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Invisible Pedestrian
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Post subject: R.I.P. Joe Paterno, 85 Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 2:29 pm |
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Joined: | 24 Sep 2006 |
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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Joe Paterno, the longtime Penn State coach who won more games than anyone in major college football but was fired amid a child sex abuse scandal that scarred his reputation for winning with integrity, died Sunday. He was 85.
His family released a statement Sunday morning to announce his death.
``He died as he lived,'' the statement said. ``He fought hard until the end, stayed positive, thought only of others and constantly reminded everyone of how blessed his life had been. His ambitions were far reaching, but he never believed he had to leave this Happy Valley to achieve them. He was a man devoted to his family, his university, his players and his community.''
Paterno built his program on the credo ``Success with Honor,'' and he found both. The man known as ``JoePa'' won 409 games and took the Nittany Lions to 37 bowl games and two national championships. More than 250 of the players he coached went on to the NFL.
``He will go down as the greatest football coach in the history of the game,'' Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said after his former team, the Florida Gators, beat Penn State 37-24 in the 2011 Outback Bowl.
Paterno's son Scott said on Nov. 18 that his father was being treated for lung cancer. The cancer was diagnosed during a follow-up visit for a bronchial illness. A few weeks after that revelation, Paterno also broke his pelvis after a fall but did not need surgery.
Paterno had been in the hospital since Jan. 13 for observation for what his family had called minor complications from his cancer treatments. Not long before that, he conducted his only interview since losing his job, with The Washington Post. Paterno was described as frail then, speaking mostly in a whisper and wearing a wig. The second half of the two-day interview was conducted at his bedside.
``As the last 61 years have shown, Joe made an incredible impact,'' said the statement from the family. ``That impact has been felt and appreciated by our family in the form of thousands of letters and well wishes along with countless acts of kindness from people whose lives he touched. It is evident also in the thousands of successful student athletes who have gone on to multiply that impact as they spread out across the country.''
The final days of Paterno's Penn State career were easily the toughest in his 61 years with the university and 46 seasons as head football coach.
It was because Paterno was a such a sainted figure - more memorable than any of his players and one of the best-known coaches in all of sports - that his downfall was so startling. During one breathtaking week in early November, Paterno was engulfed by a scandal and forced from his job, because he failed to go to the police in 2002 when told a young boy was molested inside the football complex.
``I didn't know which way to go ... and rather than get in there and make a mistake,'' he said in the Post interview.
Jerry Sandusky, the former defensive coordinator expected to succeed Paterno before retiring in 1999, was charged with sexually assaulting 10 boys over 15 years. Two university officials stepped down after they were charged with perjury following a grand jury investigation of Sandusky. But attention quickly focused on an alleged rape that took place in a shower in the football building, witnessed by Mike McQueary, a graduate assistant at the time.
McQueary testified that he had seen Sandusky attacking the child and that he had told Paterno, who waited a day before alerting school authorities. Police were never called and the state's top cop later said Paterno failed to execute his moral responsibility by not contacting police.
``You know, (McQueary) didn't want to get specific,'' Paterno said in the Post interview. ``And to be frank with you I don't know that it would have done any good, because I never heard of, of, rape and a man. So I just did what I thought was best. I talked to people that I thought would be, if there was a problem, that would be following up on it.''
On the morning of Nov. 9, Paterno said he would retire following the 2011 season. He also said he was ``absolutely devastated'' by the abuse case.
``This is a tragedy,'' the coach said. ``It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.''
But the university trustees faced a crisis, and in an emergency meeting that night, they fired Paterno, effective immediately. Graham Spanier, one of the longest-serving university presidents in the nation, also was dismissed.
According to Lanny Davis, an attorney retained by the trustees as an adviser, board vice chairman John Surma regretted having to tell Paterno the decision over the phone.
The university handed the football team to one of Paterno's assistants, Tom Bradley, who said Paterno ``will go down in history as one of the greatest men, who maybe most of you know as a great football coach.''
Thick, smoky-lens glasses, rolled up khakis, jet-black sneakers, blue windbreaker - Paterno was easy to spot on the sidelines. His teams were just as easy to spot on the field; their white helmets and classic blue and white uniforms had the same old-school look as the coach.
Paterno believed success was not measured entirely on the field. From his idealistic early days, he had implemented what he called a ``grand experiment'' - to graduate more players while maintaining success on the field.
He was a frequent speaker on ethics in sports, a conscience for a world often infiltrated by scandal and shady characters.
His teams consistently ranked among the best in the Big Ten for graduating players. As of 2011, it had 49 academic All-Americans, the third-highest among schools in the Football Bowl Subdivision. All but two played under Paterno.
