Friday, November 11, 2011

Penn State institutional cowardice,stupidity, phony media morality and witch hunting forced Paterno out.



The mob mentality is always the mentality that keeps justice from being done. And it's always based on ignorance. What always motivates the mob is their own perverted and sanctimonious ideas of justice and what is true which excludes the facts and due process and substitutes their own beliefs and in many instances outright lies to justify their mob behavior.

The storyline concocted by the journalistic mob, the lie they repeat over and over again to themselves and those watching or reading to justify their mob mentality is that Joe Paterno knew a 10 year old boy was being raped in the shower and did no more than report it to the AD. This of course is an out and out lie, but a lie that allows the mob to carry their torches, feel holier than thou and delude themselves into thinking they are acting nobly.

This lie was repeated so often by so many people in the media they have accepted it as fact. And the mob is so convinced they are on the side of right that they did not once stop and think that they had no proof. Thinking is not an attribute of a mob. Which is why they are always wrong. It should be noted that Linda Kelly the Pennyslvania Attorney General has singled out Tim Curley the AD to whom Paterno reported McQueary's allegations, and Gary Schultz, Penn State's senior vice president for finance as the culprits, the ones who didnt do their jobs and who shirked their responsibilities in notifying the police.  Both have been indicted. But not Paterno. No mention of Paterno by the Attorney General who does have the facts, when discussing who she holds accountable.

The trustees, displaying none of the values Penn State is supposed to stand for, nevertheless caved in to the mindless mob of  psuedo-moralistic journalistsbecause they couldnt stand the pressure. They threw Joe Paterno to the mob.

What happened to Joe Paterno was not justice. It was mob justice. When it comes to any mob it is always justice, they say, that motivates them. And the news media mob is no different. But like all  phony moralists and mobs everywhere their actions are inevitably immoral. They use morality as the excuse for their immorality.  And so their ideas of justice produce injustice. Which is what happens with a mob of people too cowardly to stand alone but get brave in a mob.

On ESPN Lou Holtz became the only one who told the truth. He said over and over again in answer to questions, " I don't have all the facts...". Does anyone in the news media have facts that Lou Holtz didn't? Any of the sanctimonious ESPN journalists or those at other media outlets calling for Paterno's head? The answer is no. But when you're a member of the mob you dont need facts.

And while not having the facts kept Holtz from joining the mob, it didn't stop anyone else at ESPN, or Sports Illustrated or Time Magazine for that matter from carrying their burning torches demanding Paterno's head in the name of morality.

I have a friend who is not into sports and knows nothing about college football. But with all the media coverage over the last few days, the television reports, the front pages stories, the stories at online media sites, catching glimpses of headlines and pictures but without actually reading the articles, based on what she was exposed to she thought Joe Paterno was the one who had molested the young boy.

I explained that what she was seeing was actually Joe Paterno being molested by the media.

As of this writing still no one knows for sure what Paterno was told and exactly what he knew, but the sanctimonious moralists pretend they did and Paterno is gone.

Paterno wanted to clear the air and will tell exactly what he was told.  But the university muzzled him, then threw him overboard to satisfy the media mob of phony moralists without anyone knowing for certain what he knew.

What is even more amazing, is that, now that the goal of the mob has been reached, after all the damage has been done, an ESPN anchor led into the a segment entitled, "Was firing Joe Paterno the wrong thing to do"? I didn't bother to watch. The segment was repeated on "Outside the Lines".

As a matter of justice there is an easy way to look at  the actions of the mindless mob of journalists and judge it by asking this question:  If Tim Curley, the AD Paterno went to with the information he gave him had called the police and Sandusky was arrested in 2002 would Paterno have been fired? Would any of this even be a story?  Would people be saying he didnt do enough? The obvious answer is no. So Paterno was fired, not for what he didn't do, but for what Tim Curley didn't do. And its worth noting  it was Tim Curley and Gary Shultz who was indicted. But it was Paterno that the press chose to attack. Because, as a friend said, Paterno had a reputation worth destroying and Tim Curley didnt.

