Let’s transfer ’em all to a different diocese!

and not really that tough after all.

sad day when we have to remind people to do their civic and moral duties and not hide behind the addage of “not my problem”. A tragedy like this was avoidable for so many involved.

Had this been just some random professor (or even some highly-respected prof) on campus, would those defending Paterno’s lack of action be saying the same things?

“Oh come on, it was reported to the Dean! I’m not sure what else he’s meant to have done.”

This is the clearest, most effective piece I have seen written about this case. You succinctly sum up exactly what I felt about this when I learned, with horror, about it yesterday. The grand jury report strongly suggests some people covered this whole thing up. I think that the graduate assistant (a man of 28) and the janitor (an older man) who witnessed crimes firsthand should have contacted police directly, but instead, they went to their supervisors. Who apparently did not do much about it – it sounds like they merely encouraged Sandusky to commit his crimes off their property. It sounds like both men were afraid of losing their jobs or were afraid of confronting someone powerful. The mother of one of these young boys did call the police, and the cops listened in on a phone call with Sandusky where she questioned him and he supposedly said “I wish I were dead.” Likely he will get his wish.

I’m not ruling that out. But so many people are saying that they should have contacted police themselves immediately, not reflecting or investigating what their responsibilities are under Pa. law. If information comes up that says that they covered it up, let them go down as well. But all the info. thus far said that they did the right thing.

You have a 10 year old kid, YOUR kid, and you learn that this happened. You see that a GA told Paterno, who followed PA law and reported it to their supervisors, where the issue promptly, for lack of a better word, disappeared. As a parent, do you honestly think that you would be able to sit there and justify the GA or Paterno not doing anything outside of that? you really think “they did what they were supposed to do” would cut it in your parental position? if you can sit there with a straight face and tell me that you honestly wouldnt be hounding every single person who had knowledge of this to get them to go outside the University so that the police could do their jobs, and you would settle as the parent of this kid or any of the other kids and say “well he did enough” you are absolutely insane.

this isnt like Sandusky was stealing from the local Wal-Mart and he was found out, and it got reported up the chain. this is not only a felony, but it involves someones kids. anyone defending paterno for not doing the obvious thing has been completely brainwashed by PSU fandom. should they be held to the same standard as sandusky and the two admins? no. should they be treated as law breakers? no. but to say that they shouldnt be held to the standard that they themselves promote is ridiculous at best.

…whether or not people believe Joe Paterno when he says he had no detailed knowledge of the incident from the GA, and reported a reasonable suspicion of something of a sexual nature to his superior. That’s fine. If you doh’t, you don’t. If you think he knew everything, and he did the minimum necessary, then of course he is guilty too.

that is not necessarily what is at stake here. he broke no laws. he is not a criminal.

what it appears he is, however, is a hypocrite.

he followed the letter of the law as a citizen, but failed in his unwritten duties as a moral human being.

That every American should get a visit from a police officer informing them that they have the right to report a suspected crime. I get more and more shocked that people think you have to go to magement instead. Just to be clear for those reading REPORTING A CRIME TO THE POLICE IS NOT ITSELF A CRIME.

Joe Paterno knew that something inappropriate occurred between Sandusky and a young child in his locker room and that what occurred was of a sexual nature. That much is in the Grand Jury report.

Say the G.A. was too worked up to tell Joe Paterno the details. If you’re Joe Pa, does that sit well with you? I believe that should have made Paterno absolutely, 100% demand to know what happened.

Paterno either KNEW the full extent of what happened or knew that something illicit, inappropriate, and quite likely downright horrifying took place in his locker room.

Either way, he knew or he CHOSE not to know.
Both horrify me equally.

someday asks me if monsters really exist, I’ll remember to say that they do, and that they look just like the rest of us.

Fortunately for JoePa, there’s no such thing as criminal indifference, but he has to go.

First… I am a Syracuse fan, so I hate Penn State. There is my bias.

Second… I am missing how this is directly Paterno’s fault. This Sandusky was no longer a coach. Paterno couldn’t fire him or have him fired, right? The proper thing to do is let the people with the responsibility do what they need to do. It is the ADs job in this situation to work with the campus police, attorneys, and all outside parties to get the investigation done directly. Paterno is not obligated—legally OR morally—to follow up on his superiors to ensure that some sort of punishment occurs. Maybe Paterno DID check in on the situation, but was told that it was handled. Is he supposed to demand it in writing? That being said, information could come out that makes it Paterno’s problem. I just don’t think we have heard it yet.

Third… I think Paterno needs to step down at the end of the season. His coaching from the press box is a mockery of coaching. Part of coaching is being at field level, interacting with the players, refs, etc. But this whole fiasco shows part of the problem. Who are people supposed to report incidents to? The guy in the press box or the guys really running the team on a day-to-day basis. Who is concerned about the image of the program? Who is monitoring which individuals associate themselves with the program? If it was not this incident, it was going to be a booster issue soon enough. Paterno has done wonderful things at Penn State, but he is no longer capable of running this program the way an elite, modern-day program needs to be run. The whole thing is weird.

Fourth, people saying “what would you do if it was a relative” are missing the point. If it was a relative broken down on the highway, you would stop. How many people stop to help a stranger. How many people pick up strangers hitchhiking? You would if it was a relative. We all comport ourselves differently depending on the situation. With a non-relative like this, most people would be more comfortable with letting the people in charge do the proper reporting/investigating. This doesn’t make them morally corrupt or bankrupt. I think it makes them morally normal.

Finally, the AD is in deep trouble. The buck stopped with him and nothing got done. He may be able to deflect on the janitor, the GA, Paterno, and others… but it was his responsibility to get this handled properly. That’s his job. That’s his legal responsibility. In deep trouble.