``He teaches us about really just growing up and being a man,'' former linebacker Paul Posluszny, now with the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars, once said. ``Besides the football, he's preparing us to be good men in life.''
Paterno certainly had detractors, as well. One former Penn State professor called his high-minded words on academics a farce. He was criticized for making broad critiques about the wrongs in college football without providing specifics. A former administrator said his players often got special treatment compared to non-athletes. His coaching style often was considered too conservative. Some thought he held on to his job too long. There was a push to move him out in 2004 but it failed.
But the critics were in the minority, and his program was never cited for major NCAA violations. However, the child sexual abuse scandal prompted separate investigations by the U.S. Department of Education and the NCAA into the school's handling.
Paterno played quarterback and cornerback for Brown University and set a defensive record with 14 career interceptions, a distinction he boasted about to his teams all the way into his 80s. He graduated in 1950 with plans to go to law school. He said his father hoped he would someday be president.
When he was 23, a former coach at Brown was moving to Penn State to become the head coach and persuaded Paterno to come with him as an assistant.
``I had no intention to coach when I got out of Brown,'' Paterno said in 2007 at Beaver Stadium in an interview before being inducted into the Hall of Fame. ``Come to this hick town? From Brooklyn?''
In 1963, he was offered a job by the late Al Davis - $18,000, triple his salary at Penn State, plus a car to become general manager and coach of the AFL's Oakland Raiders. He said no. Rip Engle retired as Penn State head coach three years later, and Paterno took over.
At the time, the Lions were considered ``Eastern football'' - inferior - and Paterno courted newspaper coverage to raise the team's profile. In 1967, PSU began a 30-0-1 streak.
But Penn State couldn't get to the top of the polls. The Lions finished second in 1968 and 1969 despite perfect records. They went 12-0 in 1973 and finished fifth. Texas edged them in 1969 after President Richard Nixon, impressed with the Longhorns' bowl performance, declared them No. 1.
``I'd like to know,'' Paterno said later, ``how could the president know so little about Watergate in 1973, and so much about college football in 1969?''
A national title finally came in 1982, in a 27-23 win over Georgia at the Sugar Bowl. Penn State won another in 1986 after the Lions picked off Vinny Testaverde five times and beat Miami 14-10 in the Fiesta Bowl.
They have made several title runs since then, including a 2005 run to the Orange Bowl and an 11-1 campaign in 2008 that earned them a berth in the Rose Bowl, where they lost 37-23 to Southern California.
In his later years, physical ailments wore the old coach down. Paterno was run over on the sideline during a game at Wisconsin in November 2006 and underwent knee surgery. He hurt his hip in 2008 demonstrating an onside kick.
An intestinal illness and a bad reaction to antibiotics prescribed for dental work slowed him for most of the 2010 season. Paterno began scaling back his speaking engagements that year, ending his summer caravan of speeches to alumni across the state.
Then a receiver bowled over Paterno at practice in August, sending him to the hospital with shoulder and pelvis injuries and consigning him to coach much of the season from the press box.
``The fact that we've won a lot of games is that the good Lord kept me healthy, not because I'm better than anybody else,'' Paterno said two days before he won his 409th game and passed Eddie Robinson of Grambling State for the most in Division I. ``It's because I've been around a lot longer than anybody else.''
Paterno could be conservative on the field, especially in big games, relying on the tried-and-true formula of defense, the running game and field position.
``They've been playing great defense for 45 years,'' Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said in November.
Paterno and his wife, Sue, raised five children in State College. Anybody could telephone him at his modest ranch home - the same one he appeared in front of on the night he was fired - by looking up ``Paterno, Joseph V.'' in the phone book.
He walked to home games and was greeted and wished good luck by fans on the street. Former players paraded through his living room for the chance to say hello. But for the most part, he stayed out of the spotlight.
Paterno did have a knack for joke. He referred to Twitter, the social media, as ``Twittle-do, Twittle-dee.''
He also could be abrasive and stubborn, and had his share of run-ins with his bosses or administrators. And as his legend grew, so did the attention to his on-field decisions, and the questions about when he would retire.
Calls for his retirement reached a crescendo in 2004. The next year, Penn State went 11-1 and won the Big Ten. In the Orange Bowl, PSU beat Florida State, whose coach, Bobby Bowden, left the Seminoles after the 2009 season after 34 years and 389 wins.
Like many others, he was outlasted by ``JoePa.''