To make the point even clearer, a reader pointed out that the boy's mother did in fact go to the DA, a man by the name of Ray Gricar, in 1998 with Sandusky's admission that he had molested her son. And what did Gricar do? He did nothing. Ray Gricar, the DA ignored the evidence of Sandusky's molestion in 1998 and yet he isn't even mentioned by the torch carriers at ESPN, Sports Illustrated and Time.Instead its the fiction that it was Paterno's inaction that allowed a predator to go free all these years.  How many journalists who called for Paterno to be fired even knows the name Ray Gricar?

And even if they did, the name Ray Gricar does not sell newspapers, get ratings or web site hits. The name Joe Paterno does. So while the mob was busy attacking Paterno for his so called moral failures for which they had no proof, they've made no mention of a DA who was told of the molestation in 1998 by the boy's mother and did nothing.  And what about the boy's own mother? She went to the DA and he did nothing and so she dropped it for 13 years? If it was me I wouldnt stop until justice was done. And what could the mother have done? How about going to the, uh, you know, the news media.  What do you think a reporter on the Daily News, the paper that splashed Paterno's picture all over the front page with the word "Shame" would have done with a mother of a young boy telling him Jerry Sandusky, defensive coordinator for Penn State for 26 years admitted to her he had molested her son and the DA has done nothing? How many people do you think he would have run over jumping over his desk running to tell his editor?

The mother could have gone to any print or TV reporter and that story would have exploded in 1998 and tremendous pressure would have been put on the DA to DO something. She could have gotten a lawyer herself to handle it.  But its Joe Paterno who had a sanitized, watered down version of what McQuery saw and reported it to his superrio who didnt do enough.

The news media went after Paterno and didnt lay a glove on the mother for only one reason -- cowardice. They were afraid of a backlash if they attacked the mother for not doing enough even though she didnt, and there may have been some sense of sympathy but if she had done the things she should have done, this would never have happened. So much for moral responsibility. And moral failures. And courageous journalism.

The refrain that Paterno knew what was going in the shower and shirked his responsibilites, is so utterly stupid and has become so pervasive that even when presented with a different set of facts that might call that into question,  anchors at ESPN sing the old refrain. An ESPN reporter Thursday morning told the anchor that Joe Paterno intends to speak and clear the air about exactly what he knew and what he was told. The anchor in wrapping up the segment said, " we are all looking forward to hearing Joe Paterno give us an explanation as to what he did not do and why".

Another member of the mob, Sean Gregory, wrote in Time Magazine:

" By failing to alert authorities that Sandusky, his long time assistant allegedly raped a 10 year old boy in the Penn State football showers Paterno simplified the board's decision indeed".

Where to start with this journalistically corrupt and factually dishonest piece of nonsense except to say any smear merchant or fascist government propaganda machine would say "well done".

First we know that Gregory himself, an alleged journalist, had no facts to support what he wrote and that all the known facts available at present contradict everything he wrote. There is no evidence that Paterno knew a 10 year old boy was being raped. None. But that didn't stop a hack journalist from saying so anyway.

The grand jury, prosecutor and attorney general, the only people presently in possession of all the known evidence essentially say Sean Gregory is a liar and that Paterno never had any such knowledge. If he had he would have been indicted and in fact Paterno himself says he was not told of the specific nature of what McQuery saw.

The second piece of Sean Gregory nonsense is that Paterno didn't report what he knew to "authorities". Everyone knows he did report it. Gregory just doesn't like the authority Paterno reported to which was the AD who, by the way, had direct access to the head of campus police.It was Tim Curry who didnt act, but its Joe Paterno in the mind of Sean Gregory, who is supposed to be everyone's daddy.

Penn State's board of trustees simply buckled in the face of a news media with the values of a Sean Gregory and took the cowards way out by throwing Joe Paterno to the mob because, as they essentially admitted, they couldn't take the pressure anymore.

One last point. If there is any question, any doubt as to the cowardice of the Penn State trustees in dismissing Paterno and that it was done soley because they buckled under pressure and that their decision had nothing to do with culpability, if there is,any question about the true injustice and immorality surrounding the decision to fire Joe Paterno it's answered by this: Mike McQuery, the assistant coach who was the eyewitness to Sandusky's child assault, the person who saw it but didn't intervene or try and stop it, the person who didn't go to the police but instead went to Paterno the next day with a sanitized and watered down version of what he saw, this person had his job until he was placed on leave when people started questioning why the trustees hadnt fired him.

