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<p>From what we have heard about Paterno’s influence and his willingness to use it, I strongly doubt that the above statement is an honest one. Maybe he only cared to use his influence when it would help to maintain the status quo of the football team.</p>
<p>“My mistakes do not result in other people’s lives being ruined forever.” soccerguy315</p>
<p>It is simply not possible to say that, particularly when you consider that your mistakes may not be those of commission, but rather those of ommission.</p>
<p>In other words, you can’t know whether or not someone’s life was ruined because of your failure to act, or your failure to act ENOUGH. (Unless, of course 10 years later you find out that a life was ruined because you ONLY followed the reporting rules that you were aware of at the time.)</p>
<p>You never failed to intercede, in middle schoool, when an bigger, older kid was bullying a smaller one? And if you did intercede once, you never failed to continue to intercede? </p>
<p>You never failed to report to social services an over the top argument that you heard going on through open windows of a neighbor’s house? And if you did report it, you never failed to follow up on that report, even if Social Services told you that they couldn’t do more?</p>
<p>You never failed to stop your car to step into a street fight to stop it?</p>
<p>You never continued on your way past the lady spanking her youngster in Walmart?</p>
<p>Any one of those situations could result someone else’s life being ruined forever, but you wouldn’t know that that happened because of your failure to act.</p>
<p>Recently, in my neighborhood, there was a kid who was selling drugs out of his car that was parked in front of his house. This is a suburban upper middle class area, with great schools and high achieving kids and parents. Last summer, high on drugs, he crashed his car, going 50 in a 30 zone, into a light pole on a curving, narrow road. He was in a coma for months, and his family just built a ramp in anticipation of his return to his home from rehab. He is paralyzed. Most of the teens in the neighborhood knew about his drug sales, but nobody reported it to his parents. As far as I know, the adults in the neighborhood simply thought there were lot of “interesting, quirky looking kids” hanging around his driveway and playing basketball in the late afternoons before his parents got home from work. Did our collective mistakes in not saying something ruin this kid’s life forever? Yes. Would all of us look back and say, “I wish I could have done this differently?” Yes.</p>
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True, but in the meantime Joe got his 409 wins.</p>
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<p>I had not heard or read that, but that’s got to be the lamest excuse I’ve heard to date.</p>
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<p>If ever there was a time for exerting influence, this was it.</p>
<p>eascoast, I think you’re trivializing the enormity of turning a blind eye to a guy who was seen sodomizing a young boy, who continued to bring boys to PSU football games, who continued to bring boys to overnight stays at Bowl games, who continued to be involved in a charity which catered to young boys…and on and on.</p>
<p>And the reason the eyes were blinded was because no one wanted to let that creep tarnish the good name of PSU. It must have seemed very unfair. Understandable, but inexcusable.</p>
<p>what continues to boggle my mind, is that by turning a blind eye, for whatever the motivation was, be it denial, fear, protecting PSU, confusion over what to do, they also sorely lacked the emotional intelligence to recognize that at some point this would likely come out, and the impact later would be even more significant to PSU…in addition to having by then impacted additional victims. I remain curious about the role of PSU’s legal counsel (don’t recall the name). If they were informed and did not act, what is their responsibility, or are they protected due to client privilege?</p>
<p>I am not sure people have seen this but we have been saying a lot that the grand jury presentment was very one sided summary by the prosecutor. So here is the whole grand jury testimonies. For me, this is even more compelling than the presentment.</p>
<p><a href=“http://cnninsession.files.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2011/12/schultz-curley-preliminary-hearing-transcript.pdf[/url]”>http://cnninsession.files.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2011/12/schultz-curley-preliminary-hearing-transcript.pdf</a></p>
<p>sounds like Mike M was consistent in what he told each person. And he sounded very credible.</p>
