Joe Paterno has always been the one college football coach whom I admired, someone who seemed to have his priorities in order. I cannot conceive of any acceptable excuse for his evident failure to act in this matter. He should resign.
"Hey...Dad. Wanna Have A Catch?" Kevin Costner in "Field Of Dreams."
All of the above. The biggest and most disgusting scandal in NCAA history will be Paterno's scarlet letter for all time. And he deserves it.
He's certainly not alone when it comes to assigning responsibility for this tragedy. But he's the man in charge of the program which his best friend destroyed.
We'll go down in history as the first society that wouldn't save itself because it wasn't cost effective ~ Kurt Vonnegut
These students are embarrassing themselves and their university. This whole thing is just sad on so many levels.
And what happens to the football program seems so trivial, and deserved, that I'm not even sure it should be discussed, but since it's been brought up I do agree with what others have already said. This is the end of the Penn State football program. No one is going to want to coach there and I can't imagine anyone worthy of a big time program will have any interest in going there. They deserve it and I won't shed a tear for them, but I do think this is the end... at least for quite some time.
Some have questioned whether or not JoePa staying around all these years was selfish and egotistical. But it was Joe Paterno, so he got the benefit of every doubt and his character and motives were never that seriously questioned. But the fact that he seems to be resisting and not doing what's obviously in the school's best interest and immediately stepping down says a lot, IMO. I wonder how much we really knew about the guy all these years.
Grape works as a soda. Sort of as a gum. I wonder why it doesn't work as a pie. Grape pie? There's no grape pie. - Larry David
The AP is reporting Joe Paterno is retiring at the end of the season.
Personally, I will be shocked if the University lets him coach another game.
Last edited by redsfan30; 11-09-2011 at 10:06 AM.
"Strickland Propane... Taste the meat, not the heat." - Hank Hill
Paterno did exactly what he should have when he heard about it: He reported it to authorities at the University. At that point he moved on. The villans here are first the guy who witnessed it,then his Dad, then the PSU President, the AD and Paterno is way down the list.
This guy has had a spotless record for "forever". It's not right that this should bring down his career such that it is and stain his legacy forever just because all these other folks didn't do the right thing. It wasn't incumbant upon Paterno to report it to police.
State College, PA is on a completely different level compared to Lexington, KY. A college town is dominated economically and demographically by the presence of a college. The population of State College is pretty much composed of people that are either Penn State students, Penn State employees, people who work at businesses that are dependent on the presence of Penn State, or young kids or elderly. If Penn State wasn't there there'd barely be anyone there at all. The same can't be said about Lexington.
Oxford, OH might be the closest thing around here that's a similar "college town". But, even with Miami University there's differences. Enrollment at Miami is less and Oxford is smaller than State College, there isn't an overwhelmingly popular sports team at Miami, and you can drive from Oxford to Cincinnati or Dayton in an hour or less. State College is in the middle of nowhere.
The combination of a town that's dominated by the presence of the school and the seclusion, given the location, probably contributed to the cloud of secrecy regarding a scandal involving the extremely popular sports team. There's probably not many other schools where something like this would've stayed a secret for so long, no matter what the coaches and school did, or didn't do, about the rumors and allegations.
The AP is reporting that Paterno is going to step down at the end of the season. You really wonder if will stay that long.
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Reds Fan Since 1971
Paterno himself is a victim here. If the University had handled it properly--reported it to police--no one would be criticizing Paterno today. They'd be praising him for how he handled it and that he did what Jim Tressel didn't. Paterno was let down by the higher ups at the University. I feel sorry for the guy. I really do
What I found disturbing is last night JoePa pretty much had a pep rally outside his house. He came out to address and media and students and shouted "we will fight this" and then started the "We are...Penn State" chant.
Lets see, my career and my legacy is in ruins, little boys were raped and I turned a blind eye to it but instead of showing a little bit of remorse I am going to go outside my home and lead a pep rally.
A few weeks ago I really wanted to go down to IU to watch the Penn State/IU game. I knew the game would likely be lopsided but one of the things kinda on my bucket list was to see a game coached by Paterno. I always admired Paterno because he seemed to be the upmost in character and integrity. It appears I was fooled or senility has crept in to this 85 year old man.
"Boys, I'm one of those umpires that misses 'em every once in a while so if it's close, you'd better hit it." Cal Hubbard
So you think he should lose his job over this? I don't think he violated any terms of his contract. Should everyone who had knowledge of this pervert's activities lose their jobs?
Some people are just out for blood here and mass firings aren't going to help these abused boys. That said I do think the guy who witnessed it, the AD and the Pres should be fired but right now the whole football program and a good bit of the Univ are before the firing squad and I don't think that's right
"This isn’t stats vs scouts - this is stats and scouts working together, building an organization that blends the best of both worlds. This is the blueprint for how a baseball organization should be run. And, whether the baseball men of the 20th century like it or not, this is where baseball is going."---Dave Cameron, U.S.S. Mariner
So, an assistant coach comes to you and tells you he winessed another assistant coach having anal sex with a 10 yr. old boy in your football locker room's shower. So, you report it up the management chain. And when the management chain fails you, you throw your hands up and say "gee, I did everything I could, oh well"?
I mean really? You just walk away?
If it were someone witnessed a shoplifting or drinking underage or something with a little less teeth, I could understand that attitude. But we're talking an extremely serious crime against a child with a lot of emotional punch. Pretty darn serious stuff. I just don't know how you can turn a blind eye to that. I really don't.
She used to wake me up with coffee ever morning
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