Joe Pa will retire at end of season

[AU_Tiger_2000]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/11/09/penn-states-joe-paterno-said-will-retire-at-end-season/

Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno announced Wednesday he will retire at the end of the season, saying, "I wish I had done more" to help the victims of alleged sex abuse by his former assistant.

The decision comes amid a widening child sex abuse scandal and alleged cover-up centered on Paterno's former defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, who is accused of molesting eight boys over 15 years. 

"I am absolutely devastated by the developments in this case," Paterno said in a statement obtained by Fox News. "I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief."

"It is one of the great sorrows of my life," Paterno said. "With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more."

The 84-year-old Paterno has been besieged by criticism since Sandusky was charged over the weekend with sexually abusing eight young boys between 1994 and 2009. Athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz have been charged with failing to notify authorities after an eyewitness reported a 2002 assault.

Though Paterno is not accused of any wrongdoing, he has been questioned over his apparent failure to follow up on a report of the 2002 incident, in which Sandusky allegedly sodomized a 10-year-old boy in the showers at the team's football complex. A witness, Mike McQueary, is currently receivers coach for the team but was a graduate assistant at the time.

McQueary told Paterno about the incident the next day, and the coach notified Curley and Schultz, who in turn notified Penn State president Graham Spanier. Curley and Schultz have been charged with perjury and failure to report the incident to authorities, as required by state law.

Both men, as well as Paterno, testified that they were told that Sandusky behaved inappropriately in that 2002 incident, but not to the extent of McQueary's graphic account to a state grand jury.

It is not clear whether Paterno made the decision to retire on his own or whether he was pressured to step down by the Penn State Board of Trustees, the Patriot-News reported.

Paterno, who earns about $1 million annually from the school, has been head coach for 46 years and part of the Penn State staff for more than six decades, and his old-school values pervade every corner of the program.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/11/09/penn-states-joe-paterno-said-will-retire-at-end-season/#ixzz1dE3lu2Yl

[wesfau2]

An admission that he knew something very fucking foul was afoot within his own office complex and he finishes the year?

Whore.
Shit.

[AU_Tiger_2000]

An admission that he knew something very fudgeing foul was afoot within his own office complex and he finishes the year?

Whore.
shitake.

I can understand it.  The whole program is tainted.  If he leaves now you will promote someone internally, but they will still have the stench of this on them.  Might as well let the old man finish out and bring in someone from outside who will want a complete new staff.

[wesfau2]

I can understand it.  The whole program is tainted.  If he leaves now you will promote someone internally, but they will still have the stench of this on them.  Might as well let the old man finish out and bring in someone from outside who will want a complete new staff.

I give half a runny shit about some interim place-holder's taint.  Fuck Paterno and get him gone yesterday.

[Saniflush]

I give half a runny shit about some interim place-holder's taint.  Fuck Paterno and get him gone yesterday.

This. 
Once again he had the opportunity to retain a small amount of dignity by resigning yesterday.  Fuck him.

[AUTiger1]

I give half a runny shit about some interim place-holder's taint.  Fuck Paterno and get him gone yesterday.

Agree with Wes here.  He needs to step down immediately, let someone else take it for the end of the year, fire the whole lot and start from scratch.

[Townhallsavoy]

Did Penn State authorize this?  Is this what the BOT wanted?  Did the president encourage this?

Because if not, Paterno may still be fired by 3pm. 

What Paterno, Penn State fans, and other supporters need to realize is that this isn't a recruiting scandal.  This isn't buying players or changing grades.  This isn't paying off refs or bribing the NCAA.  This isn't releasing the flu in the athletic dorms of opposing teams or sleeping with the opposing head coach's wife.  This isn't sleeping with college students or buying drugs and strippers for your players.  This isn't murdering someone who has dirt on your recruiting practices or stealing money from the poor.

This is possibly the most immoral crime one can commit.  Raping children.  Lots of them.  Using a charity to lure them in.  Having young boys think they're going someplace safe that can offer them refuge and help, and instead, having the famous football coach use it to his advantage to rape and molest them. 

And all reports so far indicate that Paterno knew something was up.  He knew something truly fucked up was going on. 

I disagree with Finebaum and others that say, "Well, you don't know how you would act if your career was on the line."

