Joe Paterno is a man who, for years, has held himself out as a role model of integrity and good moral fiber, building a football program that didn't shirk the academics in pursuit of excellence in athletics.  

But the true test of Joe Paterno's position on the moral high ground was what he did - and didn't do - when confronted with something that should have been bigger than football, and should have prompted him to hold himself to the same high standards he demanded of his players.  But when confronted with the eyewitness information about what took place in the showers in the Penn State football team's locker room, all he did - and it was truly the least of what he should have done, even if it was all he was legally required to do - was report it to his athletic director.  

Period.

Paterno failed to meet the high standards he set for others, failed those children who were already victimized, and enabled, through his inaction, other children to be in harm's way.

No question that Paterno built a terrific football program.  No question he was loved and admired for it.  

But when he failed those children, he lost the right, in my opinion, to be in control of his own destiny.  He lost the right to revel in the glory of this season's last home game.

Joe Paterno failed, even if he didn't commit a crime, and the university had every right - and maybe even an obligation - to fire him.

This isn't the end of this, by any means.  I have no doubt that what we know so far isn't even the worst of it, and I'm also sure that in the coming weeks and months, all those people raging about the unfair treatment of Joe Paterno are going to be feeling decidedly sick to their stomachs for doing so.

Remember the allegations about particular US Boy Scout groups some years back; remember again the almost-decade-long developing facts of pedophilia in named parishes of the Catholic Church, etc. The claimed "hear no evil, see no evil" approach there has a reverberation in practice here.  Strong institutions with strong male elder or father figures...a worrisome tendency to protect the institution & the elders before the young boys?  Granted we don't know all the facts...it will be awhile...but, unless we cover our eyes & close our ears, we do know that something was greatly amiss. (See shoephone's insightful statement above.)

However, there is easily...EASILY...grounds to fire them and you can support their termination without violating the above principle.  They were all told that a 28 year old person that they have known their entire life caught a man in the act of molesting a child.  To make it worse, it was someone that had already been accused once (1999).  When you hear this, you call the police.  Period.  That way, if it is true, you get him off the streets and away from children so he cannot hurt them anymore.  If it is not true, the police and/or the accused's lawyer can sort it out.

An item of note is that Paterno had an incredible won-loss record at Penn State with only a very few losing seasons....BUT, 2 of those seasons were 2000 and 2001, immediately preceding the 2002 locker room incident. So, if you get the picture, 2002 was a year of critical vulnerability for PATERNO. Not evidence, of course, just the kind of item that prosecutors seize on all the time to pound into juries.

That is symptomatic of the sickness of a sports-crazed society, as is so much else about this story, about the behavior of journalists at the press conference, about the behavior of students rioting at Penn State because of Paterno, not because of their president being dumped by the Board of Trustees.

By the way, that board has a lot to answer for, as well.  That it was caught so flatfooted this week in how to handle a response is ridiculous, as it had to know that many staffers had been subpoenaed and were testifying for months now.  Still hoping to cover it all up, I suppose?

Also stunning about the board's stasis and the sickness endemic at Penn State is that Paterno  publicly announced that he would decide what to do and not answer to them.  Of course, that had worked fine for him years ago, when the board tried and failed to force him to retire.  I simply cannot imagine a board without the power of firing, but then, this was a football coach.  And that, it seems, says it all in this society.

The alleged molestation is horrible, but come on, for all but the accused, there is no valid reason to charge, fire and crucify all of the others.

What was seen, which may or may not have been what actually occurred, was reported upward in the university structure. From the graduate asst, to Paterno, to the AD, at some point apparently to the vp who oversaw the campus police, and perhaps to others. The statute requiring educators to report this type of problem/crime is vague and seems not apply to this type of situation, from what I've read. This was not a university incident and did not involve a university student; it just apparently occurred at the university/football facilities and was observed by a grad asst and a janitor who now has dementia.

Sure, earlier reporting may have prevented more molestation. However, I don't believe this crime or situation requires the severe punishment of Penn St, the respected president of Penn St (who is respected and credited with advancing the stature of Penn St), the revered long-time coach of Penn St football, the athletic director, and perhaps others.

Judged in retrospect, someone should have turned in Sandusky, the coach/former coach. However, it was reported, at least generally to multiple people and important people, and they decided, for whatever reason, to take action other than turning this over to legal authorities. Sandusky was obviously their friend, and respected for his football and other qualities.

The punishment is much too severe for the crime. Had this not been Penn St and Paterno, this would not have merited nearly this much attention.

And as Jeralyn and others know, the true facts are often not what the indictment/prosecution says, and what is reported in the media initially.

The Penn St board must be composed of a bunch of people without strength and conviction.

