Comments on: Penn State Alumni Furious Over Joe Paterno’s Treatment http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/01/187311/ The latest Headlines, news and blog posts from ABC News contributors and bloggers. Thu, 23 May 2013 02:23:24 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Mike S http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/01/187311/#comment-5041751 Mike S Sat, 21 Jan 2012 01:12:28 +0000 http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/?p=187311#comment-5041751 Good points Ed. But the bottom line for everything that has happened lo these last three months at Penn State revolves around Shower 2002. When seven people decided to cover up the sexual attack on a little boy, the beginning of the end for Penn State's stellar reputation was initiated. See McQueary, his father, Paterno, Curley, Schultz, Spanier, Dr Dranov Good points Ed.

But the bottom line for everything that has happened lo these last three months at Penn State revolves around Shower 2002. When seven people decided to cover up the sexual attack on a little boy, the beginning of the end for Penn State’s stellar reputation was initiated.

See McQueary, his father, Paterno, Curley, Schultz, Spanier, Dr Dranov

]]> By: Ed http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/01/187311/#comment-5030961 Ed Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:39:10 +0000 http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/?p=187311#comment-5030961 The board is up to their eyeballs in covering things up to protect themselves. They are all very well connected in business, industry and government and all could lose a lot. They fired Paterno and Spanier to take the heat off themselves. They want everyone to believe that only FOUR people in the entire university knew what was going on. The comment by Erickson: " that there was a brief REPORT MADE TO the executive board earlier in the year. They only thing that they were TOLD was that there WAS an investigation by the attorney general concerning Penn State staff and that PERHAPS some staff testified at the grand jury". What kind of leaders don't bother to investigate when told their business is being investigated and that key officials are going before a grand jury. Either liars or incompetents. Either way, they need to go. The board is up to their eyeballs in covering things up to protect themselves. They are all very well connected in business, industry and government and all could lose a lot. They fired Paterno and Spanier to take the heat off themselves. They want everyone to believe that only FOUR people in the entire university knew what was going on. The comment by Erickson: ” that there was a brief REPORT MADE TO the executive board earlier in the year. They only thing that they were TOLD was that there WAS an investigation by the attorney general concerning Penn State staff and that PERHAPS some staff testified at the grand jury”. What kind of leaders don’t bother to investigate when told their business is being investigated and that key officials are going before a grand jury. Either liars or incompetents. Either way, they need to go.

]]> By: Mike S http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/01/187311/#comment-4865761 Mike S Sun, 15 Jan 2012 16:10:16 +0000 http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/?p=187311#comment-4865761 To Jeanine Thank you for your interesting and well crafted post. You know, you or I or anyone else would have been “hesitating out of shock” had we witnessed a scene such as Shower 2002. Call it “fondling,” “touching,” caressing,” or “horseplay,” witnessing a naked male adult with a naked minor in a closed, private, university gymnasium on a Friday night constitutes reasonable doubt as to the appropriateness of that adult’s behavior. And call it dismay or nervousness or “shock,” we would at the very least have dialed 911! And I believe Jeanine, you very correctly identify McQueary and Paterno as both “hesitating out of shock.” But here’s the difference. Our shock was the result of the little boy appearing seemingly compromised -- in trouble. McQoeary’s and Paterno’s shock had nothing to do with the child. Their shock was all about the fact that the adult male was Jerry Sandusky! That was the reason for the hesitation, for the shock. The child for both, unlike you and me, became irrelevant, insignificant, invisible. To these moral incompetents the whole issue was about identifying Sandusky as the male adult, was about what to do about Sandusky, was about keeping this event quiet and Sandusky’s name from the public. Again, The child for both, unlike you and me, became irrelevant, insignificant, invisible. This horrific incident was not a question of Paterno being “out of his league. Fine, and if he felt that way, he was morally obligated and immediately legally obligated to call the police. Not call Curley who was a friend and an athletic director! The question was Paterno not coming to the aid of the little boy. An aside: For the next nine years, Paterno remained “in shock” as he saw Sandusky escorting little boys to Penn State football games. Despicable! For shame! To Jeanine

Thank you for your interesting and well crafted post. You know, you or I or anyone else would have been “hesitating out of shock” had we witnessed a scene such as Shower 2002. Call it “fondling,” “touching,” caressing,” or “horseplay,” witnessing a naked male adult with a naked minor in a closed, private, university gymnasium on a Friday night constitutes reasonable doubt as to the appropriateness of that adult’s behavior. And call it dismay or nervousness or “shock,” we would at the very least have dialed 911!

And I believe Jeanine, you very correctly identify McQueary and Paterno as both “hesitating out of shock.” But here’s the difference. Our shock was the result of the little boy appearing seemingly compromised — in trouble. McQoeary’s and Paterno’s shock had nothing to do with the child. Their shock was all about the fact that the adult male was Jerry Sandusky! That was the reason for the hesitation, for the shock. The child for both, unlike you and me, became irrelevant, insignificant, invisible. To these moral incompetents the whole issue was about identifying Sandusky as the male adult, was about what to do about Sandusky, was about keeping this event quiet and Sandusky’s name from the public. Again, The child for both, unlike you and me, became irrelevant, insignificant, invisible.

