Penn State would rather football than justice for child rape

[weemadando]

As apparently there's rioting on campus at the moment following the revelation that their football program is being affected by the Joe Paterno case being finally dealt with.

No news stories yet, just journos on twitter giving updates.

[Simon_Jester]

Campus riots like that don't necessarily reflect a reasoned decision by the rioters to support whatever started the riot. The ones I'm passingly familiar with happen almost for no reason at all- if they're usually related to sports, it's because college sports is a great way to gather a bunch of booze-soaked, testosterone-drenched twentyish male students into one place. Providing an actual reason to riot is almost secondary at that point, and I doubt everyone running around and shouting is in favor of pedophilia.

For that matter, I doubt anyone is- remember that the only thing affecting the football team here is the current coach, Joe Paterno, is getting fired for having failed to do something about Sandusky when Sandusky's actions were reported to him back in 2002. They may want Sandusky roasted over a slow fire, and still resent Paterno getting fired- I don't, but belligerent morons who fetishize the football team might.

[Dominus Atheos]

Actual story:

Joe Paterno to retire at season's end

Legendary Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno will retire at the end of the season, he said Wednesday in a statement. Paterno's move comes in the wake of a child sex abuse scandal involving a former assistant football coach.

“I am absolutely devastated by the developments in this case. I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief,” he said.

“I have come to work every day for the last 61 years with one clear goal in mind: To serve the best interests of this university and the young men who have been entrusted to my care. I have the same goal today.

"That's why I have decided to announce my retirement effective at the end of this season. At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can."

The Nittany Lions’ starting tailback Silas Redd tweeted Wednesday that he first learned of Paterno's retirement from the Internet. “Crazy how twitter knew before the squad did,” Redd said on the social-networking site.

Paterno expressed regret for not acting with more urgency after learning of the abuse allegations against retired defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.

"This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more," he said. "My goals now are to keep my commitments to my players and staff and finish the season with dignity and determination. And then I will spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to help this university.”

Paterno's decision comes after Penn State's board of trustees said Tuesday it will create a special committee to investigate the sex abuse allegations, which became public last week after the release of a grand jury report on the case.

Some have called for Paterno to resign because of his response to allegations brought to him in 2002 by a graduate assistant, who said he had seen Sandusky sexually assaulting a young boy in the shower at the campus football complex.

Several Paterno supporters weighed in on CNN iReport, expressing sadness that his legacy would be tarnished.

“I would like to see him go out on his own terms, but obviously that will not happen,” said Penn State Senior Tom McGlinchey. “If you look at the big picture of what he's done for this university, it shouldn't (be) overshadowed by the scandal ...The student body won't forget what he's done.”

But iReporter Egberto Willies said Paterno is being held to a different standard.

“Let’s be frank. Had this not been Joe Paterno, the legendary coach, we would not even be talking about whether he should resign,” Willies said

Paterno's contract was due to expire at the end of this season. He has been the head coach since 1966.

Paterno reported the allegations to his boss. Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly said it appeared Paterno had met his obligations under state law, but some critics have said the coach should have reported the suspected abuse to police.

Sandusky, who was arrested Saturday, is accused of sexual offenses, child endangerment and "corruption of a minor" involving eight boys, most or all of whom he met through the Second Mile, the charity he founded to help troubled youth, according to prosecutors.

Two other Penn State officials have also been arrested and accused of failing to report the abuse. On Sunday, the university said the officials had stepped down, one of them returning to retirement and the other taking administrative leave.

It is unclear whether the university’s board of trustees will allow Paterno to finish the season or push for an immediate exit in light of increasing fallout from the abuse allegations.

Joe Paterno, Graham Spanier out

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Penn State trustees fired football coach Joe Paterno and university president Graham Spanier amid the growing furor over how the school handled sex abuse allegations against an assistant coach.

The massive shakeup Wednesday night came hours after Paterno announced that he planned to retire at the end of his 46th season.

But the outcry following the arrest of former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky on molestation charges proved too much for the board to ignore.

"The university is much larger than its athletic teams," board vice chair John Surma said during a news conference.

Defensive coordinator Tom Bradley will be interim coach and provost Rodney Erickson interim school president.

