Paterno retiring at end of the season

Submitted by neoavatara on

Paterno retiring at the end of the season, according the AP as reported by ESPN.  

 

Link when available. 

Link.

bluebyyou

November 9th, 2011 at 10:04 AM ^

Another bad decision...it will be ugly at not so Happy Valley Saturday. imagine the flack coming down for the remaining two games which are away.  I suspect they will hide him and keep him off the field.

He is scum, just like the rest of the crew that chose to remain silent.

RadioSimon1983

November 9th, 2011 at 11:07 AM ^

JoePa is NOT scum.  He did the right thing by telling his superiors what he knew.  He did the wrong thing by not calling the police.  JoePa is and always will be a legend.  I'm sad that he's retiring.  He was the one thing the Big Ten had the no other conference did.  He will also be the last FBS coach to spend that amount of time at one school.

tasnyder

November 9th, 2011 at 11:45 AM ^

JoePa did the wrong thing.  Dur.

But put yourself in his shoes.  Its not so simple as always reporting every crime.  You can't tell me we all reported our underaged friends drinking.  So, it's a decision on whether to report the crime, based on the outcomes.

MAYBE, he didn't really believe the GA.  I mean, you're putting a decade-long friend and a GA in a contest for whom JoePa trusts more.  Let me guess who wins that. 

WELL, HE STiLL SHOULD HAVE CALLED:

Duh....But again, put yourself in his shoes.  It's pretty tough to throw a decade-long friend under that amount of scrutiny (if the allegations are incorrect) or into jail (if they are correct).

It really doesn't matter what the crime is.  You guys try throwing your friends into jail sometime.  Seriously, it's a very hard thing to do.



I AGREE JOEPA SHOULD BE FIRED.  Just....please stop saying that he's the heart of evil.  Jeez.

MileHighWolverine

November 9th, 2011 at 12:01 PM ^

Are you fucking kidding me?  Did you really equate under age drinking to RAPING a 10 year old boy and allowing a pedophile to continue preying on young boys for 10+ years!?!??!?!

If he didn't want to believe his GA (who he had known for 10 years) his responsibility was to ask Sandusky about the incident ....especially considering the fact he had already been questioned for, and ADMITTED to, inappropriate sexual behaviour with a young kid in 1998.

1998!!! 

Get some perspective man. Winning football games does not absolve you from fsailing to do the right thing and protecting the innocent when you have the opportunity to do so.

 

 

Frank Drebin

November 9th, 2011 at 12:01 PM ^

The GA was a former player, whose father was lifelong friends with Sandusky. He was so conflicted in what he saw that he told his father first, and then the cover up began. He left PSU in 99 because of this type of BS, and the university should have cut all ties with him. They knew of these allegations when the 2002 story came up from McQueary. There is no reason for JoePa not to have believed it, and he believed the story enough to tell his boss. I can't defend a guy, no matter what good he has done in his life, if he chooses to be that ignorant.

Also, your analogy of not telling on a friend for underage drinking is ridiculous. I know you are making an example, but child rape and underage drinking are not even remotely similar, as one is a small fine, and the other is one of the most atrocious acts against a child that one can do. That is not even apples to oranges, but more like an apples to shit on a stick comparison. I wouldn't call the cops on my friends drinking, but I would call on them raping a 10 year old in a heart beat. There would be no conflicting interest for me, because as soon as I heard about such a thing, the friend is no longer a friend.

jblaze

November 9th, 2011 at 12:06 PM ^

1) The severity of the accusations

2) The likelyhood that it would happen again.

I see your point, if my lifelong friend murdered a spouse (which is severe), but unlikely to happen again, then covering up the situation stinks, but is understandable.

Abusing children, however is severe and likely to happen again (as it unfortunately did).

saveferris

November 9th, 2011 at 8:01 PM ^

If you did, I think you might feel a little differently.  Sandusky is an evil incarnate, so yeah, JoePa is scum for being complicit in this whole affair.  This ain't a shade of gray type of thing, there is a right response and a wrong response to this sort of thing.  JoePa chose to try and cover this up, which was the wrong thing to do.  For that, he gets the scum tag.

Wolverman

November 9th, 2011 at 11:43 AM ^

 You act as if he did'nt report a robbery that he had information on. You're talking about children being attacked  by a man that the university knew was under an investigation focusing on the exact same thing. He's lucky the school is allowing him to retire.

 After all the OSU scandal posts on here and the reaction to selling jerseys for money and Tats, the reaction from some on this Penn state cover up is ridiculous. The cover here is not only Morally wrong but it should bring criminal charges to all who where involved.