This horrific incident was not a question of Paterno being “out of his league. Fine, and if he felt that way, he was morally obligated and immediately legally obligated to call the police. Not call Curley who was a friend and an athletic director! The question was Paterno not coming to the
aid of the little boy.

An aside: For the next nine years, Paterno remained “in shock” as he saw Sandusky escorting little boys to Penn State football games.

Despicable! For shame!

]]> By: jeanine http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/01/187311/#comment-4842821 jeanine Sat, 14 Jan 2012 21:26:29 +0000 http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/?p=187311#comment-4842821 MikeS - you do seem quite understanding of McQueary's hesitating out of shock, but not very understanding about Paterno hesitating out of shock about what McQueary just told him. I use the analogy that what if you were told someone saw your father molesting a young girl yesterday. You might hesitate for a little thinking of all the ramifications, and how to best handle this. Paterno was out of his league in dealing with something of this nature, and he knew it. So the next day he called Curley about it and handed it over to him as required by Pa Law. Culry DID follow-up and called Sandusky about the reported incident. After denying anything beyond horseplay, Sandusky gave Curley as name and phone number of the child for him to call. I don't doubt that Curley fell for it believing that if it had been something criminal, Sandusky would not have given him the boy's name and phone number to call. Yes, it was poor judgement, but just don't say that nobody considered the young boy. Sandusky simply fooled Curley. MikeS – you do seem quite understanding of McQueary’s hesitating out of shock, but not very understanding about Paterno hesitating out of shock about what McQueary just told him. I use the analogy that what if you were told someone saw your father molesting a young girl yesterday. You might hesitate for a little thinking of all the ramifications, and how to best handle this.

Paterno was out of his league in dealing with something of this nature, and he knew it. So the next day he called Curley about it and handed it over to him as required by Pa Law. Culry DID follow-up and called Sandusky about the reported incident. After denying anything beyond horseplay, Sandusky gave Curley as name and phone number of the child for him to call. I don’t doubt that Curley fell for it believing that if it had been something criminal, Sandusky would not have given him the boy’s name and phone number to call. Yes, it was poor judgement, but just don’t say that nobody considered the young boy. Sandusky simply fooled Curley.

]]> By: Mike S http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/01/187311/#comment-4809961 Mike S Sat, 14 Jan 2012 01:46:57 +0000 http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/?p=187311#comment-4809961 Thank you Sharic for your extensive recapitulation. And to Mega, Wryview, Dolly, DJ, Factchecker, and Teachermom, I feel your pain I really do! I have admired JoePa for the last five decades.. Yes, I’m that old! LoL! Everybody is all over the place as regards Shower 2002. See Shafic. LoL! But the reality of the situation is really all about ten days in March of 2002. Ten days in which a handful of people (eight by my count) interacted with one another to the exclusion basically of the entire outside world. During these ten days, no alumni, no Board of Trustees, no police, no Child Protective Services, no District Attourney where aware, knew about Shower 2002. And it is about Shower 2002 that I have concentrated my interest. An interest without any preconceived assumption, bias, or over the top emotionalism. Again I, like yourselves, have always admired JoePa. But his role in the incident I call Shower 2002 was even more critical, more prominent, more serious than all of the rest who were involved. Why? How? Based on testimony in two separate court hearings by JoePa and McQueary, the evidence and the facts, both circumstantial and direct, screams out the following observations. Screams out the following conclusions: Despite his emotionally paralyzed condition as a result of Shower 2002, McQueary went to the one man he relied upon to provide the proper council, the understanding, he right direction. It was Joe Paterno who then proudly announced to him that he had done the right thing, to go home, and let him take care of the reporting of the whole incident to others. JoePa was going to take care of everything to the relief of McQueary and his Father. Joe Paterno had one and only one option on March 2, 2002. To have McQueary report Sandusky immediately to the police. Without hesitation! Period! End of paragraph! Why? In Shower 2002, there was reasonable doubt that Sandusky was acting properly and decently with the little boy. And when that kind of reasonable doubt occurs, an American citizen is required by law, moral and legal, to report any act such as an alleged child molestation to police authorities. Immediately, without hesitation, without hesitation, without hesitation! Call it “fondling,” “touching,” caressing,” or “horseplay,” a naked male adult with a naked minor in a closed, private, university gymnasium on a Friday night constitutes reasonable doubt as to the appropriateness of that adult’s behavior. Period! In this kind of situation, even if one has to err, one errs on the side of safety -- a child's safety. But JoePa did a curious thing upon that meeting. Unbelievably, McQueary, the absolute most important person in this whole story, the witness to the alleged sexual assault of a little boy, was dismissed by Paterno. He and his father were, in effect, sent home! Amazingly, that single action, all by itself, now made Paterno the primary figure, the guidance director of this whole affair. He had placed himself squarely in the middle of this tragic story. He transformed himself into a new witness -- by himself, for himself. And Paterno then spent an additional day perusing, contemplating what to do about an event that was 1) none of his immediate concern; 2) an alleged horrific crime that was not a chain of command issue; 3) an event he personally had not witnessed. But alas, Paterno was now McQueary’s surrogate. Again, a role he himself had instantaneously set up -- for himself, by himself. Delaying the reporting of the crime for 24 hours caused yet another ethical problem for JoePa. In order to be the self created orchestrator of this filthy revelation, Paterno consciously excluded the victim child from any consideration. That is exactly what he did. He trivialize the victim child by making him invisible, ignored, and nonexistent! Exactly what McQueary and his father had done the night before! The most important figure in this sordid affair became the most unimportant! JoePa forgot, gave up all concern for the little boy‘s safety! Again, JoePa, by this action, had made himself immediately a surrogate witness, made himself in charge of describing what occurred in the shower, made himself the sole disseminator of information, and made himself the sole decider as to whom would know of this incident. Paterno hesitated to do the right action. Why? To me the reasons circumstantially are obvious. And please, this was not an act of sexual harassment that could be delayed for evidence to be collected. This was a shower room activity that was, well, like when there is a fire. You either throw water on it, or call 911, or do both. But in either case, you act immediately without hesitation. Immediately without hesitation! Immediately without hesitation! When Joe Paterno and Mike McQueary failed to act, immediately and without hesitation, the fire burned for the next nine years. Thank you Sharic for your extensive recapitulation. And to Mega, Wryview, Dolly, DJ, Factchecker, and Teachermom, I feel your pain I really do!

