Former Penn State Football Coach Sexual Abuse Coverup

[kairparavel]

I'm starting this topic in GC because really, this is about far more than football. A man used his position and power to lure and abuse young boys, the count now up to 20, and people who could make a difference and prevent it, didn't. It's been touched on sort of in the college football thread, but this thing is so big and wide, it deserves some open conversation.

http://espn.go.com/c...-assault-victim

I have to admit, when this story broke Saturday night I didn't really take the time to read or watch or find out what it all meant. I incorrectly assumed a former football coach was a pedophile and that was that. Pedophiles come from all over, so why not a former college football coach. But yesterday, listening to sports talk radio, watching the news, reading articles it was laid all out. This former coach used his position and influence to lure young boys so he could abuse them. On Penn State property. In Penn State football facilities. But it gets worse. This story is 14 years in the making. There was a chance to put an end to it, but it was essentially brushed aside by he said/he said. So Sandusky is pushed out, but given the golden retirement ticket : access to the campus, with an office since 1999. 1999.

Eye witnesses to abuse incidents did not step in while it was going on instead deciding to run the information up the chain of command - to Joe Paterno, to the AD, to..well, nothing. Legal obligations met. Moral ones? Not hardly. All to save the football program and school from scandal. You know what would have saved the football program and school from scandal and shame? Reporting it to the police, and pursuing it to the fullest course, the first time. Then it's not a Penn State scandal, it's a sick twisted man's scandal. Now, Joe Paterno will forever be stuck to his inaction while being the winningest coach. And that's not even the sad part. It's the reported 10 victims, which as of tonight is 20 and growing?

Are you, as a parent, going to let your child attend Penn State under their current president? Do they need a full regime change? (yes) Do they need to clean out the entire athletic department? (yes) Does Joe Paterno step down or get booted out? He can't go on with that program, not one more day.

Three years ago Penn St athletics came up with the Success With Honor program. Too bad they didn't read their own BS.

[Tears of Lys]

My parents had a general distrust of turning kids over in any fashion, whether it be sports or even something as innocuous as school trips. We were constantly warned against all the pervs out in the world. I used to laugh at my folks' provincial attitudes. Not anymore. After all the stories have come to light about Scout troop leaders, priests, sports trainers (for lack of a better word) - it's kind of hard to laugh. One of the really disturbing things about this Penn State thing was that the guy supposedly was involved with at-risk kids - talk about a ready-made victim.

When kids are placed in situations where they're spending nights out in the care of adults, there's plenty of opportunity for abuse. I don't know how the hell you can protect them outside of scaring the living shit out of them, like my parents did to me and my siblings.

[kairparavel]

That success with honor thing...I hadn't heard about it, but I can guess where it came from.

http://www.psu.edu/p...i/plans/ica.pdf here's the plan in all it's glory

Consistent with the institutional mission of The Pennsylvania State University, Intercollegiate

Athletics strives for excellence by offering all students model programs to develop meaningful

standards of scholarship, athletic performance, leadership, community service, ethics and

sportsmanship within the institution’s educational and social environments.

CORE VALUES

Integrity

Honor

Respect

Tradition

Family

Core values reflect those principles that serve as the measure of success — regardless of the outcome on the field. Core values define who we are, not how we did. Core values are those attributes that, whether experiencing the highest high or the lowest low, will not be compromised or abandoned.

[Verboten]

What I find incredibly disturbing about this is that people are actually defending Paterno.

[Edda van Heefmstra Ruston]

I'm glad to read that he's definitely done, but I'm disgusted that it might not be immediate. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/09/sports/ncaafootball/penn-state-said-to-be-planning-paternos-exit.html

"Mr. Paterno said the graduate assistant who reported the assault, Mike McQueary, said only that something disturbing had happened that was perhaps sexual in nature." Isn't that enough to at least warrant a thorough investigation? Or did it only matter to stay the winningest? Does it still only matter? "Oh, the abuse was going on for 15 years, and that one incident was in 2002, so let him stay on to finish the season..."?

[Tears of Lys]

When it comes to sports (and especially a winning team) there must be SACRIFICES made.

[nickg]

How so?  I've only had a little opportunity to hear about this.  Are people trying to say that he didn't know or something?  I think it's plausible, but highly unlikely.  He sure is old as Hell today, but this story has been around for a while it sounds like.  And as the details come out...man, it sounds like this guy was doing this in some stunningly open territory.  I'm glad I don't understand how this guy's mind thinks.

From what I heard, mainly from calls/emails/texts to a couple sports radio shows, some were saying he did what was required of him by going to the AD and he is cleared of any guilt/blame. So basically, he has won a bunch of football games so he's ok. Its almost disgusting how sports figures/coaches are practically looked on as saints, and it seems even more of an issue for college coaches. He's not the only one to blame though. Pretty much everyone important at Penn State knew what was going on. Yet, the only consequence was that Sandusky couldn't bring children from his organization up to the school.  Its pretty fucking sad that even after the graduate assistant witnessed Sandusky raping a 10 year old in the showers ( and then only reports it to Paterno WTF?! ), he was still a pretty regular presence on the campus ( as recent as last week ) and kept an office there. That so many people could just turn their back on all of that to protect the college is a fucking joke. gotta make that money though i guess.

[Verboten]

How so? I've only had a little opportunity to hear about this. Are people trying to say that he didn't know or something? I think it's plausible, but highly unlikely. He sure is old as Hell today, but this story has been around for a while it sounds like. And as the details come out...man, it sounds like this guy was doing this in some stunningly open territory. I'm glad I don't understand how this guy's mind thinks.

