Say it ain't so, Joe

[Mac the Knife]

dfwabel, I heard an interview with the former Governor of PA who's also a former attorney (maybe Rendell? can't remember his name) who said that PSU can fire anyone it wants for any reason they want and that the whistleblower law was pretty flexible in this situation.

I'll try to find that interview.

There's also federal whistleblower statutes to consider. And I guarantee Fast Eddie doesn't know jack about those.

[dfwabel]

dfwabel, I heard an interview with the former Governor of PA who's also a former attorney (maybe Rendell? can't remember his name) who said that PSU can fire anyone it wants for any reason they want and that the whistleblower law was pretty flexible in this situation.

I'll try to find that interview.

Maybe so. I do know that the current Pennsylvania governor was formerly the state's Attorney General. Again, he is still a key state witness.

The independent ESPN Ombudsman is very critical of their coverage.

NOTE: This was released late last night, so the interviews with Duncan Kennedy, Theo Fluery, and the image consultant today seem to be some directed by their criticism.

[pcgd]

My understanding of whistle blowing laws is he couldn't have been fired in 2002 for reporting the act. However I dont see how his not acting enough isn't means for termination considering they fired paterno for that more or less...

If you see a manager at your current job doing something wrong and you report it, you can't be fired. But if you don't report it properly you can (and should) be let go. I think those laws are more intended for things like insider trading and illegal software usage.

I certainly understand the pressure he may have been under to keep his mouth shut but any reasonable person should know better.

[Saintsfan]

What strikes me about this whole thing is how Paterno is the focus in this story. I can understand it because he's the celebrity and the face of Penn State football, but seeing what people are saying/writing about him makes it seem like he was the pedophile. It seems like people like Sandusky or McQueary are getting a relative free pass because they don't have the celebrity despite they being people with more fault than Paterno yet JoePa is the villain in the story.

PS- That Posnanski article says virtually everything I want to say (as he usually does).

And that is what is wrong with our celebrity obsessed culture and media.

I don't think anyone is really saying Paterno is some kind of hero, I think the main point a lot of Paterno sympathetic posts make is that JoePa is not the real nasty in this case. A lot of posters seem to assume JoePa had more knowledge of Sandusky's conduct than he seems to have had. Not that he didn't know anything, but I doubt he can have known about the true extent. Paedophiles tend to be good at covering their tracks.

[dfwabel]

My understanding of whistle blowing laws is he couldn't have been fired in 2002 for reporting the act. However I dont see how his not acting enough isn't means for termination considering they fired paterno for that more or less...

If you see a manager at your current job doing something wrong and you report it, you can't be fired. But if you don't report it properly you can (and should) be let go. I think those laws are more intended for things like insider trading and illegal software usage.

I certainly understand the pressure he may have been under to keep his mouth shut but any reasonable person should know better.

It still depends on the state. I do not have the contract of McQueary, but Pennsylvania whistleblower laws seems to give him protection. There is this: Pennsylvania Administrative Code, S. 1.295

§ 1.295. Complaints by employes; disclosure of identity; reprisals.

A- The State Inspector General may receive and investigate complaints or information concerning the possible existence of an activity in an executive agency constituting a violation of law, rules or regulations, or mismanagement, fraud, waste of funds, abuse of authority, malfeasance, misfeasance, nonfeasance or a substantial and specific danger to the public health and safety.

B- No person may take or threaten to take action against an employe as a reprisal for making a complaint or disclosing information to the State Inspector General, unless the complaint was made or the information disclosed with the knowledge that it was false or with willful disregard for its truth or falsity.

C- The protections in this subchapter for employes who report, in good faith, fraud, waste, misconduct, malfeasance, misfeasance, nonfeasance or abuse are in addition and supplementary to protections provided by the Whistleblower Law (43 P. S. § § 1421—1428).

[Gothamite]

A lot of posters seem to assume JoePa had more knowledge of Sandusky's conduct than he seems to have had. Not that he didn't know anything, but I doubt he can have known about the true extent. Paedophiles tend to be good at covering their tracks.

Not assuming anything, only going by his admissions to the grand jury.

Paterno knew that Sandusky raped a child. He then did the legal bare minimum with that knowledge.