I have admired JoePa for the last five decades.. Yes, I’m that old! LoL!

Everybody is all over the place as regards Shower 2002. See Shafic. LoL! But the reality of the situation is really all about ten days in March of 2002. Ten days in which a handful of people (eight by my count) interacted with one another to the exclusion basically of the entire outside world. During these ten days, no alumni, no Board of Trustees, no police, no Child Protective Services, no District Attourney where aware, knew about Shower 2002. And it is about Shower 2002 that I have concentrated my interest. An interest without any preconceived assumption, bias, or over the top emotionalism.

Again I, like yourselves, have always admired JoePa. But his role in the incident I call Shower 2002 was even more critical, more prominent, more serious than all of the rest who were involved. Why? How?

Based on testimony in two separate court hearings by JoePa and McQueary, the evidence and the facts, both circumstantial and direct, screams out the following observations. Screams out the following conclusions:

Despite his emotionally paralyzed condition as a result of Shower 2002, McQueary went to the one man he relied upon to provide the proper council, the understanding, he right direction. It was Joe Paterno who then proudly announced to him that he had done the right thing, to go home, and let him take care of the reporting of the whole incident to others. JoePa was going to take care of everything to the relief of McQueary and his Father.

Joe Paterno had one and only one option on March 2, 2002. To have McQueary report Sandusky immediately to the police. Without hesitation! Period! End of paragraph! Why?

In Shower 2002, there was reasonable doubt that Sandusky was acting properly and decently with the little boy. And when that kind of reasonable doubt occurs, an American citizen is required by law, moral and legal, to report any act such as an alleged child molestation to police authorities. Immediately, without hesitation, without hesitation, without hesitation!

Call it “fondling,” “touching,” caressing,” or “horseplay,” a naked male adult with a naked minor in a closed, private, university gymnasium on a Friday night constitutes reasonable doubt as to the appropriateness of that adult’s behavior. Period! In this kind of situation, even if one has to err, one errs on the side of safety — a child’s safety.

But JoePa did a curious thing upon that meeting. Unbelievably, McQueary, the absolute most important person in this whole story, the witness to the alleged sexual assault of a little boy, was dismissed by Paterno. He and his father were, in effect, sent home! Amazingly, that single action, all by itself, now made Paterno the primary figure, the guidance director of this whole affair. He had placed himself squarely in the middle of this tragic story. He transformed himself into a new witness — by himself, for himself.

And Paterno then spent an additional day perusing, contemplating what to do about an event that was 1) none of his immediate concern; 2) an alleged horrific crime that was not a chain of command issue; 3) an event he personally had not witnessed. But alas, Paterno was now McQueary’s surrogate. Again, a role he himself had instantaneously set up — for himself, by himself.

Delaying the reporting of the crime for 24 hours caused yet another ethical problem for JoePa. In order to be the self created orchestrator of this filthy revelation, Paterno consciously excluded the victim child from any consideration. That is exactly what he did. He trivialize the victim child by making him invisible, ignored, and nonexistent! Exactly what McQueary and his father had done the night before! The most important figure in this sordid affair became the most unimportant! JoePa forgot, gave up all concern for the little boy‘s safety!

Again, JoePa, by this action, had made himself immediately a surrogate witness, made himself in charge of describing what occurred in the shower, made himself the sole disseminator of information, and made himself the sole decider as to whom would know of this incident.

Paterno hesitated to do the right action. Why? To me the reasons circumstantially are obvious. And please, this was not an act of sexual harassment that could be delayed for evidence to be collected. This was a shower room activity that was, well, like when there is a fire. You either throw water on it, or call 911, or do both. But in either case, you act immediately without hesitation. Immediately without hesitation! Immediately without hesitation!

