Penn State Scandal

[Ben]

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP)—Joe Paterno, the Penn State football coach who preached success with honor for half a century but whose legend was shattered by a child sex abuse scandal, said Wednesday he will retire at the end of this season.
Paterno said he was “absolutely devastated†by the case, in which his onetime heir apparent, Jerry Sandusky, has been charged with molesting eight boys in 15 years, including at the Penn State football complex.
He said he hoped the team could finish its season with “dignity and determination.





The school’s board of trustees could still force Paterno to leave immediately. It also could take action against the university president, Graham Spanier.
Paterno said the trustees, who had been considering his fate, should “not spend a single minute discussing my status†and have more important matters to address.
The 84-year-old Paterno has been engulfed by outrage that he did not take more action after a graduate assistant, Mike McQueary, came to him in 2002 and reported seeing Sandusky in the Penn State showers with a 10-year-old boy. Paterno notified the athletic director, Tim Curley, and a vice president, Gary Schultz.
Curley and Schultz have since been charged with failing to report the incident to the authorities. Paterno hasn’t been accused of legal wrongdoing. But he has been assailed, in what the state police commissioner called a lapse of “moral responsibility,†for not doing more to stop Sandusky.
“This is a tragedy,†Paterno said in a statement. “It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.â€
Paterno met with his coaching staff and players in the football building at Penn State for about 10-15 minutes Wednesday in what was described as a very emotional session. Standing at a podium, Paterno told them he was leaving and broke down in tears.
“I never thought I’d hear those words coming from Joe Paterno’s mouth. He’s been here so long,†junior fullback Michael Zordich said.
Players gave him a standing ovation when he walked out.
“In all the clips I’ve seen of him, I’ve never seen him break down and cry. And he was crying the whole time today,†quarterback Paul Jones said. “He said it’s the best decision.â€
Cornerback Stephon Morris said some players also were nearly in tears while Paterno spoke.
“I still can’t believe it,†Morris said. “I’ve never seen Coach Paterno like that in my life.â€
Asked what was the main message of Paterno’s talk, Morris said: “Beat Nebraska.â€
The decision to retire by the man affectionately known as “Joe Pa†brings to an end one of the most storied coaching careers, not just in college football but in all of sports. Paterno won 409 games, a record for major college football, and is in the middle of his 46th year as coach.
Patrolling the sideline—thick-rimmed glasses and windbreaker, tie and khaki pants—Paterno was as unmistakable as the school’s classic blue and white uniforms. Happy Valley was, indeed, a place where no one came close to Paterno’s stature.
“I think it’s the right thing,†freshman Jake Schur said. “He didn’t do what he should have. He’s doing the right thing by stepping down to preserve the Penn State football program.
“It’s sad to see it happen under such a bad situation but at the same time everyone was sort of preparing themselves for it.â€
The retirement announcement came three days before Penn State hosts Nebraska in its final home game of the season, a day set aside to honor seniors on the team.
Penn State has bounced back from a mediocre 2010 season to go 8-1 this year, with its only loss to powerhouse Alabama. The Nittany Lions are No. 12 in the AP college football poll.
After 19th-ranked Nebraska, Penn State plays at Ohio State and at No. 16 Wisconsin, both Big Ten rivals. It has a chance to play in the Big Ten championship game Dec. 3, with a Rose Bowl bid on the line.
In the statement, Paterno said: “I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief.â€
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.â€
A day earlier, Paterno had showed up for practice and adoring crowds rallied outside his modest home into the night, chanting his name.
But Paterno, whose football program bore the motto “Success with Honor,†could not withstand the backlash from a scandal that goes well beyond the everyday stories of corruption in college sports.
“If this is true, we were all fooled, along with scores of professionals trained in such things, and we grieve for the victims and their families,†Paterno said in a statement Sunday. “They are in our prayers.â€
Sandusky, who retired from Penn State in June 1999, maintained his innocence through his lawyer.
Paterno has defended his decision to take the news to Curley and Schultz. Paterno said it was obvious that the graduate student, since identified as McQueary, was “distraught,†but said he was not told about the “very specific actions†of the sexual assault in the grand jury report.
After Paterno reported the incident to Curley, Sandusky was told to stay away from the school. But critics say Paterno should have done more.
“When an institution discovers abuse of a kid, their first reaction was to protect the reputation of the institution and the perpetrator,†John Salveson, former president of the Pennsylvania chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said this week.
Sandusky founded The Second Mile charity in 1977, working with at-risk youths. It now raises and spends several million dollars each year for its programs. Paterno is listed on The Second Mile’s website as a member of its honorary board of directors, a group that includes business executives, golfing great Arnold Palmer and several NFL Hall of Famers and coaches, including retired Pittsburgh Steelers stars Jack Ham and Franco Harris.