If you want culpability what about the parents? This has been going on for 13 years. Thirteen years. I know one of the mothers went to the DA and the DA did nothing but if it was my kid I wouldnt stop until something was done. Id go to the newspapers if I had to. Id take Sandusky on publicly. But I wouldnt stop till something was done.  You could make a good case that the parents didnt do enough. And what about the DA who did nothing? Not only didnt he do enough, he did nothing. Then there is Tim Curley the AD and Gary Shultz two administrators at Penn State who did nothing.

Joe Paterno was a football coach. He is not their daddy. He is not CSI. He is not the DA. He is not the president of the university and he is not the Athletic Director or an administrator and he is not a cop. He was a football coach. By going to the Athletic Director with the sanitized waterdown version of events given to him by Mike McQueary which did NOT include knowing a 10 year old boy was anally raped no matter how much the media and the likes of a Sean Gregory want to lie and say he did,  Paterno did all he was supposed to, legally AND morally.There was no reason for him to believe Tim Curley would do nothing and it was not his job , especially based on what he knew, to look over Curley's shoulder.

When it comes to morality and integrity just about everyone knows that Paterno has more of it in his pinky than all the commentators and phony moralists in the media have in their whole bodies combined. Because when it comes to the immoralistic mob, what matters most, what makes them feel the biggest, is when they get the chance to think they are morally superior. And the bigger the person they can bring down the better. Which always comes out making them look small.

UPDATE: ESPN is reporting (Friday)  that a trustee has told them  Joe Paterno was fired solely because of media pressure and scrutiny which they felt was bad for the university. They voted to fire Paterno to end it. So, as postulated here,  Paterno is gone because of everyone's sins but his own.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Marc - You aren't using any common sense. Paterno ruled Happy Valley for 46 years or more. He was 100% aware of every event and occurence that in any way concerned the PSU football team. If Paterno didn't know about Sandusky's proclivities from working closely and travelling with him for 35 years, it is inconceivable that he didn't at least know about the 1998 investigation of Sandusky involving PSU police. Note that Sandusky "resigned" from the team shortly thereafter. Since he had to have known about that, when McQueary came to him in 2002, the visit should have set off a million red flags. Even if McQueary didn't give Paterno all of the details, McQueary told Paterno that saw a 58 year old in the shower with a 10 year old (and, Paterno acknowledged, McQuary was distraught). Under the circumstances, it wasn't enough for Paterno to simply tell the athletic director (who basically was Paterno's underling). If he had any shred of decency, Paterno would have followed up and made sure this issue was taken care of properly. Just think about this: Paterno acts like he owns the PSU campus all of the time, except when a 10 year old is assaulted by his old buddy - then, suddenly it's not his problem? Paterno deserved what he got. By the way, I think McQueary also deserves to lose his job.

Anonymous said...

Every point is dead on!!! And to the response, you really think Paterno had nearly as much pull the last decade or so as he did in say, 1988? They (the athletic department) wanted him gone for a while now but would never get rid of him because of the backlash they would receive from the fan base. Let the facts fully come out before crucifying the man, oops too late.

Jim said...

Great post. Spot on.

The media destroyed this man's reputation because everyone knows who he is, nothing more, nothing less.

The last line regarding ESPN should be blanketed across every media outlet for the next week but you know as well as I do that it will be passed over.

Anonymous, you are smoking crack. Joe Paterno ruled Happy Valley? Get real.

Anonymous said...

I could have sworn there were more comments this morning. Where did they go?

—gmanedit

Chris Syme said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Marc Rubin said...

"You aren't using any common sense."

the only people who havent excercised common sense are the people who went after Paterno without a single shred of proof to back up their accusations. You dont do what was done to Paterno based on nothing but a house of cards built with assumptions.

To prove my point there was no police investigation of Sandusky in 1998. The mother went directly to Ray Gricar the DA with Sandusksy's admission that he molested her son and he did nothing. So there is one example of an assumption, or a belief in a fact that informs your assumptions that turns out to be false.

the basic point is, if Paterno says they were all fooled, there is not a shred of evidence to show that isnt true. You would think after 13 years if your assumption was true something would have come along to validate it sometime in the last 13 years.

