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
Special K
November 8th, 2011
7:27 am
Joe must go. I don’t believe for a minute that he did not know more. RTR!
Jeff in Orlando
November 8th, 2011
7:39 am
JoePa should have done more than tell the boss. Hell, he is bigger than any boss at PSU and should have used his clout for good.
wardenerd
November 8th, 2011
7:48 am
well lets see…your son is being raped by your neighbor oh my…. the next day you call your boss and report it. He waits 24 hours and reports it to his boss. Later when you discover he also raped ten other neighbors you say your embarrassed. Why did not the grad student intervene and call 911 in some order. He is the first that should br indicted for not helping that young man. Paterno should have immediately called the POLICE and when he did not he forfeited his job.
Jimmy Crack
November 8th, 2011
7:51 am
This is a sad time for college football. A once great institution, run by a college icon, is being splayed like some moral specimen for the public to stab and prod, all because of this disgusting, manipulative creature who had power in his slimy hands for a period of time. All the good and decent things that Joe Paterno has done for national college athletics, not just Penn State athletics, has been thrown onto a hot fire. Yes, Joe has to go, they ALL have to go. The slate needs to be wiped completely clean from this unforgivable stench for the sake of college athletics.
Oh well...
November 8th, 2011
7:53 am
This should get some hits. Never waste an opportunity to profit from someone else’s misery.
Our rants will certainly bring justice – just ask Nancy Grace.
Buckeye
November 8th, 2011
7:58 am
Disgusting. Sad. Period.
Buckeye
November 8th, 2011
8:00 am
This is not about Paterno, football, Penn State. It’s about those kids. Can you imagine what they went through and likley still suffering from?
Ed Pilcher
November 8th, 2011
8:01 am
Why’s it gotta be a Chevy he needs to be tied to and pushed off a cliff? Why not a Chrysler or a Dodge? That’s 2 of the most worthless brands of cars in America.
Oh well...
November 8th, 2011
8:06 am
@Ed Pilcher
Chevy fits in better with the whole “Mom, Hotdogs and Apple Pie” meme.
Nobody ever drove their Chysler to the levee or picked up a sweet young hitchhiker in their Dodge Van.
Ed Pilcher
November 8th, 2011
8:09 am
LMAO @ Oh Well………However, this whole nasty business is just too terrible to sneeze at. Psterno has got to step down. Just too old to be a proper administrator anymore….He’s probably lucky if he can hit the toilet with the first squirt every morning.
Steve
November 8th, 2011
8:10 am
This hits home for me! I have been a life long fan of PSU and for several years played in the Second Mile Golf Tournament! Which was one of the best run tournaments I have ever played in. I got to meet Jerry several years back and even had his son EJ (Former Nittany Lion) as our celebrity a few years back. To meet the man face to face and see him around the kids you would never think that he could do this in a million years. I am afraid that based on everything I have read so far it’s looking like he is guilty! This will be the one thing that will make JoePa leave the program!
Hal
November 8th, 2011
8:11 am
I can understand JoePa a no nonsense guy. He hears about it, reports it to people who should follow up on it because Sanduasky is retired and no longer on his staff. He doesn’t see him everyday. He doesn’t hear anything more about it; figures there wasn’t anything to it and life goes on. What’s wrong with that? Or he could have asked about it to the person he reported it to and gets a “nothing to it ” answer. What’s he suposed to do now confront Sanduaky on a very sensitive personal issue. I don’t think so.
Ed Pilcher
November 8th, 2011
8:11 am
@ Oh well…….You’re right, though. What was the name and lyrics of that song from back in the 70s? “We made love in my Chevy van, and that’s all right with me”?
Yeah, the Mom, apple pie and hotdogs theme fits. But I’d still rather see them tied to a Dodge or Chrysler to be pushed over a cliff.
Ed Pilcher
November 8th, 2011
8:13 am
@ Steve……
That’s how predators like this operate. Always the least one you’d expect.
Oh well...
November 8th, 2011
8:14 am
@Ed Pilcher
I agree than Paterno should step down. I just have no desire to join in pi$$ing on his corpse.
JS
November 8th, 2011
8:20 am
Paterno did not do enought but what about mike McQueary? If I saw a man in the showers with a young boy I would have decked him. Game over.
Jimmy Crack
November 8th, 2011
8:22 am
Buckeye, I’m sure in time they will all be well compensated with the best possible psychotherapy money can buy. But this IS about football, and academics, and icons, and power, and it’s affect on young kids AND their parents who allowed them to participate in those camps despite the rumors and whispers, all for the grandeur of an historic college football intitution. Buckeye, if you want to take football and Penn State and Joe Paterno out of this discussion, then all we have is another story of a despicable character abusing his position for deviant behavior, which happens every single day in this sick world. What about those kids?
gbal
November 8th, 2011
8:24 am
And if this is a accurate, the parent (father) of the one child did not insist on action????
