to as truth.

Marc Rubin said...

"Sweet turtleneck"

I have more. In Merino wool.

Marc Rubin said...

"You are one STUPID FUCK...I ask only *ONE* qustion. When McQueary brought to light the allegations to Joe Paterno,"

Why dont you enlighten all of us and tell us word for word exctly what allegations McQueary gave to Paterno. Not your moronic interpetations or your fantasies. Tell us exactly what allegations McQueary gave to Paterno. And if you cant do it you can go to sleep tonight knowing who it is that is terminally stupid.

Marc Rubin said...

"Who said McQuery gave PAterno a sanitized version? "

Joe Paterno said, for those not paying attention, that what McQueary told him contained NO details and NO specifics about what he saw in the shower and that he was not told anything about any sexual conduct or contact. Is that good enough? If you want to quibble with my use of the word "sanitized" compared to the details McQueary gave the grand jury, go ahead. Oh, and by the way, if you or anyone else chooses to doubt Paterno's word that he was not told ANY of the specifics or details, keep in mind that if his public statements contradicted his grand jury testimony he'd have a problem. His grand jury testimony was believed by the grand jury, the prosecutor and attorney general. If you think you know more than they do or they are all incompetent, then think what you will.

Marc Rubin said...

"My favorite was when you you kept telling someone they were wrong about state police and said they weren't at the demonstration and a person told you her husband was a trooper there. I didn't notice a response to that."

There was no response because I took her word for it so there was nothing to respond to. But I am not wrong about who the reporting police agency responsible for crimes on Penn State campus is and that's Penn State campus police so you will have to huff and puff and mutter about something else.

Marc Rubin said...

"Really? I read what was reported to the grand jury. Paterno went to his school's police organization after hearing how a child was pined against the shower wall and was being sodomized"

You are either drunk, on drugs, have the reading comprehension of an ant or are badly self deluded. Why dont you quote from the grand jury report where it says exactly what you just claimed it says Paterno was told. And when you can't do it,maybe you'll realize that you should never operate heavy machinery. It wont save your brain but it will save your fingers.

Anonymous said...

I think ESPN, if what you are saying is true, certainly has some explaining to do. Otherwise, I think your point is largely moot. You seem to argue that because ESPN was wrong (which they most definitely were), Joe Paterno is less wrong. That makes no sense. The fact remains, that while he may not be legally reprehensible, he did not, despite what you claim, do enough. He even admitted so himself. I also find it curious that you pay little attention to the children. After reading this, one would think Joe Paterno was the real victim in this mess, instead of the countless children who were molested because he, and others, failed to step in an act accordingly.

Two wrongs do not make a right. You should have instead focus on another outlet who failed to help innocent children, not the victimization of Joe Paterno.

Anonymous said...

I completely agree with everything you said. The media is a powerful thing and they found the perfect scapegoat to turn attention away from the real issue at hand. Well said!

Anonymous said...

Penn State fired Joe Paterno. Are you saying that they fired him based on what was said in the media about him, without investigating what went on themselves. If so, Penn State is to blame not the media. I think we all are aware that not everything reported in the media is accurate. A newspaper report would never be used as evidence in a court of law.

Anonymous said...

Penn State fired Joe Paterno. Are you saying that they fired him based on what was said in the media about him, without investigating what went on themselves. If so, Penn State is to blame not the media. I think we all are aware that not everything reported in the media is accurate. A newspaper report would never be used as evidence in a court of law.

Anonymous said...

"Anonymous said...
It would be nice if the author knew how to correctly use the proper term for the principal and not the principle.

November 29, 2011 11:33 AM"
______________

Says the guy who writes a split infinitive!

croth275 said...

Someone raised to the level of exaltation the way Joe was should not be shocked to be damned with the same enthusiasm.

Anonymous said...

The issue here is that everybody is searching to place blame...find the cause...assess the cause. Everybody wants the final answer as to why this happened and to say...that's it. Unfortunately that will never happen, because of the irrational sick behavior of one man like Jerry Sandusky. Sociopathic people like Sandusky learn how to manipulate any system you put in place to fence them in. This was not an occasional occurrence...this is a lifetime of aberrant and abhorrent behavior on his part. A wolf in sheeps clothing. A master of deception.