Included the news story for those that haven't been following it.

The guy was a great coach, but basically him not doing anything besides reporting the issue after knowing about it just wasn't right. AD is gone along with the Universty President, and he's being forced out this year, and it looks like there going to let him coach out the renaming few games.

Granted he didn't commit the acts, but the way he handed it and how it was swept under the rug is the reason he's being forced out, and really they should just fire him instead of trying to protect what's left of his legacy.

 

[Killswitch]

Paterno didn't see the assult. He didn't know for sure what happend. I hate how all the blame is going on him because he is the face of the university. He heard something about it. He told his boss. Just like if you heard a rumor at work that your female coworker was raped in the break room you would tell your boss. It isn't your job to look into those things. Paterno is their to coach, the AD is their to handle any other activities. So he did what he should of, and lets face it most you who crucify him would have done the same as him. It was nothing more than a rumor to him.

 

[No More Sorrow]

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Penn State trustees fired football coach Joe Paterno and university president Graham Spanier amid the growing furor over how the school handled sex abuse allegations against an assistant coach.

The massive shakeup Wednesday night came hours after Paterno announced that he planned to retire at the end of his 46th season.

But the outcry following the arrest of former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky on molestation charges proved too much for the board to ignore.

"The university is much larger than its athletic teams," board vice chair John Surma said during a news conference.

Defensive coordinator Tom Bradley will be interim coach and provost Rodney Erickson interim school president.

Paterno said he was disappointed with the board's decision, but accepted it and urged everyone to remain calm and respect the school.

"A tragedy occurred, and we all have to have patience to let the legal process proceed," Paterno said in a statement late Wednesday night. "I appreciate the outpouring of support but want to emphasize that everyone should remain calm and please respect the university, its property and all that we value.

"I have been incredibly blessed to spend my entire career working with people I love. I am grateful beyond words to all of the coaches, players and staff who have been a part of this program. And to all of our fans and supporters, my family and I will be forever in your debt."

Paterno received an envelope at his home Wednesday night 15 minutes before the board of trustees made their announcement, a source with first-hand knowledge told ESPN's Joe Schad. A note inside gave Paterno a phone number to call. He did so and was told by one of two board members on the receiving end "you are relieved of your duties."

According to the person close to Paterno, the coach had a hard time grasping what was contained in the allegations against Sandusky.

"I think the board took one look at the frenzy going on and the understandably horrific subject matter and said we can't have the focus on Joe for up to five more games," the source said.

A key question throughout the scandal has been why Paterno and other top school officials didn't go to police in 2002 after being told by Mike McQueary, who is receivers coach now but was a graduate assistant at the time, that McQueary saw Sandusky assaulting a boy in a school shower.

But the source told ESPN's Schad that Paterno hopes to clarify what he was told by McQueary as soon as Thursday. According to the source, Paterno recalls McQueary "vaguely" referencing "fondling" or "touching" or "horsing around" by Sandusky and a youth. But Paterno never had the understanding that McQueary had witnessed a "sodomy" or "rape."

Paterno has said he should have done more, while Spanier has said he was not told the details of the attack.