Fat Loud American
November 8th, 2011
8:25 am
“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.”
Jeff Schultz, Attorney General
gt4ever
November 8th, 2011
8:25 am
George Stein,
Incredible… Unbelievable statement coming from a normally intelligent person… Any rational thinking person makes the right choice, and the right choice is to REPORT the offense. Paterno belongs in JAIL with the rest of the Penn State Gang… Period!
Mike Housley
November 8th, 2011
8:26 am
T3-
” P – Pedophile S – State U – University”
Really? You’re going to use a situation where children were (allegedly) sexually abused to make a joke? How about a little sensitivity for them or other victims of this type of devious crime?
Sincerely,
A victim
j
November 8th, 2011
8:32 am
What is wrong with these people? I feel awful for all of these young men. Every coach on that staff needs to go. There is simply no excuse for this. I am sure some of these people even have kids. There are some sick #ucks out there.
david
November 8th, 2011
8:39 am
They dont need to be fired. They need to be hung. Period. If just one boy’s life could have been saved because someone had the guts to tell police it would’ve been worth it. Instead they looked away as the devil did his work. In THEIR facility.
Get a rope.
coverup
November 8th, 2011
8:41 am
joe p covered up the whole thing to get the coaching record. he didn’t want to lose his job. The PA attorney general knows not to mess with Joe pa up there–must get re-elected!
psu
November 8th, 2011
8:43 am
JoePa dropped the ball as Sandusky dropped his pants.
PreyDawg
November 8th, 2011
8:48 am
I cannot fathom why Paterno didn’t at the very least expunge this guy from Campus. Then in addition, when he heard the pervert had started some kind of “foundation” to target victims, Joe should have dropped a dime and warned the foundation people. Can you imagine? Some little child with a troubled past went to the Second Mile foundation for help and this predator was waiting for them. I can honestly say, I would risk loosing my job to go public if I had been Paterno. My goodness, they are just little children. You have to protect them!
Burma Shave
November 8th, 2011
8:51 am
“He needs to stand in a room and not hide behind an emailed statement carefully crafted by an attorney.”
Burma Shave agrees with Jeff on this one.
RedandBlackDawg
November 8th, 2011
8:53 am
It doesn’t look real good at the moment for JoePa, but I am going to reserve judgement until the man explains his actions, and the grand jury takes actions. I will say that it appears that, in light of the nature of the incident, JoePa, should probably have followed up, but until we know fully the whole story, and until JoePa publicly addresses the media, let’s not be too quick to condemn him, or conduct a trial by media, until we do.
With three important games taking place for Georgia this weekend, with UGA, Tech. and the Falcons, you would think that the sports writers for the AJC, would be more concerned about the state of Georgia’s football teams instead of what is happening a 1000 miles away. Let the national sports reporters that have a lot more invested in this story and are not just reporting the same thing that has already been reported and is being reshaped and retold by a local newspaper, do the job. This isn’t really a sports story when you think about it. It does accomplish one thing as evidence of the hits on this article and that is web hits, which is the standard that the AJC uses to grade itself on how effective it’s story are. As evidenced by the amount of negative comments that it allows that are nothing more than personal attacks on teams and the fans that support them. Does this article, about something that is being investigated by lawyers and real investigative journalists need to be in the Atlanta Journal Constitution?
GO DAWGS and GATA
lunatic
November 8th, 2011
8:54 am
another catholic coward cover up…disgusting…allowing that man to continue to coach and bring kids on campus to use locker room facilities is unacceptable…cowards cowards cowards
Paterno needs to go..SHAMEFUL
concern
November 8th, 2011
8:54 am
Obviously Paterno is not the model or standard we had been lead to believe.
Hopefully there are not life like statures, etc of Paterno on the lovely Penn St champus. If so need to come down immediately. Lets stop idolizing sports figures making them larger than life.
Walker, Texas Ranger
November 8th, 2011
9:01 am
Jeff, nice creepy photo of Jerry and Joe Pa
gcs
November 8th, 2011
9:02 am
This makes Jim Tressel look like a saint.
Time to step down Joe.
.
North ave. faithful
November 8th, 2011
9:10 am
We should have saved the electric chair for predators like this Sandusky,just hope 5150 doesnt wake up and start quoting scripture again.heres some scripture for you, an eye for an eye.Lock him up with Bubba and his wife Chester,sweet dreams jerry.
