I don’t know if there has ever been a college football season where the actual games have continued to take a backseat to all the other issues. And if the sundry expansiopocolypse matters, Miami football scandal, the legitimate debate of paying college athletes all haven’t been enough. They all pale in comparison to the seriousness and depravity that has come to light in Happy Valley.
Now it is announced by Joe Paterno in a press release that he will be retiring.
Everyone comes at these matters with their own history, biases and knowledge. My wife has been working in juvenile justice for over fifteen years. She has been a juvenile court magistrate for nearly ten years. Her fist year as a magistrate she heard “abuse, neglect and dependency cases.” These were emergency hearings on the immediate removal of a child from their home, parent and/or guardian. Those are not taken lightly. They are done when the risk to the safety of a child is so great that there is not time for a regular hearing with procedural standards. The details in these cases created emotions that ranged from rage to hide under the blankets depression. There was not a week that went by where my wife would come home in absolute tears over a particular case that was so horrid. I would listen as she described the matters, and do what I could to comfort her while trying not to lose it myself. My wife is much stronger and less selfish than I. Could never have kept doing that for even a year. Sadly, I have actually heard more disgusting things than what was described in the indictment of Sandusky.
There are two primary parts to the Sandusky-Penn State child molestation scandal. The first are the crimes by Sandusky. Horrific. Disgusting. Repulsive. Tragic. There aren’t words sufficient to describe the revulsion anyone with a shred of decency feels if they actually read the charges and years of preying on young children. Those are being handled by prosecutors and the legal system. It has been investigated, charges have been filed. Sandusky will never truly pay for his crimes, because there is no punishment. No remedy that can ever make whole what he has done to so many.
Then there are the crimes — both legal and moral — by so many in the Penn State administration. That is where everyone has their focus at this time.
Sundusky’s crimes up to a point, are not the fault of Penn State. They did not create the monster inside of him. These actions, sick and depraved, were not spawned by Penn State. They have happened before and will happen again. Where people in power and control over children have taken advantage of them, destroyed lives for their own perverted urges.
Where the powers that be at Penn State bear great responsibility, culpability and shame is in how they acted when confronted with information on Sandusky’s actions. The cover-ups made the volume of the horrific crimes worse. It also makes the level of culpability so much greater. If there had been action taken in 1998 after the police investigation. If the police would have been contacted in 2002. Instead, each time there was a chance to do something, the choice to do nothing became the only option, because to do something would be to admit to doing nothing every other time.
It has been hashed, rehashed and detailed since this weekend on how the people who could have done something instead chose to passively or actively do nothing. Whether it was Tim Curley and Gary Schultz choosing to aggressively not act on the reports of Sandusky’s actions. Instead their response was to try and minimize risk to Penn State by telling him not to bring the kids to the facilities. They didn’t try to cut off his access to the facilities or do anything that might draw attention that there was something amiss. They just wanted to make sure it didn’t happen on the campus and hurt Penn State’s reputation. Or Joe Paterno‘s. They didn’t want to have any damage inflicted on the moral high ground continually claimed and marketed with Penn State and Paterno.
Schultz, by the way, admitted that in 2002 he had some knowledge of the 1998 incident involving Sandusky. Though, he claims not to have ever read the report or knew specific details. Making him one of the biggest villains in this, even as he is mostly a behind the scenes player.
This was apparently approved by Graham Spanier. Their culpability and blame is obvious and all three will pay with their reputations, jobs, and knowing that when the justifiable lawsuits occur that they have cost Penn State more than just millions. They more than anyone else in the Penn State cover-up bear the responsibility for PSU now standing for Pedophile State U.
