Eight victims identified! What in the hell was going on? This has exactly the same smell as the Catholic Church's shielding of predatory priests. The people who knew about it have no excuse for not reporting these terrible acts to law enforcement. I don't know how Joe Paterno can avoid the perception of some level of complicity. We'll see as the story continues to unfold.
Sid they are all going to claim that the GA who saw the incident didn't tell them it was a "sexual" thing or they would have acted differently.
It looks you may be right, Terry. Here is a press release issued by Paterno: The GJ report states that McQ told Paterno about "what he had seen". The report states that McQ witnessed S having anal sex with a 10 year old boy. Paterno's press release denies that McQ told him that but only that McQ was distraught over seeing "inappropriate" behavior. Did anyone report this to the police?
I understand the claims and am not surprised by Paterno's statement above. However, imagine Paterno as the pastor of the football church which is part of the diocese of PSU. His statement has the same tone as the many past statements of Catholic clergy caught up in that historic scandal. The clergy at all levels was so pre-occupied with covering their butts, no one advocated for the victims. In the case of PSU, all I can think of are victims 1 through 8. Who spoke for them? No one. I think of the kid who spotted the GA looking at him in the middle of the assault then watched the GA disappear. I'm sorry. Paterno may be vindicated, but as far as I'm concerned he had a part in the cover-up, as did the the two administrators mentioned in the grand jury report whose testimony was characterized as not credible. How do you hear what the GA told Paterno - even if the description was not as vivid as it was in the GA's grand jury testimony - and not be moved to do more than just wait a day then talk to your AD? I don't buy it. I understand the claims being made by Paterno and others, because before the legal process takes its course, there will be a "trial" in the court of public opinion. I'm guessing that Jopa will skate. We'll see. In my mind I'm going easy on the GA because he tried to do something, but I still fault him for not going to the police when it was obvious that no one in the PSU family was going to do anything. If he saw what he testified to in the grand jury report, he had to know that it was a crime.
I agree with your analogy Sid, I just don't understand how the GA could have walked away from that kid, why didn't he go into the showers and stop it? Of course we'll probably never know, just like we'll never know the full truth of who really knew what and when in the church scandals.
I read much of the report. Awful. Maybe it's just my nature, but doesn't it seem like more than coincidence that this finally is reported in the media the week AFTER Jopa breaks Robinson's record?
Sid, totally agree with your well written comments. But, while JoePa will not face any criminal charges, I do not think he will skate on this. Both the PSU administration and he are going to flayed by the media and, I suspect, by PSU alumni and the student for the reasons expressed in your post. None of us know all of the facts or how this will play out. But, if it is shown that PSU was aware of S's pedophile behavior, but took actions designed only to preserve their then national reputation of having a sports program deemed the template for integrity, and had the ability but failed to take steps to prevent a pedophile from preying upon other children in the future, their actions will be judged to be far, far worse than anything done at SMU, etc.
Bobda, I'm no fan of the press, but if I'm a member of the media, I'm going to press Paterno about how he can claim to be "shocked" or "surprised" when 9 years ago, a horrific incident was brought to his attention? Does he think his responsibility ended when he reported what he heard to his AD? Apparently so. It's going to be very interesting to see how the football program circles the wagons and how Paterno handles the inevitable questions like those above that are going to be asked.
:x Under California law, JoePa and his whole gang would be arrested. In this state, all teachers, coaches, policemen and firemen are "mandatory reporters." If you even suspect child-abuse, with no hard evidence what-so-ever, you MUST report it to Child Protective Services within 24 hours or lose your job. There are no exceptions. It's the one thing that can get a government employee fired in this state, unions or no unions. Sandusky has been running a children's charity for more than a decade since he "retired" at Penn State. If JoePa and the others weren't ringing alarm bells the entire time, then they should go to jail too and if they had coached at Cal State instead of Penn State, they would already be locked up.
The PSU AD has asked to be placed on Administrative leave so he can devote the time to his defense, and the other guy the VP for finances has resigned.
This is pretty interesting. The DA who decided not to prosecute Sandusky in 1998 mysteriously disappeared and his computer was found dumped in a river with the data on it unrecoverable. Full Story here: DA Disappeared
Sid, like the victims, maybe the GA sees that wall of silence preserving the program and when he turns it into the legend himself...and nothing gets done, he figures why stick his neck out? I'm not justifying it, but this is how these massive cycles of predatory behavior are perpetuated. Everyone thinks it's someone else's problem, especially in bureaucratic organizations like academic institutions. It's all about CYA. That's true for every school I've worked at or attended. When push comes to shove, no one is willing to risk their job. It's pathetic. To me, there's no one innocent in this aside from the victims.
PSU has cancelled Joe's regularly scheduled presser and his appearance on the Big 10's weekly teleconference.....very, very sad. The end is near....he will forever have to share his legacy with that sick f*&k.....