Paterno: What can NCAA do?

Paterno's actions were legally adequate and morally abhorrent. Unfortunately, you can't get punished just moral abhorrence.

What's really troubling is that Sandusky was caught in 98 for this and was told to stop showering with kids. How those officers aren't taking any heat for this is beyond me. If it had been the janitor that caught Sandusky and not Sandusky, he would be in jail on a life sentence. What kind of crooked culture is that? Think of how many lives have forever been altered because of this scumbag.

Also, the whole "well he's JoePa's friend" argument is maddening. If JoePa was so relaxed (not sure if that's the right word) with his dealing on the situation because Sandusky is a close friend that makes it sooooo much worse. 

I'm literally in a 'State of Shock' right now.  This is not even an issue for sports fans but the general populace as a whole-- the image of Penn State has endured countless arrests, accusations and other hypocrisy, but this is something far different.

The greater community right now is numb, just tongue-tied with disgust and disbelief.  No one's joking, no one's laughing it off or even denying it.  There's just nothing to say.   

From where I'm standing, I think Paterno himself will probably escape relatively unscathed unless someone in the media really trains the crosshairs on him.  At least, legally and professionally, that is.  I don't think he's gonna get pulled down with the rest of them.  But it's his image, and ultimately his legacy, that will be tarnished, and in the worst possible way.   You can say what you want about mental health or senility or whatever, but few people doubt that he's generally a good, honest man.  And because he's always had this image of going above and beyond what was permissible to do what's right, it will also be his undoing.  He did enough-- but he's always been painted as the type of guy who doesn't settle with 'enough'.

I think a lot of people tried to look the other way to protect someone that they thought of as their own, and failed to see him for the perpetrator he was.  Curley claimed that he just thought it was 'horsing around,' but then banned Sandusky anyway.  Hypocrisy-- he's gone, and he should be.  This guy clearly was trying to sweep something under the rug, and was more concerned with protecting his program than the victims and subsequent future victims.

Ignoring this kind of stuff is like walking past a ticking bomb under a bus and doing nothing about it.

I really have nothing against JoePa in the matter, except for the part of his press release where he states that he didn't know the extent of what the grad assistant saw.  Clearly McQueary told him exactly what he saw and how bad it was.  Paterno's entire argument hinges on that portion of his statement, really-- How much did he know?

I would hope McQueary isn't pulled into the mud-- he saw what he saw and he blew the whistle on it.  If he was told to keep his mouth shut, I would think we'll find out.  And if he did, even when he knew he was wrong, well... that's where it gets complicated.

The whole darn thing is complicated... and messy.  Two weeks ago the entire state was praising the old man for his record win, and now this???  Common belief around here, since I was a boy, was that Joe earned the right to call his own number, and on his own terms.  Now...  I wouldn't be all that surprised if a new AD eventually wipes the slate in the aftermath of the ugliest PR nightmare any athletic program has possibly ever endured.

As it stands, right now in the Keystone State the mere words "Penn State" are positively cringeworthy.

This is outside of the NCAA's purview, since it doesn't have anything to do with actual competition. I don't expect that they'll have anything to say about it.

Even though Tressel was a huge influential figure at OSU, he wasn't even close to what Paterno is.
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<br>I doubt there has ever been a head coach in the history of college athletics that has more power and influence at his school than Joe Paterno.

1. Legal Issues. As most people have mentioned, this is, at it's core, a LEGAL matter. Laws were broken. Which laws, etc. are up to the courts and stuff. We know there was alleged molestation, and an alledged cover up. As of now, with the grand jury stuff, Paterno is not found to have done anything ILLEGAL. (As far as I understand the "failure to report" parts) The AD and VP of whatever are found to have broken the law by not reporting, and perjured themselves in the process.

2. NCAA Issues. This is the big difference. No NCAA rules were broken here. This is why this case is SO different and should NOT be compared to OSU or Miami. It is not Illegal to sell your own jersey. It is an NCAA Violation. It is Illegal to molest children. The NCAA has nothing to do with this case

3. Moral Issues. This is where Joe Pa is in trouble. In the court of public opinion, and in a total non-legal sense, Joe Pa is one of many people who made mistakes. Huge mistakes. There were many,many people along the way who could have, and (morally, possibly legally) SHOULD have called the police. By failing to do so they all contributed to the continuing molestation of children. Maybe by not calling the police Joe Pa (and others, including the then grad-assistant) didn't break the LAW, but they did not act MORALLY CORRECTLY either. Whether doing the WRONG thing (not illegal, possibly) is a fire-able offense is the next question.