Joe Paterno was the most powerful figure in Penn State. He is not merely just a football coach there. In March 2002, he had finished back-to-back losing seasons. The calls were for him to finally retire. That he was finally, legitimately, too old. Yet when confronted by Penn State officials — Spanier, Curley, a few Board of Trustees — about retiring or at least planning it, he essentially told them to “bite me.” That was the end of it, and no one had the stones or juice to force him out. This is the man who still maintained total control over his football program and activities. At that point in his career and life, he was confronted with the information of such a heinous act being committed in his football facility, by his own former top assistant.
He didn’t do anything, but pass along the information to his AD. Suddenly, the most powerful man in Penn State, was just another employee passing the responsibility up the chain of command. He never sought more information. There was never any attempt to make sure it was being acted upon. There wasn’t even an attempt by Paterno to confront Sandusky. He did the legal minimum and then compartmentalized things. He didn’t want to know any more. He didn’t want to do any more.
There was a reason that there was no shortage of people saying Paterno needed to retire or be fired over this.
Schultz has already retired once. Curley was probably closing on reaching a point where he would/could retire. Spanier is likely finished, but as a university president he’s made money to do quite well after this. Paterno was likely going to retire after this season. None of them really have to deal with the fall-out in terms of their careers. Reputation, sure.
The one person that probably loses the most is Mike McQueary. He is only in his 3os. He had a solid reputation as a recruiter. Reasonably was considered a good young coach. Now, he will be toxic. He had his own boss try to toss him under the bus. He is very directly tied to this scandal. He had the least amount of power, some of the most dramatic and important testimony in the grand jury hearing, and failed to act directly when confronted with Sandusky’s heinous crime.
I’m sure many of you have very strong feelings about the culpability, blame and responsibility of the parties. To me McQueary still strikes me as the least culpable.
McQueary was the 28-year old graduate assistant who heard the noises in the shower at Penn State’s facilities. He is the one who looked in there to see the anal rape of an apparent 10-year old boy by Sandusky. He didn’t stop it. He didn’t say anything. He was freaked out by it and just got the hell out of there. He went to his dad to tell him what happened, and they agreed to go to Joe Paterno first rather than the police.
Paterno apparently didn’t tell him that he should report it either. Instead Paterno passed it along to AD Curley. Curley sat on that info for more than a week before — along with Schultz — speaking with McQueary. All the while, presumably, Sandusky was coming and going from the football facility and his office as if nothing had happened. And that continued, with McQueary being told little was happening but Sandusky having a few voluntary restrictions placed on him.
McQueary like the rest of the people with knowledge remained silent from that point on, until the Pennsylvania Attorney General begins an investigation into Sandusky. When McQueary is called to testify before the grand jury, he offers the graphic testimony we now know. It is in stark contrast to the vague statements from Paterno, Curley, Schultz and Spanier on the nature of Sandusky’s actions.
It was McQueary’s testimony that led to the perjury charges against Curley and Schultz. It was McQueary who Joe Paterno even tried to throw under the bus over the weekend when he issued his first statement trying to protect his own claims of ignorance of what happened.
“As my grand jury testimony stated, I was informed in 2002 by an assistant coach that he had witnessed an incident in the shower of our locker room facility. It was obvious that the witness was distraught over what he saw, but he at no time related to me the very specific actions contained in the Grand Jury report. Regardless, it was clear that the witness saw something inappropriate involving Mr. Sandusky. As Coach Sandusky was retired from our coaching staff at that time, I referred the matter to university administrators.”
I know a lot of people believe they would have acted better than McQueary. That they wouldn’t have just run from the sight of Sandusky with the boy in a shower. He wasn’t just some player at that point. He was a 28-year old man. That if it had been his kid or someone he actually knew, he wouldn’t have just run. They are all very good points, and I can’t dispute them.
I just don’t know for certain that I would have, at age 28 in the situation. When we are confronted with something so horrific. So wrong. Something that not only doesn’t compute, but goes against everything you ever thought or believed. Especially involving someone who was one of your coaches as a player. A figure revered locally. Like the temp janitor before McQueary — he just got the hell out.
