<p><<why blame="" the="" others="" and="" give="" him="" a="" pass?="">></why></p>
<p>Who’s giving Paterno a pass? Not me. I do have mixed feelings, but he was most definitely a big part of the problem. But he’s dead - there’s nothing anyone can do about him, so the focus HAS to be on the others.</p>
<p>Very early in this thread there was speculation about why on earth JoePa ignored Sandusky’s actions. For most of us, it is just impossible to understand why someone with such power (JoePa) would ignore what Sandusky was doing. </p>
<p>For me, this is the bottom line: JoePa knew and did nothing. I was a defender at one time. I thought that JoePa was an old man and surely misunderstood what was going on. Not anymore. He knew. He should have stopped it. He did not.</p>
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<p>The only way Jerry Sandusky will ever leave jail is feet first. He has about as much chance of getting out through legal maneuvers as Charles Manson.</p>
<p>I guess we (outsiders) don’t fully understand the mixed feelings.</p>
<p>A) He was a great football coach, blah blah blah.
B) He turned a blind eye to a horrendous situation.</p>
<p>To outsiders, it seems like B trumps A, completely.
But to the PSU community, it seems as though they keep thinking that A somehow mitigates B. And that’s the cult of football and football-coach-worship that is the problem - that somehow prowess on a football field mitigates a really, really bad thing. We don’t understand how you can consider prowess on a football field important enough to mitigate the bad thing.</p>
<p>^^Exactly…</p>
<p>Pizzagirl - I’m not asking you to understand why I have mixed feelings. I gave up on that a long time ago.</p>
<p>I was just stating my opinion. I think that’s still allowed here.</p>
<p>Editing to add - </p>
<p>Pizzagirl - I understand the view that you and others have, and I respect that view. I just don’t fully agree with it. In no way am I giving Paterno a pass - I simply have a different view of the situation than you do. It’s just a shame that my view can’t be respected.</p>
<p>B) He turned a blind eye to a horrendous situation.</p>
<p>No, he facilitated child sex trafficking, paid a pedophile $160k extra, had him made Professor Emeritus in an unprecedented move, and for 12 years provided financial support through the Second Mile whereby he could continue his activities. He blocked reporting of his activities, provided facilities, and may have actually paid (or arranged for the university to pay) for his activities across state lines (e.g. the Alamo Bowl).</p>
<p>He did NOT turn a blind eye.</p>
<p>I’ve tried to remain open minded, but when I saw Penn State fans wearing “Screw the NCAA” t-shirts, well, the shocking disregard for the victims did me in.</p>
<p>Pumpkin, I find the Screw the NCAA offensive too (and not just language), but I can accept that in stadium with 100,000 fans, there will be some that lack judgement. I find much more disgusting actions by some of the current Board of Trustees, looking to blame the NCAA rather than saying, the Board badly managed its role. I may not have been a member then, but I promise to do better. I will go above and beyond what the NCAA wants. I will accept that the school has not done the right thing, has not been honest (lack of reporting of incidents) and will do the right thing in the future.</p>
<p>Grcxx3, no one is not “allowing” you to state your opinion, so don’t play that card.</p>
<p>The statements, “He turned a blind eye.” and “He did not do enough.” need to stop! </p>
<p>They downplay what Paterno did. He did not simply turn a blind eye or not do enough. He convinced Spanier, Curley and Schultz NOT to report Sandusky and there is an email proving it. For over a decade, at least, he knowingly harbored a pedophile.</p>
<p>Oh, that too. And Spanier’s denials. Wow.</p>
<p>Gee Pizzagirl - and I added to my post trying to be nice and respectful because I thought my other comment was a tad snarky. Evidently a wasted effort.</p>
<p>And arranged to fund him in his activities, and introduced him to others to fund him as well. He did everything but present him with the children himself.</p>
<p>mini has it right, and has had it right for about 5000 posts (#8527). I understand what is meant when people say that JoePa “did nothing.” Most of us, confonted with a horror like this, can only conceive of two choices: help, or do nothing. But JoePa, lacking a moral compass, discovered a third choice – to actively promote the conditions which caused the harm to countless children. So JoePa, in fact, didn’t turn away. He’s THE guy who supported and enabled the monster, and THE guy who prevented the monster from being stopped years ago.</p>
