First, there were massive failures at several levels to report an alleged rape of a child by former Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky in 2002.
Those failures start with the former graduate assistant, Mike McQueary, who witnessed the alleged assault but did not call police. McQueary first told his father, then met with Penn State head coach Joe Paterno, according to a grand jury report.
Exactly what was said during McQueary's meeting with Paterno is unclear from the record, which states Paterno called athletic director Tim Curley the next day to tell him a graduate assistant had seen Sandusky "fondling or doing something of a sexual nature to a young boy."
Curley involved Gary Schultz, the school's senior vice president, and met with the graduate assistant about a week and a half after the attack was reported. Both Curley and/or Schultz should have filed a report with Child Protective Services, but didn't.
No police agency was notified and the none of the men sought out the identity of the boy to protect him from Sandusky. That's a tragedy.
But Penn State missed the mark again in the way it fired Joe Paterno Wednesday night.
John Surma, the vice chair of the board of trustees, said Paterno was told by telephone he was out.
By phoning Paterno, instead of delivering the news in person, the university showed its greatest cheerleader no dignity. That could cause a fissure between State U and its alumni for years.
Paterno was the epitome of Penn State.
He helped transform the rural college town in central Pennsylvania into a nationally respected university, not just on the football field, but as the star fundraiser. Paterno led the efforts to build a new college library, which now bares his name.
In a statement after his firing, Paterno said: "I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief."
He went on: "I have come to work every day for the last 61 years with one clear goal in mind: To serve the best interests of this university and the young men who have been entrusted to my care. I have the same goal today."
Paterno did 46 years of good as head football coach, and it would be sad to see all of the lives he positively touched get erased because a terrible mistake.
Now that the media's got it pound of flesh, and JoePa's out, I hope the real outrage falls back to the accused child molester. Jerry Sandusky has been largely forgotten in this national firestorm.
2 comments:
Despite Joe Pa's standing in Happy Valley and in the nation, the regents did the right thing in firing him. The students of the university were rioting last night following the news. They showed up at his house and cheered him.
What's missing here is an understanding of what went wrong...young boys were molested on Penn State's campus and Paterno basically did not take it into his own hands to stop it (Along with all the other men who knew it was going on and did nothing).
At 84 years old, Joe Pa should have resigned, rather than say he was retiring at the end of the season. Instead, he simply has chosen not to understand the seriousness of what went on, and wanted to continue "coaching" as the figurehead of the school.
The school has been shamed and needed to take immediate action to clean house following this report. While Sandusky committed the crime, the football program, the pride and joy of Penn State, allowed it to happen.
I think the phone call to Joe Pa probably came because he refused to go to the regents meeting. Can you imagine the scene if the chairman tried to walk into Paterno's house? The students were camped out on the lawn!!! There would have been even larger riots.
Anyway, this is a horrendous situation and hopefully this case brings attention to child abuse and causes more people to report these things. But, like Duke University's lacrosse scandal from several years ago, this will eventually pass, even if it takes a decade. Gone is Penn State's football program as we know it. They probably will not have a national presence unless they are able to hire an Urban Meyer or another high profile coach that can recruit despite all the shenanigans.
Pete, you're likely right that at 84-years-old Coach Paterno was little more than a figure head. I think the NY Times had a photo of Paterno basically sleeping at practice the other week. But I still think he deserved better than to be fired over the phone, particularly because there's so much we don't know about the case.
The Penn State trustees shouldn't be praised for their actions. They did what was in the "best interest" of the university to get the story off page 1. And it's more or less worked one week later. One of the trustees basically admitted they pulled the plug on Paterno because the board feared any delay would only fuel the media frenzy. If they truly wanted to "clean house" they would have suspended or just fired all football staffers that have been around since the 2002 incident that's outraged so many. By my count that would leave two coaches on the staff.
Paterno was not the problem (though he likely play a part). He merely became the highest profile symbol of the inaction by so many on an insulated campus. Because of that the talking media heads claimed, despite not having all the facts, THEY knew what must be done. Last time I checked, this is still an innocent until proven guilty nation. And at the height of its fervor you wouldn't have know that, and likely thought that Jerry Sandusky was suspect 1 and Paterno suspect 1a.
The only thing we love more than watching a star or legend get the top is watching them fall. But the fall of Joe "Clean" is still merely the side show in all this. It remains quite a tragedy.
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