PATERNO: "I WILL RETIRE AT THE END OF THE SEASON" - SORRY COACH, THAT'S NOT YOUR DECISION TO MAKE
Penn State coach Joe Paterno issued a statement this morning saying he would retire at the end of the season. Sorry coach, that's not your decision to make. In his statement he said:
"At this moment the board of trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status, they have far more important matters to discuss. I want to make this as easy for them as I can."
Is this man arrogant or absolutely clueless? This decision is no longer his to make. The moral outrage exploding nationally isn't going away because JoePa has agreed to step down at season's end. What part of this horrific story isn't registering with Paterno? Just because he passed the information regarding Jerry Sandusky up the chain of command, doesn't absolve him from not throwing Sandusky off campus permanently, not following up on the allegations of sexual abuse in the football facility, not calling the authorities.
"It's one of my life's great sorrows, I wish I had done more."
I wish he had done something. Lamenting after the fact, like 9-years after the fact, just doesn't cut it coach.
I got two emails questioning if campus, local or state police were notified. No they were not, in fact V.P. of business & finance, Gary Shultz, is in charge of the campus police. He is under indictment for perjury.
Jay Bilas, ESPN basketball commentator & an attorney, said this morning on the air "what we have at Penn State is a conspiracy of cowards." I think he's absolutely correct in his assumption, protecting the brand came ahead of protecting the children & that's the center of this firestorm. Leadership, you know the adults, failed to do the right thing & I can't see how you can look at any other way.
Personally, I hate to see Paterno go out like this, but when he, Curley, Schultz, graduate assistant Mike McQueary & university president Graham Spanier all failed. None of them should get a break, their actions put children at risk, their selfishness & arrogance caused other children to be abused.
The Pennsylvania State Police established an abuse hotline for former Second Mile members who might have been abused by Sandusky. After just 24-hours of operation a spokesman said this morning their number of 9 confirmed victims was probably going to at least double. Similar to the sex scandal in the Catholic church, victims feel safer in numbers & I expect the number to grow.
People in State College Pennsylvania are in shock, this community revolves around the university, especially the football program. Their world has been shattered, much of what they believed in appears to be a lie, their moral compass, Joe Paterno decided keeping his program clean was more important than a bunch of little boys. When people you've looked up to for decades fail the community on such a grand scale, the reaction is understandable.
The board of trustees will hold a meeting on Friday. This kind of parallels the initial response, happened on a Friday, Paterno told on Saturday, Curley & Schultz told on Sunday & McQueary interviewed ten days later. No sense of urgency here but clearly that is what has been needed all along. From McQueary's non-response that night in the shower room to Paterno waiting a day to report the incident & no one ever calling the police, makes me want to throw the whole lot under the bus.
How the football team responds to this tragedy is unknown, they host Nebraska Saturday for Senior day. What should have been a very special day to the senior players & their families is suddenly unimportant & that's very sad. There was a "players only" meeting this morning, no word on what was discussed but you have to believe these young men feel betrayed by everyone involved. The Nittany Lions are in the hunt for the BIG TEN championship, but there's no way to predict how focused they will be in their final three regular season games.
I still expect president Spanier to be canned this week & there's a possibility the board of trustees will decide JoePa needs to go right now as well. I do question the trustee's sense of how serious this is. The recruiting will literally fall of the table. the prestige this university has fostered over decades could be flushed right down the drain if this isn't handled correctly & with some urgency. IMO Mike McQueary's coaching days could very well be over. What parent wants this guy sitting in their living room telling them he'll look out for their son? His credibility is shot. Since this is a state run institution, the Pennsylvania attorney general can jump right into the middle of this, trustees be damned & I fully expect her to do so. This is such a hot button issue, it's not going away after the trustees meet & release their findings.
Much of this firestorm could be defused if Spanier, Paterno & McQueary would do the right thing & resign. But I don't see that happening, especially regarding Paterno.
"At this moment the board of trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status, they have far more important matters to discuss. I want to make this as easy for them as I can."
Is this man arrogant or absolutely clueless? This decision is no longer his to make. The moral outrage exploding nationally isn't going away because JoePa has agreed to step down at season's end. What part of this horrific story isn't registering with Paterno? Just because he passed the information regarding Jerry Sandusky up the chain of command, doesn't absolve him from not throwing Sandusky off campus permanently, not following up on the allegations of sexual abuse in the football facility, not calling the authorities.
"It's one of my life's great sorrows, I wish I had done more."
I wish he had done something. Lamenting after the fact, like 9-years after the fact, just doesn't cut it coach.
I got two emails questioning if campus, local or state police were notified. No they were not, in fact V.P. of business & finance, Gary Shultz, is in charge of the campus police. He is under indictment for perjury.
Jay Bilas, ESPN basketball commentator & an attorney, said this morning on the air "what we have at Penn State is a conspiracy of cowards." I think he's absolutely correct in his assumption, protecting the brand came ahead of protecting the children & that's the center of this firestorm. Leadership, you know the adults, failed to do the right thing & I can't see how you can look at any other way.
Personally, I hate to see Paterno go out like this, but when he, Curley, Schultz, graduate assistant Mike McQueary & university president Graham Spanier all failed. None of them should get a break, their actions put children at risk, their selfishness & arrogance caused other children to be abused.
The Pennsylvania State Police established an abuse hotline for former Second Mile members who might have been abused by Sandusky. After just 24-hours of operation a spokesman said this morning their number of 9 confirmed victims was probably going to at least double. Similar to the sex scandal in the Catholic church, victims feel safer in numbers & I expect the number to grow.
People in State College Pennsylvania are in shock, this community revolves around the university, especially the football program. Their world has been shattered, much of what they believed in appears to be a lie, their moral compass, Joe Paterno decided keeping his program clean was more important than a bunch of little boys. When people you've looked up to for decades fail the community on such a grand scale, the reaction is understandable.
The board of trustees will hold a meeting on Friday. This kind of parallels the initial response, happened on a Friday, Paterno told on Saturday, Curley & Schultz told on Sunday & McQueary interviewed ten days later. No sense of urgency here but clearly that is what has been needed all along. From McQueary's non-response that night in the shower room to Paterno waiting a day to report the incident & no one ever calling the police, makes me want to throw the whole lot under the bus.
How the football team responds to this tragedy is unknown, they host Nebraska Saturday for Senior day. What should have been a very special day to the senior players & their families is suddenly unimportant & that's very sad. There was a "players only" meeting this morning, no word on what was discussed but you have to believe these young men feel betrayed by everyone involved. The Nittany Lions are in the hunt for the BIG TEN championship, but there's no way to predict how focused they will be in their final three regular season games.
I still expect president Spanier to be canned this week & there's a possibility the board of trustees will decide JoePa needs to go right now as well. I do question the trustee's sense of how serious this is. The recruiting will literally fall of the table. the prestige this university has fostered over decades could be flushed right down the drain if this isn't handled correctly & with some urgency. IMO Mike McQueary's coaching days could very well be over. What parent wants this guy sitting in their living room telling them he'll look out for their son? His credibility is shot. Since this is a state run institution, the Pennsylvania attorney general can jump right into the middle of this, trustees be damned & I fully expect her to do so. This is such a hot button issue, it's not going away after the trustees meet & release their findings.
Much of this firestorm could be defused if Spanier, Paterno & McQueary would do the right thing & resign. But I don't see that happening, especially regarding Paterno.
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