Jo Paterno Fired
Link: http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/It-8217-s-o…
Bradley will be interim.
November 10th, 2011 at 12:17 PM ^
He was 28, for crissake.
November 9th, 2011 at 11:54 PM ^
can see why these guys never made it on the real news;
November 9th, 2011 at 11:55 PM ^
To preface, I'm somewhat ignorant when it comes to issues dealing with the higher-ups and the like withinin large institutions and companies i.e the who/what/hows of a group such as a BOT. My first question, is this whole "mess" something the BOT, or at least certain members, have known about, before this last week? I'm leaning towards yes. It seems the whole University has known about this for a long time, why would the BOT not? Many are calling for a complete clean-out of the AD and of many others associated with this case. It seems the BOT are the ones to commence said clean-out? But what makes the BOT any better and capable of doing so if they themselves have known about all of this?
Quite possibly I need to grasp this whole situation better and gather more facts than I now have. I however find it odd for us all to compliment, if you will, a committee who have also been somewhat responsible for the hush-hush of this situation.
Any cordial insight apprecatied.
November 9th, 2011 at 11:58 PM ^
should offer full scholarships to all of the victims, at the least. But i am sure they will want nothing to do with that institution for the rest of their lives.
November 10th, 2011 at 12:34 AM ^
halol indeed.
November 10th, 2011 at 12:36 AM ^
So is cheating on your hot famous wife...with a 22 year old skank in a hot tub Ashton.
November 10th, 2011 at 1:33 AM ^
He retracted upon learning the reason why. So he's just ignorant.
November 10th, 2011 at 3:37 AM ^
...And he decided to post a kneejerk reaction to a story he heard. Luckily nobody like that around here.
November 10th, 2011 at 12:01 AM ^
Perfect job for Tressel to take over.
November 10th, 2011 at 12:19 AM ^
Now's probably not the time to take shots at anything football related.
November 10th, 2011 at 12:03 AM ^
crazy
November 10th, 2011 at 12:04 AM ^
...But in a secondary concern I have is for how Paterno's health holds up to this stress.
Having his entire life's work sullied & ripped away due to a grave sin of omission, has to be rough on an 84 year old man.
And let me temper this by saying, I understand that the stress on the young men victimized is orders of magnitude greater.
But, I don't wish physical harm on Joe Paterno.
November 10th, 2011 at 12:10 AM ^
i have is how the mental health of the 40 victims holds up to the post traumatic stress they will have to deal with.
November 10th, 2011 at 12:17 AM ^
40 counts, not 40 victims.
Just trying to keep the story straight.
November 10th, 2011 at 12:48 AM ^
fair enough.
November 10th, 2011 at 12:12 AM ^
media is in a feeding frenzy
November 10th, 2011 at 12:13 AM ^
Sickening watching Penn St students & ESPN on air talent equivocating about Paterno; if it was your kid, Rece Davis, how would you feel? If you witness a crime, you alert the authorities. If you hear of this happening on your watch, you report a crime, you alert the authorities. Not reporting child molestation is indefensible. Period. Nothing else to say.
November 10th, 2011 at 12:25 AM ^
Paterno didn't witness it. As far as Paterno was concerned, it could have all been hearsay.
November 10th, 2011 at 12:46 AM ^
Either hearsay doesn't mean what you think it does or you don't know the facts. A witness came to him. In other words, this was first hand information.
November 10th, 2011 at 7:40 AM ^
Hearsay is essentially "Person X says that Person Y says this" or "Person X heard a rumor that..."
This is "Person X says he saw an old man sexually abusing a ten-year-old in a shower"
November 10th, 2011 at 8:08 AM ^
if this happens on your watch and you are told about it, you report it to the police. It is not anyone's job but a Judge to determine what is hearsay or not.
If you are accued of committing child sexual abuse at work by a co-worker who makes a credible claim against you, do you expect that you would not be reported to the police? Do you expect you'll keep your job while the claim is investigated? Any reasonable claim of a crime comitted at work, using one's position as the lure for their abusive actions, morally demands that it be reported to the police.