Marc Rubin said...

"I could have sworn there were more comments this morning. Where did they go?"

There are 54 comments on the previous peice on Paterno. that is probably what you saw.

Additionally the deleted comment was not deleted by me but by the person who wrote it.

TheRock said...

Marc, it is with humility that I thank you for your sanity. These last two posts have really brought me from lurker status to commenter. I am ashamed of Penn State. I am ashamed of the sports media community. I am ashamed of those that claim to be righteous for piling on Paterno. My argument has from the beginning has been that we should wait and find out all of what happened. Then, use that information to severely punish all involved. Let's be clear, if JoPa had a role in the coverup or the crime, then he should be held to account. As the facts surface, it is painfully evident that his hands are clean. I've seen the most illogical comments here and elsewhere concerning the 'godlike status' of Paterno at PSU. KEEP WRITING, MARC!!! YOU JUST SOLIDIFIED A BIG FAN!!!!

Marc Rubin said...

".. As the facts surface, it is painfully evident that his hands are clean"

Isnt it amazing that when it comes to very simple principles with which we and most others agree -- common sense, common decency and a desire for the truth -- none of that was anywhere to be found among even one person in the news media. Everything surrounding Paterno depends on one thing and one thing only -- what did McQuery tell him. And after all this, after all the damage done, after all the headlines, after all the cheap pontificating and the mob mentality of people like Jay Bailes at ESPN who stupidly said, " a 60 year old man was in the shower with a ten year old boy. That's all you need to know", after all of this, no one knows what McQuery told Paterno. And as another reader pointed out in the comments section of the previous peice,it is a practically a dead certainty that Paterno was not told by McQuery that Sandusky was having sex, any kind of sex, with a ten year old boy but more likely was told that Sandusky was acting inappropristely or some similar sanitized version of what he saw. Yet Paterno is gone because of all the fabrications of the media over what they say Paterno knew, when we and they know they know nothing of the sort and not a single fact to support it.

Anonymous said...

If someone says an adult is "behaving inappropriately" with a child does that mean it is OK to ignore the report? When someone claims he didn't know something important like this, you have to ask why not? Paterno is out because he was in a position of responsibility and it was his job to know about stuff like this, not shut his eyes, put his fingers in his ears and sing "nah, nah, nah, I can't hear you."

I've got to ask why you are always defending sex offenders.

Anonymous said...

I disagree. Back in 1998, Paterno told Sandusky he would not be the head coach of PennState. And Sandusky resigned. We can assume that he was forced to resign as he never received a coaching offer again, even though he was 55 yrs old and in his prime and on the top of his game. It does not take a genius to figure out that Paterno knew that Sandusky had this problem. This is the point that the cover up began. When subsequent allegations surfaced, they were swept under the rug to protect the cover up and the school and the football program. It seemed justified as we can see what a bombshell it is ...and not just the coverup. Paterno allowed this creep to roam the halls of PennState, the Second Mile and even did recruiting High School players as early as this year. State College PA was a company town. Paterno owned the town. He was the Head coach, the hero and was for ahile the Athletic Director, too. No one was his boss. He should have been fired. The real mistake was Paterno not tendering his resignation immediatly. All had to be fired or forced out to ameliorate the situation. JoPa needed to go. The President Spanier too. And I am sure after the season, the rest will be gone and a new head coach will be appointed with new coaches.

Marc Rubin said...

"If someone says an adult is "behaving inappropriately" with a child does that mean it is OK to ignore the report?"

Pennsylvania state law requires that someone told of potential child abuse report it to his "immediate superior". He did.He didnt ignore the report Its you who are ignoring the facts. You like many people, most of whom are in the press still do not have a clue as to what Paterno was told. You say "act inappropriately". How do you know that? You dont. Youre musing. And to expect Paterno to have done more than the boy's own mother and the District Attorney who actually had the specifics of what happened and have a zillion times more repsonsibility that Paterno, especially when Paterno didnt have ANY details is ludicrous beyond words.

Marc Rubin said...

:..I've got to ask why you are always defending sex offenders."