"Our great university has been rocked by serious charges against a former coach," Spanier said in a statement Wednesday night. "The presentment by the attorney general describes acts that should never be tolerated or ignored. I was stunned and outraged to learn that any predatory act might have occurred in a university facility or by someone associated with the university.

"I am heartbroken to think that any child may have been hurt and have deep convictions about the need to protect children and youth. My heartfelt sympathies go out to all those who may have been victimized."

Earlier in the day, Paterno said in a statement he was "absolutely devastated" by the case, in which Sandusky, his onetime heir apparent, was charged with molesting eight boys in 15 years, with some of the alleged abuse taking place at the Penn State football complex.

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

Surma said, "these decisions were made after careful deliberations and in the best interests of the university as a whole."

He said Paterno was told by telephone that he was out after spending most of his life at Penn State and guiding its football teams to two national championships in the 1980s.

"The past several days have been absolutely terrible for the entire Penn State community. But the outrage that we feel is nothing compared to the physical and psychological suffering that allegedly took place," Surma said.

Shortly after the board's decision was announced, Paterno shook hands with students outside of his house, some of whom were crying.

Other students were upset. A large crowd descended on the administration building, shouting "We want Joe back!" then headed to Beaver Stadium.

The firings came three days before Penn State hosts Nebraska in its final home game of the season, a day usually set aside to honor seniors on the team.

Earlier Wednesday, Paterno talked to his team for about 10-15 minutes in an auditorium of the football facility on campus. Standing at a podium, he told players he was leaving and broke down in tears.

Players gave him a standing ovation when he walked out. Junior cornerback Stephon Morris said some players also were nearly in tears as Paterno spoke.

"I still can't believe it," Morris said. "I've never seen coach Paterno like that in my life." Asked what was the main message of Paterno's talk, Morris said: "Beat Nebraska."

The ouster of the man affectionately known as "JoePa" brings to an end one of the most storied coaching careers -- not just in college football but in all of sports. Paterno has 409 victories -- a record for major college football -- won two national titles and guided five teams to unbeaten, untied seasons. He reached 300 wins faster than any other coach.

Penn State is 8-1 this year, with its only loss to powerhouse Alabama. The Nittany Lions are No. 12 in The Associated Press poll and the BCS rankings.

After 19th-ranked Nebraska, Penn State plays at Ohio State and at Wisconsin (No. 18 BCS, No. 16 AP), both Big Ten rivals. It has a chance to play in the Big Ten championship game Dec. 3 in Indianapolis, with a Rose Bowl presented by Vizio bid on the line.

After meeting Tuesday, Penn State's board of trustees said it would appoint a committee to investigate the "circumstances" that resulted in the indictment of Sandusky, and of athletic director Tim Curley and a vice president Gary Schultz, who are accused in an alleged cover-up.

Paterno notified Curley and Schultz about the 2002 abuse charge and is not a target of the criminal investigation. Curley and Schultz have been charged with failing to report the incident to the authorities.

Sandusky, who retired from Penn State in June 1999, maintained his innocence through his lawyer. Curley has taken a leave of absence and Schultz has decided to step down. They also say they are innocent.

The committee will be appointed Friday at the board's regular meeting, which Gov. Tom Corbett said he plans to attend, and will examine "what failures occurred and who is responsible and what measures are necessary to ensure" similar mistakes aren't made in the future.

The U.S. Department of Education said Wednesday it would investigate whether Penn State violated federal law requiring the disclosure of criminal offenses on campus and warnings of crimes posing a threat to the community in its handling of the allegations. U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan, R-Pa., requested the Education Department's involvement on Tuesday.

"If these allegations of sexual abuse are true then this is a horrible tragedy for those young boys. If it turns out that some people at the school knew of the abuse and did nothing or covered it up, that makes it even worse," U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said. "Schools and school officials have a legal and moral responsibility to protect children and young people from violence and abuse."