It has been intimated many times that the next coach at PSU is NOT currently on the staff.  This is an open rumor among the Homer Faithful.  They have been hoping and praying that Urban Meyer will be that next coach just grasping at that rumor alone.  

I don't find it to be a coincedence that one week before this shitstorm came ashore in (un)Happy Valley, Miami and Al Golden started renogotiating his contract.  He has openly coveted that job for many years and put in time at other schools.  He's generally respected as a squeaky clean guy that runs a tight ship.

The only thing missing right now is the wife's cousin's brother-in-law is a realtor rumor  showing him a home in State College.

Paterno is done.

A lot of people here are jumping to conclusions, presuming everybody guilty until proven innocent.

Nobody knows exactly what happened to whom and who knew exactly what was alleged and when.  We may never know.

Let the justice system do its work and let more facts come to light... then people can weigh in.  Even then there will be gray areas.  Especially when it comes to alleged sex crimes, objective evidence of wrongdoing may be completely absent.  Unfortunately, this does not prevent prosecutions and even convictions.  Our justice system is incredibly flawed even in this day and age and often functions like the Salem witch trials when it comes to sex crimes. The allegations are disgustingly horrible and hopefully every guilty party is appropriately punished.  But convicting people without solid evidence and completely destroying their lives can be even more horrible.

So it's probably best for everybody to keep an open and rational mind about this situation.

Hopefully, the NCAA does likewise.

Is it just me or does Joe Paterno get waaaay too much credit and praise. He has been at PSU forever, of course he's going to have a TON of wins. He always had a big ego and crushed the Pitt PSU rivalry because he felt "wronged" by Pitt. The last decade, he has basically been holding Penn State hostage while him and Bowden competed for the most win mark. He has clearly only been a figurehead for the past 5+ years. He can't travel, so can't recruit, can't be on the sidelines at games, can't be an effective in-game coach, probably can't read that well (thick glasses) or speak loudly (giving direction at practice) or even walk too much.

To me, this scandal makes it less likely that he will get his "ride off in the sunset" sendoff. He should be gone after this season, gone as in not the coach at Penn State, not what you were thinking for a second. =)

Also, his name should probably be removed from the Big Ten Championship trophy, right?

is he's a PSU big shot, former player and coach, and friend of Joe P.  Any "lesser" person would be behind bars now.  That's what makes this so horrific.  The Penn State administrators were clearly attempting to cover all this up - completely losing sight of the further terrible crimes by Sandusky they were enabling by protecting him.  Getting back to the OP, the NCAA will do nothing here.  This is a criminal legal case in an area outside of NCAA rules.  What former coaches do outside of the program isn't their concern.   Really, the group that should be taking decisive action here is the PSU Board of Regents (or whatever they call the governing body there).  They need to be VERY concerned about not just the football program's reputation but the entire university's as well.  How they handle this will say a lot about their character and ethics. 

I don't post that often, but I haven't seen anyone else mention this, so I'll throw it out there.

I remember Mike McQueary as a pretty big guy. A quick google search gave McQueary's ht/wt as 6'4'', 213lbs. He was 28. Sandusky was an old man.

Why didn't McQueary stop it? 

Why turn around and leave the room and call his father? And then exit the building?

Why not go up to them, shove Sandusky away and take the boy out of the room?

The kid was in jeopardy. McQueary is a big, strong athlete.  Stop them and take the kid to safety.

If I am wrong here, what am I missing?

protestations that Paterno did what was required. Sandusky is using your beloved school's facilities to do this stuff and you don't ring the alarm to the high heavens? (I mean, someone is assaulting a  kid in Michigan's locker rooms, what would you hope Hoke did? Tell Brandon and then not worry when Brandon did nothing? Hells no.) 

Also, you know this guy for decades and nothing more than that one incident is reaching you? I have serious doubts. You almost have to be blind on purpose, which amounts to negligence. . . exactly the kind of negligence you would fear with an Uncle Bernie kind of arrangement of that kind. 

