Thought this was an interesting read

[NitFan89]

Penn State is bringing Joe Paterno back into view and approaching the question it can't avoid

From Matt Campbell's white laces and a revived 'Success With Honor' banner to a new museum exhibit, Penn State's increasingly public embrace of Paterno raises the question of where its gradual restoration of his legacy ultimately leads

www.cbssports.com

 

[BCS PSU]

Penn State is bringing Joe Paterno back into view and approaching the question it can't avoid

From Matt Campbell's white laces and a revived 'Success With Honor' banner to a new museum exhibit, Penn State's increasingly public embrace of Paterno raises the question of where its gradual restoration of his legacy ultimately leads

www.cbssports.com

A restoration of his legacy never should have been needed.

 

[BobPSU92]

Penn State is bringing Joe Paterno back into view and approaching the question it can't avoid

From Matt Campbell's white laces and a revived 'Success With Honor' banner to a new museum exhibit, Penn State's increasingly public embrace of Paterno raises the question of where its gradual restoration of his legacy ultimately leads

www.cbssports.com

“Paterno was fired in 2011 in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal after 62 total seasons coaching at Penn State. An independent investigation in 2012 overseen by a former FBI director found that Paterno knew as early as 1998 that there were concerns about Sandusky's conduct with children and that administrators, as well as Paterno, "failed to protect against a child sexual predator harming children for over a decade."“

It’s 2026, yet the same sh|t. Holy f*cking sh|t bags.

And Sandy was a dumb sh|t for the ages for apologizing for the 409 helmet stickers.

 

[PSU Soupy 615]

The investigation did seem to focus on the football team and Athletic Department as opposed to PSU University Administration, Second Mile Charities etc...... almost as if searching for a predetermined answer. Even the quote above "......Paterno knew as early as 1998 that there were concerns about Sandusky's conduct......." Knowing about a concern even if it is an accurate statement is very vague. Someone could have concerns about anything and then if you hear the concerns what are you supposed to do about it? Joe eventually told his boss about things that he had heard and the person whom the University Police report into, yet that was supposedly not enough??

Things that most can agree on, Sandusky did not have great legal counsel, Joe did pass on his information to his boss and University Leadership, McQuery statements seemed like they changed over time. The vetting process for the payments by the University seemed rather thin and could be exploited.

Not sure what happened. Not sure if Sandusky got what he deserved....... does not seem to me with limited knowledge of all of the events that Joe was treated fairly. Perhaps I am not a good judge of this as I greatly respected Joe and what he did and what he stood for prior to these events.

 

[BCS PSU]

The investigation did seem to focus on the football team and Athletic Department as opposed to PSU University Administration, Second Mile Charities etc...... almost as if searching for a predetermined answer. Even the quote above "......Paterno knew as early as 1998 that there were concerns about Sandusky's conduct......." Knowing about a concern even if it is an accurate statement is very vague. Someone could have concerns about anything and then if you hear the concerns what are you supposed to do about it? Joe eventually told his boss about things that he had heard and the person whom the University Police report into, yet that was supposedly not enough??

Things that most can agree on, Sandusky did not have great legal counsel, Joe did pass on his information to his boss and University Leadership, McQuery statements seemed like they changed over time. The vetting process for the payments by the University seemed rather thin and could be exploited.

Not sure what happened. Not sure if Sandusky got what he deserved....... does not seem to me with limited knowledge of all of the events that Joe was treated fairly. Perhaps I am not a good judge of this as I greatly respected Joe and what he did and what he stood for prior to these events.

I believe that Sandusky's last season on the coaching staff was 1999, so maybe Joe forced him out after hearing things. Also, if Joe did report the rumors to the chain of command, then what more was he supposed to have done? Was he expected to put together a posse and make a citizen's arrest?

 

[G3624]

no. Just lynch him on the spot!

 

[Metal Mike]

One fact that I found very interesting was in the Freeh Report. Not in the Executive summary but in the main body of the report. Sandusky was investigated by the police and a representative from the state office responsible for child safety. This was back when Sandusky was employed by PSU as defensive coach. This investigation concluded that Sandusky did not demonstrated the traits of a child molester. The fact that he had been investigated by the authorities and given a clean pass is never brought up. I concluded either he was not a child molester or he was very good at hiding his behavior. Given this investigation of Sandusky sheds light on the behavior of the PSU officals.

 

[Bvillebaron]

A restoration of his legacy never should have been needed.

No truer words were ever spoken.

The investigation did seem to focus on the football team and Athletic Department as opposed to PSU University Administration, Second Mile Charities etc...... almost as if searching for a predetermined answer. Even the quote above "......Paterno knew as early as 1998 that there were concerns about Sandusky's conduct......." Knowing about a concern even if it is an accurate statement is very vague. Someone could have concerns about anything and then if you hear the concerns what are you supposed to do about it? Joe eventually told his boss about things that he had heard and the person whom the University Police report into, yet that was supposedly not enough??

Things that most can agree on, Sandusky did not have great legal counsel, Joe did pass on his information to his boss and University Leadership, McQuery statements seemed like they changed over time. The vetting process for the payments by the University seemed rather thin and could be exploited.

Not sure what happened. Not sure if Sandusky got what he deserved....... does not seem to me with limited knowledge of all of the events that Joe was treated fairly. Perhaps I am not a good judge of this as I greatly respected Joe and what he did and what he stood for prior to these events.