STW P. Brabbs

November 9th, 2011 at 11:45 AM ^

First of all if you believe that the one instance where McQueary came to Paterno and told him about Sandusky raping a child was the first thing he ever knew about Sandusky's perversions, you're pretty goddamn credulous.

But even if that were true, that one instance of covering that shit up - and don't kid yourself, if it wasn't a cover-up he would have followed the fuck up with the AD - is enough to entirely tarnish his reputation.  Sandusky hung around PSU with kids for years after word came out.  Years. 

I don't care how much it fucks with your world view, Paterno is an utter moral coward.  Whether you want to use the word 'scum' or not is entirely a question of semantics.

bluebyyou

November 9th, 2011 at 10:46 AM ^

Wrong, at worst, his cowardice allowed the sexual exploitation of children for seven more years.  Anyone allowing something like that is scum at the very best.  He put his program ahead of children and there are no number of press conferences or demonstrations in support of him that would change my mind.  I always respected him.  That is completely gone.

Rabbit21

November 9th, 2011 at 10:55 AM ^

I agree the wording is strong, but if you can't acknowledge how someone would feel that way about Paterno then you're missing the point.

I go with him being unable to believe Sandusky was capable of these things and he wanted it dealt with in the easiest way possible.  It's still awful, he should still be fired with extreme prejudice but I'm not comfortable with the thought that it's as sinister as other explanations.

I still am curious about how McQuery has been living with himself and watching Sandusky still coming around the school.

bluebyyou

November 9th, 2011 at 10:57 AM ^

I apologize if you think my use of the word "scum" is too strong.  I have two sons, both recent Michigan alums, and for me to even contemplate someone doing what Sandusky is accused of doing to my sons because someone chose not to inform the authorities, makes me crazy. No kid deserves to be treated that way.  Not ever.  The action is inexcusable.

ChasingRabbits

November 9th, 2011 at 11:46 AM ^

One has to apply some logic here. JoePa is in charge of who is on his staff and who isn't... agree? McQuery is on his staff.  JoePa must find him to be relatively good at his job and more or less honest.  HE TOLD JOEPA THAT SANDUSKY WAS ______ing kids in the PennSt locker room.  McQuery is STILL on staff.  JoePa HAS to believe what he was told or McQuery would have been shit canned 9 years ago.

JoePa saw Sandusky coming and going WITH children for 9 more years!!!  NINE MORE YEARS and never said another word.

Scum is the absolute nicest thing I could think of the call JoePa right now.  He should be gone yesterday.  he should be in jail, sued by every kid on the list after 2002...  probably 1998 since he HAD TO HAVE KNOW why Sandusky was pushed out of the program at that point.

He is evil to allow more kids to be raped and sodomized and tortured when he could have ended it all.

 

Hoke_Floats

November 9th, 2011 at 10:55 AM ^

I am so sick of everyone saying how they would have gone to Sandusky's house and knocked down the door and beat him up themselves...how if they were McQuery they would have grabbed that kid out of the shower...

the fact is bad things happen all the time, and people witness them...they are either in shock or don't believe it or are too afraid to do anything

JoePa didn't do enough, everyone agrees on this point, JoePa agrees on this point

He isn't scum or a bad guy or vile or anything else anyone wants to call him

You know what JoePa is?  He is Human, and perhaps that is the worst thing that comes out of this.

The lionized mythical figure of JoePa being above mere mortals is forever disavowed and forgotten...but perhaps it is our fault to put him up on that pedestal.  Maybe in the future we will stop making people out to be more than human and just accept them for what they are...a frail old man who could not believe his buddy was a monster

Carcajous

November 9th, 2011 at 11:14 AM ^

The Bystander Effect happens when a bunch of people are standing around in the same place and witness something.  It doesn't apply to serial witnesses over time.

I am a psychology professor.  You are not right about this.... at all.

SamIam

November 9th, 2011 at 11:28 AM ^

and doesnt make me expect people to be so selfish and cowardice to not do everything in their power to prevent it from happening again.  

Joe Pa is the supposed leader of young men and the figure head of a university.  A leader certaintly should not allow this to happen. Thats the whole point of choosing a leader is that they will rise above and make the right choices. 

tasnyder

November 9th, 2011 at 11:52 AM ^

using them generally means you're wrong.



The last "Unspeakable Evil" was the Nazis.  If your entire family didn't fight in WWII, then your family has some "cowards" in it. 



Perhaps it's not such an easy/obvious choice after all?  Perhaps, humans have more complex decisions than you're attributing them.

P.S. Yes, JoePa dropped the ball.  No, he's not the devil.

Blue2000

November 9th, 2011 at 12:22 PM ^

JoePa may not be the devil, but he's not that far off.  There is no indication that JoePa ever followed up with administration after telling them once about Sandusky.  Or that he ever spoke to Sandusky about it.  Or that he ever tried to find or reach out to the kid who got raped or his family. 