[My closest analogy was witnessing two roommates nakedly disentangling from sexual activity while in college. It was completely unexpected for me. One of the guys had been a roommate for 2 years. I had no clue. Never saw that coming and the only thought at that moment was, "Get out, now!" Followed quickly by, "Booze! Lots of it!"
I joke about it, it was a consensual activity, and it is a funny story. But the fact is that it confused the hell out of me at first. That my first instinct was flight. Questioning my own unawareness: How did I not know?]
Should McQueary have called the police right away? I bet everyone wishes he had now. Again, I don’t know what I would have done in that situation. His family lived in Happy Valley. He went and talked to them. The very next morning, he went and talked to the Happy Valley equivalent of god.
He told Joe Paterno about it. The man who has always stressed doing things the right way. The man who was his boss. The man who’s moral compass is supposed to point the way.
What did McQueary see him do? Nothing, but pass word up the ladder. He saw the people in power at Penn State do nothing. He saw his school. His employer do nothing. Actually worse than nothing. They covered it up. He saw that if he came forward to the police he had no certainty that anything would happen. Gary Schultz’s job duties included oversight of the university police. Where do you go? Who would you trust?
Additionally, it could cost McQueary his career before it ever started. Who would stand with him? The coaching profession has a code of silence that is insane. If you are an assistant, you are expected to cover for your boss. You are there to take the bullet. If you don’t you are the bad guy, and you can forget about another chance because you become the untrustworthy one.
There’s a reason we have to have laws to protect and even reward whistleblowers. They risk much from a personal and economic standpoint, that makes it far easier to turn away.
More than Joe Paterno or any other figure in this mess, I would love to read an interview with McQueary. He stayed quiet all this time, yet he was also the most direct and honest in his grand jury testimony.
I don’t agree with you on McQueary. I understand the concept of the event being so shocking as to silence him, but that should have only ever been temporary. Once he saw nothing came of his report to his superiors he should have taken it up with the real authorities, the police. Instead he put his moral obligations as a human being, a member of the fine institution of Pennsylvania State, and as a citizen of Pennsylvania and the United States below his obligations tohis direct superiors.
10 years of children being raped/assaulted/terrorized
every single bit of it could have been stopped by McQueary, Curley, Spanier, Schultz, and joe pa
JoePa was god up there, and all he did was act like a coward and pass it up the food chain… washed his hands of it
he loves his legend and his arrogance and fear of shame brought it to this – to go public in 2002 meant to end the era/aura/myth of his program… all he did was prolong it for 9 years and make the blaze of glory that much more spectacular
may they all received justice – jail isnt good enough for most of them
Is she really trying to evoke sympathy? Or is she just coming off like a total buffoon?
There is one group of people here that are to be sympathized .. and none are PSU employees
But, he would have done the moral and honorable thing and maybe the rapes would have stopped.
His career at Penn State would be over, but he could have begun a new football career elsewhere. By not doing the right but difficult thing then, McQueary now has no career (football or otherwise) and must deal with far more difficult consequences.
It is a shame but lesson learned.
Is this a crime?
“I agree with the Washington Post’s Mike Wise, who wrote, “They would all be party to a worse crime than any crooked, pay-for-play booster at Miami, Ohio State or even SMU ever committed: guilty of protecting a program before a child.” But at the same time I would argue that the connective is that this isn’t about Sandusky. This is about a culture that says the football team must be defended at all costs: a culture where this is what happens when a football program becomes the economic and spiritual heartbeat of an entire section of a state.
The Nittany Lions football regularly draws 100,000 fans to Happy Valley. They also produce $50 million in pure profit for the University every year. Another economic report held that every Penn State home game pumps 59 million into the local economy. It’s no wonder that Paterno is revered. He took a football team and turned it into an economic life raft for a university and a region. When something becomes that valuable, a certain mindset kicks in. Protect the team above all over concerns. Protect Joe Pa. Protect Nittany Lions football. Protect the brand. In a company town, your first responsibility is to protect the company.
