Paterno morally obliged to answer questions on Sandusky
Joe Paterno needs to say more about what he knew regarding Jerry Sandusky and when he knew it.
After reading the Pennsylvania grand jury’s presentation, the first thought is not that Jerry Sandusky needs to go to prison if the allegations are true – it’s that he should be tied to the bumper of a Chevy and pushed off a cliff. I say that not as a father of two but as any human being with a shred of decency, morality and a soul.
“Victim 2” (of eight listed in the document) was estimated to be 10 when he was seen in the locker room showers at Penn State being subjected to sexual intercourse by Sandusky, then 58, in 2002.
“Victim 4” was 12 or 13 in 1996 or 1997 when he was “repeatedly subjected to Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse and Indecent Assault at the hands of Sandusky.”
“Victim 5” was 8 or 10 and attended as many as 15 football games with Sandusky who said he felt uncomfortable about constantly being approached by Sandusky in the showers, and one time pushed Sandusky’s hand away after being touched inappropriately.
“Victim 6” relayed similar accusations to his mother. After hearing this, she confronted Sandusky, after which he responded, “I understand. I was wrong. I wish I could get forgiveness. I know I won’t get it from you. I wish I were dead.”
And others share that sentiment.
But the matter of debate now is culpability. That is where the inferno regarding Joe Paterno comes in, and I’m not ready to make that leap yet.
Pennsylvania attorney general Linda Kelly addresses the media Monday on the allegations of sex abuse crimes against Sandusky.
Two Penn State officials who are charged with covering up allegations against the team’s former defensive coordinator are already out. Athletic director Tim Curley asked to be placed on administrative leave and Gary Schultz, vice president for finance and business, is crawling back into retirement. If what has been alleged in the grand jury’s “finding of fact and recommendations” are true – that a graduate assistant made the allegations regarding “Victim 2” and Curley and Schultz didn’t even report it to university police – they should be tied to the same Chevy as Sandusky.
There is the question of what university president Graham Spanier knew. Spanier denies that the “Victim 2” incident in 2002 was reported to him as “an incident that was sexual in nature” and that Curley termed the conduct as “horsing around.” He also said he wasn’t aware of a 1998 investigation into incidents involving Sandusky and children in the football showers.
The debate on Paterno isn’t legal but moral. Charges have not been brought against him. He immediately reported allegations of the 2002 incident to Curley and Schultz after he was informed by the graduate assistant. (It’s worth noting that Sandusky had retired after the 1999 season but held “emeritus” status on campus, affording him perks that included an office in the Lasch athletics building and unlimited access to football facilities.)
Should Paterno have done more? No question. He should have followed up with school officials on the graduate assistant’s claims. He should have checked on any investigation with law enforcement. But did he fail to do so because Sandusky was a long-time friend, or did he simply mess up?
Many have already called for Paterno’s resignation. I want to hear more from the man first. Actually, I want to hear anything from him.
The statement Paterno released Sunday isn’t nearly enough, even if it touched on the correct themes. An excerpt: “ The fact that someone we thought we knew might have harmed young people to this extent is deeply troubling.”
Paterno long has been held up in college athletics as the standard for doing things the correct way. Nobody ever has questioned his moral compass. But when the charges against Sandusky were released, many figured the compass had turned 180 degrees.
Suddenly, it’s as if he’s the personification of evil. That’s a little too much too quick.
There are questions Paterno must answer – and preferably before the Nittany Lions play on Saturday against Nebraska. He needs to stand in a room and not hide behind an emailed statement carefully crafted by an attorney. He needs to expound on what he knew and when he knew it. He needs to give details. He needs to show regret and remorse for not doing more. He needs to be convincing.
Jerry Sandusky may be a monster. But monsters have enablers.
The stated mission at Penn State is “Success With Honor.” This is a time when Paterno needs to assure everybody he met not so much his legal obligations as his moral ones.
Would he have dropped the matter so quickly if the alleged victim was somebody he knew — his child, his grandchild, the son of a close friend? Then, would he have done more?
Even if the Pennsylvania attorney general does not bring charges against Paterno, this has the potential to tarnish his legacy. It’s not about football or win totals. It’s about what’s right. He owes an explanation to the public. He certainly owes it to the victims.
By Jeff Schultz
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481 comments Add your comment
Buffalo Bill
November 8th, 2011
1:40 pm
I dont see why people are making such a big deal out of this.
gdawginkalamazoo
November 8th, 2011
1:44 pm
Joe Bob, yes a good warning there. For you other readers, If you have not read the info on Penn State, DO NOT, read it. It is some very upsetting stuff. Believe me you do not want to read that.
concerned
November 8th, 2011
1:54 pm
Calling the man a monster that should be pushed off a cliff is not helpful. The man is terribly sick, and needs a lot of treatment. He needs to come to terms with what he has done and who he has become. He needs to be able to apologize truthfully. I believe in a God who can forgive the very worst crimes. It is the worst part of a culture of sexual abuse that is not limited to these extreme cases. People all over and especially Men engage is sexual abuse in the form of internet porn among other things.
