Paterno’s statement’s not enough, Penn State dropped ball
Joe Paterno is retiring, but he will be allowed to coach the rest of the season. (AP photo)
Joe Paterno will coach at least three more football games.
This is not going to be pretty.
Paterno confirmed this morning that he will retire at the end of the season. This follows ugly sexual abuse claims against former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky and the belief by many that school officials, including Paterno, may have been complicit in covering up the matter and/or could have done more to push for an investigation.
Paterno released a statement in which he conceded, “With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.”
They were the proper words. But they should have been spoken, not released via email, before anybody at Penn State even considered allowing him back on the sideline.
I can’t imagine any university, company or entity handling a situation worse than how Penn State has handled the past few days.
Paterno’s complete statement:
“I am absolutely devastated by the developments in this case. I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief.
“I have come to work every day for the last 61 years with one clear goal in mind: To serve the best interests of this university and the young men who have been entrusted to my care. I have the same goal today.
“That’s why I have decided to announce my retirement effective at the end of this season. At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can. This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.
“My goals now are to keep my commitments to my players and staff and finish the season with dignity and determination. And then I will spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to help this University.”
I wrote the other day about how sickening this 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 — live, in a room, behind a microphone, with people. 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, given Paterno’s stature and reputation before this story broke.
I believed that Paterno needed to get behind a microphone, answer every question, show remorse and make us believe that there was no intent on his part to cover up such alleged heinous crimes for a long-time friend.
Because anybody who enabled Sandusky also belongs behind bars.
But Penn State already has made its decision. That’s a mistake. It’s as if the university is allowing Paterno one final power play in State College.
It’s going to be ugly in “Happy Valley” at Saturday’s final home game against Nebraska.
It’s going to be ugly and scary when Paterno and Penn State go on the road for the final two games to Ohio State and Wisconsin.
If Paterno coaches in a bowl game, the atmosphere certainly is not going to seem like a season celebration, which is what bowl games were intended to be.
Penn State dropped the ball. And when everybody looks at Paterno on the sideline Saturday, the first thought most will have won’t be, “There’s a great football coach.”
By Jeff Schultz
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590 comments Add your comment
Cardinal Paterno
November 9th, 2011
12:04 pm
Paterno knew the whole truth the moment the grad assistant told him what he’d witnessed. And if Paterno didn’t believe the grad assistant, the revered coach should have fired the GA for starting a malicious rumor. Instead, Mike McQueary, the grad assistant in question, is Paterno’s receivers coach. Paterno either believed what McQueary said or knew it all along—either way, he turned a blind eye to what was going on. If he had thought McQueary was telling a lie, or if Paterno simply felt McQueary was exaggerating, he would have fired McQueary and brought in any one of a number of dime-dozen grad assistants. Instead, McQueary has been made a full member of Paterno’s staff.
That Paterno stands up today and says he is devastated and grieves for the children… He’s had nearly 10 years to deal with his grief. And for him to lead a cheer for his supporters in his own yard last night… Disgusting. He should be terminated. Today.
I tell you who’s devastated. All the boys who’ve been raped by Sandusky while no one lifted a finger to stop him.
St Simons - we're on Island time
November 9th, 2011
12:06 pm
nope, this ain’t gonna be good enough, i don’t think
Disgusted with media
November 9th, 2011
12:07 pm
If Paterno coaches in a bowl game, the atmosphere certainly is not going to seem like a season celebration, which is what bowl games were intended to be.
That’s because yourself and every other media source race to be the first to make spectacles out of issues like this as if the world is one big reality TV show. Can you not wait until all the facts, statements, etc have been gathered before writing provocative articles and kicking this man to the curb?? Isn’t that what the legal system is for? But no, let’s sell some newspapers and bring advertising revenue to your blog and discredit Joe all for money’s sake, because just in case he does turn out to have been one of the bad guys in this case, you have to have been one of the first people to call it right?. Forget about libel when money’s involved, and forget that you are helping shape the opinion of thousands of clueless readers. Good job Schultz, way to use the 20/20 hindsight and outsider’s perspective to over-analyze and throw a good man under the bus and contribute to destroying a reputation that only took over 60 years to earn. I mean it’s easy to be 84 years old, coach a highly reputable university football team, AND deal with this scandal at the same time right?