"The Penn State board of trustees tonight decided it is in the best interest of the university to have a change in leadership to deal with the difficult issues that we are facing," Surma said.

"The past several days have been absolutely terrible for the entire Penn State community. But the outrage that we feel is nothing compared to the physical and psychological suffering that allegedly took place."

Paterno said he was disappointed with the board's decision, but accepted it and urged everyone to remain calm and respect the school.

"A tragedy occurred, and we all have to have patience to let the legal process proceed," Paterno said in a statement late Wednesday night. "I appreciate the outpouring of support but want to emphasize that everyone should remain calm and please respect the university, its property and all that we value.

"I have been incredibly blessed to spend my entire career working with people I love. I am grateful beyond words to all of the coaches, players and staff who have been a part of this program. And to all of our fans and supporters, my family and I will be forever in your debt."

Paterno received an envelope at his home Wednesday night 15 minutes before the board of trustees made their announcement, a source with first-hand knowledge told ESPN's Joe Schad. A note inside gave Paterno a phone number to call. He did so and was told by one of two board members on the receiving end "you are relieved of your duties."

According to the person close to Paterno, the coach had a hard time grasping what was contained in the allegations against Sandusky.

"I think the board took one look at the frenzy going on and the understandably horrific subject matter and said we can't have the focus on Joe for up to five more games," the source said.

A key question throughout the scandal has been why Paterno and other top school officials didn't go to police in 2002 after being told by Mike McQueary, who is receivers coach now but was a graduate assistant at the time, that McQueary saw Sandusky assaulting a boy in a school shower.

But the source told ESPN's Schad that Paterno hopes to clarify what he was told by McQueary as soon as Thursday. According to the source, Paterno recalls McQueary "vaguely" referencing "fondling" or "touching" or "horsing around" by Sandusky and a youth. But Paterno never had the understanding that McQueary had witnessed a "sodomy" or "rape."

Paterno has said he should have done more, while Spanier has said he was not told the details of the attack.

"Our great university has been rocked by serious charges against a former coach," Spanier said in a statement Wednesday night. "The presentment by the attorney general describes acts that should never be tolerated or ignored. I was stunned and outraged to learn that any predatory act might have occurred in a university facility or by someone associated with the university.

"I am heartbroken to think that any child may have been hurt and have deep convictions about the need to protect children and youth. My heartfelt sympathies go out to all those who may have been victimized."

Earlier in the day, Paterno said in a statement he was "absolutely devastated" by the case, in which Sandusky, his onetime heir apparent, was charged with molesting eight boys in 15 years, with some of the alleged abuse taking place at the Penn State football complex.

After the firings, Paterno shook hands with a couple of dozen supporters that were outside his house. Later, his wife, Sue, was teary-eyed as she blew kisses to about 100 students on the lawn. "You're all so sweet. And I guess we have to go beat Nebraska without being there. We love you all. Go Penn State," she said.

Thousands of students also descended on the administration building, shouting, "We want Joe back!" then headed to downtown to Beaver Avenue. Almost all the students were decked out in Penn State gear.

The firings came three days before Penn State hosts Nebraska in its final home game of the season, a day usually set aside to honor seniors on the team.

Earlier Wednesday, Paterno talked to his team for about 10-15 minutes in an auditorium of the football facility on campus. Standing at a podium, he told players he was leaving and broke down in tears.

Players gave him a standing ovation when he walked out. Junior cornerback Stephon Morris said some players also were nearly in tears as Paterno spoke.

"I still can't believe it," Morris said. "I've never seen coach Paterno like that in my life." Asked what was the main message of Paterno's talk, Morris said: "Beat Nebraska."

The ouster of the man affectionately known as "JoePa" brings to an end one of the most storied coaching careers -- not just in college football but in all of sports. Paterno has 409 victories -- a record for major college football -- won two national titles and guided five teams to unbeaten, untied seasons. He reached 300 wins faster than any other coach.

Penn State is 8-1 this year, with its only loss to powerhouse Alabama. The Nittany Lions are No. 12 in The Associated Press poll and the BCS rankings.

