OT: Paterno knew of Sandusky abuse in 1976

Submitted by Wolverine Devotee on

The PSU cultists will still defend him. 

http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/05/court_filing_says_joe_paterno.html

A new bombshell dropped in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal Thursday.
 
It came in the form of a line in a court order on a related insurance coverage case involving Penn State, and its ramifications can't immediately be gauged.
 
But that line was eye-popping in itself.
 
The line in question states that one of Penn State's insurers has claimed "in 1976, a child allegedly reported to PSU's Head Coach Joseph Paterno that he (the child) was sexually molested by Sandusky."

bronxblue

May 5th, 2016 at 8:25 PM ^

The thing is, everyone involved in the scandal is either drad, fired, or in jail. This isn't like paying players or illegal benefits or even point shaving. This is a major crime that was perpetrated by a football coach and a program ignored it. But I'm not sure what else they can do to PSU that isn't just punishing people not remotely involved in what occurred.

bronxblue

May 5th, 2016 at 10:40 PM ^

Yeah, I'm not really sure what else can happen beyond the terrible press.  I assume the settlements the victims signed ended their chances at additional litigation (this is just more evidence of incompetence, not necessarily a new cause of action).  I'm all for pounding PSU into submission, but at this point you really would be punishing people with absolutely no possible connection to Sandusky and Paterno beyond going to the school.

tlo2485

May 5th, 2016 at 8:50 PM ^

Sandusky is in jail for life, and PSU got their penalty. Tons of money was paid in both retribution to victims and as fines to the NCAA. All of the coaches and administrators lost their jobs, they lost scholarships had a bowl ban. If you step away from fan mode, beating the school and molester in court is much bigger of a deal. I doubt the victims want some drastic end to the entire football program. But, if there is anyway for them to further sue the school, I say go for it definitely.

bronxblue

May 5th, 2016 at 10:46 PM ^

I mean, Sandusky is in jail.  Paterno is dead and his legacy destroyed.  Most relevant members of the AD were fired and/or gone.  I'm all for punishing people who deserve it, but at some point you aren't proving anything by further bombing PSU back into the Stone age, and in all likelihood people with no real connection to the program would suffer.

Let's say PSU's football team received more sanctions and they regressed back into mediocrity.  So in all likelihood, attendance would go down, apparel sales would shrink, etc.  Since football is the driving revenue generator for PSU athletics, this downturn would hurt their bottom dollar.  While I'd love to say the guys making big salaries in the AD would see pay cuts, what would more likely happen is (a) PSU drops non-revenue programs either completely or down to club level, (b) fees from students and/or tax payers would go up to supplement the drop, or (c) people not at the top lose their jobs due to downsizing.  Or some combination of those 3.  In any case, you'd punish people who had nothing to do with the issue, and in all probability the people who would bear the brunt would be people whose biggest crime was attending/working at PSU.  At this point, I guess I just don't see that being worth the public scorn anymore.

WestQuad

May 6th, 2016 at 7:22 AM ^

I agree that the individuals were all punished (at least I think they were), and I want to make the argument that the fans had nothing to do with it, but it was so widespread AD, JoPa, local cops, and now the insurance company that it really is a culture problem.   That culture should be wiped out.  

The same culture exists at Tennesee and UNC and Miami, etc.  Doesn't seem like the NCAA or anyone else is doing anything about it.

George Pickett

May 5th, 2016 at 8:31 PM ^

I'm not in the business of defending Paterno, but this is a triple-hearsay statement from an insurance company.  Can we at least pause for a second to consider the veracity?

Rabbit21

May 5th, 2016 at 9:50 PM ^

Or y'know people who want proof and not just jump into a preconceived narrative. What Paterno did was awful enough without this as its pretty obvious he knew what was happening in the late 90's, if this is true it really blows up Penn. St.'s program I'm not sure I see an issue with someone pointing out we might want to pump the brakes.



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Rabbit21

May 6th, 2016 at 8:19 AM ^

Of course if a gun is to my head I'd say it's true, but that's not the right argument. This is a situation in which $60M is at stake, so a whole lot of shit is going to get thrown at the wall to see if sticks, in this case some skepticism and pumping the brakes a bit is not a bad approach, that's all I'm saying.



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NRK

May 6th, 2016 at 10:29 AM ^

I completely understand not jumping at every allegation and assuming it's true - I'm an employment law attorney (defense side) by trade, so I apprecaite skepticism towards alleged claims until the truth is discovered. 

But I also can't ignore the fact that (a) there are multiple allegations that Paterno was aware of Sandusky's actions earlier than was determined outside of this one; (b) Paterno's change in course from Sandusky as a "head coach in waiting" was relatively abrupt without much explanation that causes a lot of suspicion; (c) the allegations are supported by the deposition of the vicitm in the indemnification claim; (d) while a defense attorney is likely to raise all defenses possible, they still could not knowingly put forth a false defense; (e) allegedly, the victim was already paid a settlement by Penn State, which although not dispositive, suggests that there may have been some merit to the claim.

I certainly appreciate being skeptical, and I don't have a problem with doing so, but to me there are a lot of circumstances that suggest that Paterno knew more than has been previously reported. We're not talking about trying to get to a level of criminal proof here, we're talking about whether or not we think Joe Paterno knew more, and is a bad person. So I'm sticking with my gun to the head.