This comment is what validates you a not only a moron but a lying moron. Its too bad you are too much of a low life coward to put your name to this but then I can understand why dishonest slime like you wants to remain anonymous. I wont even bother asking you to post the proof of your remark since we both know you cant. I guess the best question is what are you hiding in your own closet that makes you so ready to attack someone and call them a sex offender when you dont have proof? Your own guilt?

Marc Rubin said...

"..I've got to ask why you are always defending sex offenders."

By the way, calling Joe Paterno a sex offender is all that needs to be known about the validity of your comment, it's level of intelligence, and probably your own psychological problems.

Anonymous said...

let me begin by saying, i completely agree with everything tom has stated. please allow me to add that, part of the reason that Ray Gricar was unable to prosecute, is because he left his home one day and was never seen again. the only trace of Gricar was his laptop, with the hard drive completely destroyed.

Anonymous said...

So, you have never heard of conspiracy or accessory (before or after the fact) in a crime? You think as long as he didn't actually do the deed he has no responsibility? Do you truly not care about the reporting and child protection laws he broke?

What I can't figure out is why you haven't been defending Herman Cain.

Calling me names is a pretty poor defense.

Marc Rubin said...

"So, you have never heard of conspiracy or accessory (before or after the fact) in a crime? You think as long as he didn't actually do the deed he has no responsibility? Do you truly not care about the reporting and child protection laws he broke?"

Every single word of this is factually untrue, you are totally oblivious to the facts and this is nothing more than a product of your own fantasies and you are exibit A of the kind of blind mob mentality who has no facts that were part of Paterno's being railroaded. You havent a clue as to what the child protection laws are, if he had broken them he would have been indicted so obviously the grand jury and DA have decided you dont know what youre talking about and Paterno doesnt have 1/1000th of the responsibility the boys mother had to pursue this and when the DA declined to indict in 1998 she dropped it. But you have nothing to say about the mother but a lot to say and invent about Paterno and neither you nor anyone else still has a clue as to what Paterno was actually told.

I wasnt calling you names. I was just accurately characterizing the true nature of your comments, your mob mentality youre lack of proof to back up anything you say, and your dislike for defending innocent people falsely accused because it rains on your parade.

tyadbojo@aol.com said...

Ray Gricar disappeared 5 years after the 1998 report. His brother who had committed suicide earlier at the same river where his car was found.Depression ran in the family and I would get rid of my harddrive as well if my intention was not to be on this earth anymore. Please get the facts straight.

Marc Rubin said...

"Ray Gricar disappeared 5 years after the 1998 report. His brother who had committed suicide earlier at the same river where his car was found.Depression ran in the family and I would get rid of my harddrive as well if my intention was not to be on this earth anymore. Please get the facts straight."

I didnt get any facts wrong so there is nothing to get straight. You just added some facts that are little known and while may be true, in the end have little or nothing to do with why Gricar didnt prosecute Sandusky (for all we know for good reason if there was a lack of evidence at the time) and certainly nothing to do with the media's rank, gross and egregious dishonesty and falsehoods regarding Paterno.

Anonymous said...

EXACTLY!! I am repeating this... Marc - You aren't using any common sense. Paterno ruled Happy Valley for 46 years or more. He was 100% aware of every event and occurence that in any way concerned the PSU football team. If Paterno didn't know about Sandusky's proclivities from working closely and travelling with him for 35 years, it is inconceivable that he didn't at least know about the 1998 investigation of Sandusky involving PSU police. Note that Sandusky "resigned" from the team shortly thereafter. Since he had to have known about that, when McQueary came to him in 2002, the visit should have set off a million red flags. Even if McQueary didn't give Paterno all of the details, McQueary told Paterno that saw a 58 year old in the shower with a 10 year old (and, Paterno acknowledged, McQuary was distraught). Under the circumstances, it wasn't enough for Paterno to simply tell the athletic director (who basically was Paterno's underling). If he had any shred of decency, Paterno would have followed up and made sure this issue was taken care of properly. Just think about this: Paterno acts like he owns the PSU campus all of the time, except when a 10 year old is assaulted by his old buddy - then, suddenly it's not his problem? Paterno deserved what he got. By the way, I think McQueary also deserves to lose his job.