After 19th-ranked Nebraska, Penn State plays at Ohio State and at Wisconsin (No. 18 BCS, No. 16 AP), both Big Ten rivals. It has a chance to play in the Big Ten championship game Dec. 3 in Indianapolis, with a Rose Bowl presented by Vizio bid on the line.

After meeting Tuesday, Penn State's board of trustees said it would appoint a committee to investigate the "circumstances" that resulted in the indictment of Sandusky, and of athletic director Tim Curley and a vice president Gary Schultz, who are accused in an alleged cover-up.

Paterno notified Curley and Schultz about the 2002 abuse charge and is not a target of the criminal investigation. Curley and Schultz have been charged with failing to report the incident to the authorities.

Sandusky, who retired from Penn State in June 1999, maintained his innocence through his lawyer. Curley has taken a leave of absence and Schultz has decided to step down. They also say they are innocent.

The committee will be appointed Friday at the board's regular meeting, which Gov. Tom Corbett said he plans to attend, and will examine "what failures occurred and who is responsible and what measures are necessary to ensure" similar mistakes aren't made in the future.

In Washington, the U.S. Department of Education said it has launched an investigation into whether Penn State failed to report incidents of sexual abuse on campus, as required by federal law.

Mark C. Sherburne, Curley's acting replacement as AD, issued a statement Wednesday, saying the school is "devastated" by the allegations in the grand jury presentment against Sandusky.

"Our hearts go out to the children and their families," he said.

"Every day we are entrusted with the lives of young people, and we do not -- nor have we ever -- taken that trust lightly," Sherburne said. "We are outraged that a valued trust has been broken. We can promise you that we are doing everything in our power to restore that broken trust. Everyone within athletics -- coaches, administrators, staff and student-athletes -- are committed to this pledge."

Sandusky founded The Second Mile charity in 1977, working with at-risk youths. It now raises and spends several million dollars each year for its programs. Paterno is listed on The Second Mile's website as a member of its honorary board of directors, a group that includes business executives, golfing great Arnold Palmer and several NFL Hall of Famers and coaches, including retired Pittsburgh Steelers stars Jack Ham and Franco Harris.

On Wednesday morning, Paterno said he planned to retire at the end of the season, but the board had other ideas.

In a statement, Paterno said: "I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief."

He went on: "I have come to work every day for the last 61 years with one clear goal in mind: To serve the best interests of this university and the young men who have been entrusted to my care. I have the same goal today."

Penn State Students Take to the Streets After Paterno Is Fired

Thousands of Penn State students and others took to the streets in State College, Pa., on Wednesday night after the university’s board announced that Joe Paterno, the 84-year-old head football coach who had led the team for 46 years, had been fired in the wake of a child sex-abuse scandal involving a former assistant coach. The university’s president, Graham B. Spanier, also stepped down.

Giant crowds, estimated to be in the thousands by reports posted on the Twitter feed of The Daily Collegian, the university’s student newspaper, swelled in the streets in support of Mr. Paterno, apparently knocking over several light posts. The paper reported on its Twitter feed that fireworks were set off in some locations. The mood was described as somber in places, and bordering on violent in others.

The former coach accused in the case, Jerry Sandusky, was “a man who had been a key part of a legendary football program,” my colleague Mark Viera writes, “but who prosecutors have said was a serial pedophile, one who was allowed to add victims over the years in part because the university he had served was either unable or unwilling to stop him.”

Lexi Belculfine, a Penn State senior and the editor in chief of The Daily Collegian, said Wednesday night: “We have reports of people having vigil, lighting candles.” She added, “We also have reports of people setting off fireworks, setting fires, and flipping over news vans within a mile of the same demonstration. I think that everyone in State College is incredibly confused right now.”

[Thanas]

If there are allegations and you do nothing but report it to flunkies and then follow up with nothing, you are a despicable coward and anybody supporting him is as well.

[Simon_Jester]

I think in this case the students rioting are belligerent dolts, rebels without a cause, more than anything else- but yes, Paterno richly deserves to get thrown out on his ear, and more, for this.

[Thanas]

The students can go screw themselves as well.

[Chirios]

The students can go screw themselves as well.