Think about that. Every school aspires to be the kind of place where football is so valuable that children can become collateral damage. If the allegations are true, if the school in fact knew this was going on, then the program should be shut down. If the allegations are true, Joe Paterno should be instructed to take his forty-six years and 409 wins and leave in disgrace. It’s tragic that it’s come to this for a legend like Paterno. But it’s even more tragic that protecting his legend mattered more than stopping a child-rapist in their midst. Damn Sandusky. Damn Paterno. Damn Penn State. But above all, damn the fact that the billion-dollar logic of big-time college football leads to decisions as venal as those made in Happy Valley. Take his forty-six years and 409 wins and leave in disgrace. It’s tragic that it’s come to this for a legend like Paterno. But it’s even more tragic that protecting his legend mattered more than stopping a child-rapist in their midst. Damn Sandusky. Damn Paterno. Damn Penn State. But above all, damn the fact that the billion-dollar logic of big-time college football leads to decisions as venal as those made in Happy Valley.”
No offense to you TXP, but your last/recent comment points out the the complete disconnect between what really happened and how we’ve all compartmentalized the situation.
If that were your son, or younger brother or nephew that was raped, I imagine that you (not you specifically – us) would be be filled with murderous rage towards Mike McQueary (and the others) for not doing something more to stop Sandusky either that day or soon thereafter.
But since these unspeakable things happened to someone else’s son, it’s a “shame”, a “lesson learned”.
Totally not calling you out TXP, more a general statement on human nature perhaps. The severity of this crime I think is truly lost on most of us that don’t have a direct connection to a similar situation.
Regardless, as a result of McQueary’s inaction after the first wave of “reporting”, Sandusky was allowed to continue to rape god knows how many other helpless boys (two more came forward today, I bet the number 8 goes over 20 more before all is said and done and there will still be kids that don’t come forward).
McQuery is one of only four or five people on the planet, that could have stopped Sandusky and he ultimately chose his pride, job, career over the life of the boy he saw being raped.
I can’t say that I would have, but I hope that I would have acted differently. I do know that I would not expect to be treated any less harshly than anyone else that went to bed every night staring at the ceiling knowing that Sandusky was out their raping some other little boy or maybe even raping again the boy that I saw.
It’s truly…I can’t even think of a word for it.
It should be a lesson learned for all outside this coverup that when you have the opportunity to do the right moral thing, you do it immediately. The consequences of not doing enough particularly when true evil exists is inexcusable. Despite the horror, this can be a learning exercise for anyone who witnesses or hears of child abuse.
Something good can come out of all this. It’s unfortunate that something had to happen first.
From a moral and ethical standpoint, they all failed. But the criminal defense attorney in this case probably doesn’t give a damn about that.
So this is what happens when the deadly sin PRIDE shows its face. So proud of doing the right thing that when faced with protecting a program vs a child, the program is chosen.
WE ARE PENN STATE has been the rallying call for the students during this mess to help them overcome. They still don’t get it. It’s that attitude that caused the scandal. The campus didn’t get shot up like VT. They chose pride over doing the right thing.
Paterno could have put a stop to Sandusky’s crimes almost a decade ago. He did not.
Penn State needs a thorough housecleaning in its administration and in its athletics, as if that and that alone will solve the problem….it will not.
Parents must be aware. Disgusting people like Sandusky can be found anywhere. a few years ago, a coworker and I attended a talk given by an FBI agent in a Christmas (Advent) lunchtime lecture series at St. Mary of mercy parish in downtown Pittsburgh. The agent discussed the ways these people try to lure in children on the Internet and how parents must be aware of what their children do online. I bring this up, not because this is what happened at State College, but because parents must be aware.
What McQueary didn’t do is inexcusable. I can maybe understand why he didn’t do anything right at the time he caught them in shower..the shock could cause that..trying to digest what he saw…but when he realized a few days later that Sandusky wasn’t arrested he should of pressed the issue.
