And I hate that he had to write this, but damn, he pretty much paints the picture.

But here's what I don't get. Maybe I'll never get it.

On the day Joe found out about this, if he was a craven little shit, he could have told Sandusky. "Here's a generous severance package, not get your ass out of Pennsylvania and never come back or I'll bring the Wrath of God down on you." Why, WHY did he simply go, "oh well" and let this go on? Why let a ticking time bomb remain on your staff and close to your program when any reasonably sane person would have known that it would blow up one day.

I'm not asking for a Profile in Courage here. I'm just wondering why there was no attempt at self-preservation.

Paterno was not a stupid man. Dump Sandusky, sever all ties with him and take what hit would come with it. Paterno would have (1) acted responsibly in so doing and (2) looked like the good guy committed to upholding the things he preached.

Paterno apparently believed his own hype - that he and the football program at PSU were bigger than the school, the sport, than everything and that this took him beyond accountabilty. The textbook definition of hubris.

Paterno and Penn State were invested in teh Second Mile. http://www.thedaily.com/page/2011/12/05/120511-news-paterno-business-1-5/

As attorney general, he investigated Sandusky for three years without making an arrest, all while taking contributions to his gubernatorial campaign from Sandusky's Second Mile.

In addition, he could have let Gov. Rendell know that he shouldn't put the wheels in motion for multi-million Second Mile funding, which Corbett finally put on hold after he, himself, had been in office several months.

Corbett has every excuse in the book for this corruption.

And now, as governor, he's a member of Penn State's Board of Trustees. It all stinks to high heaven.

He needs to be recalled.

"that he and the football program at PSU were bigger than the school, the sport, than everything and that this took him beyond accountabilty. The textbook definition of hubris."

Not hard at all for me to understand why & how it happened...Joe Paterno knew he was KING & thought he could simply keep it a secret. Then when he was caught or at least on the verge of being truly caught he went & took the easy way out...He died.

....had he just told Sandusky to get off the campus, the scandal (had Sandusky been eventually outed in other ways) would have been a blemish, but nothing like this. The shower incident was the straw.

My feeling about Paterno has always been he's a guy so wrapped up in one thing, he just doesn't care about much else. There's a great story about Jerry Tarkanian, the UNLV basketball coach....when the Challenger exploded in 1986, one of his assistants ran into Jerry's office, and said "Did you hear, coach? The shuttle blew up!"....and Tark looks at him and responded "What happened to the athletic van?"....

Even if he never alerted the authorities and just fired the guy... it may have not been the right thing to do, but it would have been 'more right' than just letting the guy rape his way through all those kids under his protection.

It is very easy to understand if you have ever been anywhere near a major University football program...They run the universities! So, Paterno was so use to being KING he figured why bring all the bad press on his divine football program when he could simply hide it & act like it never happened over & over again!

Sandusky himself wasn't worth much of anything to Penn State. If they put out a "Help Wanted" sign in Happy Valley, they'd have no shortage of coaches from other programs who would want to be in Sandusky's shoes.

As another poster below mentioned, maybe Sandusky had the goods on the program. But if he did, why didn't it come out in his trial?

Maybe Sandusky's silence was bought by leaving his wife out of it. IMO she had to have known.

Yeah, uh-huh, tha's right.

I hate her as much as I hate him. Those kids will never be whole, thanks to his depravity and her complicity.

charges later. But I feel that he is protecting her by keeping quiet.

Sandusky knew too much, or participated in the shenanigans of how Paterno ran his athletic department. They say he would do anything to win.

Or maybe Paterno was a sexual pervert himself.

Or maybe there was/is someone(s) very powerful in Pennsylvania that was pulling on Paterno's strings.

We may never know how deep this goes. But your question is an excellent one, & the answer may probably be a very frightening one.

It wouldn't have been the "right" thing to do, but considering the damage this caused, it certainly would have been the path of least resistance. And as I replied elsewhere, Sandusky was an Assistant Coach. He could have been replaced by any one of a dozen highly-qualified and experienced coaches. You know, those coaches who DON'T molest little boys.

