A few of you whom I got to know a little bit on the old board know, but for those who aren’t aware - I live in Pennsylvania and reguarly attend and support Penn State athletics. I’ve been attending Penn State football games since I was 8, and the program has been a large part of my life.
I have always viewed Joe Paterno in the highest-esteem possible – and up until last March - I had placed Jerry Sandusky on a pedastal below only Paterno’s. Like everyone else, I was appalled and disgusted by the results of the investigation, and the response by the university has been nearly as disheartening.
Legally Joe Paterno did the right thing by reporting the 2002 incident to his superior. Ethically and morally, I – like many others - wish he would have done more. The lack of response by the university and their unwillingness to allow Paterno to address the matter only furthers the perception of guilt. There is a major black hole of reported information from what Joe Paterno claims he knew, to what the grand jury report on the assistant who witnessed the crime claims to have seen, to the ambiguity of what information was actually relayed to Paterno. That NEEDED to be addressed – by both Joe Paterno and Presidant Graham Spanier ASAP, and it hasn’t.
The story of the grand jury investigation originally broke in February – but the recent indictment has completely caught the university off-guard. Their entire response has been a disaster. There is no way to effectively manage tragic accusations of this nature – but Penn State has handled it about as poorly as they possibly could. There is no leadership whatsoever, and rumors, opinions, and speculation are running amok.
The fact that 7 years went by without questions on the 2002 incident being raised is unforgiveable – and someone (starting with then-AD Tim Curley and VP Gary Schultz) must be held accountable for it. The fact that the graduate assistant (a State College native, former quarterback and well-respected assistant coach) who actually witnessed the crime with his own two eyes never followed up or called the police himself is even more unforgiveable in my opinion. The fact that the president of the college – Graham Spanier – issued a statement last Saturday in which he gave his “unconditional support” to both Curley and Schultz (who were legally obligated to report that incident to the authorities and didn’t and were also charged with perjury) is reprehensible. And if Joe Paterno indeed had full knowledge of the nature of the acts that took place, he should be forced to resign immediately.
Because of my emotional ties – I will admit I’m probably baised in my opinion that until the facts come out on Paterno’s specific knowledge on the 2002 incident – I’m not willing to dispute his claim that he didn’t know the incident was criminal or sexual in nature. My heart still wants to believe that if anyone deserves the benefit of the doubt based off a lifetime's worth of positive action, it's Joe Paterno. Conversely, the Board of Trustees is meeting tonight as well as Thu/Fri – and my mind tells me that neither Paterno nor Spanier will retain their positions. Regardless of what happens, ultimately all I hope is for the truth to come out and for justice to be served.
I apologize for the length of this post.