This. I'd like to add it takes a special kind of evil to do what the dude McQuean did as well. He was what, twenty years old? Six feet tall and three hundred pounds, saw a kid being raped and then walked away? He didn't stop the rape, he didn't take the kid away, just turned the fuck around. I mean wow.

[TimothyC]

DA, look at the time that the CNN article came out - yesterday morning before they fired him.

A very good friend of mine described it as "Strange" and "This whole community is ruined."

Edit: He's also noted that the current governor of Pennsylvania (who is going to come in to handle the situation) was the AG that initially handled the case. There is plenty of blame to go around.

[Flagg]

The students can go screw themselves as well.

This. I'd like to add it takes a special kind of evil to do what the dude McQuean did as well. He was what, twenty years old? Six feet tall and three hundred pounds, saw a kid being raped and then walked away? He didn't stop the rape, he didn't take the kid away, just turned the fuck around. I mean wow.

He didn't even do the least possible and call the cops. He called his daddy and then the next day they went and talked to Paterno who talked to the athletics supervisor. It seemingly never occurred to any of these fucking cunts to call the cops. It would take everything I had not to kill a motherfucker I saw raping a child and I can't imagine anyone else not having a similar reaction unless they are a pedophile or a sociopath.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

If you literally saw an old man buggering a 10 year in the shower right before your eyes and you were a healthy 20 year old man? I'd like to think that the real problem for the average guy in this case would be to avoid committing manslaughter by continuing to beat him until he was dead long after he tried to surrender to you. This being 2002 the camera phone was something of a novelty but in the modern era I'd certainly at least be taking pictures and calling the cops at the same time, standing there in the hope that makes him stop and at least attack someone who can fight back, i.e., me. Some people could reasonably not push themselves into a violent act over it, but should have documented it while calling the cops.

This just goes to show, I think, how twisted the world of American college football is. Systematically everyone from the guy who reported it to the coach to the university President to the assistants who were the ones actively covering it up (instead of just passing the buck just enough to avoid being criminals themselves like Paterno did) was more interested in preserving their precious "Nittany Lions" blah blah blah reputation for clean blah blah blah than in trying to stop a horrific crime, the worst short of murder imaginable, from taking place. The only suitable action I can think of is that the national college athletic association should ban the university from having a football team. Permanently.

[Thanas]

Link

Penn State fired a football coach who won 409 games, more than any other coach in Division I college football history.

Penn State fired a coach, whose family donated more than $4 million to the university, helping fund scholarships, faculty positions and the construction of a library that bears his name.

Penn State fired a coach, who was never accused by the NCAA of breaking its rules in 46 seasons, and whose players seemingly always graduated, fostering a belief that the Nittany Lions always did things the right way, even as other major college football programs' reputations were sullied by salacious scandals involving academic fraud and illegal booster benefits.

On Wednesday night, Penn State's Board of Trustees fired legendary football coach Joe Paterno -- effectively immediately -- because it was the only decision it could make.

"We thought that because of the difficulties that engulfed our university -- and they are great -- it was necessary for us to make a change in the leadership and to set a course for new direction," said Penn State board of trustees vice chairman John Surma, chairman and CEO of U.S. Steel. "The university is much larger than its athletic programs."

Finally, adults with backbones and courage made a prudent decision at Penn State.

Paterno was fired because he failed miserably while making the biggest decision of his life.

Told by a graduate assistant in 2002 that former Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky had sexually assaulted a boy, believed to be 10 years old, in the showers of Penn State's football complex, Paterno did nothing more than inform athletics director Tim Curley and university vice president Gary Schultz of the allegations. Paterno never personally called police. 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.

Penn State president Graham Spanier also was fired immediately. Curley took a leave of absence and Schultz retired earlier this week, after they were charged with perjury for lying to a grand jury and failing to report the crime.

Sandusky, who faces 40 criminal counts involving the sexual assaults of eight boys over a 15-year period, has denied the charges.

Paterno, 84, had tried to strong-arm Penn State officials one last time Wednesday morning, announcing that he would retire at the end of the season. Paterno, who had coached the Nittany Lions since 1950 and worked as their head coach since 1966, was bound and determined to go out under his own terms.