And the Catholic Church is the right analogy here. How is it that Paterno didn't see this happening and say, "I've got to get rid of this guy before his shit gets on me."

And a really disturbing one at that.

She was the Dean of Student Affairs in charge of student discipline at PU and she crossed Joe.

Here's her story from July 15, 2012.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/15/us/triponey-paterno-penn-state/index.html

Here's a quote:

"I am very troubled by the manipulative, disrespectful, uncivil and abusive behavior of our football coach," she wrote. "It is quite shocking what this man -- who is idolized by people everywhere -- is teaching our students."

Thanks for sharing that. And it's good to see that Tripony landed on her feet elsewhere. Penn State would probably like to have her back now!

Should be an OP... I probably missed it.

Joe Paterno was so use to speaking & everyone around him did what he said even the school...Basically he was KING! So, he figured why bring bad press on him, his team & the school by going to the police when he could easily cover it up.

To me it is not hard at all to see what happened...Football & reputation was the most important thing to these disgusting people.

demanding a passing grade for a football player.

that JoePa threatened more than one professor to get one of his guys to pass.

The coaches would consult with the teachers to find out who was in academic trouble- those student athletes would be tutored- if that failed they were suspended from the team.

Ironically many football players carried A and B averages and were state champions 5 in 6 years.

We were a football factory (private school). Lots of guys got D1 scholarships and nobody ever was DQ'd for academic reasons. If they could play at the level, they would get the scholarship. There was never a doubt they had the grades.

If one was in Honors (like me), we had to maintain a 4.0 (out of 5) on a weekly basis to be eligible to play. Those outside of the honors program needed a 3.0 out of 4. I don't remember one guy ever having to sit the bench.

And, also let me know that half the teachers were carmalite brothers or priests. So, they weren't going to be fired no matter what.

The school ran the program, not the other way around.
GAC

Basilians. They wanted to win academically and athletically especially against the Jesuits.

I went to a school with Division I basketball (Providence College. Rick Pitino, Ernie DiGregorio, etc) and the guys on the team were treated like royalty. They ate meals apart from us "commoners", were given extravagant amounts of extra time to do assignments, and although I can't prove it I have a sneaking suspicion that a few of the ones I was in class with got floated with C- grades since they were all dumb as posts.

one of my failing students came to me to discuss what could be done to bring his grade up to a C . My teaching schedule included 2 classes of the level that the student was failing. It just so happened that the student's study period was the same time as the other class. From November until the end of the school year he attended both classes every day. His participation in class and test grades improved enough to get him his C, but when it came time to commit to where he would play football, he chose another school. Today I understand that he's a successful businessman.

For both football and basketball players. School is out at 1:16 but practice doesn't start until 3, so the athletes are required to spend at least one hour in the library. Then we try and send at least one teacher from the major departments every day to help the kids (and coaches). It works really well.

This type of activity is real. Corruption, plain and simple.

Last edited Tue Jul 24, 2012, 05:47 PM - Edit history (1)

She would get calls from from sports coaches pressuring her to pass their players. She wouldn't give in to their threats. But I imagine that it would have been a lot tougher for her at a place like Penn State.

as an alum of Penn and as a former faculty member, believe me, they ain't the same, no way no how.

and spot on.

my fav line : "I tweeted that, yes, Paterno should be fired, but that he was, overall, "a good and decent man." I was wrong. Good and decent men don't do what Paterno did. Good and decent men protect kids, not rapists. And to think Paterno comes from "father" in Italian. "

sP

When character mattered most, those who had the power to stop these heinous crimes did more than nothing: they lied and covered it up for their own personal gain, leaving the destroyed lives of children in their greedy wake. Unforgivable.

Who are reacting to the sanctions by saying, "The sanctions announced today by the NCAA defame the legacy and contributions of a great coach and educator without any input from our family or those who knew him best. ...This is not a fair or thoughtful action; it is a panicked response to the public's understandable revulsion at what Sandusky did."