JoePa helped foster an environment in which an accused pedophile was allowed to roam Penn State's campus with impunity.  Sandusky had a kid on campus with him in 2008, right in front of both McQueary and Paterno.  Neither did anything about it.  JoePa is, at best, a POS.

P.S.  He didn't "drop the ball."  Not submitting CARA forms is "dropping the ball."  He allowed child rapist to roam free.  Everyone involved with this situation at Penn State should be fired as of yesterday. 

Chunks the Hobo

November 9th, 2011 at 11:14 AM ^

Maybe years later, after people have had time to learn the full scope of what happened/didn't happen and fully digest it, more will be willing to accept what you just wrote. I agree some of the current chest thumping is over the top, but for obvious reasons it's a very emotional thing.

MadMonkey

November 9th, 2011 at 11:16 AM ^

forever defend your right to say it.   I will not argue our differences regarding Joe Paterno, here (I have already posted those on other related threads).  But, the opinion of Hoke_Floats and others should be heard and read on this blog.  

The only positives I see coming out of this sordid episode are related to dialogues like these.  What will you do if you ever find yourself in a similar situation?  What is the proper response of trusted officials?  How and when should an institution react?

The number of places where honest and candid disagreements can occur with civil discourse are far too few.  Most of the 7 billion people on the planet do not have the right express themselves so freely.  

We don't need to level personal attacks on people who "support", "defend", or otherwise want to wait to decide their opinion about Joe Paterno and others involved in this matter. Keep presenting the respective arguments and we all become better for it.

 

 

 

 

 

UMCoconut

November 9th, 2011 at 11:26 AM ^

Paterno and McQuary and crew didn't cover up the stealing of a paper clip, they covered up little children getting raped.  Please stop with the arguments that this was just a little moral slip that could happen to anyone.   You can't tell me that most people who walk in on a little kid getting raped aren't going to do everything in their power to make sure that stops happening immediately, the accused party is held to justice, and the kid's family knows about it immediately.

This is not a gray area type issue.  Stop acting like it is. 

JD_UofM_90

November 9th, 2011 at 12:05 PM ^

with McQuary actions are: how as a normal human being, do you stop yourself from beating the living crap out of Sandusky right there in the shower, when you discover this is going on?  Man, that guy is a coward to just turn around and walk out on that happening.  Probably more worried about his PSU career, than the little kid....

BigBlue02

November 9th, 2011 at 12:59 PM ^

The problem is this: they had 10 years to get over the shock of seeing/hearing about it. Yes, seeing that is probably shocking and hearing it you probably don't want to believe it. But after that initial shock comes and goes, and for the next 10 years when you see him in the hallways, sometimes with young boys, you call the fucking cops. End of story

MileHighWolverine

November 9th, 2011 at 12:11 PM ^

he couldn't believe it after multiple incidents? He had an eye witness telling him SOMETHING bad was going down with a 10 year old boy in the showers of the PSU locker room?  What more did he need - pictures? 

His responsibility was to immediately get to the heart of the matter. 

1. Find the boy and find out his story - he didn't do this

2. Ask Sandusky what happened - he didn't do this

3. Ban him from Penn State - he didn't do this

4. Call the Police and let them investigate since they are the pros - he didn't do this

You cannot be the head of the program and NOT be held resposnible when stuff like this happens.  There is NO excusing him.  

He only did the bare minimum and then he goes out and says: "we should pray for the victims, or whatever you want to call them..."

What else should we call them, JoePa? How can you belittle these people and their situation by saying "tough life when people do things to you"?

How about: "tough life when people in power - like me - do NOTHING to help you?"

I hope you live in shame for the rest of your life you senile old prick.

Wolverman

November 9th, 2011 at 12:18 PM ^

 Yea bad things happen all the the time and some people might put blinders on and try to block it out , but there are also Circumstances where people go above and beyond the normal call of duty to help their fellow man in times of extreme danger and need.

 Yea sure Joe is human , but he is a leader of men and we exspect more from our leaders and we should! If you are not up to challenges then you should not be in that position. The lowest portion of our society in prisons don't even want to be associated with child molesters! I'm not saying Joe should have attacked Sandusky and confronted him about the attack , but the fact he was able to sleep at night after not calling the police tells my a lot more about his character and morale standards than 1,000 football coaching wins or 100 years of being a head coach.

 if you think a crime might have taken place at the very least you should call the police. It's their job to investigate the situation and determine if a crime has taken place. The fact this involved small children just makes it worse. If these kids had been recruits would Joe had acted any different? My guess is yes and that is sickening.

