Posted on 09/23/2014 7:20:57 PM PDT by FlJoePa
Penn State students and fans Saturday showed support for late coach Joe Paterno with a “Joe-Out” – wearing clothing or displaying images of the Hall of Famer at the Nittany Lions' football game.
As a Penn State alumnus, I am proud of my university and I remain proud of the work that JoePa did on and – more importantly – off the football field, with respect to inspiring students and improving academics at the institution.
Yet there remains in the public sphere this erroneous belief that JoePa was a conspirator in the alleged cover-up of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Sandusky, a former Penn State coach, was charged in fall 2011 and convicted in 2012 of molesting boys over the previous 15-plus years.
Three years later, I await someone to show proof that JoePa was culpable. Even the infamous Freeh Report that looked at the scandal has not given any evidence that JoePa was a conspirator.
In talking to non-Penn Staters about the scandal, I have discovered that many of them have a tremendous misunderstanding of JoePa’s role in the matter. That does not sit well with me, considering JoePa did as much as – if not more than – to advance academics at Penn State University. Yes, that’s academics, not athletics. (For more, read this column written in 2007.)
None of this, of course, exonerates Sandusky or the three former Penn State administrators charged in an alleged cover-up. Sandusky is a monster. The others await their day in court.
Rather, this is an attempt to clear up misunderstandings about Joe Paterno and his role in the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Here are 12 things that most people do not know about JoePa and the scandal:
1 – Jerry Sandusky was not a coach at the time of the shower assault in 2001 in the Penn State football building. Sandusky was retired. JoePa was no longer his boss.
2 – Sandusky, as a professor emeritus, had access to any building that he desired at Penn State. In other words, he didn’t need permission from JoePa or anyone else to go into the football building.
3 – Sandusky targeted his victims through his charity, The Second Mile, and not through Penn State or its football program. The Second Mile, much more than Penn State, deserves blame for this tragedy.
4 – JoePa did not cover up the shower assault, and this is what investigators and the authorities have said and continue to say.
5 – JoePa, in fact, told his boss about the incident, which is the law.
6 – JoePa actually went one step further and also told the man who is in charge of Penn State’s police force about it.
7 – Penn State’s police force is an authentic police force, with about 50 armed police officers, arrest powers and with official jurisdiction over the Penn State campus. It has the same powers and responsibilities as any municipal police force in the state. In other words, Penn State police officers are not like security guards at a mall; they are the real thing and have made thousands of investigations and arrests over the years.
8 – JoePa didn’t just tell his boss and the man in charge of the police about the incident. JoePa also asked them to look into it.
9 – The Freeh Report was commissioned by Penn State’s trustees, who were looking – and still looking – to justify what they did. The Freeh Report has been proven to be faulty and is an interpretation based on supposition and circumstantial evidence – not a finding of fact or a verdict rendered by a jury. For more, click here.
10 – There is not one shred of evidence in the Freeh Report or anywhere – that we know – that shows JoePa covered up anything with respect to Sandusky.
11 – To this day, JoePa is the only person to have apologized for what happened, saying that in hindsight, he wished he would have done more. The key word is hindsight, as JoePa did not know at the time that Sandusky was a predator.
12 – Does anyone honestly believe that if he had known Sandusky was a serial molester that JoePa would have been silent? Furthermore, how could JoePa have known? Trained professionals in child abuse and law enforcement officials did not know.
Having said all of this, it is important again to note that Penn State, the institution, is not absolved of any wrongdoing. Innocent children were irreparably harmed, and a jury will determine whether the former administrators charged with a cover-up will be convicted of those charges.
But one thing is certain, and few non-Penn Staters in the public know it: By all evidence that we have seen, JoePa did not cover up any crime.
Look at how irrational some of these posts are. No matter what you post, they won’t listen.
They all act like a bunch of children. I don’t know how else to describe it without using bad words.
Darn right he knew ‘Gator. His desire to ‘cover up’ goes way back. From a long ago Sports Illustrated issue’s article, (discussing/regarding ongoing NCAA violations and scandals), various college coaches were quoted for the story. Joe’s quote was this little gem: “I’ve never blown the whistle on anyone yet”, says Joe Paterno, “and I never will”. Years later he knew about what was happening with the child abuse.....but in his own words spoken years before, he wasn’t gonna tell.
You’ve repeated this BS time and time again and have yet to explain it’s relevance.
Find me a coach that will turn in another coach for a recruiting violation and I’ll find you a coach soon to be looking for work. This goes for any profession.
When it comes to you making the RIDICULOUS leap from recruiting violations to covering up for pedophilia, all I can say is you must not be very smart.
I’d like to know why a man as powerful as Joe Pa kept looking the other way when he knew what Sandusky was doing.
And where in the heck is Ray G?
Cite your evidence for this lie.
Post the text of the email.
If you can’t figure out the relevance of your child sexual abusing enabling buddy Joe Paterno’s quote that I have posted, then you must not be very smart. It is really very simple....so simple there is no way any of Paterno toadies should/can miss it...only unless they want to miss it of course.
I’m an LSU fan? Uhhh, Dak Prescott just pimpslapped LSU and you Pedd State fans are upset because Jerry Sandusky was the 2nd greatest hero in Pedd State History, and ya’ll are still upset he was imprisoned.
Post the court records where he said this.
“Erroneous heck! There is email proof that he was a conspirator. His own sworn testimony was that he knew and did nothing!”
You know, I am willing to give his memory the benefit of the doubt on this. Given the time and the environment that he grew up in (a better time than this one, IMO), and his advanced age, I believe that it simply “did not compute” in his mind - that a good part of him simply refused to believe it. My mother, a college graduate in the 1950’s, lived a fairly sheltered life. She did not actually know that this sort of thing actually even existed until she was in her very late 20’s. So, I asked her, how she could have taken philosophy courses, reading the Greek books such as Gorgias, etc., and not realize this. She explained that it was so far beyond her sphere of experience and imagination that it simply was glossed over and ignored.
Maybe the fact that you’re a worthless liar. Cite the evidence you claim to have.
What do they say in texas (small T on purpose)? All hat, no cattle? That applies in spades to this fool.
I corrected myself after more closely reading your incredibly stupid post. This post of yours isn’t any less stupid, btw.
The freeh report (in case you haven’t noticed) isn’t factual. It’s a fairy tale - made up to satisfy the PSU bot (freeh’s client) in an effort to explain their incredibly arrogant decision making.
You sure don’t know much about adoption or the foster care system do you?
You are so far off base it isn’t even worth bothering a full lecture
Lecture me! Enlighten me.
I'm not the least bit concerned about what happened when Joe went to meet God, but I am concerned about the souls of those who think there's no sin in spreading vicious lies and false rumours about innocent people.
Question - you people DO know that the JVP Estate vs. ncaa is in discovery, correct? This means that freeh, emmert, frazier (ceo merck), surma (former ceo ussteel), peetz (ceo bny mellon), and many others will be required to answer (under oath) for their actions.
Expect a very, VERY public apology to the Paterno family from the ncaa with all wins restored. There is no other way out for them at this point.
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