Gorilla Biscuit
November 8th, 2011
9:12 am
Here is what you do with Sandusky. You get yourself an old stump and a rusty razor blade. Hand him the razor blade, nail his nuts to the stump and set it on fire.
Joey
November 8th, 2011
9:13 am
So Paterno hears of a crime, reports it, and still sees Sandusky everyday, and thinks everything’s okay? Paterno KNEW the authorities weren’t contacted, else Sandusky would have been an investigation and arrest.
Jeff, what can Paterno say that will make these facts okay?
Meanwhile PSU’s president, Spanier, supposedly knew nothing, either? Right.
Paterno and Spanier cannot be excused. They have to go.
gdawginkalamazoo
November 8th, 2011
9:14 am
Wow, I hope they keep Sandusky under suicide watch to make sure he faces a trial and the rest of his life in jail. This is one sick b a s t a r d and death would be too good for him. Time to clean house at PSU including Paterno.
Accusations and Flatulation's gone wild
November 8th, 2011
9:21 am
Why is this on the sports page?
Old Man River
November 8th, 2011
9:33 am
Let’s face it, Joe Pa should have retired 15 years ago. This man has prevented Penn State University from moving on and becoming a National powerhouse. He came over on the Mayflower. Give some new blood a chance ! Retire already.
Old Man River
November 8th, 2011
9:34 am
Paterno always seemed like a pedophile to me…
Old Man River
November 8th, 2011
9:36 am
Bible says “Adam & Eve” not “Adam & Steve” ! Sandusky needs to be castrated.
PonGT
November 8th, 2011
9:41 am
No, JoePa is not morally obliged to speak about the cloud hovering over Penn State. He was legally obliged to report what he knew and he did. What he is morallt and judicially and socially obliged to do now is RESIGN! HE SHOULD LEAD HIS COACHES and everyone else associated wioth this program OUT THE DOOR at the end of this season. PSU needs a fresh start and a clean break with this scandal. Everyone there at this present time, and I mean even the president, chancellors and whoever, should give Penn State a fresh start. It’s time for Joe to take ownership of this and demand that everyone follow him out the door.
Mid Town Joe
November 8th, 2011
9:46 am
I wondered why they called it the Big Ten.
Nick Lyons
November 8th, 2011
9:57 am
College Station in PN known FORMERLY AS “Happy Valley” will take on a complety new meaning. Yikes, that school’s A Department is sleazy.
Awful. Why would any coach or team trainer or MD or administrator simply inquire ………………..why does Coach S always have young boys with him and staying with him and SHOWERING WITH HIM ??? HELLO !! DUH !!!
Corruption up and down the ranks at PN State U. Awful this is for an otherwise, stellar institution, as far as I know.
Beelzebub
November 8th, 2011
10:06 am
Accusations and Flatulation’s gone wild
November 8th, 2011
9:21 am
“Why is this on the sports page?”
Profit!
The AJC Stinks
November 8th, 2011
10:13 am
Do ya think there is a nest of perverts at Penn State? Only a pervert would fail to report these allegations to the police, imho. I wonder how much the guys who knew were involved in these crimes? A clear case where water boarding would quickly identify additional suspects. If Joe Pa is involved, all Penn State wins under his leadership must be forfeited, as protection of the football program has been cited as justification for keeping these crimes quiet.
the dude
November 8th, 2011
10:13 am
DO NOT TELL ME THAT ONCE AGAIN NO ONE KNOWS ANYTHING. JOE PA KNEW SOMETHING, HE JUST DID NOT TELL.
Dr. Phil
November 8th, 2011
10:16 am
It took some courage for the graduate assistant to report Sandusky. Grad assistants have absolutely no job security and are at the mercy of academic and athletic administrators. In confrontations between athletes and graduate assistants, the assistants almost always lose. It is good to see a graduate assistant win one of these confrontations, even if it took 10 years. But, how many boys were damaged by this degenerate coach during that time? Really? Showering with boys in the university locker room? How can that happen without players and coaches knowing. It is sad that Paterno’s outstanding career will end on this sordid note, but end it should.
GT Dude
November 8th, 2011
10:30 am
I have to recant my original post from yesterday afternoon, I later learned that JoePa and Penn State did not ban the Sandman from the campus and they continued to host an office in the athletic facility for him. They simply need to clean house in the administration and athletic association.
Too bad the NCAA can’t step in and give the program the death penalty
Old Man River
November 8th, 2011
10:33 am
Where is Sandusky’s left hand at in that photo ? Hmmm….
Old Man River
November 8th, 2011
10:36 am
If you’ve ever hear Paterno talk to reporters before you know he will say something like this (lowering and raising his voice a lot) : “I had no idea the guy was doing those things. I told Moses that we should have dropped Sandusky off in Persia.”