<p>Even for what Curley and Shultz admitted to have acknowledged, it should have been enough for any person in their positions to have investigated and done more. Especially with Shultz, where he acknowledged that he knew of 1998 incidence, knew that Wendell Courtney (PSU lawyer) has the whole 1998 police report, recalled that it was in the shower alone with a boy (same as 1998 incident) late at night and with inappropriate behavior along the line of touching genital (his own words), acknowledged that McQ was very disturbed and met very urgently with Paterno and Curley (something that usually does not happen), and basically nothing was done except he thought the child welfare was informed (but Shultz had no idea who reported it and none was actually done). No attempt to find out the boy or the extent of the encounter, nothing else was done except telling Sandusky not to come on campus with kids again which was never enforced at any time afterwards.</p>
<p>To me, this is not an innocent mistake, at least it is a blatant disregard of basic duty and decency.</p>
<p>I agree completely…it is disgraceful that Curley and Schultz did nothing and that they lied stating they didn’t know it was sexual. I hope their perjury charges can stick despite Paterno’s death. </p>
<p>Sent from my MB860 using CC App</p>
<p>“True enough, and that’s Paterno’s main failing in all this - that he did the mere minimum and took no action to follow-up and make sure it got properly investigated.”</p>
<p>It may have been much worse than that. We’ll see. I don’t for one minute believe that Paterno didn’t know about the 1998 affair, or that it didn’t play a role in Sandusky leaving the program. And yet, P and S continued to “hang around together” - on the same foundation board, in the same sports facility and locker room, on trips to bowl games. They may never have seen much of each other, but they clearly knew of each other’s presence. </p>
<p>How far back did it go? How far forward did it go?</p>
<p>Paterno’s record for defending his players from harm didn’t seem to go very far…remember those who attended their own graduation in bullet-proof vests?</p>
<p>And it could be that by 2002, incipient dementia had already set in, and he became essentially an inspiring figurehead, and he really did (by 2011) honestly know or remember nothing untoward. In nine years, selective (and newly constructed) memory takes over for the best of us (of which I don’t claim to be one). How about a post-75-year-old man with ongoing health challenges? Would you trust that what he said in 2011 about what he knew and didn’t know is what he actually knew and didn’t know is 2002? or 1998?</p>
<p>Mini–why the automatic refocus to what Paterno did? He didn’t lie and claim he didn’t know it was sexual as Curley , Schultz and Spanier did. </p>
<p>Sent from my MB860 using CC App</p>
<p>We don’t know that Paterno didn’t lie. We don’t even know if he told a falsehood and even knew that it was false. We don’t know what he did in 2002. And we don’t know how much of what he said in 2009-2011 was selective or newly reconstructed memory. You are making assumptions about the capacities of a very old, sick man that I find at least doubtful. My 85-year-old mother forgets things that happened and remembers things that didn’t all the time. (In fact, we all do - even perfect moi - but statistically, it gets far worse with age and morbidity). After 1998-1999, I see no reason whatsoever to give him the benefit of the doubt.</p>
<p>Just doubt.</p>
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<p>We also don’t know if he did “the right thing” and just isn’t getting credit for it!</p>
<p>If he did rightnthink Sandusky would have been arrested years ago</p>
<p>This Penn St. crap is eerily similar to the sex abuse coverup within the Catholic church.
Those in charge knew what was happening, but their priority of maintaining a certain reputation and prestige was more important than the safety of young people. Sick and nasty through and through. Their desire to be put on a pedestal and admired is held to a priority above doing the right thing.</p>
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<p>Prove it. You can’t.</p>
<p>eastcoascrazy,</p>
<p>are you seriously comparing a potential situation where I was in middle school and watched someone get made fun of to a situation where the most powerful person in the entire state kept quiet about his friend and colleague anally raping children?</p>
<p>really?</p>
<p>I don’t drive where there are street fights (and it is not advisable for random people to try to breakup a street fight, let’s be intelligent here) and do not go to walmart (that said, isn’t spanking legal?).</p>
<p>Law and Order SVU episode just aired portraying sexual abuse by a coach. Thought it showed how difficult it is for victims to come forward. </p>
<p>Sent from my MB860 using CC App</p>