Over the past few days, the fallout of the chilling tragedy seemed to focus more on its affect on Paterno's legacy than the victims themselves.

In a statement released by his family on Wednesday morning, Paterno said he would finally step aside after coaching the No. 12 Nittany Lions in their last three-regular season games and then potentially in the Big Ten championship game and a postseason bowl game. Paterno, who guided the Nittany Lions to two national championships, wanted one more shot at a title.

"At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status," Paterno said in the statement. "They have far more important matters to address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can."

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?

The Hall of Fame coach who did very little to help them was able to go on with his storybook life, while their lives had been shattered by a sexual predator who wasn't stopped by men with knowledge of the unspeakable crimes.

Yes, it's sad that Penn State's seniors will remember their final home game as the tragic end of Paterno's historic reign. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter. It would have been far worse if Paterno's curtain call had been cheered from beginning to end. Penn State simply couldn't let Paterno coach again, and fortunately the school's board of trustees made sure he wouldn't on Wednesday night. This wasn't a case of Paterno choosing to ignore allegations of booster payments to a player or improper grade changes by a professor.

Paterno's inaction allegedly involved one of the most heinous crimes a person can commit -- the rape of a child. While Paterno has not been accused of legal wrongdoing -- authorities have said he cooperated during the investigation -- he is guilty of gross indifference, if nothing else. Morally, Paterno should have done more and he now realizes it.

"This is a tragedy," Paterno said in the statement. "It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more."

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.

McQueary, who is now the team's wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator, is still part of the Nittany Lions' staff. McQueary, who grew up in State College, Pa., and played football at Penn State, has yet to say why he didn't do more when he discovered Sandusky with the young boy in the shower.

But in the end, that's what Joe Paterno did. Nothing.

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.

Bolding mine. What an asshole.

[Thanas]

Meanwhile, the fucker is smiling while addressing the students. link.


And a good commentary: link

[Skgoa]

Yes of course, you and I can claim we would come charging in like a knight to save the day. Everyone can be a hero sitting in a comfortable chair. I haven't followed the case, but from the posts here it seems the guy is a coward and didn't know how to react. He called his father to have someone tell him what to do. That's unfortunate, that's something the guy should feel bad about, but it's not an excuse to be an internet tough guy and hate him. If he doesn't have the means or the courage to intervene, society has failed just as much as he did.

edit: this was not meant for Thanas, he posted while I was typing.

[Todeswind]

I can understand why Paterno decided the way he did. It was wrong and he should not have done it but I can understand where he came from. Football players especially college players are conditioned from a young age to believe you listen to your coach first above all else. And division I football coaches are elevated to the status of minor deities. Remember this is the man who had control essentially over Joe's line, scholarships, and for all intents and purposes Paterno's future. The decision to go against him is not an easy one.

Do I think that he should've gone to the police? Yes, however rate cases unless you have an overwhelming amount of evidence in your support are nebulous at best. At a Division I coach who is an active coach can bring an astounding amount of resources to their defense. So essentially Paterno would have been deciding to give up his entire career and the life he wanted to have for something that he probably couldn't have gotten through. His choice was the wrong one but I'd be lying to say I didn't understand it.

As to the students who are rioting, as someone who's previously worked in on a campus police force (read rent a cop with worth study money and no gun) I can say with a great deal of confidence that people fighting especially people fighting the group in big groups don't necessarily have a good reason for it. All it takes is one or two morons to do stupid things in close proximity to other people who were going to do stupid things for situation to blow out of control.

I remember one situation over a where someone brought a bottle of vodka to a fraternity house, drank a substantial amount made an ass of himself and was asked to leave. Because he was an underage drinker he refused to leave without his vodka and was forcibly removed. The altercation between houses bouncers and and the underage drinker was seen by several nearby houses, who tried to intervene. In a space of about 5 min of good 30 people were grappling with each other on the front lawn of this fraternity house. Very few of them had seen the initial blows but rapidly involved himself in the situation they had no idea about simply because they saw someone getting involved and chose to involve themselves.