When Joe Paterno and Mike McQueary failed to act, immediately and without hesitation, the fire burned for the next nine years.

]]> By: David W. http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/01/187311/#comment-4808131 David W. Sat, 14 Jan 2012 00:22:15 +0000 http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/?p=187311#comment-4808131 Spot on Megan and Sharic. Spot on Megan and Sharic.

]]> By: Mike S http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/01/187311/#comment-4786411 Mike S Fri, 13 Jan 2012 08:23:05 +0000 http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/?p=187311#comment-4786411 ABC News, May I post here? ABC News, May I post here?

]]> By: ShariC http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/01/187311/#comment-4780731 ShariC Fri, 13 Jan 2012 06:32:53 +0000 http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/?p=187311#comment-4780731 It’s apparent that all the PSU/Paterno haters are trying to silence those who don’t agree with their position by saying, “If you don’t agree with me, you must either be a pedophile or your support and assist pedophiles.” That is, in essence, what you all keep saying. Then, of course, if that line doesn’t work, you use the, “You people could care less about the victims of sexual abuse.” In actuality, the students, faculty and alumni of PSU have raised a great deal of money for the victims, so you really should apologize for that line. Sorry, people, but those of us who don’t agree with you have very valid reasons for not doing so. Some of you hate football, yet you bought the ESPN false headlines, hook-line-and sinker! How naïve you are….. Factually, we know the following: • PSU Campus Police investigated Sandusky in 1997 and found cause to turn the case over to the DA for prosecution for alleged crimes against a child victim, who had come forward. • DA Gricar failed to do his job back in 1998, when he had a victim who was willing to testify. The DA found there was no probable cause to pursue prosecution. (Why? Who knows, but it’s odd that the DA went missing a few years later.) • Joe Paterno told Sandusky in 1999 that he will never be head coach of PSU football, and Sandusky announced his retirement shortly thereafter. • Paterno gave a brief statement at Sandusky’s retirement dinner and promptly left. o It’s been reported repeatedly that the two were never friendly again. • The entire network of sports fans in the United States, as well as most PSU fans, went almost ballistic when Sandusky retired since most felt that he had earned the right to be head coach and Joe Paterno should have stepped down to let him take his rightful place. (I personally remember ALL of that uproar and I believe it was ESPN leading the way on that story as well!) • The Board of Trustees and Spanier negotiated a retirement package with Sandusky which included full use of the PSU athletic facilities, an office and a telephone, as well as whatever monetary award they felt he deserved for his actions. • A janitor saw an assault, and reported it to his bosses and coworkers, all of whom did nothing out of the fear of losing their jobs, livelihood, income. Maybe selfish, but certainly not the first people to keep a crime quiet to save their jobs, that’s for sure. • McQueary witnessed an assault in the same building in 2002. • McQueary met with his boss, Paterno, the next day, to report what he had seen, using vague terms out of respect for Paterno (in McQueary’s own words). • Paterno met with his bosses to report what McQueary had told him about 24 hours later, ON A SUNDAY. Now, those guys (Curley and Schultz) were legally obligated under PA law to investigate and report the incident to the proper authorities, and they failed to do so. • McQueary’s dad and a family friend met with Schultz to discuss what McQueary had seen. Again, Schultz was legally obligated to report the incident to the proper authorities and failed to do so. • McQueary met with Schultz and Curley and described in graphic detail what he saw (in McQueary’s own words). • Paterno followed up with McQueary, asking him if he was satisfied the way things were being investigated and was told that he was. • Schultz and Curley reported what they had been told to Spanier and to the 2nd Mile, where Sandusky allegedly chose his victims. • [Unconfirmed AND undenied] reports from the AG’s office indicate that Paterno followed up with Curley and/or Schultz to determine the status of the investigation and was told that the allegations were determined to be unfounded. Paterno expressed dissatisfaction and indicated that he wanted Sandusky banned from the PSU facilities but was told he did not have the authority to take that action. • In 2004, at a press conference where the press continued their ongoing rabid media speculation as to when Joe would retire, Joe jokingly told the media he had thrown Spanier et al. off his porch. The press ran with that and ignored Joe when he told them he was just kidding, but only David Jones of the Patriot News printed the true story. • Gricar went missing in 2005 and his laptop hard drive was later found in the Susquehanna River. Unfortunately the data on the hard drive was unrecoverable. (Odd, but that’s what they tell us.) • The AG in 2009, now the Governor, had information about Sandusky’s crimes and chose to send that information to a Grand Jury, rather than getting the creep off the streets, with full knowledge that investigations by grand juries can take many years to conclude. o It’s very recently been reported that the AG would not allow that case to proceed for a rather lengthy period of time during his campaign for Governor. • The AG at that time had received more than $600,000 in campaign contributions from Sandusky/2nd Mile cohorts and was elected as Governor in November of 2009. (…and I voted for him and I apologize to all PA residents for that lapse in judgment) o It’s very recently been reported that the investigation moved forward against Sandusky when, quite by mistake, a drug enforcement agent came across information about Sandusky’s alleged crimes. • With the support of the drug enforcement agency, the investigation into Sandusky’s actions moved forward. • The Patriot News printed an article in March of 2011 about the charges against Sandusky. • A local State College Newspaper printed an article in March of 2011 about the charges against Sandusky. • A Grand Jury indicted Jerry Sandusky for horrific crimes against innocent 2nd Mile children, and against Curley and Schultz for failure to report suspected crimes against children and for perjury before the Grand Jury in accordance with PA law. • Jerry Sandusky was arrested and arraigned for those horrific crimes, but to date remains “innocent until proven guilty”. • Jerry Sandusky was released on bail by a judge who was affiliated with him through the 2nd Mile, but who chose not to recuse herself from that arraignment hearing. • Joe Paterno announced he would retire at the end of the 2011 football season. • The BOT met secretly one night early in November of 2011, almost certainly in violation of PA law. • The current AG stated that Paterno is not the subject of an investigation and that he has cooperated fully with the investigation AND she “commended” Paterno for his handling of the situation. • The BOT met again on November 9th, after which they fired Joe Paterno and began negotiations with Spanier over his retirement package. • The BOT stated that they knew nothing about the charges against Sandusky until his arrest and arraignment a few days earlier. • The PA State Police Commissioner stated that Paterno may have complied with his legal obligations, but that he had certain “moral obligations” which required