Individuals and institiutions are not the judge and jury in these cases, Judges and Juries are. The Grand Jury testimony underscores a huge moral failing by the school and staff.
The entire PSU administration deserves what they are getting for this. It should not be lost on anyone that the President of the University is also gone. Don't let your sentiments for an old man in his last days as a football coach blind you; top to bottom, PSU failed in a huge way in a situation that ranks near the top of morally reprehensible actions.
November 10th, 2011 at 10:24 AM ^
of employment have procedures in place when dealing with criminal activity, violence, harrassment, etc. Most have a dedicated person or persons (HR, hotlines) that you are supposed to direct these concerns too. Although MOST also point out that if your life or someone else's is in danger to directly call the police. When you notify them of said activity, you are TRUSTING that these people will do their jobs correctly and handle it accordingly. Unfortunately, when those in the postions of power do not, all parties take the fall.
November 10th, 2011 at 12:23 AM ^
at Sandusky's place?
November 10th, 2011 at 12:32 AM ^
It looks like I disagree with most of you on here. Legally, I don't think Penn State had any right to let Joe Pa go.
"So let me get this straight... I didn't see any of this happen 12 years ago, but when it did happen... 12 years ago... I told my boss about it... 12 years ago... and a third of you on the committee knew about it as well... so I didn't break any laws, or even lie about anything. But I'm still getting let go?"
I don't think JoePa is a hero anymore, as I once though. But I don't think its justifiable that he got let go. Its clear that the Board understands that the University needs to sever all ties with the PSU that was associated with this disgusting shit, but this wasn't justifiable. And it looks like Scott Paterno's lawyer agrees wtih me. But I'd say he's a little biased as well. Lol
November 10th, 2011 at 1:00 AM ^
before firing such a tenured faculty member
November 10th, 2011 at 4:26 AM ^
almost every contract has a moral community standards clause.
November 10th, 2011 at 3:04 PM ^
They do not have tenure and the university does not need to cite a reason in the firing. There might be a claus in their contract regarding the financial package.
November 10th, 2011 at 12:51 AM ^
Watching these students makes me grieve for humanity. Seriously, is this where we are as a society? Pathetic.
November 10th, 2011 at 12:58 AM ^
firing tenured faculty members without a hearing is a big no-no
JoePa can take them to the cleaners
November 10th, 2011 at 1:06 AM ^
but there is most likely a conduct clause in his contract, and with his testimony as evidence, they might have had all they needed to dismiss him with cause. Additionally, he didn't have much time left on his contract so the net value remaining should have been relatively small.
November 10th, 2011 at 1:14 AM ^
unclear how wrongful his conduct actually was, in a legal sense, though.
November 10th, 2011 at 1:34 AM ^
yeah it doesn't have to be legally. It can be moral/ethics related. Its pretty standard in most big businesses. I have to sign an ethics compliance statement annually.
November 10th, 2011 at 8:51 AM ^
Mr. Paterno was neither tenured, nor a faculty member. He was a football coach.
November 10th, 2011 at 11:47 AM ^
He doesn't have tenure. That he has an expiring contract makes that obvious.
November 10th, 2011 at 1:04 AM ^
this isn't about joe paterno. this is about an athletic department and administration that dropped the ball TWICE letting a pedophile around the school and children after he was charged once and was caught the second time. the consequences was children being...i don't even want to say the word but everyone knows what happened. IF YOU CAN'T KEEP THAT FROM HAPPENING ON YOUR WATCH YOU DON'T GET TO KEEP YOUR JOB AND THAT GOES FOR PATERNO, THE ATHLETIC DIRECTER, THE PRESIDENT AND ANYONE ELSE IN THAT CHAIN OF COMMAND!