_________________ "We have a great bunch of outside shooters. Unfortunately, all our games are played indoors."—College Basketball player Weldon Drew
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Renny
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Post subject: R.I.P. Joe Paterno, 85 Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 5:05 pm |
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The Last Hippie
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Joined: | 26 Jun 2006 |
Posts: | 28462 |
Location: | Ohio |
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too bad a stellar career had get tainted at the very end. he didn't deserve it, i hope the history books leave that part (jerry sandusky) out.
_________________ Incorrectly is the only word that when spelled correctly is still spelled incorrectly.
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Marcus
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Post subject: R.I.P. Joe Paterno, 85 Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 5:22 pm |
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RobertSwanderson
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Post subject: R.I.P. Joe Paterno, 85 Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 5:28 pm |
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Bigger and Better!
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Joined: | 01 Jan 2007 |
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An amazing man and career, but some horrifying things happened under his watch. The coaching textbook based on his life needs to have that cautionary chapter left in.
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JohnG
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Post subject: R.I.P. Joe Paterno, 85 Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 7:03 pm |
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Boney Fingers Jones
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Joined: | 03 Aug 2006 |
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Location: | Sunny Massapequa Park, NY |
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I think he did die of a broken heart. His wonderful legacy ruined by that creep. RIP Joe. 
_________________ "Every day a little sadder, A little madder, Someone get me a ladder."
ELP
“You can't have everything. Where would you put it?”—Steven Wright
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Walter P
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Post subject: R.I.P. Joe Paterno, 85 Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 7:16 pm |
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Yes...my real name is Steve..REALLY! ;)
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Joined: | 20 Sep 2006 |
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Location: | Boston Area, MA |
Bannings: | Living on the edge. |
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I'm sorry, but I'm not letting him off that easy. His excuses have been weak. Like it or not, he was part of something horrible that happened on his watch and that should never be forgotten. Legacy be damned!
_________________ F.A.S.T. Stroke Signs
F = Face drooping - Look for an uneven smile A = Arm Weakness - Is one arm weak? - Can you lift both arms? S = Speech Difficulty - Listen for slurred speech - Do people understand your speech? T = Time is brain! - Call 9-1-1
Brain Rebuilding 05/13/2017
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pghmusiclover
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Post subject: R.I.P. Joe Paterno, 85 Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 7:58 pm |
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Joined: | 15 Jul 2007 |
Posts: | 3360 |
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Walter P wrote: I'm sorry, but I'm not letting him off that easy. His excuses have been weak. Like it or not, he was part of something horrible that happened on his watch and that should never be forgotten. Legacy be damned! +1
_________________ Patrick (aka pghmusiclover)
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Smiff
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Post subject: R.I.P. Joe Paterno, 85 Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 9:02 pm |
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0023158
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Joined: | 10 Aug 2006 |
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Location: | Concord, NH |
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I agree with Walter and Pat. As soon as he found out Sandusky was raping children, he had an obligation to do everything in his power to stop him. He seems to have passed the buck.
_________________ Don't believe half of what you see and none of what you hear
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James Dean
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Post subject: R.I.P. Joe Paterno, 85 Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 11:15 pm |
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Joined: | 05 May 2007 |
Posts: | 2150 |
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Smiff wrote: I agree with Walter and Pat. As soon as he found out Sandusky was raping children, he had an obligation to do everything in his power to stop him. He seems to have passed the buck. You don't even know what was said to him by McCreary, who is the real person at fault in all of this. McCreary has changed his testimony as to what he told Paterno and we don't know Paterno's relationship with McCreary as to how much he respected him and his word. McCreary was 27 when this all happened and he allegedly (at first) said that he saw a boy being raped by Sandusky (which he later changed to saying he just saw them walk out of the shower together, I believe), and all he can do as a 27 year-old man after seeing a boy being raped is go to his coach? Seriously? If he didn't physically want to get involved, he could have at least made some noises to effectively stop it. If you're a 27 year old man and you see a boy being raped, don't come to me with that info, call the police with that information. Paterno had ZERO responsibility because he SAW NOTHING, all he had was hearsay. McCreary saw what he saw and failed to report it, stop blaming Paterno. If Paterno told McCreary NOT to go to the police after being told whatever it is that he was told, THEN and ONLY then is he to blame. That's my 2 cents.
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Walter P
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Post subject: R.I.P. Joe Paterno, 85 Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 11:30 pm |
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Yes...my real name is Steve..REALLY! ;)
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Joined: | 20 Sep 2006 |
Posts: | 9669 |
Location: | Boston Area, MA |
Bannings: | Living on the edge. |
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You can have your two cents, but I still hope that Paterno rots in hell, as well as McCreary and Sandusky. I have zero tolerance for any of this. They all get some of the blame.