that he do more than was required of him by the law or the policies set forth by his employer, the PSU Board of Trustees. • The Governor reiterated the Commissioner’s statements, saying that Paterno may have complied with his legal obligations, but that he had certain “moral obligations” which required that he do more than was required of him by the law or the policies set forth by his employer, the PSU Board of Trustees. • The Board of Trustees appointed one of their own as President of PSU and one of their own as Acting Athletic Director. • Curley and Schultz are either still employed or recently retired from their positions at PSU. • The AG’s office drug enforcement agent released information about the investigation which the Governor had not allowed to move forward when he was still AG prior to his election as Governor and that once the drug enforcement agents came across the information, only then did the case move forward against Sandusky. • President Erickson announced that Spanier had briefed the Board of Trustees shortly after the Patriot-News article appeared in March of 2011. Okay, so we all pretty much know those are facts and thus far, they are pretty much undisputed. So that leaves us with certain clear conclusions which can be drawn: • Curley lied. • Shultz lied. • The Board of Trustees lied. • The Governor lied. Now, I have a theory which I believe can be logically drawn from the facts and conclusions above: Let’s go back to the missing DA. Perhaps Gricar didn’t feel comfortable bringing charges back in 1999, but he never really stopped investigating. Joe Paterno was dissatisfied with the fact that nothing was being done in 2002, so perhaps he (with or without McQueary) went to Gricar and requested that he reopen his investigation. If Gricar had done so, that would have angered quite a few people with knowledge, now wouldn’t it? So that might just explain Gricar’s disappearance and the reason the hard drive was removed from his laptop and thrown in the Susquehanna River. Now, I admit, this is just a theory. While this theory may be pure conjecture, based on the facts we know and the logical conclusions we can draw from those facts, at least this ACTUALLY MAKES SOME SENSE! If, by some chance, the facts reveal that Joe Paterno was the ring leader and the ESPN fabrication is determined to be true, I will absolutely STOP supporting Joe Paterno. That won’t happen, though, because it simply isn’t based on fact. If Joe cared more about the football program, Sandusky would not have been forced out back in 1999. Sandusky was good at what he did as Defensive Coordinator, there is no dispute about that fact, either. If Joe cared as much about football as you all seem to indicate, Jerry would still have been there on the day he was arrested and arraigned. Your assumptions simply don’t make sense based on the facts we DO know. One final comment: @NOONAN You say there are two groups of people, PSU alumni (most of them) and everybody else. I am not PSU alumni. I graduated from another college in another state. DO NOT EVER lump me in with the likes of your “everybody else”. I don’t ever want to be linked to people who are so naïve and so willing to condemn a man who has done nothing BUT follow all the rules his entire adult life. I truly hope nobody ever treats you that way you all are treating him. I’d be willing to bet none of the people who have attacked Joe Paterno can say your reputation is impeccable. I will wait for all the facts before condemning a man with an impeccable 61-year reputation. Why? Because it’s the right thing to do. It’s apparent that all the PSU/Paterno haters are trying to silence those who don’t agree with their position by saying, “If you don’t agree with me, you must either be a pedophile or your support and assist pedophiles.” That is, in essence, what you all keep saying. Then, of course, if that line doesn’t work, you use the, “You people could care less about the victims of sexual abuse.” In actuality, the students, faculty and alumni of PSU have raised a great deal of money for the victims, so you really should apologize for that line. Sorry, people, but those of us who don’t agree with you have very valid reasons for not doing so. Some of you hate football, yet you bought the ESPN false headlines, hook-line-and sinker! How naïve you are…..
Factually, we know the following:
• PSU Campus Police investigated Sandusky in 1997 and found cause to turn the case over to the DA for prosecution for alleged crimes against a child victim, who had come forward.
• DA Gricar failed to do his job back in 1998, when he had a victim who was willing to testify. The DA found there was no probable cause to pursue prosecution. (Why? Who knows, but it’s odd that the DA went missing a few years later.)
• Joe Paterno told Sandusky in 1999 that he will never be head coach of PSU football, and Sandusky announced his retirement shortly thereafter.
• Paterno gave a brief statement at Sandusky’s retirement dinner and promptly left.
o It’s been reported repeatedly that the two were never friendly again.
• The entire network of sports fans in the United States, as well as most PSU fans, went almost ballistic when Sandusky retired since most felt that he had earned the right to be head coach and Joe Paterno should have stepped down to let him take his rightful place. (I personally remember ALL of that uproar and I believe it was ESPN leading the way on that story as well!)
• The Board of Trustees and Spanier negotiated a retirement package with Sandusky which included full use of the PSU athletic facilities, an office and a telephone, as well as whatever monetary award they felt he deserved for his actions.
• A janitor saw an assault, and reported it to his bosses and coworkers, all of whom did nothing out of the fear of losing their jobs, livelihood, income. Maybe selfish, but certainly not the first people to keep a crime quiet to save their jobs, that’s for sure.
• McQueary witnessed an assault in the same building in 2002.
• McQueary met with his boss, Paterno, the next day, to report what he had seen, using vague terms out of respect for Paterno (in McQueary’s own words).
• Paterno met with his bosses to report what McQueary had told him about 24 hours later, ON A SUNDAY. Now, those guys (Curley and Schultz) were legally obligated under PA law to investigate and report the incident to the proper authorities, and they failed to do so.
• McQueary’s dad and a family friend met with Schultz to discuss what McQueary had seen. Again, Schultz was legally obligated to report the incident to the proper authorities and failed to do so.
• McQueary met with Schultz and Curley and described in graphic detail what he saw (in McQueary’s own words).
• Paterno followed up with McQueary, asking him if he was satisfied the way things were being investigated and was told that he was.
• Schultz and Curley reported what they had been told to Spanier and to the 2nd Mile, where Sandusky allegedly chose his victims.
• [Unconfirmed AND undenied] reports from the AG’s office indicate that Paterno followed up with Curley and/or Schultz to determine the status of the investigation and was told that the allegations were determined to be unfounded. Paterno expressed dissatisfaction and indicated that he wanted Sandusky banned from the PSU facilities but was told he did not have the authority to take that action.
• In 2004, at a press conference where the press continued their ongoing rabid media speculation as to when Joe would retire, Joe jokingly told the media he had thrown Spanier et al. off his porch. The press ran with that and ignored Joe when he told them he was just kidding, but only David Jones of the Patriot News printed the true story.