Mark C. Sherburne, Curley's acting replacement as AD, issued a statement Wednesday, saying the school is "devastated" by the allegations in the grand jury presentment against Sandusky.

"Our hearts go out to the children and their families," he said.

"Every day we are entrusted with the lives of young people, and we do not -- nor have we ever -- taken that trust lightly," Sherburne said. "We are outraged that a valued trust has been broken. We can promise you that we are doing everything in our power to restore that broken trust. Everyone within athletics -- coaches, administrators, staff and student-athletes -- are committed to this pledge."

On Wednesday morning, Paterno said he planned to retire at the end of the season, but the board had other ideas.

In a statement, 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."

ESPN

 

[Killswitch]

Sounds to me like the university fucked up and they're firing Paterno to draw attention away from the fact that they let this guy run around diddling boys.

 

[Dademo]

As far as I'm concerned, Joe Paterno is as guilty as Jerry Sandusky. He knew that Sandusky was pimping out little boys and fucking little boys and he didn't say shit to protect the rest of the school. He's an old fucking geezer and I don't give a shit what he accomplished. Mcqueery or whatever that smurf motherfucker's name is, is as guilty as them as well, he saw him raping these little boys. But no, Paterno and Mcqueery(deserves to be spelt this way) kept their fucking mouths shut to protect the fucking school, and it makes me sick. Anyone who sees little boys getting raped or knows about it, and doesn't want to turn them in is a a fucking gutless smurf motherfucker. Joe Paterno's going to drop dead in 2 years anyways, and the only people who are going to give a fuck are the freshman who act like they knew him for 10 years when they've been going to that school for 2 months.

 

[PHX]

If Joe knew he deserved to be fired but it's coming off as using him as a scapegoat though to me as mentioned to make the story about that rather than the more important story. Knew it would take something extreme or death to remove Joe from coaching there and well this is the extreme apparently.

 

[No More Sorrow]

A central Pennsylvania police chief says his department did not receive a report from then-Penn State graduate assistant Mike McQueary related to an allegation of child sexual abuse levied against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.

McQueary, now the Penn State wide receivers coach who was placed on administrative leave Friday, had told a friend in an email that in 2002 he stopped the alleged rape of a boy he thought to be about 10 years old and discussed the matter with police.

But State College police chief Tom King said Wednesday McQueary didn't make a report to his department.

"He didn't come to State College police. The crime happened on campus and we don't have jurisdiction on campus," King said. "We've had no reports (of Sandusky sexually abusing someone) from anybody."

The university also has its own police force, and said they have no record of any police report filed by McQueary.

"This is the first we have heard of it," said Lisa Powers, Penn State's director of public information.

The New York Times published an extensive report detailing the investigation on its website Wednesday night. In it, the paper reported investigators went to McQueary after seeing a post on an Internet forum about Penn State athletics. They met McQueary a little over a year ago.

"This had been weighing on his for a very long time, and our guys felt he was relieved to get it off his chest," the Times quoted one law enforcement official as saying.

The report also said investigators found details about Sandusky in a 100-page Penn State police report from 1998. That case was forwarded to the Centre County District Attorney. But was never prosecuted.

The Times also reported, after a number of subpoenas were served at The Second Mile Foundation, the organization Sandusky had founded, travel and expense documents from 2000-2003 stored at an off-site facility were missing.

McQueary said in an email, first obtained and reported Tuesday by The Morning Call of Allentown, Pa., McQueary said he "did have discussions with police and with the official at the university in charge of police" after the alleged incident in 2002.

In the email, dated Nov. 8, McQueary said, "I did stop it, not physically, but made sure it was stopped when I left that locker room," The Morning Call reported.

McQueary did not specify which police department he spoke to.

King said Wednesday the police department has received one call from someone alleging to be a victim of Sandusky's, and his department referred that person the attorney general's office, ESPN's Paula Lavigne reported. King said he expects other people who may have been abused to come forward, noting that has happened in past cases.

