Wins restored at Penn State/Consent Decree invalid

[knowitall]

I agree that it was not a football thing. It was a Sandusky thing.

Joe was protecting Jerry, not Penn State.

He should have done more.

[KirkHerbstreit]

You really have not read much about this based on that comment. Joe Paterno was not close with Jerry Sandusky, nor were they friends. That's why it makes even less sense as to why he would cover anything up for him.

I think what happened when the Freeh report broke is that many expected their to eventually be more to the story. We would hear about Joe Paterno having a lot of money in the second mile and he would lose a lot of money had Jerry been caught. I think many expected Shultz, Curley, and Spanier to make Paterno the scape goat, so they could get off with lesser penalties or plea out of any time. None of this has happened. So, the question is why? If you were Curley, Schultz, or Spanier wouldn't you sell out paterno if he were the reason you were possibly going to rot in prison? If this was about football, wouldn't you sell out the guy who can't do anything about it?

[abpk2903]

Exactly. The whole narrative of this "scandal" really crumbled over time.

If Penn State was trying to cover-up this scandal, they did an awful job at doing so. Everyone has their own opinions of what happened and without the amount of credible facts uncovered at this point, an opinion is about all the general public can muster up.

Here is MY OPINION of what took place over time at Penn State.

-Towards the end of the 1990s, JoePa and the administrators at PSU realized Sandusky was a poison to the team and university. With his coaching resume, they couldn't just fire him. So they forced him into retirement. They couldn't prove or prosecute him for being "weird" (after all they are a university not a judicial system) but they just didn't want him around anymore. To get him out the door, they offered him a lucrative retirement package and basically hoped that he drifted away.

-In the early 2000s, Penn State had the worst stretch in program history with a coach pushing 80 years old. Most would (and should) have retired. Most would (and should) have been fired. There is a reason that didn't happen. Here is my best guess...99% is an egotistical man that grew bigger than the program itself. He know retirement meant ultimately death and he didn't want that to happen. 1% is the thought that Jerry Sandusky would make a run at the job. I don't think anyone at Penn State (Joe as well) at this point thought Jerry was a pedofile but I think some knew of him being quite a sick person. However, the fanbase loved this guy, big donors would have pushed for him. Many fans thought of him as a humanitarian and credited him with the 1986 national title. If Joe leaves here, the job very well could have went to Sandusky.

-During this time, McQueary witnessed whatever (his story had changed dozens of times) he seen in the Lasch building. I truly believe he provided very broad and un-incriminating details to Paterno. JoePa does pass this up the wire but due to the lack of details the university just hoped that Sandusky went away. This is unacceptable actions but mostly stem from lack of detail by McQueary. I think the university thought it was not that bad of an incident due to the fact McQueary didn't inform the police or stop the incident himself (remember he is a mid 20s, grown man). This mismanagement by McQueary, Paterno, Spanier, Curley, and Shultz should be questioned and ultimately gave a black eye to Penn State. I would argue that the only person who did handle this incident properly was JoePa.

-Ultimately Sandusky stays within the radar of the program and continues to use it to prey on children. He should have never been allowed to stay near the program but PSU's hands were partially tied due to him being a emeritus status, tenured, retired employee of the university. When the grand jury investigation began, details of what actually happened began to slip through the cracks and the university was completely blindsided. It boggles my mind how PSU didn't see this PR disaster coming when everyone in the administration and athletic department t were giving grand jury testimony? I knew Sandusky was under investigation and I was just a student up there.

-If Paterno retired or was fired in 2002 (like he should have been), this would not be a Penn State, Paterno, or Football scandal. It would just be a sick Sandusky that was arrested for being a criminal. This is what you set yourself up with with a 80+ year old football coach and a good 'ole boy coaching staff and administration.

[say_oww]

Whether he was covering up or protecting a colleague, he should have done more. Err, wished he had done more. The nation wishes he had done more, too. At the end of the day, Joe was either a co-conspirator to an ill-conceived cover-up, or Joe didn't want to deal with something which he knew would embarrass the football program. Which of these scenarios is ok????

Regardless of your viewpoint, Joe's inaction was a major mistake and the recurrent theme of the scandal. He knew something but he essentially did nothing. Since when can a highly visible public figure in a positon of power get away with such an egregious mistake???? The fact that we are still debating this part of the events is what has done the most damage to PSU's image - let alone to ALL victims.

[say_oww]

-If Paterno retired or was fired in 2002 (like he should have been), this would not be a Penn State, Paterno, or Football scandal. It would just be a sick Sandusky that was arrested for being a criminal. This is what you set yourself up with with a 80+ year old football coach and a good 'ole boy coaching staff and administration.

I couldn't agree more with that statement, but in reality, anything purported to have happened prior to 2002 would still have been attached to Joe because he was the "egotistical" most powerful man at the university. Which would be even harder to distance from Joe.