Despite all of our efforts, all the organizational systems we create, all the laws we pass, these kind of insane, obscene, inexplicable, irrational acts will still continue despite what we do to prevent them. It's called "free will" and there are defective, incomprehensively evil people among us and they will act out no matter what we think or what we think can do to stop them. Gabby Giffords, Virginia Tech, Columbine, The Holocaust...and on and on.

There is no focus on the true villain here because we know he is defective beyond hope and we can't change him. Abhorrent for sure...but place the blame on the man that precipitated the crime not Joe Paterno.

It is a sad commentary on our society; our lack of systemic and individual accountability; our lack of having an individual sense of right and wrong; the sound bite; and a general pervasive self-righteousness that everybody has with 20-20 hindsight.

Society is questioning how could something so horrible happen. Explain it. Sadly there is no explanation.

Fortunately, the sun will still come up tomorrow morning. This will sort out, but it will take time. Good will prevail.

Anonymous said...

Time to take your lumps espn. The world is tired of hypocritical journalists preaching about what everyone else should do but not having the integrity to hold themselves to the same standards. You wanted JoePa to go and you got it. Now take care of any of your own who "didn't do enough".

Anonymous said...

My name is Chris and a proud PSU alumni. This view is a little extreme and makes some assumptions of what Joe knew or didn't, but I love the courage to come out and say this stuff with the vast majority thinking the other way. Few people want to be "controversial" because so many listened to the media. Penn Staters are defending Joepa and if you do so you you automatically think that "the football program is more important than the victims", which is a crock. What happened to the victims is wrong and horrible. It is a shame no-one was able to figure out how bad a monster this guy was and I have not met anyone that feels otherwise. As an alumni and defender of JoePa I am not honestly sure he did not know more. It is possible. But based on the facts that are out there now (unless the trustees know more than we do?), JoePa did the right thing by reporting the incident in 2002 to the proper authorities. I guess he could have told the media, but no sane human would do that (put your self in those shoes and be honest, yeah you!). He did tell the guy in charge of university police & his boss the AD. It went up to President Spanier, then went nowhere. Sandusky was retired when the incident was reported to Paterno. As a retired state employee he is entitled to benefits such as parking passes and keys to buildings, gyms, pools, showers, etc. Right or wrong, I understand this is common place at most state universities across the country. Very hard to take away retired state employee benefits without court involvement and therefore someone willing to press charges. Paterno was not a victim and not the person to press charges so it would go to the courts. If it comes out that Paterno knew more, especially a pattern of behavior, then shame on him and he should be dealt with harshly and his reputation should not stay intact. But until we find out he knew more and kept it quiet, then I say Paterno should not have not been fired over the phone. Based on what the booster above said he did not stay quiet. They should have let him play out the season and his statue should stay. He did a lot of good for the university. Just look at his house and contract compared to most other big time college coaches, especially those that claim "Paterno must have known more and should have done more". Most people read the testimony and just assume he knew all the disgusting things Sandusky did to these kids. He did not have the benefit of hindsight that all the media and other know-it alls that called for Paterno's head. I agree the media created most of the pressure out there and the trustees caved. It is all about the ratings for the media (they need Paterno's name and stellar rep to make this a big story) and the trustees were worried people would think they were soft and saw things through blue colored glasses. Maybe I wear those shades, but sounds like Paterno got a raw deal. Joe is a classy guy, not sure what he will and will not say if and when he gets the chance.

Penn State is so big and powerful a lot of good will come out of this. If it happened at a community college we still wouldn't be talking about it. Because it was Penn State and Paterno this story has legs and it will help end child abuse. Just watch what 90,000 students and 500,000 alumni, plus the continegnt of faculty can do when they are motivated for the right reasons. Let's turn our attention to what matters, finding an end to child abuse. Throwing money at the problem is not the only answer but it helps. I'm sure the charity called RAIN will do some amazing things with it. And as an alumni, seeing this site makes me proud and it is something we can all agree is a great thing. Fight On! www.proudtobeapennstater.com/

Iceknight/Spicetruck (Nari) said...