Blaming Sandusky, not accepting Paterno's role in the business, and pissed because they were given no input into the decision regarding sanctions. The sanctions did not defame Paterno, his own actions defamed him, and they degrade his legacy further with their arrogance.

and looking worse in each "statement" they release...

If YOU family members "knew him best," you're just as much scum as he is. For you knew him, and what he was hiding.

Joe Paterno memorabilia, books, endorsements... even after his death that could have brought a million or two a year to the family. Now, no legacy = no money. Still not thinking of the kids, they're thinking of their own selfish asses.

The article nails it about the Slime Ball Paterno.

I was shocked... in a big way.. with the idol worship of Paterno
and the elevation of Penn State above all things.
And when I questioned... I was vilified by those who saw my
view as sacrosanct. How dare I question!

If you are religious, you would call their view 'idolatry,'
but too many saw Paterno/Penn State football as their faith.
It was the reason for life; everything revolved around Penn State.

But... as I posted on FB today... Rome fell, burned, and all that's
left is the memory. And Penn State, the culture/the system/the empire,
Like Rome, was rotten to the core.

You can't see it if you're on the inside..
but to an outsider... it was obvious.

Sorry guys...

Maybe we need to step back, and use this same lens to
approach our political system...

.... To elevate something unworthy to religious status.

I have said all my life that, for a free country, you can't top America for group-think and herd mentality.

We seem to use our freedoms merely to shop for which established group we will commit to, to the exclusion of our own selves.

Thank you. You are absolutely right.

..but I would rather be wrong.."..

But I knew even as a child that the weird, cultural worship of sports and celebrity was as intense with a lot of people as religion.

This scandal is a microcosm of our dysfunctional society.

That which is truly insignificant - be it football "glory" or amassing huge fortunes are any cost or avoiding taxation as a fundamental duty (instead of paying them as civic duty) - is elevated, nay, deified, to the status of the ideal. Meanwhile, things which are truly consequential - things like the safety of children, the general health of the population and the ecosystems that support it, the future of the nation - these things are relegated to dirty back room deals, where those who hold sway do so because of ruthless disregard for decency, morality or true humanity.

Paterno is only one of hundreds - if not thousands - of delusional, malevolent sawed-off dictators. People in total command of a very small part of the wider world; but totally incapable of feeling anything for anyone that does not pay them tribute or make their make-believe world and fiefdom "stronger". This is the same thinking and diseased minds that are denying climate change - even as the Midwest broils in record heat and record crop failures; which are going to make this winter a real shock to everyone who likes to, you know, eat. It is the same system of beliefs that allow the banksters to still be running free and actually have increased their power while untold millions lost jobs, homes, careers and lives in the aftermath of their malfeasance.

There is no excuse.
There is no reason.
There is only the fact that we are complicit in this mess.
All of us...

We watch and attend sporting events in record numbers - drawing the $ and influence of advertisers, eager to subliminally tell us how our lives are broken but that THEY have the miracle product that can make it all better...
We use cars and electricity like children playing with a loaded gun - totally disregarding the lethality of what we have in hand.
We spend money at companies that do not share our values and in turn use that same money to work AGAINST our self-interests and the interests of society.
We fall under the sway of evil men - men who dress themselves in the veneer of legitimacy with our blessing as we call them "reverend", "your honor", "Monsignor", "father" - and then emotionally distance ourselves from their acts like good little Nazis, toeing the party line and not rocking the boat, even when the boat must be capsized to save some of its passengers.

We are fools living on borrowed time and no one is planning ANYTHING to stop it.

We recoil in mock horror to Aurora, CO shootings or child rape at a football school back East...but after the headlines fade and the rawness of the events wears thin, we go right back to sleep. Anesthetized with our I-Phones and Twitter accounts. Sharing meaningless "likes" and "dislikes" as if the entirety of existence has become some bizarre American Idol contest.

We see our elections stolen and compromised (2000. 2004. 2010.), we watch our ecosystems collapse and hand out more "externalities" to the "job creators" like battered wives blaming themselves for the evil of their oppressor's blows.