Now write me a blog about ethics in the media…..
Starring Kam Fong as Chin Ho
November 9th, 2011
12:08 pm
@ In Joe We Trust, finally a well written response. I thank you.
cmon man
November 9th, 2011
12:09 pm
Bulldog Steve you are right. Im simply pissed that Joe himself says that he was told what happened in 2002 and he knew what happened in 1998. Those are facts. He did nothing but talked to 1 person about it and was at the same football complex in 2007 with another lil boy. Does that not piss you off??? Those are three FACTS…..No matter what anybody says, Joe is the leader of that department. The responsibility most certainly resides with him too. That is a fact.
ARdawg
November 9th, 2011
12:11 pm
Guys you can put all the lipstick and rouge you like on this pig and it is still a pig. Joe Pa’s lack of action is giving him a hand in every child rape of Sandusky from that point forward. He is afterall, Joe Pa, isn’t he?
Outraged
November 9th, 2011
12:12 pm
UGA Bug Killer has it right. All college football fans act as enablers to the extent they support the rationalization. If children are threatened you can’t wait for complex legal proceedings to do something to protect them. The fact that this continued for years while turning a blind eye is the problem. If this was your child being abused would you buy this garbage about “well the jury hasn’t convicted anyone yet so we just have to wait and see”??!!
gt4ever
November 9th, 2011
12:13 pm
Hmmmmmm,
Are you kidding? Good Grief!
Matt
November 9th, 2011
12:13 pm
It’s not that hard. You tell your superiors and call the cops. You don’t tell your superiors and then go about your business for the next 10 years.
jeff
November 9th, 2011
12:14 pm
Jeff, you’re totally spot on, in both columns. These people who are saying Joe Pa is being “prosecuted” are not too bright. No, he’s NOT being prosecuted, b/c it “appears” at least that he did the bare minimum from a legal standpoint. He failed miserably, however, in meeting his moral and ethical obligations in this situation, in the process enabling Sandusky to sentence at least 6 (or many more we’re finding out) to a lifetime of pain. If he had any class and real integrity like he has sanctimoniously said all these years, he’d step down today. But that’s not the “icon’s” way.
TechMan
November 9th, 2011
12:19 pm
An attorney on the radio said that Paterno actually did go to the head of the university police, which are the two administrators he talked to. So what was that again about him failing moral responsibilities? What should he have done – called every day to make sure progress was being made?
Dawg48
November 9th, 2011
12:20 pm
@ in Joe we trust
People have been talking about the GA……..
They are all as guilty!
itpdude
November 9th, 2011
12:21 pm
I’m ashamed as an American to see the rush-to-judgment but heartened that many (presumably) Georgians are decrying the mob-mentality of concluding Paterno is evil before a sober investigation, and analysis, of the facts.
Remember, a lynch-mob mentality may feel good now, but it rarely plays well in the history books. Remember Leo Frank if you doubt me.
bud
November 9th, 2011
12:21 pm
Enter your comments here
Winston Churchill
November 9th, 2011
12:22 pm
Sometimes is not enough to do what is “best”, sometimes we must do what is required.
JoePa could have done more and should have done more….
TyreH
November 9th, 2011
12:23 pm
When you see a crime and look the other way, you are just as guilty as the perpetrator.
How many other children were exploited since 1999?
Joe P. should not be allowed to be in the College FB Hall of Fame!
He has to suffer the consequences, just as other sports figures have.
Douglas
November 9th, 2011
12:24 pm
I cannot believe some of you are defending Paterno. I have respected him for many years, but not now. As a minister and therapist, Paterno could have done more to stop this monster: it’s always better to err on the side of caution and protect a child but Paterno refused to do that in this case — he should have called the police and Child Protection Services immediately. The sin of omission is just as bad as the sin of commission: Paterno refused to do the right thing and should have done more to protect children.
Mom of 3
November 9th, 2011
12:25 pm
@DawgDad…….Are you CRAZY? I have a 9 year old son. If I witnessed an act that horrific, there is NO WAY I would have walked away. This was a little boy. A LITTLE BOY!!!!! Disgusting. What a sad, sad world we live in when an adult walks away from saving a child from a predator.
