I like JoePa, but I'm not shedding a tear either. As you said, plenty of people die every day and I can give 2 craps for the most part. This guy lived a great life and was 85 years old, it's no tragedy. The circumstances leading up to his demise sucked, but I just can't get too worked up about it. And I agree, JoePa probably deserved to be fired. I feel he should've been fired face to face however, rather than with an anonymous phone call (for the most part).
I really don't. Cancer doesn't even play into it, considering when the charges were first gathered against all parties. If what you say was true, why would McQueary not be facing the same charges as Schultz or Spanier then? He's not 84, doesn't have cancer, and sure as hell isn't JoePa.
I think in the end, if we tear away everything, this is where you and I disagree. Joe Paterno, IMO, lost his right to be called a great man or to say he lead a great life. Maybe it's harsh, but like I said in an earlier post, don't know if you have kids, but my guess is when you do (if you don't already) you'll understand where I come from a bit more.
Since when does carrying guns, make campus police the correct authority for crime of this level? Also, since when does being just a football coach make someone a great man?
For a long time. Some people hold there sports heroes in way to high regard. Always has been always will be, unfortunately.
I really don't see how anyone could think he didn't have a great life? He had multiple (seemingly happy and successful) children, a happy marriage, plenty of financial success, helped set hundreds of young men toward success in life, and had an occupation he loved for 50+ years. Sure sounds like he'd think his life was pretty great. I see a clear difference between calling someone a great man and saying they had a great life. I'm pretty sure most everyone would love to have a life with the characteristics I just mentioned, while not changing who they are right now.
Carrying guns doesn't, but being a police department held to the same standards and governed by the same rules as any other Pennsylvania Municipal Police Dept. does however. And simply being a football coach doesn't make someone a great man.
Simple fact of the matter Paterno defenders have to pick their poison. Either he was too stupid to realize the campus police would cover up a scandal or he wasn't too stupid to realize they would. Considering he "never followed up", tells me he knew exactly what he was doing.
All that does sound great. One thing you forgot, he allowed a friend to rape children and did nothing (or very little) about it.
Agreed. IMO, he went to campus police knowing full well this would absolve him legally of any wrongdoing. And after that, it seemed he just didn't care what happened.
I hardly forgot that. And it's possible you're mis-characterizing their relationship (JoePa and Sandusky) as one of friends.
Yea, who said he didn't/wasn't? And I don't think that's a fair representation of the Second Mile charity.
People are not that intertwined without being friends. That's as fair of a representation of the charity as great man is a description of Paterno. Again, either he was too stupid to know there would be a cover up or he knew there'd be one, which seems more likely considering his actions (or lack thereof afterward)?
Yes they are overseen by the University, that doesn't make the officers or their investigations any less qualified.
The hell it doesn't. They answer to the university. They are beholden to Penn State and not the law or justice. You are being purposely obtuse here.
Yeah, and my guess is it was the latter. He wasn't stupid. He was smart, so smart he knew going to the campus police would clear him legally, allowing him to bury his head in the sand and to continue to let his friend pray on young boys.
He cared for nothing other than Penn State's reputation. That is all he thought about. What he did was no different than working at Wal Mart, seeing an assistant manager raping a child and telling Wal Mart security.
It's exactly the same actually. He was looking out for reputations of Joe Paterno and Penn St. University and nothing else. He didn't give a damn about those boys.
Lol. It HAS to be one or the other. Either he didn't know they'd cover up or he did. There are no other options.
Ding Ding!! This is really what it is all about, remember PSU was the GOLD Standard, the Stanford on the other side of the country....There is no possible way anything could have been covered up if he went to the Campus Police right?? Please.... Again he should have went to the State Police and had a 3rd party investigation initiated plain and simple...
Youre entitled to your opinion as is everyone else. I dont have kids but I can understand that position youre taking. I dont agree with it though. he messed up by not doing more but he did what he was legally required to do. Not disputing whether he deserved to be fired. Disputing the silliness thats going on this thread. Like every here has never made a big mistake? Maybe not to that extent but its happened. We all would fire someone who did something like this but its a little bit different then to do so without concrete proof which he did not have, all he had was the word of a graduate assistant. Thats like taking your secretary's word that the person directly under you is doing something wrong. You would look in to it or have someoen look in to for you before making such a rash decision. To do otherwise would show no ability to act rationally whatsoever. Not at all. Not at all. Legally he is absolved of wrongdoing by Pennsylvania law. Not only could they not prosecute him, they couldnt even touch him with a 40 foot pole. He did what he was required to do. I dont know why thats so hard to understand for the Paterno bashers. Yes he should have done more, but no he is not required to. Yes he should have followed up. Yes he could have gone off campus with it. But he is absolved of legal wrongdoing because he took it to campus police which in Pennsylvania have the same authority as any precinct even if its not absolved of moral wrong doing. Since in pennsylvania campus police have the same authority as off campus cops? They have a different definition of a great life then we do. No its the Paterno bashers that have to pick their poison: Either Paterno figured people who get paid to handle such crises are competent enough to their job or really didnt know the extent of it. And since lie detector tests and police testimony have said Paterno really did not know what was going on then what proof do Paterno bashers actually have otherwise? None. They also answer to the state of Pennsylvania No, you actually do not know the facts here. Campus police in Pennsylvania answer to the state as well. That is why Schultz is going to land in jail for a very long time. But thats not an important fact.
