Joe Paterno Dead at Age 85

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BOTR said:
Paterno himself said he wished he had done more. Rest in peace, but more could have been done. We are talking about children being molested. There really is no worse than this.
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Hindsight is always 20/20...

My thoughts (copied from the other thread):

lp85253 said:
what clear arguement are you reffering to
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I can't believe I'm getting sucked into this...

Speaking about Joe Pa only:

1-He heard (key word here: HEARD, what the media and justice systems would say is "alleged" that means not personally witnessed or proven by documented fact) about misconduct by one of his coaches.
2-He took some time to consider this (9 days, from earlier in this thread as I haven't followed every detail). OK, maybe this was a bad decision, but consider maybe if it had been a false rumor. Innocent lives have been ruined by much lesser rumors in this country. So if I were in the same shoes considering the fate of a close colleague who I had known for years, I probably would have paused too. And I think anyone who can be honest with themselves and the world about their own humanity would agree.
3-He reports what he's heard (there's that word again) to the police and the school's administration. That's the appropriate action. PERIOD.

lp85253 said:
SO AM I HOW DOES ANYONE ALLOW PEOPLE TO CONTINUALLY DEFEND ILLEGAL AND ANTI- SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
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No one here is saying that child abuse is ok; so what illegal/anti-social behavior?

Consider the society which you are proposing with this remark: It would be illegal to HEAR a rumor about someone AND report it to the authorities, but not PERSONALLY bring justice down on that person... You are requiring by law that everyone be a vigilante, it would be anarchy... We have our justice system today to prevent just that.

Could Joe Pa done more? Maybe... Even probably, given the figurative power of his position. But should he have, could he even have legally? Assuming its true that all he "knew" was hearsay, I don't think so.

Why is he the media's target and not the school's administration or the McQ-guy, cause Joe Pa is a household name and they are not. So the juiciest story comes from taking down the public figure.


Now if it comes out (by admission or otherwise documented fact) that Joe Pa knew (not heard of, but actually KNEW) of Sandusky's horrible, heinous acts of abuse towards children and covered it up or in anyway promoted/allowed it to continue; then I will condemn him. But not before. And that's the argument I think a lot of people here are making.

Official disclaimer: I have not followed closely every detail of this case, I've just heard the highlights. And I have NO connection with Penn State. I grew up in South Jersey and went to college at the US Coast Guard Academy. I don't even like college football and could give a lesser poop about the success of any team or coach. I only think that it was morally wrong for the media to pursue a campaign against a man who was dealing with HEARSAY and took what appears to be the correct actions in light of it.
 
All in All I just hope that Penn State recovers from this bad deal.

We all have to remember that it is individuals that worked at Penn State that have done this, not the University itself. Unfortunately the academics, and atheletics as well as the Faculties and Students will suffer for this as well.

Condolences to the victims, and their families as well. As well as for Joe Pa and his family.
 
krichardson said:
Phillydog I was wondering what your thoughts on this whole thing was, now here's a question...If Joe Paterno reported the child molester to his superiors why didn't they fire sandusky instead of waiting all this time to scapegoat Paterno?
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Well, I assume that Paterno's superiors were trying to cover it up and protect the Penn State Football brand, which is a multi-million dollar industry, in itself. We all know that they were wrong, and they will be dealt with. The courts will handle them. The problem I have with this scandal is that I don't understand why Paterno never went to Sandusky and discussed this matter. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I have not read any accounts of Paterno and Sandusky discussing what McQuery told Paterno. I place myself in Paterno's shoes. If I were Paterno, immediately upon having been told about the rape, by McQuery, I would've gone to Sandusky and discussed it. I would not have gone to my superiors, without talking to Sandusky first. After talking to Sandusky, I would've made a decision as to how to proceed. I find it very odd that Paterno never went to Sandusky. He went straight to his bosses. As head coach, I would've felt that I owed my defensive coordinator a chance to defend himself. Perhaps, McQuery was lying. How would I know, without talking to Sandusky? I've concluded that Paterno did not want to deal with the matter. I also feel that an older man may have made a bad decision, one that he might not have made, if he were 10 year younger. Let's face it, JoePa had become more of a figure head. He was no longer the hands-on coach that he was. I think that he slipped and made a blunder. A few weeks before his death, Joe Paterno contacted a reporter at the Washington Post. He wanted to tell his side of the story. She mentioned that Paterno told her that he didn't really understand the notion of man-on-man rape. Basically, Paterno acknowledged that he was out of touch. There is some good to this matter. We know that this is a lesson on how to NOT handle such a scandal. ALL coaches -- from neighborhood youth leagues to high school and up to the collegiate level, will probably not take Paterno's approach. So, in that sense, Paterno's termination was not in vain.
 
@Phillydog good post.
 
I secound it good post phillydog1958. My father is 88 and he understands the notion of man on man rape. So I don't know why Paterno would not get it. But maybe he was being truthful of his ignorance on the subject. Well if he did cover anything up his final judgement will come from a higher power now.
 
Allan01230 said:
I secound it good post phillydog1958. My father is 88 and he understands the notion of man on man rape. So I don't know why Paterno would not get it. But maybe he was being truthful of his ignorance on the subject. Well if he did cover anything up his final judgement will come from a higher power now.
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I agree Allan . . . I think most "80 somethings" would know what that was. I really think he was slipping a bit and if it was a coverup, the man upstairs knows all. Thanks.
 
Sucks that he died, but I'm glad they finally got rid of him as a head coach. He was long overdue to be gone...should have quit honorably a LONG time ago, but he was too stubborn. 400 wins but only 2 national championships? Not good enough to keep going. I won't taint his death with a bad story of him right now unless I'm asked to elaborate, but let's just say that he wasn't the man that everybody acted like he was. I think he should have done more but I'm not really in a place to judge. I'm not going to say any more bad about him right now due to timing. R.I.P. As a PSU fan and PA native, I even got rid of my signature about Paterno out of honor of the dead.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcwZ6Mt8KC4
 
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