Retirement statement by Penn State’s Paterno – Reuters | Murad Acne Complex Reviews
November 9th, 2011
12:27 pm
[...] Atlanta Journal Constitution [...]
TechMan
November 9th, 2011
12:27 pm
Douglas – like I said, if what an attorney said was correct, he did report it to the head of the university police. Wouldn’t that have been more effective than reporting to Child Protective Services?
Douglas
November 9th, 2011
12:27 pm
Techman: let me ask you a question: if that was your son being molested, would you expect Paterno to call the police or administrators every day to make sure something was happening or just leave it alone?
Jerrius
November 9th, 2011
12:28 pm
Not so sure you guys would be so quick to jump on one of your own. Seems like you believe we don’t need a legal system. Let’s just go with any old allegation and hang the guy. Geez.
Matt
November 9th, 2011
12:28 pm
TechMan- actually yes. If it was your kid in the bathroom being raped would you call every day??? Good grief people. At some point he realized that nothing was being done. You go to the real police and then you walk away from Penn St.
This has nothing to do with acting high and mighty and judgemental. THis has to do with doing what is right. I go to my boss, if my boss isn’t going to do anything, then I go to his boss, and so forth. I contact the police as well, the real police.
You don’t get a pass just because those you informed did nothing. Take it upon yourself to notify someone until something IS done!!!!!
ANy of you who defend any of these cowards are despicable and would be singing a much different tune if it was your kid being raped in the shower!!!!
Mark (another one)
November 9th, 2011
12:30 pm
I would expect that If JoePa had committed a crime he would have been indicted along with the others. But sometimes we have responsiblities that aren’t written in the criminal code. They’re moral in nature, and JoePa blew it.
I understand a young GA scared to act. He is an unpaid, low-level member of the coaching staff learning the ropes. He went to Paterno and the administration and explained all. He was not under a legal obligation to attack Sandusky and he probably looked to JoePa and his father for guidance as to how to report things. He probably assumed the campus police would be engaged by the administration (one of the two administrators he spoke with was over the campus police). He was also told that appropriate actions had been taken.
So, the witness reported it to three people, JoePa and the two administrators under indictment. None of these three engaged the police and the administrators tried to cover it up. JoePa didn’t break the law but his inaction led to a sex offender being on the loose for another nine years and who knows how many more sexual assaults. I take on its face that JoePa’s statement that he wishes he had done more. However, his lack of action led directly to additional victims.
Its time to resign. Immediately. No three extra games. No bowl. Resign and let the University start its healing process. If JoePa truly regrets his inaction and loves his University, resign.
Rickb
November 9th, 2011
12:30 pm
In JOE we Trust, they all should be thrown to the wolves. Football does not matter when 7 to 12 year old boys are being raped.
Baddabing
November 9th, 2011
12:33 pm
Paterno is not serving his team or the best interests of the University by announcing he’s retiring at the end of the season and staying on for the last three games. He should have said that he’s stepping down immediately and hopes one day to be vindicated of any wrong doing once all the facts are heard. At minimum he should say he will coach his last game Saturday from the coaches box so as not to create more of a distraction.
Matt
November 9th, 2011
12:34 pm
ITP dude- you are ashamed as an American at the “rush to judgement”?????? I’m ashamed as a human being there are actually people trying defend any of these cowards. How the tune would be different if it was your kid in that shower!!!!
If you are JoePa you call anyone and evreryone till something is done. He called campus police (who did nothing) and then walks away???? What other facts do you need???
Grad asst. sees evil, tells bosses, bosses tell bosses, nothing happens, they all go back to work for the next 10 years.
ARE YOU PEOPLE KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!? Just because I tell my boss what happens does not free me of a legal and moral responsibility in this case!!!!
gdawginkalamazoo
November 9th, 2011
12:34 pm
Cardinal @12:04, my point exactly reagarding the GA.
some things are more important than football
November 9th, 2011
12:34 pm
If Joe Paterno really cared about Penn State,
he would show respect by not coaching another game.
Warren Spahn
November 9th, 2011
12:34 pm
It might be a good idea for you people, indcluding Schultz, to get a few facts before you hang paterno.
TechMan
November 9th, 2011
12:35 pm
No. IMO, (if what I read and hear on the radio is correct) he fulfilled his legal and moral duty by how he reported it.