ESPN should be RIGHTLY fired for holding on to the tape so long etc.. and also being hypocritical.


However, your statements are WRONG.
"When Paterno was given the sanitized version of the event in the shower by McQueary he went straight to the administrative head of campus police,"..

WRONG.

Please read p 7 of the grand jury report. Paterno "called" the AD to his house. So it is pretty clear who is superior to who there.. Lol. I CERTAINLY acknowledge that ESPN needs to be fired left, right for their hyprocrisy and for allowing Bernie Fine to continue evil deeds for ten years.

NATP said...

Great post.

The only thing I'd add is that the media completely missed the scariest part of this "second mile scandal" How many other pedophiles are active within Second Mile?

Consider that:
1. We know that pedophiles are drawn to organizations like Second Mile.... they add provide a pool of potential victims and a means of accessing them.

2. Second Mile _did_ know in 1998 & 2002 that Sandusky's behavior with children was inappropriate (at a bare minimum, talking Sandusky's version of events). INCREDIBLY inappropriate for someone in a youth organization - where there is a positive responsibility to be aware of the possibility above.

The behavior Sandusky has admitted to, by itself, should have meant that he was never allowed to be alone with children in Second Mile. Indeed, in most youth organizations 'two adult minimum' is the rule for everyone, all the time.


3. Second Mile works with over 100,000 kids a year, according to their website. If their oversight of their other volunteers is as lax as their oversight of Sandusky, then it sounds like a pedophile's dream.

THAT is the scary story the media could have ruin with - while ignoring the fact that the overwhelming majority of kids involved with Second Mile were helped by it. Instead, they choose to jump on the easy story of "see, the good man wasn't really that good"

Anonymous said...

I agree with many of the points you make in your post. You're right, the people who were quick to criticize Joe Paterno should be examined for their inaction as well. Further, I agree that Joe did more than many of the others at Penn State and/or Syracuse.

That said, NONE of them did the right thing. Joe didn't do enough. He admitted that he could have done more...and should have. I'll give him credit for doing something, albeit far from enough. The others did either too little or nothing at all.

The fact that they chose to criticize Joe for not acting properly only adds another pimple to their already blemished list of action or inaction.

Two wrongs don't make a right. Joe and many of those who condemned him were GUILTY of not reporting the acts against these children UNTIL something was done. NOT ONE OF THEM had the perseverance to follow through until these children were protected and their molesters punished. I don't think doing the minimum, in Joe's case, should excuse anyone. I'm sure that Joe didn't accept just the minimum from his players.

And as for the reporters, and anyone else for that matter, who knew or knows of a child being molested, shame on him who does nothing. Or even the minimum. The only way we can keep our children, each other, and even our country safe is to report wrong-doings...and FOLLOW THROUGH.

I like Joe, but, I'm disappointed that he lacked the perseverance and commitment to protect the children around him.

Respectfully,
John

Anonymous said...

I guess there is more than enough guilt and blame to go around...... but Coach Paterno was the MOST powerful individual in Happy Valley.

He did not get a "sanitized" version of events... rather he got the " Full Monty". He could have gone to anyone up the ladder he chose, to get whatever outcome he chose, but he chose another course of action. ( or is it in-action? ) .... To "protect who?....what?

In my opinion, he deserves no "easy out" in this matter. He knew more than he's admitting, and certainly, he knew enough to do the real "right thing".... and did not. Too bad.

Anonymous said...

Marc: "There was no response because I took her word for it so there was nothing to respond to. But I am not wrong about who the reporting police agency responsible for crimes on Penn State campus is and that's Penn State campus police so you will have to huff and puff and mutter about something else."

Okay, so you again are proving you have a hard time just saying I was wrong. Even if you are correct, which you are, about PSU police being the FIRST to contact. Joe reported it to the AD. He never contacted the administrator in charge of the police. That man was brought into later with a meeting between the AD, Curley and McQueary. So, it doesn't matter if PSU or PSP are the main authority.