I get that with sexual harassment cases and maybe laundering money or drugs or other crimes.

But if I saw or heard about my own kin raping, molesting, fondling, or abusing a child, they're finished.  It's immediate.  I confront them immediately while phoning the police. 

The football fan in me hopes to God that something comes out clearing Paterno.  Something the media has missed that shows Paterno did attempt to do everything he could.  But it looks awful right now. 

[JR4AU]

An admission that he knew something very fucking foul was afoot within his own office complex and he finishes the year?

Whore.
Shit.

Is this a case of the people at ground zero having no ability to appreciate the gravity of the situation?  How the fuck do you issue a statement like that while saying you'll finish the year out, AND be allowed to?

If that stadium is packed on Saturday to see Joe's last home game, that will tell you a lot about what those people really care about.

[Snaggletiger]

I say again....

"Um, Coach Paterno, um...yesterday I went back in the locker room and well...Coach Sandusky was anal raping a young boy in the shower."

Are you sure?

Yes sir, I'm 100% sure of what I saw.


Oh yeah, I'd say JoPa knew something was up.  Anyone who supports that worthless prick needs to be anal raped.  Tell you what, I'll take the women who support him and you guys do the rest.

[Kaos]

Don't ask me why, but I'm going to take a different approach. 

Forget What Would Paterno Do (WWPD), the question is What Would You Do?

Consider that he'd known the guy for years and years.  Consider that you don't know what he was told.  For all you know the GA only told him that he saw something weird with Sandusky. 

Consider that maybe Joe went to talk to the guy and he pooh-poohed it, saying he was doing nothing of the sort, he was just helping the kid or disciplining the kid or whatever.  That what the GA thought he saw was not what he really saw. 

Remember he's known the guy half his life.  What's he going to do?   He reported it.  He told others that something was reported to him.  It was their responsibility to investigate, to inform. 

When nothing came back, when Paterno heard nada from them is it not rational and reasonable to assume that he could have taken that as a declaration of innocence or mistaken identity? 

I'm not for child rape, don't get me wrong.  But a shitload more people knew Michael Jackson was banging little boys than knew about Sandusky and nothing was done there.  Mikey was even exonerated by a stupid jury. 

I think it's wrong to crucify Joe and make him the sacrificial lamb here. 

What happens if after a ton of investigation they find out there's really nothing to the claims about Sandusky?  What if they find out it is a mass hysteria?  It's only accusation. 

Haven't we learned our lesson about executing people based only on what's reported versus what's true?

[AUChizad]

Don't ask me why, but I'm going to take a different approach. 

Forget What Would Paterno Do (WWPD), the question is What Would You Do?

Consider that he'd known the guy for years and years.  Consider that you don't know what he was told.  For all you know the GA only told him that he saw something weird with Sandusky. 

Consider that maybe Joe went to talk to the guy and he pooh-poohed it, saying he was doing nothing of the sort, he was just helping the kid or disciplining the kid or whatever.  That what the GA thought he saw was not what he really saw. 

Remember he's known the guy half his life.  What's he going to do?   He reported it.  He told others that something was reported to him.  It was their responsibility to investigate, to inform. 

When nothing came back, when Paterno heard nada from them is it not rational and reasonable to assume that he could have taken that as a declaration of innocence or mistaken identity? 

I'm not for child rape, don't get me wrong.  But a shitload more people knew Michael Jackson was banging little boys than knew about Sandusky and nothing was done there.  Mikey was even exonerated by a stupid jury. 

I think it's wrong to crucify Joe and make him the sacrificial lamb here. 

What happens if after a ton of investigation they find out there's really nothing to the claims about Sandusky?  What if they find out it is a mass hysteria?  It's only accusation. 

Haven't we learned our lesson about executing people based only on what's reported versus what's true?

I kind of feel the same way.

I mean, as of now we don't really know all the facts. Angry mob mentality prevails.

What I DO know, is that if someone told me they witnessed somebody raping little boys, I'd definitely think it was fucked up. I'd probably even encourage whoever claimed to have witnessed it to notify the proper authorities. Not sure I'd go all media circus "HEY EVERYBODY, THIS SOMEBODY TOLD ME THIS GUY IS A KIDDIE DIDDLER!!!"