If I saw someone being attacked in any way on the street, children included, I would report it and, if I felt I was capable, attempt to stop the attack. I would not follow up with the police, DA, etc. to make sure they were doing their jobs. My feeling is none of you on this board would either.
Matt
November 9th, 2011
12:35 pm
Some of you are correct though, being a coward, is not illegal.
katherine
November 9th, 2011
12:35 pm
come on now…do you really think that the assistant and his father didn’t tell joe pa exactly what he saw…being as how he was so distraught and all. Why weren’t the police called? There is no getting around the fact that at least 6 or 7 adults knew what had happened and did nothing about it. You can sugar coat it all you want, but they all did the wrong thing…period. It’s a disgrace.
Matt
November 9th, 2011
12:36 pm
TechMan, you are a moron and a coward.
College Football Expert
November 9th, 2011
12:36 pm
Paterno supporters are sick in the head. Blind worship is all it is. Shame on you people.
coach55
November 9th, 2011
12:37 pm
I don’t know if Paterno is guilty but it seems that he and his organization think he is. I really don’t believe the arresting authorities would have movedon this without some sound evidence. If he is guilty of not reporting this to the authorities (Police) then he should absolutely be removed immediately. He should be investigated and charged appropriately, any victories he has after he was made aware of this child molester should be removed from his record. After all, it looks to me like he has proven by his actions that he cares about himself, his reputation and the reputation of his program far more than he cares about those innocent child victims. This is absolutely disgraceful.
Matt
November 9th, 2011
12:38 pm
Warren Spahn- unless you read differently than I do I know as much as you. The fact that you can even think about defending him is disgusting.
A person SMART enough to know......
November 9th, 2011
12:39 pm
DOUGLAS…………….Joe Pa going to the police without PROOF means nothing. The Grad Ass was the WITNESS. What Joe Pa knew is considered Hear Say/ Rumor.
Douglas I heard you get drunk and beat your wife! I call the police to tell them what I heard. What do you think they will do or tell me? The WITNESS or VICTIM as to make the claim for an investigation to start or charges to be filed. Hear Say is not enough for Probable Cause.
GIVE ME A BREAK
November 9th, 2011
12:42 pm
How do the Pope and priests not report child rape to the police but rather cover it up for the good of the church? How does Paterno not follow up in contacting the child and offering help? How does the coward GA live with himself after walking away from a child being raped? How does Paterno not question his so called friend about being seen raping a child? Paterno knew what was going on and stood back like a coward and let it happen. May you spend eternity in hell.
Joe
November 9th, 2011
12:43 pm
“If Paterno coaches in a bowl game, the atmosphere certainly is not going to seem like a season celebration, which is what bowl games were intended to be.”
That’s because yourself and every other media source race to be the first to make spectacles out of issues like this as if the world is one big reality TV show. Can you not wait until all the facts, statements, etc have been gathered before writing provocative articles and kicking this man to the curb?? Isn’t that what the legal system is for? But no, let’s sell some newspapers and bring advertising revenue to your blog and discredit Joe all for money’s sake, because just in case he does turn out to have been one of the bad guys in this case, you have to have been one of the first people to call it right?. Forget about libel when money’s involved, and forget that you are helping shape the opinion of thousands of clueless readers. Good job Schultz, way to use the 20/20 hindsight and outsider’s perspective to over-analyze and throw a good man under the bus and contribute to destroying a reputation that only took over 60 years to earn. I mean it’s easy to be 84 years old, coach a highly reputable university football team, AND deal with this scandal at the same time right?
Now write me a blog about ethics in the media…..
To everyone else attacking Joe, read the report. He was informed from the grad assistant about ONE of the incidents, and he immediately informed his supervisor, the Athletic Director who took it from there. Joe didn’t molest the kids, he wasn’t the one who was supposed to be investigating. His only fault was assuming the AD was handling the case appropriately.
But wait… I forgot everyone on here who has children themselves is entitled to pass judgement (ignorantly) on this man who has done more in his life than they ever have or ever will. Then again, you’re only focusing on Joe because that’s who the media’s talking about. Paterno’s getting more coverage than all the actual lawbreakers here, but if the media says it has to be this way, it must be ok.
