Joe Pa is a fraud

[wh]

Joe Pa learns that his asst. coach has been caught sodomizing a 10-year old boy and he reports it to his superior, as if it's a workplace sexual harassment issue instead of one of the worst crimes an adult could ever commit - aggravated criminal sexual assault on a small child.  Then he continues to work with the asst. for years as if nothing ever happened, all the time knowing that this guy is undoubtedly continuing to prey on children.  Now he says in hindsight he wishes he would have done more and let's say a little prayer for the kids.  Joe Pa has been living a fraudulent life ever since this occurred and God knows how many lives have been destroyed as a result.  Joe Pa is a characterless, fraudulent coward and despicable human being. 

[covufan]

Joe Pa learns that his asst. coach has been caught sodomizing a 10-year old boy and he reports it to his superior, as if it's a workplace sexual harassment issue instead of one of the worst crimes an adult could ever commit - aggravated criminal sexual assault on a small child.  Then he continues to work with the asst. for years as if nothing ever happened, all the time knowing that this guy is undoubtedly continuing to prey on children.  Now he says in hindsight he wishes he would have done more and let's say a little prayer for the kids.  Joe Pa has been living a fraudulent life ever since this occurred and God knows how many lives have been destroyed as a result.  Joe Pa is a characterless, fraudulent coward and despicable human being. 

Where are you getting your info???  An assistant reported the incident in 2002, of a former assistant.  Joe did not continue working with the former assitant, who left the program in 1999.

I agree, he should have done more - and he will always have that to think about.  If he, the AD or anyone else had reported the incident in 2002, the police would have linked the 2002 and 1998  incidents together,  possibly saving kids from this man.

[vuweathernerd]

Joe Pa learns that his asst. coach has been caught sodomizing a 10-year old boy and he reports it to his superior, as if it's a workplace sexual harassment issue instead of one of the worst crimes an adult could ever commit - aggravated criminal sexual assault on a small child.  Then he continues to work with the asst. for years as if nothing ever happened, all the time knowing that this guy is undoubtedly continuing to prey on children.  Now he says in hindsight he wishes he would have done more and let's say a little prayer for the kids.  Joe Pa has been living a fraudulent life ever since this occurred and God knows how many lives have been destroyed as a result.  Joe Pa is a characterless, fraudulent coward and despicable human being. 

you're free to question his character all you want, but you can't argue with his ability to coach. the fact that he's been with one program for over 60 years, and the head coach for 41 of them speaks volumes. he's averaged close to 10 wins per season for those 41 years - amazing.

that said, if it's true that he did know of these allegations and did nothing, then there's clearly a problem. but if he did report what he knew and nobody else acted on it, that's hardly his fault.

[wh]

Maybe this is what threw me off:

After his (Sandusky's) retirement, he continued to have unlimited access to the football department and campus, and continued to run football camps for boys at Penn State's campuses.

The circumstances may be different, but the conclusion remains the same.  

[covufan]

Maybe this is what threw me off:

After his (Sandusky's) retirement, he continued to have unlimited access to the football department and campus, and continued to run football camps for boys at Penn State's campuses.

The circumstances may be different, but the conclusion remains the same. 

And I believe that most of those privileges were removed in 2002.  Yes, from 1999 - 2002 he had more access than most should.  I think he did still have an office and some access the last 9 years, though.

[valpofan56]

I highly encourage anybody who hasn't read the Grand Jury Report to do so.  It is graphic and beyond disturbing in nature, but you really need to read it before you formulate your opinion on this situation.

Here is the link:

Grand Jury Presentment

[valpo04]

Board of Trustees just announced that the school President and Paterno have both been fired.

[wh]

An article that tells it like it is about Joe Pa:

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/16054762/untouchable-no-more-paterno-out-at-penn-state

[vuweathernerd]

I highly encourage anybody who hasn't read the Grand Jury Report to do so.  It is graphic and beyond disturbing in nature, but you really need to read it before you formulate your opinion on this situation.

Here is the link:

Grand Jury Presentment

there's some scary stuff in there. it sounds like he reported the incidents up the chain, expecting somebody else to report them, but they never did. should he have followed up and reported the incidents to the authorities when nobody else did? yes. but it also sounds like he's being used to some extent as a scapegoat. i would fully expect the university to completely clean house after the season ends - but i personally wish they would have let paterno finish it out.

