Report Says Paterno, Others Hid Sandusky Information - WSJ.com
The 267-page report, issued Thursday by former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Louis Freeh at the request of trustees, found that Messrs. Spanier and Paterno, along with former Athletic Director Tim Curley and Vice President Gary Schultz, "failed to protect against a child sexual predator harming children for over a decade."
"Our most saddening and sobering finding is the total disregard for the safety and welfare of Sandusky's child victims by the most senior leaders at Penn State. The most powerful men at Penn State failed to take any steps for 14 years to protect the children who Sandusky victimized. Messrs. Spanier, Schultz, Paterno and Curley never demonstrated, through actions or words, any concern for the safety and well-being of Sandusky's victims until after Sandusky's arrest."
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Heartbreaking.
So when Paterno said he wished he had done more, what he actually meant to say was that he wished he had not allowed immoral criminal behavior that actively harmed children to happen for 14 years.
14 years.
what this incident teaches us that not being a criminal is not enough; it's a scary and profound lesson for leaders on transparency, communication, and the well-being of those who have less power that we are empowered to protect.
we -- I -- have much to learn from this.
Oh man, Paterno also negotiated a sweetheart deal for himself earlier in 2011, just before news was about to break?
How very sad.
Money Quote from JoePa: "I was afraid to do something that might jeopardize what the university procedure was"
University procedure was to go through university channels, expressly forbidding outside involvement, up the chain of command through Old Main and Spanier... It was HIS DECISION to cover it up.
Has there been a larger fall from grace in sports? If this scandal had not occurred, JoePa retired and then died of cancer, he would've been sent off as the patron saint of college football. The letter the family released did not help his cause in my opinion - it made him seem even more out of touch than I'd realized.
The worst part is, it was entirely within Paterno's power, his right, and his duty to do something.
My hope is that his bad example serves for future leaders to not make the mistakes that will now forever be synonymous with Joe Paterno.
No one is going to think of his stellar career first; we'll always remember this first.
And yes, this taints the Penn State as an organization that has institutionalized child rape, right alongside the Catholic church.
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