 You can't defend the undefendable

STW P. Brabbs

November 9th, 2011 at 12:25 PM ^

I might grant you that many of the people who claim that if they were in McQueary's shoes they would have knocked Sandusky out, or something, are full of shit.  God knows how you might react in the moment of seeing something that fucked up and that far outside your normal worldview. 

But Paterno - and McQueary - slid this shit under the rug for years.  Maybe at one point it was just simply human weakness, garden-variety cowardice.  But it became an utterly cynical exercise in maintaining the lie to avoid facing the ugly consquences - even when maintaining the lie endangered other children. 

That's fucking low.  That's beyond weakness, and into the realm of evil.

Wolverman

November 9th, 2011 at 12:31 PM ^

 if i could up vote your post i would.  This situation is evil by definition.

 

e·vil

[ee-vuhl] Show IPA

adjective

1.
morally wrong or bad; immoral; wicked: evil deeds; an evil life.
2.
harmful; injurious: evil laws.
3.
characterized or accompanied by misfortune or suffering; unfortunate; disastrous: to be fallen on evil days.

4.due to actual or imputed bad conduct or character: an evil reputation.

saveferris

November 9th, 2011 at 8:07 PM ^

I don't have a son, but I have a baby girl and the thought of a trusted coach or teacher betraying her in such a heinous way as these young men had to endure....well if it was my kid, the person who assualted her could never be dead enough.

TdK71

November 9th, 2011 at 1:09 PM ^

said WTF DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING !?!?!?!?!?!? Very loudly so as to draw attention to what was going on.

Then I'd have reported it to my Boss just like he did, and then if there wasn't a story in the newspaper the next day announcing the arrest of Jerry Sandusky for the commission of acts of preversion (Col B.A.T. Guano Pronunciation) against a youth I would have drove to the police station and reported it to the desk officer on duty. If no action was taken by the local P.D. I would have called the state authorities.

As the father of two children I would not rest until I made sure that this monster was behind bars.

crum

November 9th, 2011 at 11:03 AM ^

Anyone who let this happen and basically enabled it is scum. If you can't see that then I feel sorry for you. Jo Pa and PSU are Disgusting for not putting an end to this, the fact they still allow him to be around kids is really disturbing.

There is no excuse for this, they all need to be fired and brought up on charges, this story gets more and more painful the more that these ingrates excuse this behavior by keeping him around.

gbdub

November 9th, 2011 at 11:12 AM ^

I think "cowardice" is too kind a word - what did JoePa have to fear? A SUBORDINATE was allegedly raping young boys. It's not like Sandusky could fire JoePa for blowing the whistle. JoePa is the most powerful figure at Penn State - if he led a public crusade, the target of the crusade would be utterly destroyed, full stop.

One thing I've realized is that "innocent until proven guilty" applies to Sandusky (but damn, does he look guilty), but not to JoePa - regardless of the veracity of the allegations against Sandusky, JoePa did the absolute legal minimum to follow up on those very serious allegations. The very fact that PSU (ostensibly) cut Sandusky out of the program seems to suggest they believed the allegations might be true, but failed to get legal authorities involved - they placed their PR above the wellbeing of the alleged victims. That's way worse than "cowardice".

justingoblue

November 9th, 2011 at 11:30 AM ^

JoePa is (was?) probably the most powerful person in Pennsylvania. If he had wanted to make a phone call to the president and have him send an FBI unit out to investigate, he easily had the power to make that happen. Instead he did nothing beyond mentioning it to his boss.

I initially had a more wait and see attitude before jumping on the fire Paterno bandwagon, but now I can't even fathom that they're letting him continue to coach. By the way, what did it for me was thinking that he went and testified at the GJ proceedings, and still let Sandusky in the weightroom the next week. If that isn't flipping the bird to decency, I don't know what is.

victors2000

November 9th, 2011 at 11:59 AM ^

think of the situation. The more time I have to dwell on it - and I felt with the emotionally charged circumstances, it was best to withhold judgement- the more I find it impossible to fathom how Coach Paterno could misjudge so poorly. For his sake I hope he comes out with what in the world he was thinking to do the little that he did. I do feel he did good things for 99% of the young men who passed through Penn State, but now you have to wonder how genuine he truly was.

What a mess.

TESOE

November 9th, 2011 at 10:21 AM ^

Not enough...

He was probably going to retire at this point in the season for the last 5 years or more.  How is this the proper consequence.  Enough of the press box coaching - PSU doesn't know where the buck stops.

Pellini on the situation...

 I've got enough problems of my own," Pelini said Monday. "I can't comment on that. It seems to be an unfortunate situation and they're working through it the best they can."

Somebody in the B1G has to step up and not take the field if PSU can't step up. This is bigger than football.