DawgNation
November 8th, 2011
1:54 pm
Who’s the real Fulmer Cup winner now?
gt4ever
November 8th, 2011
2:05 pm
That would be UGA DawgNation…. Second to NONE!
notbspn
November 8th, 2011
2:09 pm
“To remain silent when one should protest makes cowards out of men.” – Abraham Lincoln
chris
November 8th, 2011
2:30 pm
Well said Jeff…..
Paul Dieter
November 8th, 2011
2:52 pm
The fact that Paterno undeniably knew of these horrific acts and did nothing to prevent future rapes of children warrants his IMMEDIATE dismissal!! What kind of real man could let this continue?
notbspn
November 8th, 2011
2:58 pm
Paul Dieter, the kind of man who is more interested in breaking the Career Winnings Record, and protecting the image of his beloved university than the well being of Innocent Children.
notbspn
November 8th, 2011
2:59 pm
I am wondering which Endzone Ray Gricar is buried in?
TrishaDishaWarEagle
November 8th, 2011
3:16 pm
I truly don’t think Parerno covered anything up, he reported it up the ladder and they probably kept him in the dark after that. it’s not hard to do to an 84 year old..but that being said, I changed my mind from last night..he needs to go..It is obvious he does not have , what is it the NCAA tosses around all the time, Institutional control? anymore.
TrishaDishaWarEagle
November 8th, 2011
3:18 pm
The fact that Sandusky reportedly was on campus as late as a month ago, was the detrmining factor to me.Now Paterno doesn’t even go to most practices anymore..so i am sure People can come and go thru the athletic dept without Joe noticing..but they need to just start fresh with a new AD, and New Coaching Regime..and it looks like they may get a new University President as well.
TrishaDishaWarEagle
November 8th, 2011
3:20 pm
And hopefully the kids who were so badly mistreated will get a nice settlement from Penn State to help ease the way thru therapy.
notbspn
November 8th, 2011
3:24 pm
He wasnt 84 when all this happened. Sandusky was forced into retirement beause of all this. While Joe Pa might have done things the Penn State Way, he certainly did not do things the way any decent human being, father or christian would do. This was his employee and he had an obligation to get to the bottom of this, and stop it. He enabled him and provided him with access to State Facilities and gave him a place to commit his crimes.
gt4ever
November 8th, 2011
3:26 pm
Trisha,
Didn’t cover up anything! Are you serious? How do you come to that conclusion…. Good Grief, ALL these men need to be prosecuted… No exceptions!
RedandBlackDawg
November 8th, 2011
4:06 pm
Joey,
Sandusky retired in 1999 and JoePa found about it in 2002. He reported up his chain of command. How would he have seen Sandusky every day in 2002? Couldn”t you speculate and think that JoePa, since he no longer had Sandusky as his assistant could have assumed, that some type of settlement had been made? I think once all the information has been revealed, and until then, we do not know who covered it up completely. I think being in a hurry to judge JoePa, without knowing the full story about his involvement, is a little like, branding Crowell a complete failure and not able to atone for his indiscretions. I hope that JoePa, is found to have done the right thing in reporting Sandusky, and even three years after the fact, before he knew, he followed administration policy. I would think it is most likely, that those above him, who really knew what happened, are the ones that covered it up. It is notable, that none of those accused of the cover up have ever mentioned that JoePa, covered it up. Usually, it seems to be human nature to try and shift the blame for your discretion’s to someone else by accusing them of what you are guilty of. The old, “The ship is Sinking, and the Rats are Jumping off” syndrome.
notbspn
November 8th, 2011
4:22 pm
Chain of Command.. yea its better to live up to the Chain of Command than to see to it another child isnt victimized isnt it? Chain of Command is corporate or military speak for I am not getting involved on this one its somebody elses problem. I am sure those other kids parents are thankful that Joe Paterno followed the Chain of Command at P$U. After all reaching 409 was far more important than stopping 9(and climbing) children from being victimized. Everyone knows why Sandusky Quote retired in 1999. Paterno should have accompanied McQueary to the Police Station from the moment he found out. Now McQueary has been prompted from GA to recruiting CoOrdinator. I guess keeping the cops out of it paid dividends for both soul less individuals.
Mr. Thomas Anthony Jones, SR
November 8th, 2011
4:22 pm
As a persopnn who likes PSU Head Coach Joseph Paterno, but not the PSUNittany Lions so much ( I root for the University of Miami Hurricanes Football Program) I say lay off Mr. Paterno. He is 84 years old and his best friend has a sickness. If we were in Mr. Paterno’s we will proudly do the exact some thing. How many of Mr. Jeff Schultz’s friends and co-workers do not file their Income Taxes to the IRS and the State of Georgia? When Mr. Schultz turns in all of of his friends who do not file Income Taxes, we will turn in Coach Sandusky. Not one day before, Mr.Schultz. Not one day before!
go get em haters
November 8th, 2011
4:34 pm
Now all you haters can sink your teeth and throw your hate to Penn St. for a real serious issue.