I apologize here and now to the future generations, born into this mess of a planet and the ashes of civilization.
I should have done more.
I should have fought harder.
I should have tried again to make people see, to help them understand...

But I am too damn tired to go on.
I am too weary of having facts disputed as opinion and opinion elevated to gospel...
I am too weary of being told and 1+1+1 = 2, of living in a literal room 101...
I am too weary of watching money solve all the woes of some and cause all the woes of many...
I am too weary of witnessing Americans cowering in fear of phantom enemies and sacrificing liberty for "security"...
I am too weary of seeing false icons built up and torn down and rebuilt in a new area under the exact same blueprints...
I am too weary of knowing that something is rotting before our very eyes and being one of a few who see it and are alarmed...
I am too weary of believing in someone's words, only to be betrayed by his actions and triangulations...
I am too weary of understanding that the people who "get ahead" in business are cutting corners, cutting jobs, cutting the throats of their fellow man for a 10% raise and a corner office...

In the end, which we all must face alone, I will die in despair knowing that I leave behind my family and children to face a horrible future of strife and fighting, of starvation and privation, of struggle and loss. It breaks my heart on an hourly basis, and then the "news" on TV crushes my very soul as the pundits scream past each other and the message floats away in the aether like so many lost chances to save ourselves.

Penn State's atrocities are just a microcosm, a glimpse into the torn, tattered and beaten soul of a nation. We punish them now, but we fail to realize the real monsters are not just those who covered up child rape and abuse for more than a decade - the real monsters are US, accepting the actions of the powerful and the influence of a concept like money to destroy life itself. That is the real tragedy.

Not the cheeriest thing I ever read, but right on from my point of view.

To whatever degree you're able, keep spreading this narrative. It's to your credit that you see through the B.S. There are a lot of us who are disillusioned with the emptiness of the dominant paradigm. And we'll have plenty of company as things continue to deteriorate. Hope is faint but there is momentum out there for building a more meaningful existence than that which you so painstakingly describe.

...that you hit the nail on the head.

...and I'm as depressed about it as I always am.

Human nature hasn't changed a whit in all of recorded history. Unless we get into some serious genetic modifications in the near future, humans will continue to be a mix of a force for good alongside a force for sheer evil. That mix is human. I think it sucks, but I can't find a single extended example of humans in mass rising up to their better selves - and staying there for extended periods of time. Did I miss reading about some magical time when humans didn't have the capabilities to act badly and a portion of them act out in that way, at times on a daily basis?

Given all that I've read of human history, I would "despair" far more if I'd been born anywhere before when I was born. Yes, bad things happen. No, I don't believe this is the only time in recorded history that bad things have happened. But if you think that how we live today is something to die in despair over, I would urge you to both read more history and then to come to a place in your mind where you can still enjoy and cherish those things that are right there in front of you that are precious. And of course if you feel so inclined at some point, to continue to find ways push back and fight any bad things that are either in your local area that need eradication or any nationally/globally that catch your attention. Without impairing your peace of mind.

IOW, the old saying applies: change what you can, accept what you can't change - and quit wasting precious days that you have with your children because you miss the good due to a narrow focus on only the bad. It sure is a hard line to walk, but there is a modicum of happiness available to those who try to overcome their despair. You would do more for the world, or at least the part you can control (ie, your own immediate neighborhood and family/friends/self) if you ditched the "weariness/I didn't do enough despair thing. I know that from personal experience decades ago. Despair is neither an action plan nor a game changer.

P.S. There is absolutely no need to ever turn on a tv or listen to "pundits" who scream - they have nothing of value to add and are merely hawking products for those who hire them. Pay no attention - they do not reflect the real issues, of which there are plenty to devote one's time to, if one wishes.

children and so on...

Once upon a time, a few saw what what coming and tried in a rather piteous attempt to prevent it, only to be mocked and ridiculed. Now we helplessly stand by and watch those very same mockers wreak havoc upon our country.

What did that professor know then about Paterno?