So let me get this straight, you're telling me campus police don't answer to the college, yet Schultz is going to jail because as head of campus police he looked out for the college? Hmmmm.
They answer to he state as well. The state is a higher authority then the college. hes going to jail because he did nothing in a situation that called for immediate action.
Dude, the head of campus police covered it up. He answered to the college first. Whether he was supposed to or not he did. He put the college first. Everyone knew he would. Everyone knew he did. Except Paterno? Really? His lack of following up really points to anything but putting the college first? C'mon.
And yet there is no proof that Paterno actually knew. The court of public opinion means squat or else OJ would have long ago been in jail. You miss the point entirely. That he answered to the college first is why he going to jail. Cause and effect.
It boggles my mind how many people are letting Paterno walk on this and still think he is a great man. Knowing young children are being preyed upon and doing nothing is reprehensible, IMO.
Ok, you choose to believe that Paterno was just some poor schlub just trying to coach football, when in reality he was the most influential and public face at that college. Why would he think that going to the head of campus police not result in anything bad for the university? This is no different than going to an archbishop instead of the cops.
Brilliant satire or low blow? You be the judge. http://offthebench.nbcsports.com/20...n-go-overboard-with-its-joe-paterno-headline/
It boggles my mind how many people are pinning this at the feet of Paterno instead of the real criminal here, Sandusky. And to a lesser extent Spanier and Schultz. This is their department and their job. At what point would Paterno, as an employee of the university overstep his boundaries by going over his superiors heads? There is also ZERO proof that he knew despite rampant media speculation that is both unfounded and unproven. And you choose to believe that Paterno basically watched by the door and rooted Sandusky on. Influence and public persona has almost nothing to do with facts of what happened. Hey, you wanna slap the cuffs on the guy go ahead. But he didnt commit the acts and there is still no proof he knew. Offer something concrete. Offer something we dont already know. Otherwise all the Paterno bashers have is speculation and opinion. Who cares about The Onion? To be fair it, Im surprised you arent up in arms about that? You have grandparents right? How would you feel if someone did that to your now deceased grandparent?
There's still an argument over this? Wow. Well, Joe Paterno was told that Jerry Sandusky raped kids. No one, not even Paterno has denied that fact. In fact, when asked why he reported it to the school and then sat on his hands, he replied, "I probably could've done more." There's no debate here. Paterno WAS Penn State. This scandal got to the point it did because of his actions, and his inactions. He knew this, which is why he nor his family fought the decision by the board. The fact of the matter is, it doesn't really matter WHO Paterno told, because HE was the highest authority at Penn State. It's like the Mayor telling a beat cop he saw corruption at City Hall. The **** good is that gonna do? You're Joe Paterno. You're held to a higher regard than "Welp, haven't heard anything. But I did my part."
First, I'm not pinning the crime on Sandusky, I am pinning the cover up on him tho. He played as big a part of that as anyone and to think otherwise in either naive or ignorant, IMO. As far the Onion goes, I don't care about it either, was just posting a "story" about Paterno in a Paterno thread. And yes I have grandparents, and if they took part in covering up child rape, I wouldn't feel very good.
No, no, no, no, no. I didn't say he did it or watched. I said he didn't do what he should have done. That is fact. He admits it. I am suggesting he didn't do what he was supposed to do because he put the school first. You claim the campus police doesn't answer to the school, yet that's exactly what happened. There is no denying that or spinning that. The campus police answered to the school. By saying Paterno couldn't have known that, is completely throwing away the decades of being the face if that school. Paterno was powerful. There is no way in hell, he thought he did the right thing. There is no way in hell he didn't know the politics of the situation. If he didn't, then he was a moron. That's why I said Paterno defenders have to pick their poison. Either he was dumb or put the school first. There is no other option. None.