Probably to your suprise, I'm not completely against your articles or what you are trying to say. I just think you need to check and recheck all your facts, especially if one of your big points is the media. And you are human and this is a blog so it is a little different than the media, as I think they should be held more accountable. However, if you would just be able to say, "my bad, I fixed. thanks for pointing that out so everyone is reading as much fact as possible", people would probably be more receptive. And in turn that would get the true message that you are saying across much better.

And I am sorry for my last post, I reacted from emotion and pretty much did the exact thing I'm saying you shouldn't.

Anonymous said...

Good writeup only you left out one of the real dirt bags in this mess, Syracuse Men's Basketball Coach, Jim Boeheim....

"I'm not Joe Paterno. Somebody didn't come and tell me Bernie Fine did something and I'm hiding it."

This from the man who accused Fine's victims of being money grubbing liars. Absolute scumbag.

Anonymous said...

Paterno defenders are the Holocaust deniers of college football.

Anonymous said...

let's not paint someone a hero for being the lesser of two evils.

Vegas said...

Very Good Post... Some responses are just wrong. The Grand Jury testimony says McQuery claims to give a detailed explanation. But both Administrators disagree. And using Paterno's words out of context is flat wrong. He did say "I wish I'd done more but he said that right after saying " looking back..." Heck, looking back I think every parent, teacher, fellow student, player, coach, friend, etc wishes that they'd done more. HE did NOT know about a rape. I think I'll take the word of three long time professionals over McQuery... Good post...

Anonymous said...

See the problem with your article is...your head is so far up Joe Pa's butt that you can't see the light. Do you really think Mcquerry cleaned up his version to Joe Pa one day after the incident occurred? Answer, NO. While sitting in front of a grand jury, Joe Pa was doing what almost every witness tries to do...shy away from what he/she really heard or saw.

Anonymous said...

That is called removing yourself from the situation.

cxh230@yahoo.com said...

CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT by the PSU alumni against PSU board of trustees to step down immediately!

The board is irresponsible and irrational.
Under their direction, our university has become the most expensive state school in the country, psu has allied themselves with many high paying donors and large corporations who make millions off of the university.
PLEASE LOOK AT WHO IS ON THIS BOARD AND WHO THEY REPRESENT!?!?
There are no regular everyday teachers, scientists, or general citizens on this board!
They represent powerful government agencies, corporations and banks.

In general, the PSU BOT over the past 15 years has been more concerned about making money rather than educating students.
THEY are the ones who hired Graham Spanier as president/who was at the top of the totem pole.
In turn, HE was the one most likely to crush any investigation and/or lie due to the fact that THEY(BOT) would lose DONATION MONEY if any bad PSU press would break out.

People who haven't gone to, or who haven't lived at Penn State don't understand the political dynamics in play and don't understand who the real villians are here.
A good amount of alumni have disliked the president and the BOT for years, but they can't do a thing about it because they are powerless!

The board has played this situation off perfectly.
Crucify the 85 year old man and they save their own rear-ends.

In reality, what they've done is to not just fire a man, but to kill the identity of PSU primetime..... while the WORLD was watching. They have crucified the idea of what is good and right and honest. They have diminished the PSU name and the degree that the alumni all hold. They incited a riot by announcing the firing of Paterno at 10:30 pm instead of 10:30 am.....FYI BOARD.... STUDENTS DRINK....USUALLY AT NIGHT!

Did they ever stop to think?
Think about what this would do to the alumni?
To the current and prospective students?
To the fans who want to travel and wear a PSU shirt or hat?
NO....They thought about themselves!

Regardless, Joepa doesn't have to live with a scarlet letter now, I do, fans do, all PSU alumni do.
We all have to live in shame now because the board was so irresponsible.

Unfortunately, they are still in charge and they are ready to make more poor, ill-informed and improper decisions.
If you don't believe me, just look at who is truly on our board and you will see more important and more powerful people and names, than just ONE 85 year old football coach who can apparently hold ONE MASSIVE... CONSPIRACY together.

In the end, if you want a villian and a conspiracy, look to the ivory tower and not the football field!