• Gricar went missing in 2005 and his laptop hard drive was later found in the Susquehanna River. Unfortunately the data on the hard drive was unrecoverable. (Odd, but that’s what they tell us.)
• The AG in 2009, now the Governor, had information about Sandusky’s crimes and chose to send that information to a Grand Jury, rather than getting the creep off the streets, with full knowledge that investigations by grand juries can take many years to conclude.
o It’s very recently been reported that the AG would not allow that case to proceed for a rather lengthy period of time during his campaign for Governor.
• The AG at that time had received more than $600,000 in campaign contributions from Sandusky/2nd Mile cohorts and was elected as Governor in November of 2009. (…and I voted for him and I apologize to all PA residents for that lapse in judgment)
o It’s very recently been reported that the investigation moved forward against Sandusky when, quite by mistake, a drug enforcement agent came across information about Sandusky’s alleged crimes.
• With the support of the drug enforcement agency, the investigation into Sandusky’s actions moved forward.
• The Patriot News printed an article in March of 2011 about the charges against Sandusky.
• A local State College Newspaper printed an article in March of 2011 about the charges against Sandusky.
• A Grand Jury indicted Jerry Sandusky for horrific crimes against innocent 2nd Mile children, and against Curley and Schultz for failure to report suspected crimes against children and for perjury before the Grand Jury in accordance with PA law.
• Jerry Sandusky was arrested and arraigned for those horrific crimes, but to date remains “innocent until proven guilty”.
• Jerry Sandusky was released on bail by a judge who was affiliated with him through the 2nd Mile, but who chose not to recuse herself from that arraignment hearing.
• Joe Paterno announced he would retire at the end of the 2011 football season.
• The BOT met secretly one night early in November of 2011, almost certainly in violation of PA law.
• The current AG stated that Paterno is not the subject of an investigation and that he has cooperated fully with the investigation AND she “commended” Paterno for his handling of the situation.
• The BOT met again on November 9th, after which they fired Joe Paterno and began negotiations with Spanier over his retirement package.
• The BOT stated that they knew nothing about the charges against Sandusky until his arrest and arraignment a few days earlier.
• The PA State Police Commissioner stated that Paterno may have complied with his legal obligations, but that he had certain “moral obligations” which required that he do more than was required of him by the law or the policies set forth by his employer, the PSU Board of Trustees.
• The Governor reiterated the Commissioner’s statements, saying that Paterno may have complied with his legal obligations, but that he had certain “moral obligations” which required that he do more than was required of him by the law or the policies set forth by his employer, the PSU Board of Trustees.
• The Board of Trustees appointed one of their own as President of PSU and one of their own as Acting Athletic Director.
• Curley and Schultz are either still employed or recently retired from their positions at PSU.
• The AG’s office drug enforcement agent released information about the investigation which the Governor had not allowed to move forward when he was still AG prior to his election as Governor and that once the drug enforcement agents came across the information, only then did the case move forward against Sandusky.
• President Erickson announced that Spanier had briefed the Board of Trustees shortly after the Patriot-News article appeared in March of 2011.
Okay, so we all pretty much know those are facts and thus far, they are pretty much undisputed. So that leaves us with certain clear conclusions which can be drawn:
• Curley lied.
• Shultz lied.
• The Board of Trustees lied.
• The Governor lied.
Now, I have a theory which I believe can be logically drawn from the facts and conclusions above:
Let’s go back to the missing DA. Perhaps Gricar didn’t feel comfortable bringing charges back in 1999, but he never really stopped investigating. Joe Paterno was dissatisfied with the fact that nothing was being done in 2002, so perhaps he (with or without McQueary) went to Gricar and requested that he reopen his investigation. If Gricar had done so, that would have angered quite a few people with knowledge, now wouldn’t it? So that might just explain Gricar’s disappearance and the reason the hard drive was removed from his laptop and thrown in the Susquehanna River. Now, I admit, this is just a theory. While this theory may be pure conjecture, based on the facts we know and the logical conclusions we can draw from those facts, at least this ACTUALLY MAKES SOME SENSE!
If, by some chance, the facts reveal that Joe Paterno was the ring leader and the ESPN fabrication is determined to be true, I will absolutely STOP supporting Joe Paterno. That won’t happen, though, because it simply isn’t based on fact. If Joe cared more about the football program, Sandusky would not have been forced out back in 1999. Sandusky was good at what he did as Defensive Coordinator, there is no dispute about that fact, either. If Joe cared as much about football as you all seem to indicate, Jerry would still have been there on the day he was arrested and arraigned. Your assumptions simply don’t make sense based on the facts we DO know.
One final comment: @NOONAN You say there are two groups of people, PSU alumni (most of them) and everybody else. I am not PSU alumni. I graduated from another college in another state. DO NOT EVER lump me in with the likes of your “everybody else”. I don’t ever want to be linked to people who are so naïve and so willing to condemn a man who has done nothing BUT follow all the rules his entire adult life. I truly hope nobody ever treats you that way you all are treating him. I’d be willing to bet none of the people who have attacked Joe Paterno can say your reputation is impeccable. I will wait for all the facts before condemning a man with an impeccable 61-year reputation. Why? Because it’s the right thing to do.