_________________ F.A.S.T. Stroke Signs
F = Face drooping - Look for an uneven smile A = Arm Weakness - Is one arm weak? - Can you lift both arms? S = Speech Difficulty - Listen for slurred speech - Do people understand your speech? T = Time is brain! - Call 9-1-1
Brain Rebuilding 05/13/2017
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Invisible Pedestrian
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Post subject: R.I.P. Joe Paterno, 85 Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 11:42 pm |
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Joined: | 24 Sep 2006 |
Posts: | 26163 |
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Paterno is not faultless but having him rot in Hell is a little over the top (and I see this thread closing soon). His legacy and career were destroyed because of a horrid act he didn't even commit. None of us what Paterno was told to do by the University when he came forward with the news and my guess is "Happy Valley" wanted to keep it that way. Paterno was a pawn in their game although he truly should have done more. Sandusky should be put to rest, but McQueary (not McCreary guys) is the one who absolutely should've at the very least screamed and stopped that disgusting act. In any case, I am very saddened that Joe's last few months were of misery and sickness. He was not a monster and deserved better. I've already said he should've done more, but that should not define his legacy and life. But it will.
_________________ "We have a great bunch of outside shooters. Unfortunately, all our games are played indoors."—College Basketball player Weldon Drew
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James Dean
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Post subject: R.I.P. Joe Paterno, 85 Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 2:32 am |
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Joined: | 05 May 2007 |
Posts: | 2150 |
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Walter P wrote: You can have your two cents, but I still hope that Paterno rots in hell, as well as McCreary and Sandusky. I have zero tolerance for any of this. They all get some of the blame. Walter, if you saw a boy being raped or had every reason to believe based on visual evidence that a boy had been raped, would you come to me with that info or would you get on your cellphone or get to a phone and call the police? McQueary wasn't 16, he wasn't even a college freshman for chrissakes, he was a 27 year old man. If you told me and I didn't go to the police because I didn't see a damn thing and you did, that sure as fuck is 100% your fault and 0% mine. This country is full of people who not only are too lazy to accept any responsibility or accountability, but worse, blame someone else while they're at it. Unless Paterno told McQueary that he was fired if he went to the police or for any reason told him not to go to the police in an attempt to squelch it, then he has zero culpability. The EYEWITNESS has 100% culpability. Was Paterno supposed to call the cops and say, "Yeah, I want to report a child being raped. No. I didn't see anything, I wasn't there, but he told me he saw it. Why are you talking to me and not him?--I guess you'd have to ask him." Absolutely ridiculous how witch hunts are in this country. Get your copy of Moving Pictures out by Rush and listen to the song again.
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James Dean
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Post subject: R.I.P. Joe Paterno, 85 Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 2:39 am |
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Invisible Pedestrian wrote: Paterno is not faultless but having him rot in Hell is a little over the top (and I see this thread closing soon). His legacy and career were destroyed because of a horrid act he didn't even commit. None of us what Paterno was told to do by the University when he came forward with the news and my guess is "Happy Valley" wanted to keep it that way. Paterno was a pawn in their game although he truly should have done more. Sandusky should be put to rest, but McQueary (not McCreary guys) is the one who absolutely should've at the very least screamed and stopped that disgusting act. In any case, I am very saddened that Joe's last few months were of misery and sickness. He was not a monster and deserved better. I've already said he should've done more, but that should not define his legacy and life. But it will. Well said, IP. The media are trying to portray his death as stemming from a broken heart, but the man was 85 with lung cancer. I'm sure he was obviously depressed about being fired from doing all he wanted to be doing in life on top of whatever guilt he was feeling, which weakens your immune system, but still....
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RobertSwanderson
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Post subject: R.I.P. Joe Paterno, 85 Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 3:42 am |
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Bigger and Better!