He may not get charged for a crime but I hope McQueary gets charged in a civil court.
One last note; is it possible for PSU to handle this any worse than they are doing…they knew this would eventually break since they all had to testify.
Chas didn’t compare…he was using an analogy of behavior that Chas himself admitted wasn’t the same.
He was more alluding to the initial shock and the inability to react based on that shock.
DaveD
http://eye-on-college-basketball.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/26283066/33203509
This does not make this Panther happy in the least. My wife and brother are Penn State graduates. They are in, what can best be described as, shock. My wife half jokingly said she would not be wearing her Penn State gear any time soon. This whole affair is a terrible tragedy. There is nothing here in which Pitt fans can or should find any joy.
Let’s try this again:
Analogy (from Greek “????????” – analogia, “proportion”[1][2]) is a cognitive process of transferring information or meaning from a particular subject (the analogue or source) to another particular subject (the target), and a linguistic expression corresponding to such a process. In a narrower sense, analogy is an inference or an argument from one particular to another particular, as opposed to deduction, induction, and abduction, where at least one of the premises or the conclusion is general. The word analogy can also refer to the relation between the source and the target themselves, which is often, though not necessarily, a similarity, as in the biological notion of analogy.
He was not making a comparison…
Sorry to burst your bubble but please try not to insinuate something on someone that is untrue.
DaveD
The analogy doesn’t work for me or at least very weak. Yes there is shock in both cases but one is a horrific crime, the other is a laughable moment. The shock a person would have seeing the rape and how they react to it would be (should be) completely different then the shock of seeing two roommates having sex.
I don’t believe it is right to even mention the one with the other.
This isn’t venom or calling Chas coldhearted and I certainly didn’t deserve to be told to put a sock in it. I just don’t believe you can say that because you froze when you saw two roomates having sex that you might act the same way if you saw what McQueray saw. They shouldn’t be mentioned as even being closely similar.
I actually think Chas is selling himself short and he wouldn’t of froze but would of acted right there…having kids of your own can do that.
However, none of us (I hope) have ever had to see what McQuery saw so we can all only guess what we would of done in his shoes.
When i was young i liked a good fist fight now and then.
and i tell you i would have beat the shit out chass room mates .
And i would have knocked the hell out of sandusky
In my day thats what you did to fags
if that pisses you off just remember i come from a different time and that was the way i grew up back then there was no bull shit no politically correctness things were to us cut and dry no shades of gray
http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/manda.pdf
http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/state/can/reporting.cfm
i cant wait to watch the entire PSU temple burn in effigy… this is sickening, truly appalling
he is the MOST at fault for letting Sandusky continue to rape children for 10 years
he chose his own career and penn state program pride over JUSTICE and the WELFARE OF A CHILD
ideally, he is convicted of the felony i linked to above and gets jail time
If this were Louisiana, there are situations where the death penalty for sexual predators can be applied
DaveD
I’ll probably regret this, but just to clarify FRANKCAN, are you saying that regardless of the time (back in your day or now), that beating up the gay guys is always the right thing to do, it’s just that now it would be politically incorrect?
That’s how I read it. And not that I necessarily care either way how you feel about the subject, but I’m hoping you were just trying to say that’s just how it was back then.
Clearly a Sandusky deserves a shit kicking then, now and forever more.
He still followed PSU and was proud of the progam but always had good things to say about Pitt. He never of course expected anything like this and is embarrassed
I’m not sure there are any clear cut answers here, legally that is.
But everyone outside of the Penn State ‘family” knows what ethical and moral rules were disregarded and broken.
Life is so grand 95% of the time for most of us… then reality rears its ugly head. You are correct that football takes a far backseat to this issue, but college football is us fan’s escape from the everyday mundane; it is something that we can engage in knowing that it really doesn’t affect our lives too deeply.