This was a brawl between people who don't necessarily dislike each other, there was no strong emotion involved. When you get large groups of people who have genuinely strong emotions and feel like their way of life is being drastically changed its powder keg for riot. Joe whatever else can be said about him was an institution on campus, a nationally recognizable figure who all the students have associated with on some level or another.

The whole situation is more tragic than anything else.

[Flagg]

Yes of course, you and I can claim we would come charging in like a knight to save the day. Everyone can be a hero sitting in a comfortable chair. I haven't followed the case, but from the posts here it seems the guy is a coward and didn't know how to react. He called his father to have someone tell him what to do. That's unfortunate, that's something the guy should feel bad about, but it's not an excuse to be an internet tough guy and hate him. If he doesn't have the means or the courage to intervene, society has failed just as much as he did.

edit: this was not meant for Thanas, he posted while I was typing.

It's not being an internet tough guy to tell you what my honest reaction would be, and my honest reaction would be to do my damndest to murder a fucker I witnessed in the act of raping a child. It would take everything I had not to do it.

[Stravo]

My understanding is that this scandal is far reaching and insidious in the level of actors involved including local police. A news report on MSNBC last night claimed that local police were also aware of the accusations against this asshole and quietly did nothing. I keep thinking about the parents of these children and whether they knew or not and if they did how frustrating or angry must they be to see an entire institution and its supporters very coldly slapping your child away to protect the rapist. I'm sure many of the families of the boys violated by priests can completely understand.

I find this whole thing despicable on a level I cannot really put into words. This wasn't a guy telling some college student to suck his cock, this wasn't a potential presidential candidate putting his hand up some woman's skirt, this was a coach fucking a 10 year old boy. And apparently he's done it often as if one time is not horrible enough.

And this is the story about the reaction of an institution that is entrusted with the wellbeing and education of young people. They decided that an assistance coach, not even Paterno himself mind you, was too valuable and that him fucking a 10 year old boy was not bad enough to punish. Instead they actively protected him, it wasn't even a turning of the blind eye. In a word this is vile.

I don't even want to get into the whole murky world of how athletics is astronomically over valued as opposed to scholarly achievements and the role that played in this only to add that Paterno could have won a million college football games how is that even in the same universe when balanced against raping a small child. To even bring that into the equation is an inditment against the morals of anyone raising it. Winning fucking GAMES vs. raping a small child.

And for the students Penn State...stay classy assholes.

[Col. Crackpot]

Football aside for a moment, this is a matter of prestige and power. There is a clear parallel to the Catholic Church scandal here. Much like the Catholic Church, Penn State decided long ago that the prestige of the University was more important than the lives of a few children and silly things like morality and ethics. Disgraceful.

Also, John Denis and Jerry Callahan at WEEI in Boston interviewed Mark Madden... a Pittsburgh journalist who SEVEN MONTHS AGO published an articlethat predicted this, made the case that the media in PA willfully avoided the story and furthermore dropped a bomb claiming that The Second Mile Foundation is being investigated for possibly 'pimping out young children to high value donors'. If that is true that sadly the worst is yet to come

link to audio

[Tasoth]

Glad someone posted this, I wasn't sure where it would go if I had.

Just seeing responses by PSU alumni and fans about this makes me sad. They're upset Paterno go fired when he was clearly at fault is hilarious. And the fact that there is rioting because a sport's hero go shitcanned for being a piece of filth isn't surprising from someone who lives in PA. We're talking about a state that idolizes football from junior high/high school and events happening in a town with a population of several thousand teenagers fresh out of high school with no parents around and a few people in the mix who know how to sway them.

[Alferd Packer]

Here's the grand jury's report on Sandusky.

I couldn't even make it all the way through Victim 2.

[Ziggy Stardust]

Between this and the documentary about the Alabama/Auburn football rivalry has completely destroyed the last remnants of my respect for NCAA football (which was already pretty low). Hell, I like sports as much as the next guy, but I don't understand the obsession with college sports, or why it is valued more than pro sports. It isn't as fun to watch because the players aren't mature and skilled enough yet, and the organizations behind them are, more often than not, completely crooked. Here is a good article on the issue.