....he probably just bullied a lot of people into letting his players do whatever the fuck they wanted. Typical stuff from a guy who had been sainted.

Although, someone had to have gotten a whiff of what Sandusky was up to by then.

When a person is either so monumentally insecure about himself or so bloated with ego, he can't criticize or allow others to criticize anyone around him.

It's like Nixon saying that if the president does it, it can't be illegal. If it's a friend or colleague of JoePa, they cannot do anything wrong. Virtue by association. For JoePa to bring Sandusky's sins to light would -- in JoePa's mind -- reflect that sin onto himself. I would guess that JoePa's sense of self was so inflated that he was in total denial. He believed nothing and no one was more important than him and his football team. No children, no morals, no nothing.

It's foolish to expect people like that to think the way we do. Of course, it's more logical to protect a legacy than protect a slime bucket. But JoePa may very well have felt he and his program and his legacy were so important, so perfect, that no sin, no crime was too great to be washed clean by the blessing of JoePa and PSU football.

When his legacy is so completely tarnished that his family voluntarily gives back some of the millions they are still enjoying as a result of his sins, then I will consider the healing to begin.

Reilly is a respected sports writer who isn't prone to flights of fancy. I have followed him for years.
If 'nonsense' is your only contribution, I suggest you go back under the bridge from whence you came.

(on edit) Yours.. not the "nonsense"one

If you agree with what Paterno did, helping enable a pedophile, you just might want to reevaluate you moral and ethical standards.

What Sandusky did - he committed one of the most horrific crimes known to man. He not only abused young kids repeatedly over several decades - he also gamed the system and abused his position at Penn State and with his Second Mile charity to find even more victims. And when Paterno and the Penn State board of trustees knew about it - they covered it up to protect their precious legacy. What really bothers me about this whole thing is that Paterno was elevated to such god-like status that there's so many Penn State fans who are in complete denial about this whole thing.

They don't believe the report on Joe's inaction. They think the NCAA actions were 'defaming' Paterno's legacy.

The family has failed to realize that Paterno's legacy from here on out is that he covered up for a child rapist.

VERY powerful.

I like the passage in the OP link that follows the "Jealous egghead, I figured." The next sentence starts out "what an idiot I was." Bull's eye!

Last edited Tue Jul 24, 2012, 01:27 PM - Edit history (1)

I've done advocacy for survivors of relationship violence for better than thirty years now, so I've been able to draw strength from my childhood traumas to help others. (Sadly, I can not look to my bio-family for the love and support I'm getting from my 'family of choice.')

One can truly heal but it does take a fundamental determination to face it ALL head on and relentlessly. There is no vestige of shame in me over what happened now, though there used to be, and that's why I always try to help other victims. I think of myself as born again into a totally new person. A very strong and self-assured and self-respecting person.

I agree that survivors can pursue recovery, and many of us achieve enough personal growth to put the worst of this trauma behind us.

However, the memories (those we can remember) never leave us. In my own recovery--and advocacy work--I've discovered that random events can unexpectedly trigger old feelings of shame and pain. Over time, those triggers become opportunities for further recovery.

I have done advocacy for countless survivors over the past 30+ years. An empowering recovery experience is acknowledging our own courage and resourcefulness. Often, knowing we were strong enough to survive gives us enormous strength to recover.

I am glad you are not ashamed or embarrassed. I hope you resist imposing your personal recovery experiences on others. Telling 'those poor kids' that they "CAN recover, and have happy lives" could be construed as patronizing.

I cannot imagine what I would do if someone told me that, or even told someone that in my hearing.
For someone to trivialize the pain with fortune cookie wisdom burns me up.
I know I shouldn't get angry with someone just trying to help (however clumsily that statement comes out as)
but,man,just READING that got me so riled I'm not communicating my anger and disdain well at all.
In my travels dragging these bags, I look for anything that might help with the feelings brought on by things like these stories, or that statement.

I have 2 sons now and am so fiercely protective of them that, at times, I need to step back and ask myself if by trying to protect them am I keeping them from some part of growing up that they need?

