Posted on 01/22/2012 7:34:30 AM PST by Perdogg
headline only
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
RIP Joe...you were the greatest.
“It is with great sadness that we announce that Joe Paterno passed away earlier today. His loss leaves a void in our lives that will never be filled,” Paterno’s family said in a statement.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/joe-paterno-legendary-penn-state-football-coach-dead/story?id=15377759
Hard to feel sympathy for someone who knew that Sandusky was more than likely continuing to molest children, and chose not to stop it.
The problem is unless you actually witness someone molesting a child first hand it is very difficult to do much more than report what someone has said. Mr Paterno reported second hand information.
Is pMSNBC sure this time?
The attitude of hate comes so easy to some. The only thing Joe was guilty of was to trust whomever he reported the incident, to do the right thing. My prayers go out to his family.
Condolences to family and friends of Joe Paterno.
Prayers for his family, the Penn State community, and most of all, Sandusky’s victims. Bless JoePa’s soul as he meets his Maker. May he be forgiven for his sins, and rest in the Mercy of Jesus Christ.
Wanted to add..the people he reported it to are far more to blame than Mr Paterno, if he shares any blame at all, as Mr Paterno is not law enforcement.
You could argue whether he could have done more to do follow up perhaps.
Even if he had followed through it would still have rested on law enforcement to persue it.
Hard to feel sympathy for someone who knew that Sandusky was more than likely continuing to molest children, and chose not to stop it.
The problem is unless you actually witness someone molesting a child first hand it is very difficult to do much more than report what someone has said. Mr Paterno reported second hand information.
I don’t understand why this isn’t so completely obvious to everyone. He only had secondhand knowledge and he DID report the secondhand knowledge to the university. It was the universitys job to investigate. HoePa did what he should have done.
I feel so bad for him RIP JoePA.
Portraying Paterno (i.e. God Incarnate on that campus) as essentially powerless when it comes to his staff is not accurate, I think. From what I heard he could have called for Sandy’s public execution on the 50 yard line, and it would have been carried out in minutes.
Uh let's not lose sight of the fact that JoePa also either covered up a man/boy rape in his own locker room or was incompetent when weighing football vs. moral law...
It wouldn't have been a political statement if the boy had been your son.....
He DID report it and it was investigated by campus police. He shouldn’t have gone to the local police with only a hear-say story. He was a great man who was treated shamefully by Penn State.
The “problem” is that the “second-hand” information came from a graduate assistant—a member of his own coaching staff, who witnessed the molestation in person. Beyond that, Coach Paterno made matters worse by reporting it to university officials (namely the athletic director) who were already aware of Gerry Sandusky’s criminal behavior and chose to cover it up, lest the “brand” of Nittany Lion football be tarnished, along with JoePa’s reputation.
When Mike McQueary saw Sandusky raping that boy in the shower, he reported it to Paterno. At that point, he had a choice: continue the cover-up, or call the police and let the chips fall where they may. He chose the former, and Sandusky’s crimes continued for almost another decade.
Coach Paterno should be remembered for all that he accomplished. Beyond the record for wins, he helped a number of young men earn their college degrees and enjoy success that might otherwise have been beyond their reach. But Paterno’s legacy will also be forever shaped by his actions on the day in 2002 when he had a chance to end Sandusky’s crime spree once and for all, and elected to remain a part of the cover-up.
It’s tough to judge a man by his decision in one episode of an otherwise stellar career, but Coach Paterno’s inaction led to the rape of other boys (at the hands of his former assistant), and the destruction of countless lives. Sadly, that too will be a lasting part of his legacy.
I doubt Paterno is resting in peace right now.
Penn State was just CYA. By allowing him to continue to retirement it may have been construed that they were condoning his actions, or inactions. I’m sure it was a legal move.
DITTO
For the life of me I can’t understand why people don’t understand this.
“The attitude of hate comes so easy to some.”
Yep. I hate child molesters and those that know about but do nothing to stop them. That kind of hate? You bet!
It's pervasive here.
If I let a known pedophile continue to work in my organization and allowed him to use that position to find new boys to molest, I think people would hate me as well.
Neither makes him a great man.
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