Paterno is a grown man and was in a position of responsibility. He knew something was wrong and didn’t follow through. Although, technically he didn’t have the legal responsibility to follow up on it, he did have the moral responsibility to do so. Maybe he should find a job that entails no moral responsibilities ... maybe in the Food Stamp President’s administration.
This isn't clear to me. He certainly reported it to others, and I've seen it written that he "cooperated with the investigation", whatever year of the many years this dragged on as an open secret that may have been. In fact, nothing about this is clear to me, except that I see the familiar pattern of some sort of script being issued from some unknown high place, and everybody following it. My feeling is that the students have a clearer idea of what's going on than all these moral hens clucking at them.
A little something picked up from another FReeper.
...a statement from Joe Paterno, circa 1985 that now drips with irony:When asked about retirement, Joe Paterno once said that he would not, because it would leave college football in the hands of “the Jackie Sherrills and the Barry Switzers”