BleacherCoaches.com

I would like to express my concern about the situation at Penn State. This blog may be taken off but I need to express my feelings and get the feelings of others on this site.

Personally I feel JOE PATERNO is being unfairly criticized for not "doing more" about the Jerry Sandusky situaution.

1. A graduate assistant (for a month or two on staff) comes to you and makes accusations about an assistant that has been on your staff for years. You do what you are required to do and report it to your AD. Should you follow up on this matter or call in the accused and question him........absolutely not. Why? It is NOT your responsibility to do this. It is the responsibility of the administration to pursue the matter.

2. Our glorious governor Tom Corbett was the Attorney General at the time. Where was he???

3. The District Attorney ( Ducar sp.) was informed and found nothing to substantiate the accusations. Why???

Joe Paterno is being "thrown under the bus" for something he lawfully did but was expected to do more. Why??

There is a call for him to resign ( which he will at the end of the season) Why?????

Did you hear anyone call for the Pope or any of the Bishops to resign when all the problems with the catholic priests was and still is going on???

It is a travesty that such a great man will end his carrer at Penn State on such a note. I hope all you people that have accused Mr. Paterno of wrong doing will some day experience the same.

The DA you mentioneds' name was Ray Gricar, he disappeared around that time and has never been found.

I am dumbfounded by the amount of Penn State fans that cannot take the blue and white glasses off for one second to see what is right here. Joe Paterno has always talked about doing things the right way. Joe found out in 2002 at the latest about the accusations about Sandusky. You are naive if you think this is the only time he heard this, because there were also issues in 1998. It is 2011 folks. That is 9+ freaking years of seeing Sandusky walk around the campus and for god sakes bring kids to campus. I am a huge Penn State fan but give me a break people. If this happened at Ohio State, Pitt, or Michigan you would be outraged. Paterno is not a God. He is a human and he made a huge mistake.

joepa has made many mistakes but like he always said no one got hurt UNTIL NOW . HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN FIRED 10 YEARS AGO.

I think you have your timeline messed up wallpaper.

The first incident, which happened in 1998 involved Sandusky in a shower with a boy. Apparently all that happened was that Sandusky hugged the boy from behind. That's bad enough. This is the incident Gricar investigated (he disappeared in 2005) and due to no eye witnesses they didn't have enough evidence to prosecute. The police (university or local - don't recall) had the mom call Sandusky to try to extract a confession, but he never did confess. So she tried to get him to promise never to do it again. However, Joe was made aware of it and in the summer of 1999 told Sandusky he had to leave.

In 2002 is when the bigger incident occurred that upsets everyone. This is when Sandusky was caught in the shower with the boy. Why McQueary went to Paterno instead of the police is only known to him I suppose. My only thought was that maybe these were all men, Sandusky included, that he really admired and held with high regard. I'm sure what he saw was very shocking and maybe he didn't know how to react. In my mind that is the only thing that could possibly make sense. Otherwise he is an even more pitiful excuse for a human than he is now.

So he went to his dad and then Paterno. Paterno already knew that Sandusky had issues from the 1998 incident. Unlike McQueary, Paterno has age, wisdom, and knowledge on his side. He is a father. He understands what it really means when someone is harming children. And Paterno has ALOT of power in that university and town. He is the face of that university. What other coach in the country could tell the president to take a hike when they ask for him to resign? If he picks up the phone and makes that report I can guarantee that place is swarming with police. I don't understand why people think the police won't believe him because it's second hand information. The police WILL investigate that accusation. All they have to do is get in touch with McQueary.

Why should he have done more? Because he has the power and wisdom to do more. Because he knew of the 1998 incident. He has preached high ethics all his life. But when the time comes to protect the most innocent of all he passes the buck. That's what the law requires. He did the bare minimum it appears. My question to him would be that if this were your (Paterno's) child/grandchild would you have done more? I would think that anyone who has children realizes how defenseless they are. I didn't get it completely myself until I had them. They are helpless. Any adult, especially a parent, who knows that children are being harmed would do about anything to protect them. He failed the children. As a parent, coach, or mentor it is despicable. Maybe he did follow up. I don't know. But at some point even if he did follow up he would have had to realize that nothing was happening and act. He didn't. I think that is why people are angry with him. Not only him. All of them need to go, but he is the face and image of Penn State. What he has represented all his life is gone now. It looks like it was just a facade. I hate to see it end this way for him but he has no one to blame but himself.

How many parents out there do you think would want to send their son to play football for a man who wouldn't even stand up for innocent children when given the chance?

What does the AG have to do with this? He was never told about it. No one was. That's why there is all this outrage. The only reason this was investigated at all is because a coach at Central Mountain High School caught Sandusky 'wrestling' with a boy and reported it. Apparently he had enough backbone to stand up for children even when he wasn't one of the most powerful men in PA. Then a grand jury was put together to review the evidence and they brought forth the indictment.

Um yes, people did call for Bishops to resign. But I have no sympathy for them either.

None of us are perfect but if I ever drop the ball this bad I deserve whatever I get. It's inexcusable at every level of that organization.

I suggest to anyone who has not done so to read the indictment. It is a real eye opener and quite disturbing. I don't believe for one second that from Paterno on up to Spanier that they didn't know every detail of what McQueary saw in that shower. If Paterno didn't know the details, what exactly is he going to tell the AD? Uh, my assistant said something happened, don't know what, but here, you deal with it? That doesn't make sense. They banned Sandusky from bringing children to the campus for a reason. Because they all knew what he did. And buried it.