Update: 11/10/11 10:30am – The more I am learning about this case, and after having read the grand jury testimony in the Sandusky case, I’m starting to look at this entire thing a little differently. I really want to believe that Joe Pa didn’t do anything wrong, or try to cover up / do the right thing in this case, but if some of the allegations I have heard since writing this post are true, I’m going to be pretty heartbroken.
I returned home this evening and saw a firestorm of tweets related to the news that Penn State’s Board of Trustees had decided to go ahead and fire Joe Paterno even though he had already announced that he was retiring at the end of the season. I was shocked to say the least. Now, before I go any further I want to make this known:
I despise the idea of a grown man, especially a person of trust, like Jerry Sandusky, molesting young children. It’s wrong, and I pray for the victims and their families. I just want to get this on the record, I also have no sympathy for anyone who participates in these acts either directly or indirectly by trying to cover it up.
The part that bothers me in this whole scenario is that I have a lot of respect for Joe Paterno, he’s always carried himself w/ a lot of dignity, class, and integrity over the years. He’s coached college football for over 60 years and in those 60 years there’s never really been any questioning his character on or off the field. He’s still married to his wife Sue that he’s been faithful to since the day they said “I do”. There’s never been any mention of Joe Pa sneaking around or having affairs, instead there’s always been stories about how he and his wife have given millions of dollars to various charities and establish educational facilities at Penn State. I know for a fact that the student library at Penn State came about as a donation from Joe and Sue Paterno. If you think about it long enough, I bet you can’t think of one skeleton that has ever came out of Joe Paterno’s closet over the years.
I recall a story where some sports vendor at Penn State, it was either Nike, Under Armour, or Adidas, approached the coach before a ball game and asked him to put on one of their sweaters to wear during a ball game. I can remember the sports vendor was under the impression that their contractual agreement with the school had locked in the fact that Joe Pa was going to wear their sweater on the sidelines as some sort of endorsement. Upon hearing this request, Joe Pa just smiled at the corporate representative and told them no that he thought he would just wear the sweater he had on because he liked it better, the rep stood there shocked and almost insisted that he change sweaters. Joe Paterno, still smiling, looked at the rep and told them that it wasn’t happening because his grandchildren had bought him that sweater and then he walked out of the room. To the best of my knowledge, he was never asked to change sweaters again. This is just one story about Joe Paterno that I have heard over the years, he was a class act.
If I am wrong about Joe Paterno’s character and if it comes out in trial that he did know about the child molestation and tried to cover it up, I will be the first to admit that he needs to go down w/ the rest of the group involved. This is something we don’t know for sure yet but we will soon. I’m saddened by the fact that one low-life, Jerry Sandusky, has brought down one of the brightest personalities in college football.
One other thing I would like to mention in closing, I feel as if Penn State’s Board of Trustees jumped the gun and acted prematurely given the fact that Sandusky hasn’t even been to trial yet. I feel as if they should have just left Joe Paterno’s resignation at the end of the season, that he had already announced, stand as his punishment. You just don’t fire someone who has been loyal and without blemish for over 60 years w/ a phone call if you can’t substantiate the allegations against him with anything other than here say (and that’s exactly what it is at this point, hear say, nothing has went to trial yet).
What are your thoughts??
Great blog, Cotton. It’s been reported that Coach Paterno did know about the molestations and reported them to college administration. We don’t know if he was involved in a cover-up. He had to wonder though why Sandusky remained on the sidelines. Nevertheless, he doesn’t deserve to be fired now all these years later. He resigned and should have been allowed to complete the final games. This act has put the focus on Coach Paterno instead of on Sandusky where it should be.
Thanks Kellye! I’m still in shock how the Board of Trustees has handled this thing. Crazy!!
Cotton,
Excellent work here! I want to believe JoePa is not deeply involved in the cover up; however, we know he was aware the problem and reported it to the Athletic Director. Regarding the quick firing, the university was making a PR move to save face. Penn State would have looked bad if the football team and JoePa celebrated he last home game in the midst of a scandal, especially since he had knowledge of the crimes. Maybe a suspension until his name could be cleared (if possible) would have been the better approach.
I work with many Penn State grads who love JoePa. They are confused and disappointed. They love and respect him like a father or grandfather. One person voiced concern over his follow-up to the incident appearing minimal. This could be due to the fact that he has many handlers and has been more of a figurehead in his old age. Nevertheless, people are shocked, hurt, and disappointed for varying reasons.
While his level of involvement is a mystery at this point, I can understand the competing perspectives. The university is first and foremost a university, and they have to protect their reputation and history of excellence. They must be concerned with their enactment with current and potential students as well as society. Football, as much as I love it, has to be secondary. If the head coach in this situation was not JoePa, would people be second guessing the trustees’ decision to fire him? Maybe… Maybe not.
Nevertheless, JoePa has done amazing things for Penn State, his community and football. He “seems” like a wonderful person, and I desperately want this to be the case. Let’s hope when the dust settles we can all chant, JOE PA- TER- NO with confidence.
Thanks for reading. I tweeted last night that I felt like the Penn State Board of Trustees had murdered a puppy, I still sort of feel that way this morning. Sad times.
It is looking more and more like a cover up. I don’t think Joe is going to be completely innocent. This is so heartbreaking. I cannot believe Sandusky was able to do this for so many years and then allowed to host camps and etc… after he was no longer a coach. The last report I read was that at least 40 victims have been identified. This is absolutely horrible. My heart is breaking for the victims and their families.
Yeah, I’m starting to agree w/ you. Gosh, I really didn’t want to believe that Joe Pa had knowledge of everything but it’s starting to look more and more like he did. It’s really heartbreaking to see his career go down this way but if he knew and didn’t go to the cops or string up Sandusky himself, he probably deserves everything.
I think the board had to do it. No other choice. I imagine there is no one on that board that did not have a lot of respect, and a few that have personal relationships with Joe Pa. But there is way too much liability for the University to do nothing. The fire was out of control and burning everything in its path. In the sports Illustrated story it says “McQueary also testified that he told Paterno what he saw the
following day, though it isn’t clear from McQueary’s testimony how
explicit he was in his description to Paterno. After
hearing from McQueary, Paterno alerted athletic director Tim Curley. Yet
instead of relaying what McQueary claims to have told him, Paterno
conveyed a milder and vaguer description. Specifically, Paterno
testified under oath that McQueary had said that Sandusky was engaged in
fondling or “doing something of a sexual nature” to a boy.”
Plus at some point a mother of a child called the university telling them about Sandusky fondling her son. Nothing was done. Things like this are unacceptable. Even Joe Paterno admitted he wishes he had done more . But he didn’t.
(from Article in CSM)
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Sports/2011/1109/Hindsight-haunts-Joe-Paterno-in-Penn-State-scandal-I-wish-I-had-done-more
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/michael_mccann/11/09/joe.paterno/index.html#ixzz1dK3KIShG