Sandusky was separately investigated by the police and DPW regarding the 1998 incident. The police chose not to prosecute despite an officer eavesdropping on a conversation with the alleged victim’s mother. While Sandusky did not confess to anything, he did say that he feels horrible. DPW had him undergo a psych evaluation which concluded that he fit the classic profile of a groomer. For reasons unknown (largely because no one in the AG’s office, including our current governor who claims he is the protector of children, ever investigated the DPW despite its direct oversight responsibility) had a second eval done (over the written objection of a first assistant in the Centre County DA’s office) which concluded essentially that he was “harmless”. Guess which version DPW reported to Penn State?
Paterno was not involved in the negotiation of Sandusky’s retirement package which gave him emeritus status and access to Penn State’s facilities. Paterno was asked for his comment on the package and he stated, in writing, that he was okay with giving Sandusky access to facilities but not with him bringing Second Mile kids on campus due to liability concerns (a copy of the document is included as an appendix to the Freeh report). Paterno’s comment about not letting him bring Second Mile kids on campus related to the potential for physical injury. Nevertheless, one of the grounds advanced for implicating Paterno was that he was somehow responsible (despite his recommendation that he not be permitted to bring Second Mile kids on campus and that he reported the very next day to his supervisor whatever McQuery told him and then did not participate in any investigation— the precise protocol the NCAA adopted a few months after imposing sanctions on Penn State) because he was allegedly “in charge” of everything that happened at Penn State. Too bad the administration didn’t heed the old man’s recommendation on not letting Sandusky bring Second Mile kids on campus huh?

 

[PSUForever]

I believe that Sandusky's last season on the coaching staff was 1999, so maybe Joe forced him out after hearing things. Also, if Joe did report the rumors to the chain of command, then what more was he supposed to have done? Was he expected to put together a posse and make a citizen's arrest?

The narrative that will never change is because he was Joe Paterno who was all powerful, he could have done more. He said it himself. What does that mean? People think he ran the university and bossed everyone around. Had his hand in many different university affairs and influenced major strategic decisions. He was already 72 in 1998 so an older man, reduced energy, etc. He was not some dictator ruling over everyone or some kind of informal CEO.

I don't know what more he could have done. He didn't even know what was going on. Nobody did. Sandusky didn't work for him. People wanted Joe to get Sandusky arrested. He couldn't do that. He made a bad judgment call by not banning him from the football building or being more aggressive in controlling him but he really didn't know what was happening. People think he enabled it which is a shame. Such a sad story. It is so unfortunate that his career and then life had to end in such an embarrassing way. He has to take some blame for what happened but it is a complicated story.

To me, Joe Paterno will always be the pinnacle of Penn State football. I grew up on Penn State football and Joe was a fixture who was Penn State football for decades.
The man who brought greatness and honor to the university. That huge stadium, 100,000 plus fans, all the loyal fans across the country can all be traced back to Joe. He built it all. We are a blue blood program because of Joe. We are a household name in football because of Joe.

 

[CVLion]

He made a bad judgment call by not banning him from the football building or being more aggressive in controlling him but he really didn't know what was happening.

I’m with you on most of what you said… but how was Joe supposed to have done these particular things? He was no longer Sandusky’s boss, and JS had been granted access to the facilities by the PSU administration as part of his retirement package.

 

[leinbacker]

“Paterno was fired in 2011 in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal after 62 total seasons coaching at Penn State. An independent investigation in 2012 overseen by a former FBI director found that Paterno knew as early as 1998 that there were concerns about Sandusky's conduct with children and that administrators, as well as Paterno, "failed to protect against a child sexual predator harming children for over a decade."“

It’s 2026, yet the same sh|t. Holy f*cking sh|t bags.

And Sandy was a dumb sh|t for the ages for apologizing for the 409 helmet stickers.

It can also be said that a District Attorney, State Police, State's Social Services also knew as early as 1998 knew that there were concerns. People who actually had legal power to do something about it. I guess that isn't important because we all know such matters are the jurisdiction of a football coach.

 

[PSUForever]

I’m with you on most of what you said… but how was Joe supposed to have done these particular things? He was no longer Sandusky’s boss, and JS had been granted access to the facilities by the PSU administration as part of his retirement package.

Yeah I think if Joe thought there could be a problem with Sandusky's behavior he could have told the administration to ban him. The problem is what did Joe really know back in '98? He might have been aware of some rumors and that's it but not enough to rising to banning Sandusky.

The fundamental issue here is since Joe was such an icon he gets a ton of unnecessary blame but the reality is he was old, not up to speed on what was happening and he didn't have nearly the clout and power in the university that people think he did. With all that said, I'm not sure what more he could have done. He gave Sandusky the benefit of the doubt and that was obviously the wrong call but so did the administration.

 

[ApexLion]

The media has never understood Penn State. It’s unique. The football coach isn’t treated locally like a southern plantation owner. It’s big time football but it’s not like elsewhere.

 

[Metal Mike]

A couple of posters above have stated that authorities knew or suspected about Sandusky as early as 1998. What I read in the Freeh Report is that the investigation conducted in 1998 concluded that Sandusky did not exhibit the characteristics of a child molester. This investigation gave Sandusky a clean bill. There was no doubt in the police and the folks from DPW (responsible for child welfare) who conducted this investigation. So rather than folks knew as early as 1998, they did not know or suspect. Sandusky was investigated by the proper authorities, people who were the experts in this field.