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Joined: | 01 Jan 2007 |
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James Dean wrote: Walter P wrote: You can have your two cents, but I still hope that Paterno rots in hell, as well as McCreary and Sandusky. I have zero tolerance for any of this. They all get some of the blame. Walter, if you saw a boy being raped or had every reason to believe based on visual evidence that a boy had been raped, would you come to me with that info or would you get on your cellphone or get to a phone and call the police? McQueary wasn't 16, he wasn't even a college freshman for chrissakes, he was a 27 year old man. If you told me and I didn't go to the police because I didn't see a damn thing and you did, that sure as fuck is 100% your fault and 0% mine. This country is full of people who not only are too lazy to accept any responsibility or accountability, but worse, blame someone else while they're at it. Unless Paterno told McQueary that he was fired if he went to the police or for any reason told him not to go to the police in an attempt to squelch it, then he has zero culpability. The EYEWITNESS has 100% culpability. Was Paterno supposed to call the cops and say, "Yeah, I want to report a child being raped. No. I didn't see anything, I wasn't there, but he told me he saw it. Why are you talking to me and not him?--I guess you'd have to ask him." Absolutely ridiculous how witch hunts are in this country. Get your copy of Moving Pictures out by Rush and listen to the song again. McQueary worked in a system that led him to believe that he should go to his superior instead of going directly to the police. And I do believe that after McQeary reported to Paterno, Paterno was then just as responsible as McQeary to make sure that the Sandusky threat was being addressed. It getting to the point where Sandusky is back on campus with young boys rests squarely on Paterno's shoulders. We'll never know what Paterno knew or didn't know, but he was in a position to put a stop to the crimes and he admittedly had some knowledge as to what was going on. Sucks for Paterno to have this on his record, but he could've and should've done more.
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James Dean
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Post subject: R.I.P. Joe Paterno, 85 Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 6:05 am |
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RobertSwanderson wrote: James Dean wrote: Walter P wrote: You can have your two cents, but I still hope that Paterno rots in hell, as well as McCreary and Sandusky. I have zero tolerance for any of this. They all get some of the blame. Walter, if you saw a boy being raped or had every reason to believe based on visual evidence that a boy had been raped, would you come to me with that info or would you get on your cellphone or get to a phone and call the police? McQueary wasn't 16, he wasn't even a college freshman for chrissakes, he was a 27 year old man. If you told me and I didn't go to the police because I didn't see a damn thing and you did, that sure as fuck is 100% your fault and 0% mine. This country is full of people who not only are too lazy to accept any responsibility or accountability, but worse, blame someone else while they're at it. Unless Paterno told McQueary that he was fired if he went to the police or for any reason told him not to go to the police in an attempt to squelch it, then he has zero culpability. The EYEWITNESS has 100% culpability. Was Paterno supposed to call the cops and say, "Yeah, I want to report a child being raped. No. I didn't see anything, I wasn't there, but he told me he saw it. Why are you talking to me and not him?--I guess you'd have to ask him." Absolutely ridiculous how witch hunts are in this country. Get your copy of Moving Pictures out by Rush and listen to the song again. McQueary worked in a system that led him to believe that he should go to his superior instead of going directly to the police. And I do believe that after McQeary reported to Paterno, Paterno was then just as responsible as McQeary to make sure that the Sandusky threat was being addressed. It getting to the point where Sandusky is back on campus with young boys rests squarely on Paterno's shoulders. We'll never know what Paterno knew or didn't know, but he was in a position to put a stop to the crimes and he admittedly had some knowledge as to what was going on. Sucks for Paterno to have this on his record, but he could've and should've done more. Robert, I respect your viewpoint, the issue I have with what you posted above is that you are making excuses for the eyewitness while convicting a man who had only hearsay to go by. If that system led McQueary to believe that he was supposed to report a heinous crime to a superior instead of the obvious phonecall to the police, then he should have bucked that system and been a man and not a sheep. Paterno reported what he heard to a superior within the confines of that same imaginary system you cite, did he not?--and he didn't even witness anything. Paterno saw nothing that led him to call the police or confront Sandusky. Hearsay from one individual, especially one of dubious integrity, is not reason to intervene. McQueary witnessed a crime and failed to properly report it and is solely responsible and accountable for his lack of action. Sandusky hasn't even had a day in court and he's already been convicted. Being accused of something and even looking guilty is not being guilty. Look at the 3 recantations of the same accusations against the Syracuse basketball assistant headcoach. If McQueary is the prosecution's star witness then they are already in trouble.
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Walter P
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Post subject: R.I.P. Joe Paterno, 85 Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 6:48 am |
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Yes...my real name is Steve..REALLY! ;)
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Joined: | 20 Sep 2006 |
Posts: | 9669 |
Location: | Boston Area, MA |
Bannings: | Living on the edge. |
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Paterno himself expressed regret for not having done more, which I'll argue was a soft summation of his own failure. I've personally known too many people destroyed by this kind of thing. There is no room for equivocation when it comes to rape/molestation of a child. You can let him off the hook if you must, but I will not do so.
_________________ F.A.S.T. Stroke Signs
F = Face drooping - Look for an uneven smile A = Arm Weakness - Is one arm weak? - Can you lift both arms? S = Speech Difficulty - Listen for slurred speech - Do people understand your speech? T = Time is brain! - Call 9-1-1
Brain Rebuilding 05/13/2017
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