Looking this over I still haven't been able to say what is on my mind.
Talk about clumsy communication, huh?
I just wouldn't wish the lifetime of pain that I still deal with on anyone.
And I tear up to think how this kids will deal with what that monster, and all his enablers, have done to them.

Its been a very bumpy ride for me, trying to live a life with all this weight on my head.

Anyhow, sorry for the book, I just couldn't believe that is what people would say about this sort of horror.

.....boys that we know of. I think what came out in the trial is the tip of the iceberg. The other victims, for whatever reasons, have decided to not go public.

I really worry about the known victims. Now That PU and Joe Pa have had their "punishment" I wonder how the victims are being treated by the town.

Actually, my abuser was idolized by most of my family, and some of my family members continue to blame me for my abuser's behavior. Clearly, I have recovered enough to talk freely about this childhood trauma, but I have learned not to mention it to those of my family who think I 'seduced' him or 'must have done or said something to make him do that.'

Sometimes he writes great columns and then he writes some that aren't my cup of tea. I always stop to see what he has done though.

My favorite sportswriter is Frank DeFord. He is magic to me.

Frank is da man!

Compared to Jimmy Johnson, Dennis Ericson, Ron Meyer, Jackie Sherrill, and some others, he seemed to have a good grip on things. How sad that he turned out to be a disgrace.

Allowing the players to transfer isn't doing them a favor. What school is going to drop a player to pick up a Penn State player? Having been a student at PSU in the 60's, I knew many players and roomed with two separate guys at different times off campus. The football system was geared towards academics. These guys were under watch all the time, didn't get paid and received no favors except for an occasional coffee and doughnut. Most got better than average grades. There should have been a way to avoid punishing these guys.

How many other dastardly deeds have other Coaches done in the name of saving face when it comes to all Powerful Football? We lionize these coaches, pay them millions of dollars, more than any of the college professors or the university presidents ... because they generate the cash into the university. It's always about the money .. ego and status second. It says something when a university is known only for their power house football team, and not achievements in research and education. Football coaches and their teams are treated as if they were royalty. Maybe if we had free higher education, we wouldn't need these stupid football organizations. Too idealistic for you?

It's clear that these are the same stories: The people who first get an inkling are the closest to the star, and don't think anyone will believe them. Plus, if they're that close to a star, they stand to lose everything.

Before you know it, more people get wind of it, and now it's established routine behavior.The second group knows the first group is already covering up, so they see that as peer pressure not to blow the whistle.

And on it goes. People start to deliberately protect the abuser because it gives them power in an organization. The enablers become very important to the star, so they have everything to lose.

It's a classic case of bad group behavior.

Add that to the fact that we-the fans- really don't want to hear it. Even when we do hear it, we minimize, rationalize, delay, excuse. "Well, Michael was abused, too. "

We love our saints. It's a shared loss when they fall from grace.

When I bring up Michael, I get more people who assert Michael's innocence than guilt.

These two industries, music and sports, garner lots of power over the masses.

Paradoxically, another legend, Elton John, is leading the way in aids relief and is starting to organize fund raisers. He's married a man is adopting a baby. He gets some coverage, but not as much as if he was accused of something nefarious.

We feed the press with our own sinister appetites.

that was. (Unless he gave it all to charity, in which case, please forgive my ignorance.)

We, however, must not forget some of the other players in this hideous cover-up....and that would include Tom Corbett, Governor of Pennsylvania, who chose to look the other way when he was Attorney General.

DO NOT FORGET the other people who enabled Jerry Sandusky.

That is an incredible piece of writing.

My cousin goes there - he knows he has no connection to the
scandal, but they all have to wear the shame. Not sure how the
school or the students are going to heal - and certainly the victims
are the worst hurt.
The only good thing - you know the abuse is now STOPPED.

Finally.

so why didn't he look into the professor's tip? What sort of reporter is this to dismiss an angle before investigating the allegation?

It's what we think we know that isn't so..

This looks like a case of the reporter thought he knew what Joe Pa really was..