And quit bashing UGA’s entire school and team because some kids smoked a joint in college….jeez, that’s never happened at every other school throughout HISTORY.
Pretty big difference on the crime scale, wouldn’t ya say haters? And apparently GA is one of the few schools in the nation to actually dole out punishment for first offenses. So it’s been dealt with. No use talking about it after their punishment was served.
What’s your schools policy, haters?
ouch...
November 8th, 2011
4:39 pm
Are these what Nittany Lions are like on “fresh meat”?!
Scams gone
November 8th, 2011
4:41 pm
And so is auburn…hehehehe
curious
November 8th, 2011
4:43 pm
Let’s see: a graduate assistant sees a 58-year-old having sex with a 10-year-old in a shower and reports it to Coach Joe?
And this is allowed to pass? Why didn’t the GA rescue the child first? Sounds like no one interrupted the act, but took rapid steps to initiate a cover-up.
Why weren’t immediate steps taken to rescue the child and arrest the rapist?
Criminal charges for all, including Coach Joe. Civil suits galore for Penn State.
Scams gone
November 8th, 2011
4:43 pm
Are the drug store trees? hehehehe
Scams gone
November 8th, 2011
4:46 pm
1st the trees, now somebody in that god foresaken state of bamalama is gonna hunt that auburn bird for “dinner”.
notbspn
November 8th, 2011
4:47 pm
Scams Gone .. It isnt hard to see what pathetic fan base you are a part of. I believe i saw you crying on National TV on Sat. Maybe one will fall on your trailor Updyke.
Dawg48
November 8th, 2011
4:55 pm
Makes me sick!
T3
November 8th, 2011
5:00 pm
I’ll say it again: Sandusky will be a Suicide…very soon.
RedandBlackDawg
November 9th, 2011
6:12 am
Hammertime, (11/08, 1:05 PM)
I find your reasoning a little short sighted in your comments about Crowell. I assume since this is an artcile about a serious crime, you are somehow trying to draw a comparison between a positive drug test for weed, and a man, who viciously molested young kids. First off, the police did not catch Crowell doing anything. He was detected as having weed in his system, by a team and NCAA mandated drug test that every football player on UGA’s team and supposedly every NCAA team in America perfroms. Had he tested positive at about 10 other SEC schools, he wouldn’t have received any suspension. It is a credit to UGA that they have a tough regiment of punishment for drug use, even weed.
To even compare Crowells smoking weed, to a grown man, physically molesting young kids, seems to me, to be pretty far fetched as a comparison. That’s like comparing a soldier taking an enemies life to Charles Manson, in relative terms. There is simply no comparison that can be drawn in this case.
RedandBlackDawg
November 9th, 2011
6:29 am
GT4,
Would you rather be the Fulmer cup winner for one year, or be a fan of a school that has gotten two NCAA probation’s in a row, lost their conference title, and covered up and hindered the investigation of a relatively small violation, that if handled properly by your institution, could have prevented the second probation
Give me the Fulmer cup anytime you feel like it in comparison to the title of, “Probation school of the new century”, so far. UGA winning that cup in comparison to other schools having that honor, shows UGA not to be so bad. Previous winners of that award have accumulated 81 points total by Auburn last year, in 2008, Alabama won with 28 points, Marshall university won in 2007 with 28 points, and the cumulative point total over the 6 year existence of this award shows UGA’s total points to be exceeded by a lot of schools. That is sort of like saying it is so wrong that UGA has won 9 out of 10 against your school, and it is wrong because you have lost so many. I thought you rocket scientist over on North Ave. were supposed to be so intelligent and yet you make a dumb statement without checking out the facts and to further compound your error, do not even use sound reasoning for your statements. In your case, book smart, common sense dumb, truly applies.
GO DAWGS and GATA
Paterno allowed to coach, but his statement’s not enough | Jeff Schultz
November 9th, 2011
10:37 am
[...] I wrote the other day about how sickening the whole saga is, that potentially something so despicable could go on for so long. Paterno had met his legal obligations in the Sandusky matter but questions about whether he had met his moral obligations lingered. I also wrote that before I jumped on the growing “Paterno Must Go” bandwagon, I wanted to hear what he had to say — publicly, not in a statement. Granted, Paterno was being crushed by public opinion and it seemed implausible that he could not have known — 0r done –more. But to me it all seemed a little too much too fast. [...]
Penn State finally says no to Joe Paterno, fires him | Jeff Schultz
November 9th, 2011
11:21 pm
[...] Paterno has not been charged with any crime. He reported the only allegation known to have been brought to him in 2002, when a then-graduate assistant witnessed Sandusky with a boy of about 10 years old in the showers in the Penn State locker rooms. But Paterno’s failure to follow up on the matter with school officials or university police, along with Sandusky being afforded access to athletic facilities and at office at Penn State in retirement, led many to conclude Paterno did not fulfill his moral obligations and may have been complicit in a coverup. Paterno supporters have screamed that there has been a rush to judgement. [...]