[Skgoa]

Yes of course, you and I can claim we would come charging in like a knight to save the day. Everyone can be a hero sitting in a comfortable chair. I haven't followed the case, but from the posts here it seems the guy is a coward and didn't know how to react. He called his father to have someone tell him what to do. That's unfortunate, that's something the guy should feel bad about, but it's not an excuse to be an internet tough guy and hate him. If he doesn't have the means or the courage to intervene, society has failed just as much as he did.

edit: this was not meant for Thanas, he posted while I was typing.

It's not being an internet tough guy to tell you what my honest reaction would be, and my honest reaction would be to do my damndest to murder a fucker I witnessed in the act of raping a child. It would take everything I had not to do it.

It didn't mean to attack you, personally. The thread just seemed to be making a detour into tough-guy-land. Over someone whose only mistake was cowardice. I like to think I would react in much the same way as you describe, but I wasn't there and I don't think it's going to be productive if we stand around in a circle and proclaim how different we would have acted.

[Tasoth]

Read the entirety of that grand jury statement. He was not only seen by the grad student, but by a janitor who was a Korean war vet. Both did not take immediate physical action, although the janitor's coworkers were afraid he was going to have a heart attack because of how distressed he was. I am going to go with these two going into shock from disbelief at what they were seeing. Curley and Schultz need to be strung up along with the president and paterno, because they never reported this thing, as well as the campus police chief who told the detectives investigating victim 6's case to close it.

[Simon_Jester]

Yeah. It doesn't seem that uncommon a reaction, for people who walk in on someone they trust committing a terrible crime. The phrase "I can't believe my eyes" isn't totally metaphorical. People just aren't wired to do a full 180 on their opinion of someone that fast, from "he's a trusted authority in my in-group" to "he's an evil monster, ATTACK!" in a matter of a few seconds.

[Kanastrous]

If there are allegations and you do nothing but report it to flunkies and then follow up with nothing, you are a despicable coward and anybody supporting him is as well.

I just thought that deserved more than one appearance on screen.

It's a good illustration of how basically pathological the collegiate-sports culture gets...well, at least in the USA, how pathological the whole sports fan-thing can get. Too bad a bunch of kids had to suffer, for the pathology to be so well-illustrated.*




* the pathology being the cover-up, passes, and general exaltation of sport-above-all, not the individual pathology of the predator who molested the kids

[SpaceMarine93]

My understanding is that this scandal is far reaching and insidious in the level of actors involved including local police. A news report on MSNBC last night claimed that local police were also aware of the accusations against this asshole and quietly did nothing. I keep thinking about the parents of these children and whether they knew or not and if they did how frustrating or angry must they be to see an entire institution and its supporters very coldly slapping your child away to protect the rapist. I'm sure many of the families of the boys violated by priests can completely understand.

I find this whole thing despicable on a level I cannot really put into words. This wasn't a guy telling some college student to suck his cock, this wasn't a potential presidential candidate putting his hand up some woman's skirt, this was a coach fucking a 10 year old boy. And apparently he's done it often as if one time is not horrible enough.

And this is the story about the reaction of an institution that is entrusted with the wellbeing and education of young people. They decided that an assistance coach, not even Paterno himself mind you, was too valuable and that him fucking a 10 year old boy was not bad enough to punish. Instead they actively protected him, it wasn't even a turning of the blind eye. In a word this is vile.

I don't even want to get into the whole murky world of how athletics is astronomically over valued as opposed to scholarly achievements and the role that played in this only to add that Paterno could have won a million college football games how is that even in the same universe when balanced against raping a small child. To even bring that into the equation is an inditment against the morals of anyone raising it. Winning fucking GAMES vs. raping a small child.

And for the students Penn State...stay classy assholes.

One thing's for sure, if I wasn't so adhere to the law I would had proposed executing every single one of them. I means those bastards protected a child rapist like a goddamn messiah just because he win games for them. What the hell happened to the state?

Bring out the riot batons, rubber bullets and tear gas for the damn rioting Penn State students. Crack their skulls open, they know at least a fraction of the pain those children and their families suffered, police brutality be damned. I hope at least several hundreds of them get booked for property damage at the least.

(By the way, how is your epic sci-fi crossover coming along?)