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 ...
“Bye-Bye Bowl Bids for 2011 and a long time to come.”
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Bowl bids??????
We should be talking about hard jail time for all responsible for this.
Do we or do we not feel that protecting children is of hallmark importance in our society?
I know a lot of 95lb Gradma’s that would have at least have attacked him with their pocketbooks.
I think you are predicting the next Onion headline:
“Catholic Archbishop Named Athletic Director At Penn State”
Actually, his house is on private property, but it is located just feet from the campus.
That Sandusky should have been thrown out and arrested after being caught in the shower ! That is an awkward situation. If it had to be done over, the police should have been called by the witness and let the chips fall where they may.
Over the years, I seen many things. Back in 2003, I was in PEI, Canada and did some bike riding. I used a shower at the University PEI rec center and they were running kids camps as well. However, they had separate facilities for the adults and kids. When I used the shower, I used the locker-room with the adults.
Back in middle school (Jr. High), I remember being in the locker-room after school and a lot of the wrestlers would weigh in with the adult teacher/coach and they would be literally butt naked ! Usually either no clothes or a jock strap on. But this was also in the late 1970’s/early 1980’s. I remember the locker-room had a separate area for the adults including toilets. I remember one coach asked me to get something and I had to drop it off in the office and he was on one of the toilets behind the partition and that did NOT make me comfortable !
No, it is NOT a tragedy and I am disgusted at the misuse of that word. It is an ATROCITY and a travesty that this pervert sodomized children and that adults did nothing to stop abuse that they knew was taking place. As for the benefit of hindsight, you don't need hindsight if you act with integrity in the first place.
How far back into JoPa's 4 decade career were the incidents you described? Maybe he hasn't been quite as committed to the whole take responsibility for your actions comcept in the last 10-15 years as he was 30 to 40 years ago?
You said you told the PSU trustees..what more could you have done -- maybe FIRE SANDUSKY!!
Imagine the sorrows of those kids that Sandusky messed with.
The 1980's ...
I remember when he was interviewed on Nightline and he was asked about college athletics ...
He was AD [as well as coach] then, and said at PSU, they were Student Athletes - with the emphasis on Student ...
He wanted them to have the full college experience - so there were no Athlete Dorms. They lived in the same dorms as all of the other students ...
He also required all freshmen athletes to have study hall and tutors so that they could get into good study habits. His graduation rate back then was something like 89% ...
AMEN!
Well 30 years ago he may have still had some integrity left. Apparently 9 years ago it was all gone.
He should not be retiring at the end of this season; he should not even get that opportunity. He should be gone before this Saturday’s game against Nebraska.
Almost as bad as the mother saying they should “be putting their support behind the victims”. Really...did you even think about that before saying it...
We do, but apparently not everyone does.
I guess Joe Pa forgot the old quote:
All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing ...
wow...You are so right.
From everything I heard, JoePa WAS the Penn State AD, for all intents and purposes, therefore, the Buck stopped at his desk.
When I was at PSU - there was ALMOST NOTHING Joe Pa DID NOT know about ['specially the Athletic Department] ...
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