Posted on 11/09/2011 9:50:40 AM PST by Colofornian
Joe Paterno, the Penn State football coach who preached success with honor for half a century but whose legend was shattered by a child sex abuse scandal, said Wednesday he will retire at the end of this season.
Paterno said he was "absolutely devastated" by the case, in which his one-time heir apparent, Jerry Sandusky, has been charged with molesting eight boys over 15 years, including at the Penn State football complex.
PENN STATE ABUSE SCANDAL Paterno retiring | His statement Reiter: Chaos in Happy Valley Trustees launch investigation Alleged victim's moms rip Penn St. Whitlock: Paterno has got to go Timeline | Photos | Grand jury report
He said he hoped the team could finish its season with "dignity and determination."
The trustees could still force him to leave immediately. It also could take action against the university president, Graham Spanier.
He said the school's Board of Trustees, which had been considering his fate, should "not spend a single minute discussing my status" and has more important matters to address.
The beloved 84-year-old Paterno has been engulfed by outrage that he did not do more to stop Sandusky after a graduate assistant came to Paterno in 2002 after allegedly having seen the former assistant coach molesting a 10-year-old boy in the Penn State showers.
"This is a tragedy," Paterno said in a statement. "It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more."
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.foxsports.com ...
If any of Sandusky’s victims had been prospective football players, and had he given them so much as one dollar, the NCAA would have leapt into action and been all over this with a holy vengeance.
But, no money was involved, so screw ‘em. Hey, they’re only kids, right, not football players?
You’re right. Paterno’s resignation should have been effective immediately.
I went to PSU once upon a time ...
Paterno ALWAYS looked after his players - even when they did wrong ...
Todd Blackledge got drunk one night at a bar - Paterno benched him and made him go to counseling. After that, Blackledge got his starting job back ...
Paul Lankford was involved in a robbery and got caught [first offense]. Paterno bailed him out and told him to man-up to the offense. Lankford pleaded guilty and Paterno testified for him. Lankford got suspended sentence and was kicked off the team for a year. Paterno said if Lankford kept his nose clean, he would re-instate Lankford [which he did]. Lankford went on to a career in the NFL after graduating.
That is why this incident is almost unthinkable by Paterno - he always made people take responsibility for their actions. Yet, he gave them second chances when they fulfilled their punishments ...
Coach Paterno is a guy who has always stressed values and education first. Isn't PSU still one school which doesn't recruit Junior College players?
I don't know where this will all lead, or how accurate the reports are (including the Grand Jury findings). This could be huge, leading to a lot of people who had some knowledge losing their positions and/or being prosecuted. It could also be far less than what most of us believe. I choose to wait before coming to final conclusions and would encourage others to do the same.
“This is a tragedy,” Paterno said in a statement. “It is one of the great sorrows of my life....”
Too bad this forked-tongue POS let football interfer with the action that was his moral responsibility to take. He diserves all of the negative fall-out from this that comes his way, and more. May he rot in the hell that he has created by doing nothing.
I can’t argue with that, ORAG. I’m not a PSU fan, but I always thought that Joepa was a shining example of what a Head Coach should be. He dropped the ball on this one. Sandusky should’ve been rolled up the minute he was spotted doing what he did. Bye-Bye Bowl Bids for 2011 and a long time to come.
That's why, in the late sixties, I identified strongly with black kids. It was a time when hatred against blacks was coming out in the open because of the civil right s movement. But it was also a time when black people were asserting and demanding their right to full citizenship and full humanity. I often said to friends at that time time that I wished I were black. Maybe some people thought I was some kind of overdramatic or sentimental bleeding heart. What they didn't get about me was that I always feel my best and highest when I have a cause, when I have have something to fight for, when I'm behind in the score and there's barely enough time to pull off a win. Being black and insisting on being fully a person was a cause.
SO...by wanting to be be BLACK...he adopted the NO SNITCH rule...
POS...
Paterno only cared IF the playor was crucial to winning...
I guess a 10 yr old boy wasn’t worth much to Good Ole Joe!
As a Penn State alum, I hate to say this, but I agree with you 100%. What part of “Coach, I caught Sandusky raping a ten year old boy in the shower, what should I do?” is hard to answer? A good response might have been “And you didn’t beat the crap out of him or try to stop it?” or maybe :”1st, let’s get four or five linemen, find Sandusky, tie him up, identify the boy and leave Sandusky along with the boy’s father, Loraina Bobbit and a Louisville slugger. 2nd, call medical examiner to identify the remains.” Also, interesting how the grad assistant McQueary, gets a full time coaching position. He should rot in the cell next to Sandusky. Everyone associates with this should be fired immediately. Paterno should be in jail with Curley. Maybe Paterno didn’t know “the details”, but’s that’s only because he didn’t want to know. He had a duty to find out. Sad to see so many student’s supporting him. How many kids were raped because of his willful blindness? Also, Happy Valley is a very small tight knit community: If the janitors knew, the DA knew, the police knew and the administration knew, lots and lots of people must have known. They all have those children’s lost innocence on their hands.
I hope they fire Paterno NOW and he leaves in disgrace!
what he didn’t do was disgraceful!
Paterno didn’t kick him out. He allowed retirement, parking space, and full access AFTER the abuse was brought to light.
Paterno should e indicted. Conspiracy to cover up a felony.
Hope he loses every nickel he has and the program gets the Death Penalty. These guys make SMU look clean.
Better question:
Who else was a part of the abuse?
Only logical reason they wouldn’t stop it.
Hindsight? Aw, geez Joe...
Silk-screen outfits in Ohio and Wisconsin are working 24/7 right now to crank out as many ‘Penn State Pedophiles’ t-shirts before game time...
RETIRE? Why would he get a pension???? SHouldn’t he be sent to jail?
Have we yet to hear fwom Bawney Fwank on this issue?
Thats what I don't get about McQueary ...
He's like 6'5", 240 lbs - he shoulda bum-rushed Sandusky to make it stop ...
Oh yeah - I forgot, he was a back-up quarterback at PSU when he was an undergrad ...
Back-up QBs NEVER get their hands dirty - they just carry the clipboard ...
You’re right, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen anytime soon.
And doesn't he live on campus?
He'll be kicked off, right?
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