Anonymous said...

comparing the penn state stuff to the syracuse stuff is so irrelevant to determining the culpability of paterno. focusing on penn st, it is true all the facts are not out but that has to work both ways. people should not condemn paterno yet but nor should people like you blindly support him at this point. the revelation of the disiplinary member who was fired after she challanged paterno to make the football players tell the truth indicates that paternos "golden" record is likely due to him never letting word of anything bad get out because all that matters is the program. legally perhaps paterno did all he had to-but he was the highest authority at the school and to rely on formalities of titles to say otherwise is a joke. the entire administration took the view that the program was the most important thing and I believe in time when all the facts come out we will see what a big cover up this really is.

Anonymous said...

Anyone see CNN's Anderson Cooper interview the ESPN reporter that broke the Fine story? In a softball question without ANY follow-up, he asked why ESPN sat on the accusor's claim of repeated abuse corroberated by an audio tape for TEN years, reporting it to NO ONE! When the reported said that ESPN did not think it was their job to report it, Anderson simply dropped the matter.

The same guy who called for the NCAA to investigate Penn State for "moral infractions" didn't seem to think the moral imperative to report child abuse applied to fellow journalists.

Perhaps he was more interested in protecting the institution (the press). Sounds very much like what he accused Penn State officials of, doesn't it.

PSUBill said...

So JoePa gets ridden out of town on a rail for doing what the law required and Jim Boeheim (sp?) gets a pass by pleading ignorance of what was going on in his program.

Pat Armstrong said...

Great article. Only one point with which I disagree with you (somewhat): the Trustees fired Paterno not because they thought he was guilty of anything, but because they thought they had to fire him to protect PSU against the Mob.

As to the ESPN Trial-by-Pundit: some of the people accused of crimes (or even "moral crimes") might be found guilty, and some might be found innocent--we won't know until the facts come out. The only people we know for certain are guilty are those who condemned without facts--those who mistook accusations for convictions. It's bad enough that the Mob was so ignorant, but anyone who considers him/herself a reporter and pronounces someone guilty without a trial should be fired--and held up for libel scrutiny as well.

Pat Armstrong said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Quick point. Someone stated that it is clear Paterno did not report to Schultz, but look at page 8 of the grand jury report. Schultz testified that he was called to a meeting with Paterno and Curley, which certainly indicates he did report to Schultz, who oversaw police on campus. I know Schultz has been charged with perjury, but he may very well have told the truth regarding this as well as the rest of his testimony. Time will tell.

There was clearly a rush to judgment on Paterno.If the allegations in the grand jury report are proven, or more information implicates Paterno, then it might be shown that he acted inappropriately. It might even paint Paterno in a more negative light. But often grand jury conclusions are not supported by the actual evidence (especially when lawyers and investigators for parties besides the attorney general are involved, who were likely not allowed to present a case or evidence at that grand jury proceeding). Also, district attorneys and attorney generals often overstate their cases and over state the credibity of their witnesses (as well as over state the lack of credibility of witnesses whose testimony does not fit into their theory of their case). A grand jury proceeding and conclusions will not always play out as the Attorney General or D.A. asserts (look at Michael Jackson. The grand jury was very damning of him, but many of those witnesses were shredded at trial and their credibility destroyed when Jackson's attorneys tried the case). (NOTE: I am not defending Jackson, and believe he did inappropriate things, but also believe the D.A. over stated their case and overstated the credibility of many of their witnesses, and as a result Jackson walked). I do these cases for a living and can tell you personally that there is always so much more that comes out after trial than is ever presented in a complaint or indictment.

Again, once this case plays out and their are more investigations (and actual testimony is taken and actual transcripts are seen and the witnesses stories are flushed out in more detail) the negative judgment of Paterno might be appropriate. However, the opposite may be true as well and it just might be determined that he was treated unfairly and that the grand jury report did not accurately provide all the details of what actually occurred.

I apologize in advance for any misspellings, or inaccurate grammar, as I am writing this on a small touch pad (it also has a very annoying auto correct function that any Droid user can appreciate) and some of the comments to this article focus more on the grammar than the substance of this article.

Marc Rubin said...

"people should not condemn paterno yet but nor should people like you blindly support him .."


