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Penn State trustees fire football coach Joe Paterno and PSU president Spanier
AP/Newser.com ^ | Nov. 9, 2011 | Genaro C. Armas

Posted on 11/09/2011 7:30:27 PM PST by Colofornian

Penn State trustees fired football coach Joe Paterno and university president Graham Spanier (SPAN-yer) amid the growing furor over how the school handled sex abuse allegations against an assistant coach.

The massive shakeup Wednesday night came hours after Paterno announced that he planned to retire at the end of his 46th season.

But the outcry following the arrest of former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky on molestation charges proved too much for the board to ignore.

One key question has been why Paterno and other top school officials didn't go to police in 2002 after being told a graduate assistant saw Sandusky assaulting a boy in a school shower...

(Excerpt) Read more at newser.com ...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; US: Pennsylvania
KEYWORDS: fired; grahamspanier; jerrysandusky; joepaterno; paterno; pennstate; pennsylvania; sandusky; spanier
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To: chuckee
It was only reported to him as part of the chain of command. Paterno did report the transgression within the university chain of command when it was reported to him.

But by Pennsylvania and federal law, he was required to report this to acual law enforcement. Both as a University employee, and as a member of the board of The Second Mile.

No matter what policies Penn State may have posted or had Paterno sign onto, those policies do not trump the law. Joe is toast.

721 posted on 11/10/2011 9:22:19 AM PST by MrEdd (Heck? Geewhiz Cripes, thats the place where people who don't believe in Gosh think they aint going.)
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To: chuckee
The question is where did it break in the chain. That is the guy responsible.

If you want to be precise about it,it should have been reported by the one who witnessed it firsthand (McQueary).First of all,he should have expressed his outrage by knocking the pervert on his ass,tending to the child,calling 911,then contacting his father to let him know what had happened.It more than likely would have STOPPED right there.
722 posted on 11/10/2011 9:23:19 AM PST by gimme1ibertee ("Criticism......brings attention to an unhealthy state of things"-Winston Churchill)
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To: little jeremiah

What makes me sick is when grad assistant McQuery (however you spell his name) walked away and did nothing, it sent the message to the little boy that McQuery though what was happening was okay. McQuery should have grabbled Sandusky and beat the crap out of him. McQuery did not do the right thing. He is a coward and ran away for the most part.


723 posted on 11/10/2011 9:25:07 AM PST by KansasGirl
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To: LeonardFMason
When you know of a SPECIFIC crime (not crimes being done in general), especially one against a child, you have a moral obligation to report it.

Amazing that someone on a conservative site would think differently.

724 posted on 11/10/2011 9:29:05 AM PST by fortheDeclaration (All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. Burke)
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To: free me

If so, my apologies.


725 posted on 11/10/2011 9:29:54 AM PST by fortheDeclaration (All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. Burke)
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To: KansasGirl
McQuery should have grabbed Sandusky and beat the crap out of him.

Amen to that. That poor kid must have thought to himself,"Isn't ANY adult in a position of authority on my side? Won't ANYBODY help me?"
726 posted on 11/10/2011 9:30:27 AM PST by gimme1ibertee ("Criticism......brings attention to an unhealthy state of things"-Winston Churchill)
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To: flintsilver7
Paterno IS Penn State, there is no one who could have done more.

And what does his age have to do with anything, if anything, at that age, he should have enough wisdom to act on the information, not ignore it.

The fact is, Paterno chose to ignore the information, and allowed his friend continual access to Penn State.

727 posted on 11/10/2011 9:32:07 AM PST by fortheDeclaration (All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. Burke)
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To: gimme1ibertee

“If you want to be precise about it,it should have been reported by the one who witnessed it firsthand (McQueary).First of all,he should have expressed his outrage by knocking the pervert on his ass,tending to the child,calling 911,then contacting his father to let him know what had happened.It more than likely would have STOPPED right there.

Absofreakinglutely. Can you imagine this situation if it took place in 1911 instead of 2011? would all the excusers we see today be standing around the tree then, whining to the hangman or digging theough the pile om men beating these pervs into oblivion to try saving them? I think not.


728 posted on 11/10/2011 9:32:10 AM PST by Norm Lenhart (Chief Druid of Trollhenge: Cult of Palin)
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To: MrEdd

Mcqueary, yes, under the law you cited becauae he observed the act. Paterno, no because he did not witness it nor could he testify to it in court. He had no first hand knowledge of the act other than what was reported to him nor do we know what degree of certitude McQuaery relayed to Paterno By the standards you are trying to establish any person who has been told someone did something criminal whether they believe it or not must report it directly to the police. You would have more of a case if Paterno did not report it to those responsible under university policy for debriefing McQueary and making the report to the police. Paterno may be morally and ethically guilty of something in the end and maybe should be fired after a serious investigation is made. My point is that the Board made no serious investigation of the facts before canning him within 24 hours. They acceded politically to public opinion.


729 posted on 11/10/2011 9:51:50 AM PST by chuckee (quality rather than)
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To: KansasGirl

McQueary is part of the coverup and anyone who sees such an abominable crime and does nothing to stop it is part of it.


730 posted on 11/10/2011 9:58:40 AM PST by little jeremiah (We will have to go through hell to get out of hell.)
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To: little jeremiah
Your tacit support of homosexual rape of little boys and the crimes committed to cover it up is more than disgusting. There is no “probably” about Sandusky or the fact that many, many people knew what was - not “probably was” - for SURE was going on.

Who in heavens name is supporting a peodophile? You easily blur the line between someone who indicates a desire to learn all of the facts in a case prior to rushing to judgement with support of the accused. This is a basic cornerstone of our judicial system.