Then something like this happens to tarnish the joy we get from that hobby and we all feel a bit cheated.
Not to take anything away from the victims here – we can go crazy thinking about those hurt of young men and their families, but in a real sense this situation impacts all of us.
1) once a matter is reported to the police who then elevate it to the DA, most people assume that the justice system will handle and dispose of the matter. If the DA decides not to press charges (or take ANY action!!!!) most people would assume that most likely there is nothing left that should be done. That there is no guilt to pursue. This may partially explain why JoePa and PSU administratin did nothing more than they did. BUT….
2) PSU effectively runs Centre county (ie. police and DA who were involved). It is not unusual for small towns to give great deference to the big institutions around, and much more so when there is a revered football program involved. I can’t help but think someone paid a visit to the DA asking him to quietly close the case so as not to cause an uproar. Or maybe they didn’t even have to visit. This is perhaps the second worst part of the story next to the actual underlying acts because not only is PSU guilty but the local justice system may also be implicated in this crime.
I hope with all my might that Gricar is investigated as well. If were pointing fingers, he’s no less guilty than JoePa and the gang, except as an officer of the court he has an even greater responsibility.
I want to hear exactly what Paterno was told initially. I can see a situation in which McQueary (who has already exhibited cowardice to this point) chickened out and told Joe Pa that he MAY have witnessed inappropriate behavior by Sandusky and a kid in the locker room and left it at that…no details. Then McQueary asked Joe Pa what he should do. Paterno’s response would be to let his direct superior know and he set up the meeting.
If Joe Pa knew more then he is fair game but I just can’t wrap my head around the idea that he would cover up child molestation…even with that huge ego of his.
I say all of this as someone who REALLY dislike Joe Pa…but I have to believe he would have acted more urgently had he known more details. I could be wrong, hopefully I’m not.
Everyone has their opinion about what McQueary should have done and from my perspective it’s impossible to condem him for his actions. What we can all probably agree on is that the incident has screwed him up for life as well. He’s not a victim but he’s collateral damage for sure. I really would like to hear an interview with him as well.
“Schools and school officials have a legal AND MORAL responsibility to protect children and young people from violence and abuse.”
Paterno is toast.
I wanted their demise to be us winning more games, us winning the recruiting battles, and them being relegated to 2nd class status in PA and the northeast behind the Pitt Panthers.
I definitely didn’t want it to go down like this.
Everyday, every aspect of this is more and more horrible. I don’t even feel like talking about it anymore, it’s too depressing.
Here’s what gets me.
In 98 Sandusky was under investigation.
In 99, he’s suddenly told he’s not going to become the head coach and he retires young.
Draw your own conclusions as to who knew what from that.
I may be naive but the fact that we are even talking about a child molestation cover up sickens me. I want to hear both McQueary’s and Joe Pa’s side of this because I just can’t believe both acted so completely recklessly.
Schultz was retired apparently before(from the University Police) and came out of retirement to take this VP job. He looks kind of young to have been retired already.
I’ve seen much more reckless behavior with much less at stake.
I wrote in a previous post today:
And one other thing I think about. How many of us would have stepped up? How many of us would have put the multi-billion dollar brand that is PSU in the full glare of the world. It’s easy to say “its about the children” while sitting back in our chairs watching this debacle. If you worked your entire life for PSU (from the red headed guy up through the ranks)would you have been so quick to run to the police knowing the firestorm that would have happened as a result? As sad as it sounds, I think most of us would have handled it the exact same way.
And you replied:
I can tell without hesitation that I would have both stopped the rape and reported it – regardless of the outfall that may happn.
Then Chas writes:
I just don’t know for certain that I would have, at age 28 in the situation. When we are confronted with something so horrific. So wrong. Something that not only doesn’t compute, but goes against everything you ever thought or believed. Especially involving someone who was one of your coaches as a player. A figure revered locally. Like the temp janitor before McQueary — he just got the hell out.