I've been blindly supporting the idea of waiting for all the facts to come out before condemning him, firing him, removing his name from a trophy and withdrawing his nomination for the Presidential Medal of Freedom especially since the facts that ARE out (incomplete as they are) point to Paterno doing everything he should have, legally AND morally,and indict the news media for outright lies and misrepresentations of the facts that are already out.

Dont forget that a grand jury has all the facts and all the testimony of everyone involved and they and the prosecutor have believed every word Paterno has said about not having the details or specifics of what McQueary said he saw. One other thing. Another reader made the point that Joe Paterno "admitted" he should have done more. This is, as others have pointed out, one more gross media distortion to suit their purposes. What he said was, "with the benefit of hindsight(meaning if he knew then what he knows now) I wish I had done more." That is hardly an admission he didnt do enough and its something that all of us would say in a similar situation.Except for journalists and ESPN.

Marc Rubin said...

"He still did not do enough.."

Why is it that those, even though they are in a small minority, who say Paterno didnt do enough never ever say what they think he should have done. He did more than enough. And as I pointed out in the latest piece, referring McQueary and what he knew to the administrative head of the Penn State campus police is no less than what the mother of one of Sandusky's victims did.

If notifying Penn State campus police was enough for a victim's mother it is more than enough for Joe Paterno.

Anonymous said...

"It gets a lot worse. It has also been revealed that the victim took the same audiotape to ESPN more than ten years ago with his allegations against Fine and played the tape for them, No one at ESPN did a thing. For ten years. They didn't talk to their own lawyers.They didn't refer it to any child protective agency. They didn't refer it to any law enforcement agency. They did nothing. And now try and hide behind the excuse that they didn't have enough corroborating evidence to do any more."

Hey Marc - is it worth mentioning that the guy went to a local law enforcement agent? From a timeline CNN put together (http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/03/justice/syracuse-coach-timeline/index.html): 2002 - Syracuse ball boy Bobby Davis says he informed Syracuse police that he was subjected to inappropriate contact by an associate men's basketball coach" during the 1980s and 1990s." Syracuse police say they told Davis the statue of limitations had passed and nothing else could be done unless he knew of any ongoing or more recent allegations against Bernie Fine.

I included my source because you seem to have a smart-ass, biased response for every poster whose opinion differs from your own. Please do not quote that previous sentence, post your unprofessional remarks and move on. Please address why you chose to leave out facts to make your case.

Also, if you have a minute, can you please explain how Paterno "Rose to the occasion"? I'm just curious how everyone else sunk by reporting and speculating on the situation but the head of the football program is a saint?

I still haven't seen video evidence that ESPN called for Paterno's head. People have been fired for much less than this. Think about Paterno's job and if he has the ability to still do it at a top tier level - do you really think he should have coached that final home game a week later? Do you really think he would have any credibility (regardless of the reporting) in a high school kid's living room? He knew of at least "horseplay" in his locker room shower and the man accused of that act was still wandering the campus. You really think a kid's parents would support going there?

This is the ESPN piece that I will remember most from the PSU coverage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_Wc_6Rz0AU&feature=related

Marc Rubin said...

"I included my source because you seem to have a smart-ass, biased response for every poster whose opinion differs from your own. Please do not quote that previous sentence, post your unprofessional remarks and move on. Please address why you chose to leave out facts to make your case."


I save my smart ass remarks for people who think they are being smart ass and instead are being stupid. I didnt leave out any facts to make my case because the facts you quote have nothing to do with any single point I made. It's as irrelevant as you not being able to tell the difference between a fact and an opinion. No one at ESPN didnt act because the statute of limitations ran out.They didnt know and had no idea and I'm not even sure that was true ten years ago when he took the tape to ESPN. But even it was, no one at ESPN had any idea about the statute of limitations and a reporter for ESPN did not mention that on Anderson Cooper when asked why ESPN did nothing with the tape. Your even bringing it up is dumb ass which is why my remarks seem to you smart ass.

Anonymous said...

What a fucking joke. How can you say that Paterno "rose to the occasion"? The guy had knowledge of the event. Mike Mcqueary has said so. Joe Paterno has said so. The athletic director has said so. So why can't you all accept that he just failed to act properly on an unspeakable deed?