As for my remark that everyone should step back and not be the first sinner to cast a stone. I think everyone that responded did a fine job of listing their own conditions and exclusions to words uttered by Christ himself. So, feel free to stand in judgement prior to learning more than has been selectively diseminated by media outlets.

731 posted on 11/10/2011 9:59:24 AM PST by RobertClark ("Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed")
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To: RobertClark

As for my remark that everyone should step back and not be the first sinner to cast a stone.


Continuing to spew fake piety nonsense impresses no one.


732 posted on 11/10/2011 10:10:31 AM PST by little jeremiah (We will have to go through hell to get out of hell.)
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To: alarm rider

[I am wondering if the pervert had any stuff to use against the administration or Paterno, etc.?]

My guess is, yes.


733 posted on 11/10/2011 10:11:20 AM PST by KansasGirl
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To: KansasGirl

And the DA that went after him vanished in 2005 and was declared dead the other day....

a coincidence i’m sure....


734 posted on 11/10/2011 10:15:16 AM PST by Norm Lenhart (Chief Druid of Trollhenge: Cult of Palin)
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To: bjorn14; Norm Lenhart
That isn't quite the way it happened. Let's make sure we get things as correct as possible. This is from the Harrisburg Patriot News:

A few weeks before her son broke down and confessed to a principal at Central Mountain High School in Clinton County that he was being molested by Jerry Sandusky — a volunteer football coach at his high school — his mother began to suspect something was wrong.

First, it was because her son was acting out. When she grounded him, she said Sandusky demanded he be able to “take care of it.”

“I said, ‘No way, he’s my kid,’” she said.

Then, her son began asking her about an online database for “sex weirdos.”

“You don’t want to just accuse people of that,” the mother said. “I called the school principal and the guidance counselor and said, if nothing else, he’s taking my son out of classes. He’s leaving the school with him. ... So I asked them to call him into the office and ask [my son] how he felt.

“They did call him to the office that day and I remember [the principal] was in tears and she said, ‘You need to come here right away.’”

Her son, then 15, broke down and told them what happened.

“They told me to go home and think about what I wanted to do, and I was not happy,” she said. “They said I needed to think about how that would impact my son if I said something like that. I went home and got [my son] and we came to [Children and Youth Services] immediately.”

Officials at Central Mountain High School have said they immediately reported the abuse, and Attorney General Linda Kelly praised them for doing the right thing.

So despite what the mother says, the school district did alert the authorities, and they were the ones the boy first broke the news to.

735 posted on 11/10/2011 10:21:10 AM PST by TomB ("The terrorist wraps himself in the world's grievances to cloak his true motives." - S. Rushdie)
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To: gimme1ibertee

McQueary should have rescued that boy on the spot and taken him to the nearest hospital!! That boy needed a hero and McQueary failed him big time!


736 posted on 11/10/2011 10:23:12 AM PST by KansasGirl
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To: MrEdd

Paterno’s inaction in 2002 is even worse when taken into context with the 1998 investigation.

Prior to 1998, Sandusky appears to have been a well-respected assistant coach, and Paterno’s likely successor. After the 1998 investigation, Sandusky was not charged with a crime, but retired at a relatively young age for a college coach before the 1999 season. Not only did he retire, he was apparently never even offered another college coaching position.

I don’t know if the Penn State officials tried to influence the DA’s decision about Sandusky. But Sandusky must have been forced to retire, and Paterno must have been involved in the process. Other colleges somehow must have learned that it would be risky to hire Sandusky. What’s amazing is that Penn State realized the need to remove Sandusky from his coaching position, but gave him emeritus status and continued access to the program and facilities. That decision is mind-boggling, and might be one that costs Penn State some money.

It’s hard to guess why McQueary didn’t take immediate action on Friday night when he reportedly witnessed Sandusky sodomizing a 10-yr old boy in the locker room shower. Yet McQueary reacted as several others soon would: He thought it over until the next day, and simply reported it up the chain-of-command, keeping the information in-house.

When McQueary met with Paterno on Saturday, Paterno couldn’t have been taken completely by surprise about Sandusky’s attraction to little boys. Paterno also thought it over until the next day, and simply sent the information up the chain-of-command, and kept it in-house. Curley hesitated a little longer, but did essentially the same thing. And Sandusky was still allowed to continue his affiliaton with the Penn State football program until this year.

It seems as if there was a combination of institutional arrogance, corruption, and fear of exposure. It would have been embarrassing if Sandusky had been simply involved in a typical NCAA recruiting scandal. But Sandusky was a Penn State affiliate who sodomized a young boy on campus, and they all worked together to cover it up.


737 posted on 11/10/2011 10:28:55 AM PST by 04-Bravo
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To: Winged Hussar

**What seems to be glaringly absent here, and I think it reflects on the judgment of Penn State’s trustees, is that Mike McQueary was not fired even though he was the sole individual who had the standing and chance to call the police to report the (alleged until proven) rape while it was in progress.**

Exactly. McQueary’s behavior and judgement is/was reprehensible. I was very disappointed to learn he was not fired along with the others. How do you live with yourself after not coming to the rescue of a little boy being raped? Apparently you put on a headset and live quite well.


738 posted on 11/10/2011 10:35:13 AM PST by InsensitiveConservative
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To: Norm Lenhart; alarm rider; gimme1ibertee; little jeremiah; Hoodat; didi

http://www.nesn.com/2011/11/jerry-sandusky-rumored-to-have-been-pimping-out-young-boys-to-rich-donors-says-mark-madden.html


739 posted on 11/10/2011 10:36:24 AM PST by KansasGirl
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To: techworker

ping to #739

This is what the rumor is.


740 posted on 11/10/2011 10:39:25 AM PST by KansasGirl
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