And you replied:
what a wonderfully detailed and insightful piece. You raise good points and give us all something to sit back and think about.
What is the difference?
Name more reckless behavior than not reporting child molestation…
Comment by notrocketscience 11.09.11 @ 4:48 pm
Exactly. McQueary is a key witness and the ONLY non-victim witness to a crime at this time to testify.
The case is substantially stronger with McQueary than without him.
While we can ALL talk about what we would have done if we saw that happening. No one knows for sure what they would have done. It’s just like when one is in battle for the first time. Some run, some can’t pull the trigger and some can but can’t hit the broadside of a barn.
When faced with fear, no one (except those that have faced it before) can be sure of how one would react. Studies have proven it.
As I type this Paterno & Spanier are both OUT IMMEDIATELY. THEY FINALLY DO THE RIGHT THING!
Paterno’s ploy doesn’t work !
Surma nailed that conference. Especially because it sounded like amateur hour.
And he’s the recruiting coordinator at the moment.
Let’s recall in all of this that the graduate assistant in question (McQueary) was age TWENTY-EIGHT. (28 years of age). He was the, “28-old graduate assistant who heard the noises in the shower at Penn State’s facilities [witnessing the rape of a ten year old boy].”
He is equally guilty in this. (Cathartic, his testimony was.)
He went home and talked to his daddy at age 28? Are you fcking kidding me?
The law is not fickle in such matters; ANY witness (or informed third party, even) to the behaviors investigated and recently confirmed vs Sandusky-needed call CHILD LINE; officially filing a REPORTABLE INCIDENT (for state and local-level review) within twenty four hours of the alleged crime (especially true in the event of bearing witness to an ass-fcking perpetrated against a ten-year-old in a Penn State locker-room shower
They are all guilty, equally so, Joe Paterno.
Furthermore, for those of you interested in this sort of thing; there has already been UPDATEs to **** Wikipedia**** Among them: “Joe Paterno, *former* head coach of Pennsylvania State University’s college football team…” is no longer head coach since early this afternoon.
Not that anyone doesn’t know that at this point…
Comment by Neil 11.10.11 @ 12:05 am
Minor correction or maybe not, he phoned his father from the locker room from what I remember of the Grand Jury report.
Whether this makes a difference or not, McQueary grew up with some of Sandusky’s adopted kids like the one who is currently Player Director for the Cleveland Browns. Even had ate dinner at the Sandusky’s, so the guy was still some of authority figure in McQueary’s eyes.
Hey look at it this way, there would have been some who after sleeping on it, wouldn’t have reported at all after weighing ALL the ramifications.
Again no one knows what one would have done in that situation. Talk is cheap.
It was certainly up to the higher ups to report it to the Police. And at that time, no one at State Penn had more power than JoePa.
Even had ate dinner at the Sandusky’s, so the guy was still some sort of authority figure in McQueary’s eyes.
Couldn’t have happened to a nicer bunch of guys who turned a blind eye to a serial child rapist.
Not from the perspective of ‘child molesters are cool’, but I almost feel like the regime has started to topple. Their ‘god’ has fallen. More than that, the crimes committed on those poor members of society no longer have to go hidden.
Yes, it is 11 years late… but better that than 35 when no one is left to be held responsible.
In my opinion, PSU should look to this as a time of radical renewal. Students, try and realize that you were lied to, your ‘god’ is effectively dead, or maybe worse than dead, as the infamy of what has transpired in State College will not soon be forgotten.
I would not be surprised if there is additional speculation into the acts of the administration.
Penn State, take charge, show others that the university can rebound from this, no matter if there is a struggle. Just remember the pain and sorrow caused by the few who put themselves, and their money higher than the safety of the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters.
I have hated Penn State for a very long time, not the individual, but the system driven by its own arrogance. I am so very saddened that the young were treated in such a way. I am glad that justice has been found, and I challenge PSU to become more than your petty leaders ever were and bring your university to a better place.