November 10th, 2011 at 1:10 AM ^
wall o' capslock. Might want to avoid doing that. Some of the old-timers get pretty cranky when they see things like this.
now get the fuck off my lawn
November 10th, 2011 at 1:10 AM ^
November 10th, 2011 at 1:29 AM ^
This is from the PSU radio staff, and they evidently were some of the shouters. Its bizzaro.
November 10th, 2011 at 7:30 AM ^
And not to honor the victims? First the pro-child rape rally gone violent last night, now this. The sickness obviously runs deep there, I never thought OSU would look good in comparison to PSU.
November 10th, 2011 at 7:40 AM ^
Farwell Joe Pa and Penn State
November 10th, 2011 at 9:27 AM ^
lol its all good
November 10th, 2011 at 10:30 AM ^
Turn back the clock a year. If someone told you both Tressel and Paterno would both be ousted in the next twelve months as a result of scandals, what would have been your reactions?
I'm a little disappointed that THE_KNOWLEDGE didn't give us some hints that this was coming so we could have braced ourselves. Maybe he did, but I didn't catch on?
November 10th, 2011 at 10:44 AM ^
And that Miami would get caught in a scandal involving paying players and prostitutes... wait, that one wasn't that surprising.
November 10th, 2011 at 5:29 PM ^
I wouldn't have believed it at all. Crazy times in the NCAA.
November 10th, 2011 at 11:32 AM ^
Clearly the problem here was institutional. Paterno was a part of that, but only a part. The problem is within the entire athletic department and, juding by the firing of the school president, the entire university administration as well.
It's the school that should be punished, first and foremost.
November 10th, 2011 at 11:36 AM ^
before last week Paterno was the most powerful man on that campus.....the king of Creepy Valley. If he had pressed the issue, demanded more be done, ban Sandusky from facilities, any of these he would not be in this situation. Instead he was an accomplice by doing nothing. Scumbag
November 10th, 2011 at 11:37 AM ^
How does McQueary still have a job? This makes no sense to me. I think the Trustees did the right thing in firing Jo Pa but to retain McQueary and let him coach this weekend? He had just as much involvement as Paterno.
November 10th, 2011 at 12:10 PM ^
.......pointing out several important points during the whole affair. It is remarkable, but not entirely surprising, that the whole thing was allowed to go on as long as it did. There are several points during the period this was going on that it could have been stopped dead in it's tracks and it wouldn't be the same story that it is today.
I just recently finished a training class on industrial accidents, and amazingly, those accidents happen due to nearly the same reasons as this past five day blowup at PSU has. A systemic failure of communication. A failure to accomplish simple actions in response to a casualty(incident witnessed, or second hand heard about). Ignoring repeated incidents(if one doesn't talk about it, then it never happened). Covering up incidents where the backlash may catch you up in the wave.
JoePa could have been saved from ever having to deal with this, ever, if it never was allowed to get to the point that it was. If, for example, in 1998 the DA decided to press charges for the first known incident, Sandusky might have been put away then. If, for example, in 2000 the janitors had reported it to police, Sandusky might have been put away then. In 2002 if the GA had reported it not only to Joe himself, but also the police, then Joe would have been out of the loop on what he could, or didn't, do. Or, also in 2002, if the PSU admin had taken the appropriate steps(namely, informing the police and launching an honest internal investigation), Joe would never have been put in a situation where he had a choice in the matter.
Joe was both a victim of circumstance, initially, but eventually a culpable part of the failure that allowed this to go on so long. It is right that he is fired. It is also a tragedy that he had to be fired. The true victims, the children abused by Sandusky, were failed, at several different points, and by several people, including, in the end, a man who many thought to be of such high moral character many considered him to be a saint.
Incidents become large, and catastrophic, if initial indications and incidents never get the attention they deserve, or, if appropriate responses never happened.
November 10th, 2011 at 12:50 PM ^
Spot on. This is perhaps the most amazing example of complete organizational fuckup at every step that I've ever seen, with the only possible exception of the Catholic Church. This is not to excuse individuals from their culpability, but I suspect this tragedy is going to be a cautionary tale for institutions and organizations of all sizes for decades to come.