I'll bet Paterno was just scared to death this would emerge, knew it would besmirch PSU like a mug. Point me to the line where I place my money that Paterno is done this year.

If Joe Pa resported something I am sure it was more than "Hey AD, some Grad Asst told me he saw Sandusky and a kid in a room- please investigate". There's no reasonable cause unless he knew that Sandusky was doing harm, and which he should have taken care to follow-up, it's a 10 year old were talking about here.. Wouldn't he care for the child's safety?

I applaud ESPN for being active, particualrly Golic (who can be infuriating) Cowherd (same, but ego+) and SVP folks for taking a stand on this and pointing out the utter hypocrisy of Joe's statement.

Taking advantage of at risk kids is disgusting. Not inquiring when someone says a kid is in danger and needs help (the Grad Asst comment to Joe Pa) is complicit in the harm.

Paterno needs run out of Happy Valley.

But hey, this is the Internet, I don't expect much to vent frustration at certain folks in the football communities who dimly say "let's follow laws, we can't judge, etc etc".

Thank God this is Michigan. Thank God for Bo's standards and focus.

I want to know who Paterno's "scores of professionals trained in such things" who missed this sickening episode are.  I'll say this; they may not have missed it if anyone in the PSU athletic department had the balls to do the right thing on behalf of little kids who were being raped.  It's hard to stand up and be accountable.  That's why those who are accountable are revered.  There is nothing to be revered in Happy Valley.

 McQueary came, saw, reported, and then never left or said any more even after nothing happened to Sandusky. 

Paterno heard McQueary's statement (I'm not guessing there was any question that Paterno understood that something deeply wrong was going on), passed it "upstairs" to his de facto employee the AD, and never left or said any more even after nothing happened to Sandusky. 

The University president heard the same story -- nothing.

There was no accountablity and a bunch of little boys paid the price.

Based on Paterno's statement there still isn't.

Shame.

In a very different situation, I had to basically force a person to retire. In my situation, substance abuse and abuse of prescription medication was involved, so the only damage was to the individual (well, and job performance, obviously.)

Regardless, my point is this:  I can very much believe that Sandusky "retiring" was perceived at the time (by the AD, & perhaps by Paterno) as allowing them to get rid of Sandusky without airing all the dirty laundry. This allowed them, as said by Six Zero, to "protect one of their own."

But there is more. It also allowed them to avoid an investigation. I'm not sure how much they really wanted to know. Sometimes, people just want to look the other way. Sadly, it also allowed someone to continue abhorrent and horrible behavior without sanction or review.

PSU Trustees have a lot on their hands.  Gloria Allred is probably calling all the victims right now, angling for representation.  At best, PSU will be down ~$20M to the 8 victims as compensation; at worst, more victims come forward, and someone writes a tell-all book sinking Spanier, Curley, Joe Pa, Al Golden, and anyone and everyone who was associated to Sandusky.  Unless the administration cleans house and a complete outsider (Urban Meyer?) becomes the coach, no well meaning parent will consider sending their child to Penn State again.

We live through a complete turnover four years ago; we are still struggling to recover from it.  In PSU's case, things may actually be worse as they will literally have to start over from scratch.  Jim Delany can't be too happy about both OSU and PSU having to start over.

I don't get how someone witnesses it, and his reaction is "hmm...maybe I should report this to somebody".  I value my job, my career, and hold a lot of people in high regard....but it could have been some magically amalgam of Bo, Lloyd, Rich and Brady combined, and if I find that thing messing around naked with a little kid in the shower (no matter which claim of witnessed events you believe), that SOB is going to be tasting shower room tiles, and that boy is going straight to the police.  Old man or Andre the Giant, you're letting that kid go or you're getting ready for unplanned castration.  Man up and do what's right. In THAT situation, it's not a hard choice at all.

The failure of incidental adults in this is appalling. GA and janitor stumble into incidents in  progress but don't intercede at all and don't even engage the law via the police, they just pass it up their employers' chain of command. It seems Paterno did exactly that, too, with the added firewall of "the GA didn't give me any details like *that*" (just enough to warrant an emergency meeting about it on a Sunday...).