Paterno has coached at Penn St for 61 years. His teams have been near the top in many years, and have won 2 national championships. Paterno played quarterback for Brown, in the old days. Franco Harris is one of the greatest running backs of all time, in college and the NFL. Probably graduated about 1972 and then was an all-pro player for the Pitt Stealers.

In my view, what is occurring now (and I'm not talking about the molestation) is one of the things that is wrong with America. Over-criminalization and firing everyone is sight, is not what this country should be about.

Thank you for delineating the facts as they are known currently - and also reaffirming the boundaries.....

finally...."a former player named Franco Harris"....:-)

Harris was chosen for 9 consecutive Pro Bowls (from 1972 through 1980), and was All-Pro in 1977. Harris rushed for more than 1,000 yards in 8 seasons, breaking a record set by Jim Brown.

Differences exist if the explicitness, described above,  was reported to Coach Paterno, Athletic Director (and Paterno's immediate superior) Tim Curley, Sr. Vice President for Finances and Business, Gary Schultz (and overseer of the campus police), and President Spanier.   The reporting of the activity ranges from fondling or doing something of a sexual nature to a young boy, to horsing around, to disturbing to inappropriate. Schultz even had no specific memory, maybe grabbing of genitals.  

The grand jury found McQueary to be "extremely credible", and, indeed, the charge against Curley is that he provided "materially false statements under oath" in an official grand jury proceeding Jan 12, 20ll that, regarding the 2002 incident, he was not told by the graduate assistant that Sandusky was engaged in sexual conduct or anal sex with a boy in the football building showers.  Schultz also was charged with providing a materially false statement under oath on January 12, 2011 when testifying that the allegations made by the graduate assistant about the 2002 episode were "not that serious" and that he and Curley "had no indication that a crime occurred."

Lawyered up

Where is the DA from the 1998 case.  Declared dead after 7 years. It's a good bet that the last shoe has not dropped yet.

3. Ah, but Walsh's prize from the FRC is not the most embarrassing award to come to light this week. That honor goes to the Pompeii beneath Google Mountain, Rick Santorum. Nine years ago, it seems, Rick sponsored, for the honor of "Congressional Angel in Adoption," Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant football coach who is presently accused of multiple acts of child molestation and rape, and whose long career as a predator may well bring down the whole football program at Santorum's alma mater. Obviously outraged, Santorum reached deep into the well of his anger and pulled up this bucket of mealy-mouthed slop:

"Look, I pray and hope that he [PSU coach Joe Paterno] didn't do anything he shouldn't have done, but it certainly looks horrible for the university, horrible for the football program and obviously people were fired, should be fired."

Of course, as the report above says, since the Penn State scandal broke, Santorum "has been circumspect in his comments about it. (He is not implicated in any way.)"

By contrast, here's what he once said about gay marriage:

"This is an issue just like 9/11. We didn't decide we wanted to fight the war on terrorism because we wanted to. It was brought to us. And if not now, when? When the supreme courts in all the other states have succumbed to the Massachusetts version of the law?"
Twit.

Even if nothing happened, there is an moral obligation to report crimes against the defenseless to the police.  For people who built their reputations/careers on honesty and ethics, it is a huge lapse of sense to not report what was perceived as the raping of a child.  Just more common sense they will need to write into law because some of our 'finest' citizens didn't get the memo.

The frenzy in this case seems well deserved, the real question is will the NCAA do anything.  I know it's not sneakers for autographs, but they need to figure out if not reporting an alleged felony is worse than free sneakers, and worthy of their wrath.

Never heard of Paterno ?  He's more famous than Brett Favre, Lou Holtz, or Carl Lewis.  I think one would have to go out of their way not to have heard of Paterno.  Guess he should have made a debut on DWTS, then everyone on the planet would know his name and we could gossip all day long about him.

I didn't remember reading all this 'Let the Courts Figure it Out' when the allegations were against the Catholic Church.  Just been noticing a lot hypocrisy in posts lately, lots of gossip, except in regards to high profile cases, then gossip machine is filtered and a new lust for the ____ emerges.

The End of Paterno

Paterno has paid a price here. His job is gone. His life's work has been soiled. His reputation is in tatters. Maybe that should be the price. Maybe there should be more of a price. You don't have to type: "Well, his price is nothing like the price of those victims..." I already know that.

But I think the way Joe Paterno has lived his life has earned him something more than instant fury, more than immediate assumptions of the worst, more than the happy cheers of critics who have always believed that there was something phony about the man and his ideals. He deserves what I would hope we all deserve -- for the truth to come out, or, anyway, the closest thing to truth we can find.

I don't think Joe Paterno has gotten that. And I think that's sad.

Here's a new thread on the case.