Leave Paterno Out Of It
I would love to leave Jo out of it, but I cannot. If I told the local authority that you got to check this out, and next day I heard nothing back, I would want to know why and ASAP I want answers and I want to know that steps are being taken right NOW to insure it cannot happen again. The heinouse nature of the crime demands followup until the claims are proved invalide or the perp is behind bars at least and awaiting arrainment and trial.
The last thing would be to ignore it and not follow up. "Geeze, I reported it so I didn't break the law." is just flat indadequate if you have any interest at all in lives being further destroyed being stopped, PERIOD!!!
Jerry Sandusky's new jail t-shirt
Jerry Sandusky's new jail t-shirt
Leave Paterno Out Of It
Paul in PA, you are correct that many people dropped the ball and were derelict in their duty. But you are wrong about Paterno. Yes, he appeared to have met his legal obligation in reporting the alleged (at the time) offenses to his superiors. But he utterly failed in his moral obligation to see things through to a satisfactory conclusion. His inactions give strong evidence that he shared the sentiment of the college administration; as long as he's not having sex with boys on our campus, in our facilities, then all is well.
A coach on the level of Paterno can be likened to the captain of a ship. Whether it is written or unwritten, the coach is where the buck stops. What he says goes. When you enjoy that much authority, you shoulder that much responsibility, and it is impossible to discharge it. There were problems in his house, he should have done what it takes to put his house in order. If he had, he would have born no shame.
It is hard to imagine that Paterno didn't question Sandusky at some point. And if he didn't then it just means that Paterno didn't want to know, he desired to not have his image associated with something so vile. Can you imagine working closely with someone for many years, at that level of career acheivement, and then you hear of certain allegations, and you don't go to the person to get the truth? If I were in that position, and once the truth became apparent, namely that a colleague and pal of mine was running a charity in order to hunt victims, I wouldn't be able to rest easy until I had contacted authorities. And offered to assist in the investigation, including wearing a wire. Once it became apparent after several years that whoever reported what, was not sufficient because no legal action was being taken, then Paterno should have stepped in and made something happen.
But he was a great coach, right? No. He was a horrible coach, possibly the worst ever. He won games and did many other things that ostensibly would make one a coach for all seasons. But ultimately, he demonstrated utter failure of leadership. That is what he taught all of those players and fans of his. When the going gets tough, put your head in the sand.
I do feel some small measure of pity for Paterno. But not because he was fired. Because an otherwise great man fell victim to his own vanity, which blinded him to the obvious right course of action.
Stephen
Maybe You Should Wait For The Evidence
Many others had more knowledge and more authority over Sandusky.
When Sandusky was not indicted in 1998 it said to the world he was innocent. The most Joe could do was to not keep him on the coaching staff.
A local attorney who had run for a seat on the PSU Board of Trustees and did not win had this to say in today's paper:
He expects a few more big names to drop.
"I wouldn't be surprised at all if one of them is (Gov. Tom) Corbett," "I think he dropped the ball on the initial investigation when he was the attorney general and he used some political motivations and some partisan motivations to drive Joe (Paterno) out."
Paul in PA
Maybe You Should Wait For The Evidence ???
It's the idea that we should "wait for the evidence" to fall in our laps instead of going out and gathering it up that caused immeasurable pain and suffering for these young boys that were brutally raped by this worthless human.
You should really try to distance yourself and look at what is going on, instead of constantly parroting the "penn state line"... It's done you no favors in the past on this discussion and continues to make you look bad. Sorry, just my take on it.