03 Blue 07

May 6th, 2016 at 5:28 PM ^

I actually have handled a case in federal court which was similar to this one in terms of the issues (disgusting subject matter, obviously) for the insurer. I cosign your logic and agree with everything you say. There is a subsantal amount of direct evidence indiciating that at some point in 1976, or 1987 or 88, Paterno knew of the allegations. Also, there's Paterno's handwritten note from a 1998 meeting where he wrote down that Sandusky was not allowed in the locker room due to "liability issues." It's referenced in the Freeh report, and (to me) also shows he knew by then at the very latest. And perjured himself about it. 

NRK

May 5th, 2016 at 11:11 PM ^

Am I supposed to suddenly trust the Paterno family that he knew nothing or Paterno's history that suggests he buried the issue the last time it came up? Gun to my head I know which one I'm picking. Regarding the "triple-hearsay from an insurance company" the article states: "All, the opinion states, are described in victims' depositions taken as part of the still-pending insurance case, but that, according a PennLive review of the case file, are apparently under seal." And the judge references the incidents in his opinion. While obviously it has not been proven, there would need to be something more there.

1VaBlue1

May 5th, 2016 at 8:54 PM ^

I feel alternately disgusted about Paterno and PSU, and sad for PSU. One of the best times I had at a college football game was the 97 game at PSU, with a bunch of PSU alumni I worked with. We had a great time before and after the game, downtown at the bars, in the stadium, at the Gameday set, all weekend. I came away thinking that it was a great place with a great crowd that I'd like to see again. Now? The people there that weekend, the fans there for the experience, had nothing to do with protecting a rapist. They didn't know anymore about it than UM fans did. But yet they do now, and they (near) universally continue to support Paterno. I just don't get it. I want to remember the great time I had there, but have no desire to ever go back and support it again.

mgoblue0970

May 5th, 2016 at 9:41 PM ^

Your sadness is misplaced.

The victims are more deserving of your emotion.

Nostalgic memories of a *game* does not equal sadness.

A memory of a game back in the day is nothing compared to what the victims must go through on a regular basis.

1VaBlue1

May 5th, 2016 at 10:48 PM ^

No, it's not. I agree with your point - the victims are the victims and deserve all the support and help they can get. No argument there, at all. But I wasn't addressing them, nor the game itself. The sad feeling is for the PSU fans that love the program, and loved what Paterno stood for - until he was outed. A lot of them still defend him, and they do not deserve the time of day. But there are fans of the program who are as disgusted by this as everyone else. Those are the ones I'm sad for, the ones I'd miss if I ever got back there. Because they aren't there anymore. Perhaps I could have stated that better than I did the first time around...

carolina blue

May 5th, 2016 at 9:05 PM ^

The thing is, if Sandusky had been fired in '76 none of this happens, joe pa is likely just as successful if not close to it, and we celebrate him for the winner he was with none of us even knowing the name Sandusky.



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tlo2485

May 5th, 2016 at 9:20 PM ^

This is a strange way of thinking. He wouldn't have had a powerful public figure and university protecting him and giving him the space to operate and groom victims, take them on Penn state sanctioned trips as rewards, and possibly wouldn't have been able to do his charity thing. Sure he could have found a way, but I don't think you have a great argument here.

carolina blue

May 5th, 2016 at 9:32 PM ^

Apparently you're not very informed on our justice system and the horrible crimes that occur. Also, child molestation is one of, if not the, most under reported crimes in the world. It is extremely possible he continues his activity undetected. These types of people are frighteningly good at what they do.



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tlo2485

May 5th, 2016 at 9:52 PM ^

I don't disagree with the justice system issues regarding these crimes. But, we'll have to disagree that being an employee for Penn State for 30+ years after that which included Paterno using his power to cover it up, a large salary, university facilities, free behind the scenes benefits and travel for his victims involving Penn state football (every state college kids dream), the opportunity to start The Second Mile, etc didn't help his cause, then ok. Assuming the kids still got raped, at least the ones who reported it to authorities at Penn State would have possibly initially taken it to a higher authority. You sound like you are saying it's a good thing he didn't get caught, so it kept happening at PSU for decades so now we can all hate on a dead guy.

carolina blue

May 5th, 2016 at 10:03 PM ^

That's an incredibly dumb way to purposefully misinterpret what I said.

I initially said that we could have remembered paterno for being a good coach had he fired Sandusky in the 70s. I purposefully ignored the ramifications of what might have happened to Sandusky and any other kids. I was then called out by you for ignoring it, so I defended my reasoning for ignoring it.



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taistreetsmyhero

May 5th, 2016 at 9:31 PM ^

that can rectify this god awful reality. Sandusky is a monster and it appears Joe Pa had the opportunity to bring him to justice early on, but instead actively did nothing.

Sandusky is in jail, Joe Pa is dead, and the NCAA already punished PSU for the events.

A big spiteful part of me wants to blame the fans for putting him on this untouchable pedestal that allowed for something like this to occur. Giving PSU the death penalty would go a long way to put football back in its place amongst fans and to reinforce that it's just a game, and you can't hide things in your closet just because it is inconvenient for your football team.

But at the end of the day, this does nothing for the men who were molested by Sandusky as children, and really everyone who is directly responsible has already met their fate. Only thing you can really do is shake your head and feel terrible.