]]> By: Tim Berton http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/01/187311/#comment-4777101 Tim Berton Fri, 13 Jan 2012 04:54:49 +0000 http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/?p=187311#comment-4777101 The University Police, District Attorney and PA Dept. of Public Welfare investigated Sandusky in 1998 for molesting 2 boys in the campus showers. That was 4 years before McQueary contacted Paterno about seeing Sandusky in the showers with a boy. Despite admitting to inappropriate touching, the DA declined to charge Sandusky in 1998. The University Police kept it secret rather than telling Paterno and making sure Sandusky did not get emeritus status and keys to the campus showers when he retired in 1999. The University Police, DA and PA Dept. of Public Welfare deserve far more blame than Paterno because they were law enforcement professionals who should have taken precautions when Sandusky raised red flags as a possible serial child molester who mentored many vulnerable boys. The University Police, District Attorney and PA Dept. of Public Welfare investigated Sandusky in 1998 for molesting 2 boys in the campus showers. That was 4 years before McQueary contacted Paterno about seeing Sandusky in the showers with a boy.

Despite admitting to inappropriate touching, the DA declined to charge Sandusky in 1998. The University Police kept it secret rather than telling Paterno and making sure Sandusky did not get emeritus status and keys to the campus showers when he retired in 1999.

The University Police, DA and PA Dept. of Public Welfare deserve far more blame than Paterno because they were law enforcement professionals who should have taken precautions when Sandusky raised red flags as a possible serial child molester who mentored many vulnerable boys.

