How much power did JoePa have at Penn State and in Pennsylvania?
In 2003, when Paterno was 78, the University - the Board of Trustees and President - asked Joe Paterno to retire. Joe said no. (he was still there until last night) That was the year after the 2002 molestation incident.
So how much power did JoePa have in 2002? In 2003, JoePa had the power to tell the Board of Trustees and the President to take a hike.
So, yeah, I think people might be afraid of JoePa.
Last night, after he was fired, students rioted, included flipping over a large television van.
When the Ohio State coach was fired for, among other things, covering up the fact that some players swapped jewelry for free tattoos, the students didn't rio. And Penn State, when Paterno was fired for his roll in facilitating long-term sexual abuse of pre-teen boys, and for not exercising moral judgment in reporting and/or following up on the molestation of a pre-teen in the football showers, students rioted.
That's how powerful Joe Paterno was. There no more 'facts' about Tressel. There wasn't even a Grand Jury report. There were no crimes; there were NCAA violations. Here, with a Grand Jury report (which those interviewed admitted they had never read), and at twenty boys molested, Paterno's suporters violently rioted.
Yeah. I would be afraid of Joe Paterno and his followers. I can only imagine the loyalty of his coaching staff in 2002 and the lengths they would go to not to embarrass him and Penn State.
What are you saying, that if the janitor wasn't fired JoePa would have had his cultists burn down the home of the president?
Hey, maybe Paterno was responsible for getting guys like this hired.
Or, maybe he's the real power behind these guys.
Penn State has a lot of problems but Paterno was not one of them.
And as much as I'm defending Paterno, I'm very glad to see Spanier gone.