It's amazing how many of you assholes are completely forgetting that there were REAL PEOPLE HURT. FOR THE REST OF THE THEIR LIVES, THEY WILL NEVER BE THE SAME. Sandusky is a monster and Paterno had a chance to do something about it, and he failed.

Get over yourself, Author. This is no better than the crap ESPN puts out. If anything its worse, as you side yourself with a serial rapist.

Cheers, a completely unbiased but interested Canadian observer. Good on Penn State.

I sell health said...

Marc:
You are absolutely correct. I thought I was in the minority on this topic. Paterno went to his supervisor. The rest of the administration covered it up (for whatever reason we do not know). And when it went bad, the cut Paterno loose to take the blame. The media went after Paterno as well. They are the ones who should feel SHAME!

Anonymous said...

"I save my smart ass remarks for people who think they are being smart ass and instead are being stupid." -There ya go, attack the poster not the idea. Very professional.

"I didnt leave out any facts to make my case because the facts you quote have nothing to do with any single point I made." -Okay, making progress by going after the idea now. Very good. The only problem is that your article's purpose is to discount ESPN as a corporation and news outlet. You would have gone against your stance by including minor details like the kid going to Syracuse police, another news outlet, etc. The statute of limitations had passed and therefore, nothing could be done legally. I am all for swift action but for ESPN to report a single-source story with zero chances of putting Fine behind bars would have been irresponsible.

"It's as irrelevant as you not being able to tell the difference between a fact and an opinion." -Another attack on the person. Rule #1 of good conversation/debate - attack the other side as often as possible. Also, how is it that my post suggests that I do not know the difference? It is a FACT that the Davis kid went to police. It is a FACT that you left that information out of your post. It is my OPINION that you don't care what is fact and what is opinion and all that matters is putting Paterno up on an even higher pedestal.

"No one at ESPN didnt act because the statute of limitations ran out.They didnt know and had no idea and I'm not even sure that was true ten years ago when he took the tape to ESPN. But even it was, no one at ESPN had any idea about the statute of limitations and a reporter for ESPN did not mention that on Anderson Cooper when asked why ESPN did nothing with the tape." -Great opinion. Next time, bring the facts (see above).

"Your even bringing it up is dumb ass which is why my remarks seem to you smart ass." -Marc Whateveryourlastnameis, everyone! Blogger extraordinaire. Open-minded writer. Great debatesman. You remind me of a less important Rick Perry.

curmudgeonly-eccentric said...

Whatever, ESPN waited for a week or more before they started condemning Paterno in the meekest, mildest tones. It really built up after that, that's true, but it's also appropriate. Joe Paterno deserves every awful thing that has happened to him, and every awful thing that is going to happen to him. And he deserves a heck of a lot more than that, as well. St. Paterno has never fooled me, I've never believed the myths surrounding that guy, I've always known he was just a regular guy, with charms and flaws just like every other regular guy, but I never suspected he'd cover up for a pedophile. Which is what he did. No, going to campus police, then never again asking anything or following up on it and just forgetting about it for years and years is not acting appropriately. Paterno is the lowest slime on earth, in my book. He didn't care one bit about that kid, or any of the others. Didn't you catch the hubris of his retirement statement? The trustees of Penn State shouldn't be spending one minute of time worrying about his future, they have more important business to take care of? That arrogant piece of trash was actually dictating to the governor of Pennsylvania and the rest of the trustees what the terms of his retirement are! I could not believe my ears when I heard the hubris of that statement! I knew at that time, Paterno really had no clue that he was a regular human being, he thought he was a god! He needed to be smacked down and smacked down hard, and I am very proud that the trustees did it! And he's going to get smacked down a lot harder by public opinion, the courts and investigators. Joe Pa indeed. This guy is the most disgraced college football coach in history, and this scandal is the worst scandal to hit a college football team in history. Understand it. The rest of the fans sticking up for this walking human garbage need to understand it as well.

Drew said...

You people are all intellectually dishonest CREEPS.

On page 7 of the Grand Jury Report Joe Paterno testified that Mike McQueary informed him he WITNESSED Jerry Sandusky "doing something of a SEXUAL NATURE" to a young boy!!!!