]]> By: Megan http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/01/187311/#comment-4776721 Megan Fri, 13 Jan 2012 04:47:59 +0000 http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/?p=187311#comment-4776721 It is amazing how our society is brainwashed by the media in this country. When are we going to the learn that all they care about is ratings. Ratings is money to them. I read these posts and it is almost laughable: "Football is big business for these schools. Multi-millions are at stake." "What is wrong with these alums? Are they ignorant of what happened? Joe Paterno got what he deserved." "I’ve worked in corrupt organizations before. This smells exactly the same." Come on people. The media keeps this going because of statements like this. Do you really think that back in November that the media gave any thought to how this side show would affect the victims? To all the haters of Joe Paterno. First off lets get something straight. Jerry Sandusky is accused of molesting children. Not Joe Paterno. Nobody even talks about him. Nobody talks about the fact that he received access to these children through the Second Mile. The press surely won't because that is not the big story. No the big story is Joe Paterno. Alumni are not brainwashed because we support JoePa. We do not think football is more important than human rights. Trust me, my stomach turned reading the grand jury report. We are just upset at how our school has handled this situation. The reality is that we don't know all the facts. The grand jury report is a start but that is it. Just a start. This whole mess needs to unfold. But until then I think JoePa does deserve the benefit of the doubt. He has been committed to that school and has given years of service to the community. There are not any easy answers as to how he should have officially been allowed to exit with the mess going on up there, but firing him via a phone call at 10pm at night in a college town really could not have been the best option on the table at that point. As an alum I do have a right to be upset at how the board handled this whole situation. It was both embarrassing and frustrating to watch. I understand while the football players are upset more so than the rest of us as to how Joe Paterno was handled. They feel like PSU football is being blamed for this which is unfair. Joe Paterno doesn't run the university. The administration does. And the person at the head of all of this is Spanier. I am a little more harsh towards him because there are other situations at Penn State that don't involve football that he handled in a similar fashion. The football players feel that the board and the administrators are more to blame for this whole situation and honestly I agree with them. Putting the death penalty on the program is ridiculous too. The players had nothing to do with this. Unfortunately with child predators, when one victim comes forward, there are usually more. there can be up to 20 or 30 victims. And in Jerry's case it is definitely possible because he was well known and well liked for his service to the community. His victims would have been afraid to come forward because of who he was. And this is a point we all need to remember. People like Jerry can fool you. And so he did. As a society we need to learn from this case and find a way to better protect our children. One thing as alumni we need to focus on is how to move forward. Yes I would like the whole board to step down however I don't believe that is likely. If we want to take control of how things are done up there then we need to show our support for the faculty senate. We need to also vote in new board members that are interested in making sure that the school moves forward and institutes policies that are clear cut for employees to follow when something like this happens. I'll leave on last comment. Of all the critics on this site who say it would be easy to know what to do in this situation, not so fast. Actions speak louder than words. Don't claim something you can't back up. It is amazing how our society is brainwashed by the media in this country. When are we going to the learn that all they care about is ratings. Ratings is money to them. I read these posts and it is almost laughable:

“Football is big business for these schools. Multi-millions are at stake.”

“What is wrong with these alums? Are they ignorant of what happened? Joe Paterno got what he deserved.”

“I’ve worked in corrupt organizations before. This smells exactly the same.”

Come on people. The media keeps this going because of statements like this. Do you really think that back in November that the media gave any thought to how this side show would affect the victims?

To all the haters of Joe Paterno. First off lets get something straight. Jerry Sandusky is accused of molesting children. Not Joe Paterno. Nobody even talks about him. Nobody talks about the fact that he received access to these children through the Second Mile. The press surely won’t because that is not the big story. No the big story is Joe Paterno.

Alumni are not brainwashed because we support JoePa. We do not think football is more important than human rights. Trust me, my stomach turned reading the grand jury report. We are just upset at how our school has handled this situation.

The reality is that we don’t know all the facts. The grand jury report is a start but that is it. Just a start. This whole mess needs to unfold. But until then I think JoePa does deserve the benefit of the doubt. He has been committed to that school and has given years of service to the community. There are not any easy answers as to how he should have officially been allowed to exit with the mess going on up there, but firing him via a phone call at 10pm at night in a college town really could not have been the best option on the table at that point. As an alum I do have a right to be upset at how the board handled this whole situation. It was both embarrassing and frustrating to watch. I understand while the football players are upset more so than the rest of us as to how Joe Paterno was handled. They feel like PSU football is being blamed for this which is unfair. Joe Paterno doesn’t run the university. The administration does. And the person at the head of all of this is Spanier. I am a little more harsh towards him because there are other situations at Penn State that don’t involve football that he handled in a similar fashion. The football players feel that the board and the administrators are more to blame for this whole situation and honestly I agree with them. Putting the death penalty on the program is ridiculous too. The players had nothing to do with this.

Unfortunately with child predators, when one victim comes forward, there are usually more. there can be up to 20 or 30 victims. And in Jerry’s case it is definitely possible because he was well known and well liked for his service to the community. His victims would have been afraid to come forward because of who he was. And this is a point we all need to remember. People like Jerry can fool you. And so he did. As a society we need to learn from this case and find a way to better protect our children.

One thing as alumni we need to focus on is how to move forward. Yes I would like the whole board to step down however I don’t believe that is likely. If we want to take control of how things are done up there then we need to show our support for the faculty senate. We need to also vote in new board members that are interested in making sure that the school moves forward and institutes policies that are clear cut for employees to follow when something like this happens.

I’ll leave on last comment. Of all the critics on this site who say it would be easy to know what to do in this situation, not so fast. Actions speak louder than words. Don’t claim something you can’t back up.

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