Someday maybe the rioting morons at Penn State will understand that this situation has nothing to do with football and everything to do with horrible crimes that were permitted to happen as everyone turned their heads and looked the other way. Even the God of Penn State, JoePa himself, is not above this humiliation and total disregard for other vulnerable human beings.
So long Joe, your chickens have come home to roost.
Those firings are what is going to save what little reputation the University has in the short run and will get them over the hump and back to things being somewhat normal.
I was in the band for 8 yrs. (in the 70′s), and our “kool-aid” brought on visions of the Cathedral, not a statue of the supreme leader (HC).
Actions have consequences, and so does a lack of action…
Over the years, Universities have a habit of putting all their eggs in one basket. I believe at Pitt, we have had some good eggs, but our basket hasn’t always been that strong, thus scramled eggs. At PSU, on the other hand, I see the best basket that money could buy!
I work in an organization with hundreds of people and rumors spread like wildfire. I would find it hard to believe he knew absolutely nothing about these allegations and what Sandusky may have been up to?
Sandusky brought boys with him to team dinners, practices, bowl games, the boys stayed with him in bowl Hotel rooms, went to breakfast, lunch & dinner with him. You figure it out. Again it was the 3 wise monkeys. See no evil, hear no evil, do no evil.
For Sandusky surely was doing evil.
I also think Bradley is a puzzling choice based on how poorly he handled media scrutiny last summer when he was interviewing at Pitt. if he thought that was tough, wait until he gets bombarded with the same questions over and over again. I assume he will pull a mark mcgwire “I am not here to talk about the past” when pushed.
Thanks Chas for having this blog. I know I posted an extreme amount and Thanks to EVERYONE for bearing with me. This whole thing was….well…let’s just say an ordeal.
Truth & Virtue
Hail to Pitt !
By the way, Pozluzny said on Mike and Mike that Sandusky was “around the campus and visible” quite a bit when he got there in 2003. Well after everyone knew what he was up to…shameful.
The reason for me and in my opinion many of my contempories were at the university was to learn to think critically to gain a better understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
In my opinion these noble precepts have been lost as students are forced by the system to squander the precious years not on learning to think critically and queching the need for the youthful drive of intellectual curiousity but instead seeking out programs that do not enbody the human spirit but the bottom line.
Chas this is not a condemnation of you, thank God I am not 28 years old in this society, however I have a 31 year old son. I simply used our statement to vent my opinion of a society as others have before gone mad. Evidenced by the PSU scandal, the gap of wealth, a wreaked political system, and a disinfranchised group of some of our best and brightest.
Much more than I can even begin to go into on this blog and I wouldn’t even attempt to.
Just remember the old adage, divide & conquer.
He is right however I am old and it is obvious that we came from drastically different backgrounds.
I came from a lower working class family in Pittsburgh and was the first to go to college. Because of my quailty education at Pitt I earned a graduate fellowship and was able to obtain an M.A. and secure a job that moved me from the lower working class to a economic position in the lower middle class.
He may never need it since he gave it away to all the corporations but I am retired with actual annuity that I paid for during my 35 years of work. Generation X has to count on the goodwill of the corporate monguals for their retirement. I have a 31 year old son and I worry terribly about his financial future. You are right many in my generation sold you out as did those in yours but it was not concerning demographics it was because of culability and greed.
Believing the corporations had your interests at heart, allowing them to dismantle the depression era safguards, buy politicans, dismantle your right to organize, and outsource your lifes ovverseas. Look in the mirror not at me personally I acted against each of these actions.
Economic and political lesson is over.
Back to football.
What part of this situation does she not understand?
But of course, I assume she probably then left for her extravagant home in her BMW after she informed her secretary to bill her client (apparently being paid by PSU) $495 for her ill-conceived comments.