Posted on 01/26/2012 9:26:20 PM PST by WPaCon
“Whatever the details of the investigation are, this much is clear to me: There was a villain in this tragedy. It lies in the investigation, not in Joe Paterno’s response to it,” Knight said, prompting a prolonged standing ovation from the crowd in the Bryce Jordan Center on the Penn State campus.
Despite Paterno’s actions, “he was excoriated by the media and fired over the telephone by his university. Yet in all his subsequent appearances in the press, on TV, interacting with students, conversing with hospital personnel, giving interviews, he never complained, he never lashed out. Every word, every bit of body language conveyed a single message: We are Penn State.
“So I do not follow conventional wisdom. Joe is my hero. Every day for 12 of the last 12 years [since the death of Bowerman]. But it does lead me to this question: Who is the real trustee at Penn State University?”
Knight wrapped up his comments by recalling his reaction to the news that Paterno had died.
“In periods of stress and grief, you say things that surprise you. When I came back from Mass on Sunday ... [and learned that Paterno had died], the first words out of my mouth, way out of sequence and typically self-centered, through the tears, I asked, “Who is going to be my hero now?’ It's a question everyone in this arena should ask and I do not have an answer for you, but I can tell you this much, that old hero set a standard that will live forever. Thank you.”
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
It’s not a question of “THE” villain.
There were lots of villains, great and small.
I have a hard time believing that most people would have done more than what Paterno did.
While we all wish he did more, it’s hard to condemn someone for doing what most of us would have also done if we were in his shoes.
They couldn't have. Nor could Joe. Joe knew only hearsay as far as any court action. The ones in charge of the investigations knew a lot more than Joe as did higher ups in the Athletic Department and campus security.
Even if you are the witness too the offense it is not as simple and cut and dry something will get done by those who are supposed to handle abuse cases as some think. The agencies that do the investigations of child abuse are generally ran by incompetentent Liberals. You can yell at them, scream at them, make threats, but they and not you have say of the investigations and of what gets too court.
Yeah, that's the ticket. "investigating things" is the problem.
"This is Happy Valley, We don't mention unhappy things"
“Phil Knight is simply not a credible judge of character. He’s contributed to the ultra-leftist Ron Wyden, DemonRAT of Oregon.”
That’s not his only offense. He’s responsible for the UofO having the ugliest football and band uniforms in the history of the sport.
No, you don’t tell campus security and then wash your hands of it. You tell the real police and report a crime.
The accused was also a foster parent it is the job of CPS or whoever to investigate foster parents regularly. Not Joe's. Lot's of people over Joe's head at Penn State knew it seems. Campus Police knew more than Joe because Joe would not be Privy to their own and the CPS investigation info. Why? Because crime was against a child and privacy laws apply.
If you saw a kid being abused and you reported it do you believe they would investigate? They might or they might not but YOU won't know. If Joe, the janitor, or Binky The Clown had called the Children's Protect Services known as Dept of welfare they might or they might not take anyone serious. You call and ask outcome? You will not be told. It wasn't just Joe who wasn't told but also Second Mile. The system that is supposed too protect abused kids as far as abuse goes stink in most states.
I'll tell you one better and it is the truth. If it is your blood relative abused and you are not the parent you will be told Zilch by these by most such agencies about the investigation and likely the findings.
BTW after agencies who are supposed to investigate abuses against kids botch a case they go looking for scapegoats. It sure won’t be them. I know that for a fact.
Well said. I share those sentiments.
Excuse me. I thought he reported what he had HEARD about Sandusky to the Athletic Director. Sandusky was FIRED shortly thereafter. Is this not true?
ML/NJ
“If you saw a kid being abused and you reported it do you believe they would investigate? They might or they might not but YOU won’t know.”
Oh please. If he knew nothing else, he KNEW that asswipe was all over “his” locker room. Kids in tow nearly everywhere he went. Football camps with lot of kids.
He knew Sandusky had keys to the facility right up until he had handcuffs placed on him.
And he never said or did another thing about it. All those years. Year after year after year after year. Paterno sat like a potted plant knowing the questions, yet never demanding answers.
Weak character doesn’t even begin to describe it. He was an enabler.
Let me add...If you watched, really watched, the memorial...if you stood in line as I did to pay final respects to Joe...if you heard the countless stories of Joe's character and actions...you understood that football was only a small part of what Joe was about.
I am finally at peace with the accusers and their ignorance of Joe and the situation. Joe Paterno was a man of great character and a man of action. When you hear how he directly affected the lives of thousands of people and hear the countless stories of his encouragement, support, and humble philanthropy, you know that there is no way this man of faith, dignity, and action could have been aware of ongoing evil and done nothing. There is no way Joe was aware that the campus and the prosecutors dropped the ball so dramatically.
What happened at PSU is a classic example Satan seeking to destroy that which is good and decent. The seed of evil was planted like poison pill and its purpose was to destroy the Great Experiment.
_______________________________________
Then your head is in the sand or someplac else where the sun can't shine.
Paterno enabled a predatory, homosexual serial child molester. He showed neither character nor action.
Football is absolutely meaningless in the face of child rape.
Get over your hero worship and face the truth.
He’s dead. His sins are between him and God now. Leave him be.
I stand by everything I said.
Sure, right after hero-worshiping apologists take him off the pedestal.
There is nothing noble or heroic about coaching, at any level. It's a job, even for the best of them.
What is heroic and noble is doing the right thing when it's the hard way to go. Faced with evil (do you have another word for child-rape?) Paterno did nothing. Uour hero-worship can never change that fact.
We are not defined morally by our avocation but by our actions or inactions. Paterno's inaction let the child rapist continue his predation.
That make's him a dirtbag in my book....just like any other predator-enabler....regardless of how many "games" he won.
You don't have a problem with the way the investigation went?
Campus security is the real police there.
It’s an arrangement that’s bound to be abused, but that’s the way it is.
For clarification purposes, he reported it to a person who oversees the campus police, not the campus police itself.
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