Bill
November 9th, 2011
12:44 pm
I agree with you Jeff 100%..I read the Grand jury report. JP, also the President and couple police officers need to go also..Thanks for your excellent report on the matter.
TechMan
November 9th, 2011
12:44 pm
yay, I’m a coward and a moron! Thanks for adding value to the conversation, Matt. Full disclosure, if someone has a loaded gun and they’re committing a crime. I’m probably not going to try and stop them. I’ll get word to the authorities as quickly as possible. Matt – I’m sure you would run right in there and try to stop the perp.
TechMan
November 9th, 2011
12:45 pm
Still looking for outrage at the 1998 DA that chose not to press charges. Yet somehow we expect Paterno to exact justice with the same info (I assume) that the DA had.
Eric
November 9th, 2011
12:46 pm
I’m still in disbelief that Joe Paterno was actually told of sexual abuse being perpetrated by someone under his supervisory control and did…nothing! Nothing at all to protect children from a sexual predator! He shouldn’t be allowed to retire at the end of the season but be FIRED TODAY! Furthermore, he should face criminal and civil charges for his inaction.
Matt
November 9th, 2011
12:46 pm
A person SMART enough to know- when that many people are involved it is not kept quiet. If this Grad Assistant was thought to have made a false accusation of that magnitude do you think he would’ve been kept on staff there??????? He would’v been fired, which would’ve given him even more reason to blow the whistle.
Joe Pa- so what were the results of what that kid said
VP- nothing, kid was lying
JoePa- oh, ok. Hey maybe we should keep him on the staff despite his false accusations that could hang us all.
Don't care much for college football ...
November 9th, 2011
12:46 pm
A person SMART enough to know – your point is well taken. And that may be good enough for you or me. But neither of us are Joe Paterno – who, in 2002, had reached near deity status in College Station. He needed to call the police over to his house and have McQuery tell them what he saw. You are right – Joe did not have anything to tell them – but McQuery did and Joe needed to support McQuery. He is, after all, Joe Pa. Anything short of that was inadequate. “Sucess with Honor.”
Paul in NH
November 9th, 2011
12:47 pm
“I can’t imagine any university, company or entity handling a situation worse than how Penn State has handled the past few days”
I have to agree with this 100%. Paterno and the University President each need to have open question press conferences.
Whats Important
November 9th, 2011
12:47 pm
All those who would defend Joe Paterno, I would like to pose a question to you. If a graduate assistant showed up at your house, with his father, and told you that a man who had worked for you, who was with you virtually everyday, for the past thirty years was in a shower with a young boy in the locker room (here I’ll take Joe’s testimony that the GA said “it was something sexual in nature” rather than “rape” which is what the GA testified to under oath in front of the grand jury) this coach was a good friend of your’s, wouldn’t your first thought be to call that coach, that friend of thirty years, and say “I have some people in my house who are saying you were inappropriate with a young boy, get over here right away. I want to hear your side of the story in front of them.” He did not do that, in my belief, because he already knew the allegations were true. He went to the AD and said, I got rid of him after the 1998 incident (remember Sandusky retired in 1999) now you handle covering it up. He knew, he knew the man was involved with a foundation that targeted young boys and he said nothing. I for all the people who want “all the facts to come out”, the grand jury report was a synopsis of their findings. Believe me when I tell you a great deal of facts were presented to them that you, the papers, no one know about. That will come out at the trial.
P.Oed Dad
November 9th, 2011
12:49 pm
For those who think Paterno is innocent here ask yourself this one simple question. If that was your son getting abused in the shower, would you have been satisfied that the most powerful man on the campus, a leader, teacher and protector of kids (his words, not mine) handed it off to someone under him (and yes the AD is under him in the power rankings of that university)and walked away from it. If you can honestly say you would be happy with that action then I hope for God’s sake you don’t have children. Paterno’s only concern was his career, reputation and that of his staff. It is a moral outrage what all those men did, period.
Rufus1
November 9th, 2011
12:49 pm
Joe is sad he got caught….
This is proof that CONSPIRACIES DON’T START IN A BOARD ROOM……When you create a culture of coruption and lying for money, your sense of morality erodes over time and you find yourself tolerating a PEDIFILE for your own interests….Wow
This is what MLB did…Steroids
This is what the NBA did…”Jordan Rules”