[valpo04]

I highly encourage anybody who hasn't read the Grand Jury Report to do so.  It is graphic and beyond disturbing in nature, but you really need to read it before you formulate your opinion on this situation.

Here is the link:

Grand Jury Presentment

there's some scary stuff in there. it sounds like he reported the incidents up the chain, expecting somebody else to report them, but they never did. should he have followed up and reported the incidents to the authorities when nobody else did? yes. but it also sounds like he's being used to some extent as a scapegoat. i would fully expect the university to completely clean house after the season ends - but i personally wish they would have let paterno finish it out.

I think Joe Pa was the top dog around there, and as such he needed to make sure the authorities were told.  He treated it like a sexual harassment allegation, when it was something much, much worse.

To have him cheered by 100k+ fans, carried off the field, etc. on Saturday would be shameful in light of this situation.  The BOT had to make this move.

[vuweathernerd]

they're going to cheer him on anyway. i've got the feeling that there'll be plenty of joe-pa chants and signs supporting him at the game this weekend. and i don't agree that he was top dog. maybe in terms of popularity and being well known, but technically he reported to the ad, who reported to somebody else and so on up to the president and the board.

[valpotx]

He is definitely a fraud for how he handled the issue.  I don't care what his coaching ability is, if you find out a grown man is molesting children, you turn them into the police, even if he/she is your flesh and blood.  Despicable human being in my book...

[valporun]

Prior to reading the grand jury document, I thought he had done what he was supposed to do, and could have followed things up to find out more of what was going on with the report he gave Tim Curley. It made me feel he was being used as the face of the program. Once I read what the grand jury presented, I was appalled that this was allowed to happen, even with all the university authorities that knew about it, and how they knew about it. The chain of command around there made themselves as big a sack of scum bags as Sandusky and Paterno had been. The university president always seemed to be sketchy from watching him on his Big Ten Network show that showed off some things about Penn State. The worst is that the trustees let him submit his resignation, instead of kicking him out the door in the same means as JoePa was thrown out on his keister.
This whole situation should have been handled properly, and I hope the BIG TEN and the NCAA take more than appropriate action on the university. This is a disgrace to all colleges and universities, and the current students, faculty/staff, and alums that proudly represent them.

[valpo04]

Joe Paterno failed his biggest decision

His son, Scott Paterno, told the Philadelphia Inquirer on Wednesday that his father never even asked Sandusky -- his assistant coach for three decades and who was once considered his heir apparent -- about the incident.

The easiest and best decision for Penn State would have been for Paterno to retire immediately on his own. Instead, Paterno ignored the greater good of the university he professed to love -- and more importantly the well being of the eight known victims and their families -- by selfishly trying to coach the Nittany Lions in a few more games.

Could you imagine the victims' horror if Paterno -- who all but ignored the sickening actions of their alleged predator -- had been cheered in his final home game against Nebraska at Beaver Stadium on Saturday? Could you imagine the victims' horror if Paterno had been carried off on his players' shoulders after winning the inaugural Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis on Dec. 3?

Sadly, it's too late for apologies. Paterno and the others believed Sandusky was enough of a threat to children in 2002 to ban him from having youth sports camps on the Penn State campus or from bringing children to the school's football facilities. Apparently, they just didn't believe Sandusky was enough of a threat to call police about their concerns.

After informing Curley and Schultz of the allegations, Paterno apparently never even bothered to ask why nothing was done. Because of his status as an iconic coach on a football-crazed campus, Paterno commanded attention and could have demanded an investigation at any time.

Instead, Paterno and the others did nothing.

For nearly a decade after graduate assistant Mike McQueary allegedly witnessed Sandusky subjecting a 10-year-old boy to anal intercourse, Sandusky had free reign of Penn State's football facilities. According to published reports, Sandusky worked out in Penn State's weight room as late as last week.

Paterno's "Grand Experiment" was supposed to be a blueprint for how intercollegiate sports was supposed to work, a harmonious balance of academics and athletics, which would ensure that the players who enrolled at Penn State would be better men when they left.

Somehow, Paterno's Grand Experiment became the Great Cover-up.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7214753/joe-paterno-firing-was-only-decision-penn-state-nittany-lions-make

[vuweathernerd]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/stewart_mandel/11/09/penn-state-joe-paterno-retires/index.html?xid=cnnbin#

It would be an injustice to the alleged victims to ever forget Paterno's failure to prevent future crimes. But it would also be a disservice to the thousands upon thousands of lives he positively impacted if that mistake erases 46 years of good from the history books.