King said he had not heard anything about Sandusky since 1998 until the beginning of this year, when the attorney general's office called and requested his department's 1998 records. He said he knew one of his detectives was being called to testify before the grand jury, but the first he heard of the actual allegations was when he read about them in a newspaper.

He said his department will not release records from the '98 case publicly, because they're part of an ongoing investigation and exempt from the state's right-to-know law.

Wednesday, in a brief off-camera meeting with ESPN's Lisa Salters, McQueary again said he wouldn't comment. When Salters said that people were looking to hear from him, McQueary said: "I understand -- I just can't right now."

Sandusky has been charged with molesting eight boys in 15 years, with some of the alleged abuse taking place at the Penn State football complex. He maintains his innocence.

In his grand jury testimony, McQueary wrote only that he talked to his father, football coach Joe Paterno, athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz about what he witnessed in 2002.

But in the email, McQueary said he did tell police as well: "I did have discussions with police and with the official at the university in charge of police ... no one can imagine my thoughts or wants to be in my shoes for those 30-45 seconds ... trust me," the Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pa., reported.

Grand jurors found McQueary to be more credible than Schultz and Curley, who were charged with perjury and failure to report child abuse.

King has been State College police chief since 1993. State College police did help on a case led by Penn State police into a 1998 allegation, referred to in a 23-page grand jury report on the Sandusky investigation as "Victim 6."

The report said the investigation began after an 11-year-old boy's mother complained that Sandusky had showered with her son in the football facilities.

King said the State College detective who helped on that case forwarded his notes to Penn State police, who then turned the case over to then-Centre Couny district attorney Ray Gricar. He declined to file charges.

Gricar disappeared in April 2005 and was declared legally dead earlier this year. Investigators have said they don't believe there's a connection between his disappearance and the decision to not charge Sandusky.

"I'm confident that was fully investigated," King said of the 1998 case. "He was very astute in what was needed to bring charges ... and certainly was not afraid to bring charges in a high-profile case."

Otherwise, King said there have been no reports of child sexual abuse made to his department related to Sandusky.

 

[We Are Legion]

Penn State prefers to be losing at half time because they like being behind in the locker room lolololololol

 

[No More Sorrow]

(CNN) -- Authorities in Pennsylvania are investigating two new cases of alleged child abuse against former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, according to sources close to the investigation.

The investigations were opened by Children and Youth Services in Pennsylvania, the sources said. In Pennsylvania, cases of alleged child abuse reported by an alleged victim who is an adult are strictly police matters, even if the alleged offenses occurred when that person was a child. Children and Youth Services participates in the investigation only if the alleged victim is still under 18.

If the allegations are found to be credible, they would be the first known cases involving current minors to become public since Sandusky's arrest. All the other publicly known cases have involved alleged victims who are now adults.

The new cases were reported less than 60 days ago, the sources said. Sandusky's lawyer, Joe Amendola, responded to the report of new allegations Tuesday, saying, "We expected copycat allegations ... and we are confident we will be able to refute them after we investigate the specific new allegations which are being made."

Sandusky was arrested on November 5 after the release of a grand jury report detailing crimes that he is accused of committing between 1994 and 2009. He is free on $100,000 bail, and he has denied the allegations.

Based on the grand jury report, Pennsylvania's attorney general has charged Sandusky with 40 counts in what authorities allege was the sexual abuse of eight boys. In addition, Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, a university vice president, resigned their posts after being charged with failing to inform police of the allegations. Head football coach Joe Paterno and President Graham Spanier also lost their jobs in the wake of the report, when questions were raised about the university's response.

According to grand jury documents, a graduate assistant told Paterno in 2002 that he had seen Sandusky performing anal sex on a young boy in a football complex shower. Paterno told Curley, who told Schultz, according to the grand jury report.

 

[Killswitch]

Sandusky should be in jail - not in the comfort of his home. There is amble circumstantial evidence to put this freak behind bars to await his trial in court.