<p>Sorry, collegekidsmom, the media didn’t do any of that. The rival colleges didn’t do any of that. The “haters” didn’t do any of that. JoePa did that. JoePa coldly and cynically decided to protect a predator – knowingly, and for many years. All of Penn State’s problems today flow from JoePa’s actions, ALL of them. If he’d done what simple decency demanded when he first learned of this, it would have been a one-day story on SportsCenter. Instead, JoePa --most assuredly NOT a man of “honor” or “integrity” – set in motion the chain of events which enveloped the entire university. He was a self-centered poser, who valued his football program over expendable children. And no one at Penn State was allowed to say No to JoePa. </p>
<p>So, no, Penn State Nation, the media didn’t create this problem for you. The media is only reporting the truth, which is: JoePa brought this on the university, with the acquiescence of a weak President and Board whom he had bullied into submission. ALL of Penn State’s problems must ultimately be laid at JoePa’s door. He did this.</p>
<p>Grcxx – The reason we continue to focus on JoePa is that many of us see no evidence whatsoever that the lesson of JoePa has been learned.</p>
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<p>Oh, I do not have any reason to think you might not be awesome! I only tried to point out that, except for quotations from outside sources, everything we write here represents what we think. I also was not sure why you thought I was trying to pass my opinions as facts, as unless I lost my train of thoughts, I usually use terms such as “might” or “should.” When I write that the NCAA or the Big Ten should have made sure there was no football at PSU for several years, that is obviously my opinion, and not a fact. </p>
<p>As far as opinions that differ from mine, I not only welcome them, but also tend to learn from them. In fact --no pun intended-- there is little to learn from opinions that simply rehash your own. In the context of this forum, it is easier to answer to a different opinion that one of your “own.” For example, it makes little sense to me to repeat that I agree with the posts of say Coureur. It is obvious I do. </p>
<p>In addition, while it might not be obvious, it is not hard to respect opinions that do not “jibe” with my own. For instance, I DO UNDERSTAND why parents of current PSU students still support their university, as well as … their football program. What could the father (or mother) of a band member really do, except be happy for the continuing program? </p>
<p>This said, understanding that students, parents, and alumni might enjoy the 2012-2013 season is not impossible to reconcile with a strong feeling that there should not have been ANY game for PSU for a long time. This position is not an indictment of the current students or players, it is a position based of expecting a program to be punished for the actions of his leaders, and directly related to the fact that this coverup was meant to protect the football program and all its participants. Inasmuch as it is entirely possible that a swift reaction to the discovery of the abuses and scandals might have left PSU unscathed, it remains that the officials in CHARGE did bury it, and waited as long as 14 years to show an ounce of contrition. </p>
<p>The PSU students and families are indeed innocent, but so were the SMU families when their program was given the death penalty, which was the just (but unpopular) outcome. </p>
<p>And, at the risk of repeating this broken record, only self-interest at the NCAA and the Big Ten allowed a game to take place this weeked. And, IMHO, that is shameful.</p>
<p>So true. I wish I could express myself like you all do. The worship of Saint Joe, the belief that PSU is the one true program with integrity, the continued denials by the BoT, Spanier, the Paterno family. That is what’s wrong. That is what makes me sick.</p>
<p>(@ LasMa)</p>
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<p>So I guess JoePA is also responsible for all of the other crimes on the PSU campus that were not reported, too? Because you guys are all so concerned about the Sandusky incidents when there are so many other crimes that you continue to ignore…</p>
<p>Hopscout, still pointing fingers in a different direction?</p>
<p>Well, actually, hops is right, xiggi. Penn State players who committed crimes were not turned over to law enforcement. At JoePa’s behest, those matters were handled “internally.” One Vicki Triponey clashed with JoePa over this; she wanted to do the right thing, JoePa wanted to protect the football program. Guess who won.</p>