Paterno likely KNEW about Sandusky investigation

Submitted by Stephen Hawking on

In Joe Paterno's latest interview with the Washington Post, he said he knew nothing about Jerry Sandusky being investigated in 1998 by local police.

This article from Sports by Brooks shows newspaper articles from this time period which not only indicate Sandusky's support, but also Paterno's, for a new football program at PSU Altoona. This was pitched after the investigation into Victim 4's time with Sandusky, the infamous victim of the shower incident, but before Sandusky retired. As a refresher, during this investigation was when Sandusky said that that his behavior “was wrong” and that “I wish I were dead.” Ultimately, the new program never came to fruition.

This gives support to the notion that Joe Paterno did, in fact, know about Sandusky being investigated in 1998. Coupled with evidence of the conversation Paterno had with Sandusky in which he informed him that he would not become Penn State's next head football coach (which occured in 1999) , it appears that the two came up with a backup plan: Sandusky would start a new football program at PSU Altoona.

This information seems to indicate that Paterno's role is larger than we were led to believe.

Maize_in_Spartyland

January 17th, 2012 at 11:24 AM ^

What would be the purpose of the investigation? If he knew about the 1998 investigation by police, what would that prove? The statute of limitations for any crimes committed at that time would have expired. Outside of proving Paterno had knowledge of the investigation, which may mean little, what's the purpose, outside of pure curiosity?

Stephen Hawking

January 17th, 2012 at 12:41 AM ^

  • Paterno informed Sandusky that he couldn't be the next PSU head coach
  • Paterno and Sandusky hatched a plan to create a new football program where Sandusky would be the head coach
  • Paterno said he didn't know about the investigation into Sandusky in 1998 in his recent interview

I'm saying that such actions indicate that Paterno did know about the investigation, thus he's lying. In my opinion, his lying about this implies that there is more to Paterno's role in this affair.

julesh

January 17th, 2012 at 12:52 AM ^

Again, I don't see how you go from points 1 and 2 to point 3 is a lie. Seems like there could have been many reasons Paterno would tell Sandusky that he couldn't be the next head coach. If anything, the fact that he was willing to create a new head coach position for him would make some assume that Paterno DIDN'T know about the investigation.

Again, I have no doubt that Paterno did, and that it's a very good thing he was fired, and I think his "harsh" treatment by PSU was too easy, but I just don't see how this is proof of that.

BlueinLansing

January 17th, 2012 at 1:41 AM ^

has hired a public relations firm to make sure his legacy is less tarnished.

 

sickening thought really, but I never really revered the guy.  He had rapists playing for him in the 70's and 80's, all swept under the rug.

 

 

bluebyyou

January 17th, 2012 at 5:28 AM ^

I never revered the guy either, but I respected him - at this point I find him despicable.  Paterno and McQueary  seem to have different recollections about what transpired per the court hearing of December 16.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/17/sports/ncaafootball/mcqueary-testifies-about-sandusky-assault.html?pagewanted=all

What seems to be happening is that Paterno, with his hiring of a PR person, is trying to mitigate culpability when the civil suits start being filed. Everything he does is completely choreographed. It just adds another layer of mud to an already horrible landscape.

As to people being bored with this story, this is the biggest story in college sports in like....forever.  It isn't going away any time soon.

Stephen Hawking

January 17th, 2012 at 3:02 AM ^

http://sportsbybrooks.com/about

SPORTSbyBROOKS Media Coverage: SbB has been cited by major media publications and electronic outlets innumerable times over the past seven years, like MSNBC.com, ABCNEWS.com, and other outlets, including Time Magazine, the St. Petersburg Times, the Los Angeles Daily News, the Los Angeles Times, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Philadelphia Daily News, the Seattle Times, the Arizona Republic, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the New York Times, the Buffalo News, the Kansas City Star, the Austin American Statesman, the San Antonio Express-News, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Baltimore Sun, the Montreal Gazette, the Vancouver Sun, the Toronto Star, the Toronto Globe & Mail, Los Angeles Magazine, Sports Illustrated, KCAL-TV and KNBC-TV in Los Angeles, ESPN SportsCenter, and Jim Rome, to name just a few…

Yeoman

January 17th, 2012 at 10:12 AM ^

It has its uses. He's pretty good at sourcing his stories--he'll actually post images of the documents or photos he's using as evidence. His interpretations of that evidence are...how shall I put this?...sometimes erratic. Fanciful. Bizarre. And he's an absolutely awful writer--sometimes it's very hard to figure out just what argument he's trying to make. (Or maybe that's a feature, not a bug.)

markinmsp

January 17th, 2012 at 12:57 PM ^

He knew or at least was given info to distance himself or watch out for fallout of "something big". I am usually the one that believes, “Never assume anything!”  BUT in this case; Given the high-visibility, loyal alumni, insider information, and “closed-door” meetings that surely go along with powerful coaches and people of influence; not having knowledge of an investigation in this instance is very unbelievable.

triangle_M

January 17th, 2012 at 1:31 PM ^

SbB is annoying and a terrible writer.  I don't think he is good at getting his point across, however, his investigational skills are sometimes excellent.  He's no Wetzel, but the guy knows how to construct a timeline that exposes lies and tends to pursue the story longer than others (which can add to the annoyance factor) and does a good job comparing what people said they knew now to what they said they knew back whenever the event was happening, all pretty much using the internets.