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 can buy that possibly the GA was so rattled by what he saw, and didn't act appropriately. I can buy that he stewed on it, and thought "I just witnessed something that will ruin an local icon and his family, and tarnish PSU" and then went and soft-peddled it to Joe Pa. I had considered that as well.
I can see Joe kind of taking the same approach, especially having not seen it for himself.
But, somewhere along the line, there was a major breakdown. If McQueary saw what he claims, he bears a huge responsibility for not going back and fixing it when he saw nothing was done, not even banning him from the facilities.
But, my gut tells me, and Joe's statements today, sort of confirm it for me...they knew, and they hoped someone else would take on the dirty job of ruining Sandusky. Nobody did.