What went down is horrible. Whatever the worst possible thing that can happen to Sandusky will not be just enough for him. But damn, you guys know Joe didn't diddle these kids, right?

I guess I'm kind of torn on it. Sucks for a man's 60+ year long career to go down in flames like this, and to be associated with this horrendous crime, when at worst he just was one of many that was made aware of it, and didn't act. I also get that he had a moral obligation to not let this dude go on diddling little kids. Just not sure with what we know at this very moment, that we can crucify him to the degree he's being crucified. Now it may come out that he absolutely knew all along, and said, "You know I disapprove of the kid fucking, but if you gotta, make it quick, I'll be waiting outside." At that point, I'll be ready to condemn him as scum.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, I get what you're saying, K.

[Kaos]

I guess what I'm trying to say is, I get what you're saying, K.

That's a pretty damning allegation.  You're talking about ruining a man you've known most of your life.  Do you really run straight to the police? 

What would any of us have done in that situation? 

I don't know if heading straight to the cops is what I would do.  Especially if I didn't see it.  I'd be more inclined to do what Paterno did.  Pass it on to people who were supposed to handle it. 

We don't know what happened.  We don't know what Paterno was told.  For all we know, Curley told him "yeah, we looked into it, nothing to worry about."

Not defending him (yet) just saying the lynch mob should back off and point its fury where it belongs. 

[AU_Tiger_2000]

I was listening to Mike and Miike this morning.  Golic was going off on the GA.  He was saying he understands the guy calling his dad and then going to Paterno, but why the hell did he just walk and leave the kid with Sandusky when he saw them in the shower?

[Kaos]

I was listening to Mike and Miike this morning.  Golic was going off on the GA.  He was saying he understands the guy calling his dad and then going to Paterno, but why the hell did he just walk and leave the kid with Sandusky when he saw them in the shower?

Maybe he liked it and was afraid.

[wesfau2]

I agree that the man is still innocent until proven guilty, but I'm going to be a hypocrite and call him guilty based on the limited information available now.  Suck it.

[AUTiger1]

I was listening to Mike and Miike this morning.  Golic was going off on the GA.  He was saying he understands the guy calling his dad and then going to Paterno, but why the hell did he just walk and leave the kid with Sandusky when he saw them in the shower?

I am wondering the same thing.  If I see that shit, I am beating his ass to death and then calling the cops.  Go ahead and tell them to get me for assault.

[CCTAU]

I was listening to Mike and Miike this morning.  Golic was going off on the GA.  He was saying he understands the guy calling his dad and then going to Paterno, but why the hell did he just walk and leave the kid with Sandusky when he saw them in the shower?

I would like to think that if I were the GA, the police would have been able to find the guy right where I laid him out. And now that poor kid knows that someone saw and did nothing to help. Disgusting.

[Snaggletiger]

No, I can't say what I'd do if soemone came to me about my best friend or law partner or someone like that.  I agree it's a tough call.  But, this is not something you let lie.  These are supposedly smart men, smart enough to realize the magnitude of the allegations by an eye witness.  This is raping a little boy, plain and simple.  As for saying we don't know what really happened....yes, we pretty much do.  Read the indictment.  This is not fans on a message board claiming they "just know" Cam Newton took money from Aubren...this is a 3 year investigation, complete with real live eye witnesses, sworn testimony and everything.

Paterno admits he "should have done more".  Keep in mind that NO ONE is superior to Joe Paterno at Penn State.  Maybe he didn't want to be the one to blow the whistle, but your entire livelihood and your entire program are at stake here...not to mention the fate of these young boys...but he should have at least made sure one of his "superiors" contacted the authorities.   

[Kaos]

I agree that the man is still innocent until proven guilty, but I'm going to be a hypocrite and call him guilty based on the limited information available now.  Suck it.

Thanks for your input, Thayer. 

[Saniflush]

Thanks for your input, Thayer.

Boom.  I have a different view of the Joe Pa stuff though.  To me he was obligated to follow up on this extensively and not let the pedophile accused continue to have sleepovers and bathing parties in the athletic department.
I do have one big lingering question though.  How the hell does nobody else not know anything about this going on?