The student alleges that he told him that he'd seen a man sexually assaulting a young boy not yet in his teens in the showers. Paterno promptly did nothing, and people are defending that this decision was the right one.

[nickg]

Basically it was their good ol' boy club looking out for each other, putting themselves and the insane amount of money Penn State ( especially football) rakes in every year ahead of the safety and wellbeing of children.

[Swordfish]

How so? I've only had a little opportunity to hear about this. Are people trying to say that he didn't know or something? I think it's plausible, but highly unlikely. He sure is old as Hell today, but this story has been around for a while it sounds like. And as the details come out...man, it sounds like this guy was doing this in some stunningly open territory. I'm glad I don't understand how this guy's mind thinks.

He knew and i hope he rots in hell.

I spent some time at PSU and i grew up in the heart of nittany lion country, my dad bleeds blue and gold. My second favorite team has always been penn state, and it he was all I heard about as a kid. i always respected the guy.

But theres a dirty little secret that that guy is a total dick, and that he is all about joePa. All this 'win with honor' stuff is nonsense. The players all hated him as far back as i can remember.

Fuck him and the horse he rode in on.

there is no question in my mind that this is the reason Sandusky left. He was the heir apparent, and the next golden boy. i remember thinking it was strange when he left, because he was young and it was very sudden.

now it all makes sense.

[mcbigski]

I'm not a Penn State fan at all. But to me, there's a big difference between Paterno not not knowing, and Paterno covering for Sandusky. Demanding an immediate resignation is premature right now. Though if Paterno decided to retire after this season, that might be for the best.

Did like this tweet though:

"If Jerry Sandusky starts directing films, what he did will be considered ok. #occupyhollywood #tcot"

[jurble]

Riots on campus~ I was there, and I was like, "Lol, this is going to turn into a riot." So I left.

Because Jurble is too cool to get tear-gassed.

[nickg]

But it's pretty clear paterno did know. And not only him, but many more. Pretty evident that they were all covering for him and themselves. There were several other allegations and incidents dating back to 94. The graduate assistant reported directly to him, he went to the ad, there was a big meeting and Sandusky got a pat on the wrist. The AD and one other guy ( forgot his exact title ) are already gone as of Sunday I believe.  Both were charged with felony perjury and failure to report abuse allegations and Sandusky is charged with 7 counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse plus a bunch of other stuff.

[jurble]

What do you mean when you say "riot?"

Nothing was really destroyed or damaged afaik, but it was thousands of kids walking around shouting We are Penn State, cloggin' up the streets, and trying to lynch Graham Spanier. I hear there were confrontations with police, but they wilted under the police pressure pretty quick. My roommate was out rioting, I'll ask him when he gets back.

[Manhole Eunuchsbane]

How so? I've only had a little opportunity to hear about this. Are people trying to say that he didn't know or something? I think it's plausible, but highly unlikely. He sure is old as Hell today, but this story has been around for a while it sounds like. And as the details come out...man, it sounds like this guy was doing this in some stunningly open territory. I'm glad I don't understand how this guy's mind thinks.

On the way home from work one of the local sports talk guys claimed that something like 250-300 people showed up outside Paterno's house tonight in some sort of candlelight vigil show of support.

[CloudFlare]

This whole case is weird; I think the story will change from what we're hearing right now. McCreary apparently doing very little about the rapes, the long timeline, the DA who disappeared(not that that's related).

Penn State had a really bad problem a few years ago with players getting into trouble. The problems were often violent in nature. It got them a lot of attention then, and their coach was criticized for letting people off with soft punishments. He would usually go to the "they're young kids and they make mistakes" line. There was even an Outside the Lines episode focusing on this problem (which probably means it was really bad because plenty of college football programs are not exactly bastions of decency).

Was Penn State/Joe Pa really that soft on his troublemakers? I saw a recent article about "Paterno's 12 Problem Players" who were almost all from a few years ago. J.P seemed to come down on them pretty hard for stuff that FSU or Miami would ignore.

[Antonius Pius]

This is deeply worrying, but IMO more for the fact that money and career can seemingly shelve any kind of misconduct, and that people are so eager to defend their heroes into absurdity. I see a correlation between this attitude and the people that claim there is no sexual harassment as mentioned in the Herman Cain thread.

Odd also that the graduate assistant is still employed by Penn State and works under Paterno.

Having been part of football and outreachprograms for as long as he has, there's no telling how many skeletons come tumbling out of the closet, nor how large a part of the actual misconduct it may represent. The example given in the linked ESPN article shows Sandursky as a textbook manipulator and predator.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

ManholeE,

On the way home from work one of the local sports talk guys claimed that something like 250-300 people showed up outside Paterno's house tonight in some sort of candlelight vigil show of support.

Yes, humanity at its finest. :eyeroll:

[a wooden chair]

ManholeE,

Yes, humanity at its finest. :eyeroll:

In the recording of it that I heard made me road rage a bit. How can he treat what was done in the same vein as "shit happens", and all it took to turn the crowd into a group of baying morons was to say he Kansas will get it's ass handed to them. Ridiculous.

[Greywolf2375]

ManholeE,

Yes, humanity at its finest. :eyeroll:

The number ended up being closer to 1000 shouting for support of JoPa.

The problem I have with this is that it was known - maybe not when it started (and unfortunately this may go back many many years beyond even what we know now). Sandusky ADMITTED to doing these things to school officials and the mother of one of the victims, and nothing was done. This should not be made into what JoPa did or didn't do - Sandusky & his actions need to be the focus, however, everyone from the janitor to the President of the university are culpable in this.