I will state it again Joe Paterno testified "SOMETHING OF A SEXUAL NATURE TO A YOUNG BOY."

When something of a SEXUAL NATURE happens to a child that is RAPE.

Upon being told something of a SEXUAL NATURE happened to a little boy Joe Paterno waited until the NEXT DAY to call his ATHLETIC DIRECTOR. NOT the police.

It then took 10 days to set up a "meeting" to start to "investigate" something that Mike McQueary WITNESSED.


You also left out the fact that Jerry Sandusky was accused of child rape in 1998.


On page 16 of the Grand Jury Report "Victim 4" testified that Sandusky told him about a secret meeting he had with Joe Paterno where Paterno told Sandusky he would not be Penn State's next head coach shortly before Sandusky retired.

QUOTE: "Victim 4 remembers Sandusky being emotionally upset after having a meeting with Joe Paterno in which Paterno told Sandusky he would not be the next head coach at Penn State and which preceded Sandusky's retirement. Sandusky told Victim 4 not to tell anyone about the meeting. That meeting occurred in May, l999." END QUOTE


On page 11 of the Grand Jury Report Schultz testified that Paterno forced Sandusky to retire.

QUOTE: "Schultz testified that Sandusky retired when Paterno felt it was time to make a coaching change."END QUOTE

So after Sandusky was investigated for child rape in 1998 Paterno forced him to retire before the 1999 football season.


Those are called FACTS. I just feel sorry for all of you brain washed zombies. You are an intellectually dishonest person.

Anyone that ignores child sex abuse is scum. That includes ESPN, McQueary, Curley, Schultz, Spanier, and JOE PATERNO. They are all SCUM.

Joe Paterno will FOREVER be remembered for turning his back on CHILD SEX ABUSE.

Marc Rubin said...

"Those are called FACTS. I just feel sorry for all of you brain washed zombies. You are an intellectually dishonest person."

You should feel sorry for yourself. You are an irrational hypocrite who didnt cite one single FACT jus your own irrational fantasies. You are so factually inaccurate about everything you said, I wont waste the time to answer but as far as your blatant hypocrisy is concerned,you complain that Paterno waited "two whole days" before reporting a vague and sanitized version of what McQueary saw. The current Pope didnt report the worst cases of child abuse in history for 40 years. When you call the Pope and the heirarchy of the Catholic Church the same names you reserve for people who actually did something be sure to let us know.

jack said...

Regarding Joe Paterno, it is an absolute disgrace what was done to that man! From all of the details that I have read, he should have NEVER been fired. He heard a story from someone else, and he reported what he heard to his superiors. I give him credit for doing that. He is a coach, not
an authority on how to conduct sex abuse investigations.

A lot of people are saying that he should have called the police. I think that is ridiculous. The person who actually saw the crime is the one to call the police and the witness said that he did contact the police -- at least according to one article that I read.

If Joe Paterno would have called the police and they would have interviewed Joe Paterno, what would he have been able to provide? He wasn't the person that saw the crime!!!! In addition, Sandusky wasn't even working under Joe Paterno at the time of the incident.


Regarding Sandusky, we live in America. I thought people are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. I am not saying that Sandusky is innocent; however, his guilt has still not been proven in court. Who knows, things could come out later that may show that the media and everyone has rushed to judgement regarding this matter. I am a teacher. You better believe that there are students who make up stories when they receive bad grades etc. The media and the public rush to judgement when accusations are made and that is why it is getting more and more difficult to attract and keep quality people working with kids. There was another coach recently that was accused of a similar crime as Sandusky in which the "victim" admitted that he made the entire story up.

PLEASE do not read this as I am saying that Sandusky is definitely innocent! There is a good chance he is guilty. I am just saying, let's not let the media make us rush to judgement before we hear all of the facts!

Unknown said...

There was an investigation and Jerry was Not guilty....in the earlier date. Can you imagine the legal case if PSU would have got rid of him when he was cleared back then. Come on .... Yes, too bad those people and agencies in1998/1999 did not do a better job for the young men and his future victims would not have suffered. This mother tried and tried and NO ONE heard her or her son for years. I would give Money to get this posted in a national newspaper.

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