If Paterno gets most of the focus here, it's partly because people are actually defending him, and partly because he set himself up as the big fish in a very small pond. He fought to gain and keep a tremendous amount of power at Penn State, essentially setting himself up above the athletic director.

But all that power, and Paterno wouldn't use even the tiniest bit of it to stop a child rapist. He could have made sure that the college reported Sandusky to the cops. He did not. He could have severed Sandusky's right to use the facilities. He did not.

Paterno asked for everything he's getting now, and so much more. In 2007, he was one of at least seven men who knew that Sandusky was a child rapist with easy access to at-risk kids. As i said earlier, how many boys have been raped between 2002 and last Saturday because all seven men were either cowards or opportunists?

THAT'S why Paterno is getting trashed here. It's not "unthinking" or knee-jerk, but a cold, hard appraisal of the facts in evidence. He enabled a pedophile to go right on hunting without consequence. That's indefensible.

[CS85]

He enabled a pedophile to go right on hunting without consequence. That's indefensible.

But DAMNIT Gothamite, he's been coach for 60 years! He's the most winningest football coach of all time! He's won two titles! HE HAS A STATUE, DAMN YOU!

Don't you think after so many accolades that we can just wipe all this stuff out? I mean, football....FOOTBALL! I'm not talking about basketball or croquet, I'm talkin' FOOTBALLLLLLL! Joe Pa and Penn State were so damn good, so legendary. The guy's earned at least another 10 seasons as head coach, I don't care if he blew somebody's head off, Joe Pa. JOE PA. *chugs a beer*

LAWN RALLY!

[rams80]

I dunno, I'm uncomfortable with blaming him and blasting and demonizing Paterno when it looks to me as some of the more negative aspects of our society ("look out for yourself" and "do the legal minimum whenever possible" are among the foundations of the modern American experience) and the collegiate experience (beer and circuses) are to blame. And by just simply villifying Paterno we just aren't engaging in the level of introspection we as a society should be.

[CS85]

Kind of hard to be rational when countless lives have been ruined and Paterno was indirectly a part of letting that happen. If Paterno was just some guy, a nobody assistant coach, there'd be no argument about it at all. Don't let your eyes get clouded over by the legend, the guy's no martyr.

[BlueSky]

Of all the tragically astounding aspects of this mess, perhaps the most unbelievable is that several people - McQueary, a janitor who walked in on a different occasion, and who knows who else - are somehow unclear on what to do when one witnesses a child being raped.

e·mer·gen·cy 

1. a sudden, urgent, usually unexpected occurrence or occasion requiring immediate action (uh, like child rape in progress)

2. a state, especially of need for help or relief, created by some unexpected event

[Saintsfan]

Again, I think villifying Paterno loses focus on the real villain of the piece. Yes Paterno was amongst those who did not step up when confronted by this reality. But the reality is that a lot of people come into contact with that kind of information and do nothing. For all the 'why didn't a bunch of people contact the police' posts in this thread, well the evidence is that people don't, for whatever reason. It may be irrational, it may be for other r3easons, such as paedophiles being skilled at covering tracks, it may be witnesses and other peoples shame at letting it happen in the first place, but its what happens, like ot or not.

[Gothamite]

Again, I think villifying Paterno loses focus on the real villain of the piece. Yes Paterno was amongst those who did not step up when confronted by this reality. But the reality is that a lot of people come into contact with that kind of information and do nothing.

And every time a man in a position of authority does that, it justifies the cowardice and opportunism to a whole new group of people.

Why do you think the other Penn State coaches never said or did anything? Paterno set the bar very, very low. He made himself the god of his own little hill, and the others were following the shameful example he set.

Paterno wanted all the power. He wanted all the attention. He wanted to be the program. Well then, he took the accolades, now he takes the criticism.

Again, nobody is losing sight of Sandusky in this conversation. We all get it. But until somebody comes on this thread and starts defending Sandusky, until somebody starts justifying what he did, or offers rationalizations for what he did, Sandusky won't dominate the discussion the way Paterno does. This is not one of those circumstances where the coverup is worse than the crime. It's not. But that doesn't mean the coverup isn't terrible in its own right.

[CS85]

In shocking news, the PA Gov has called for an investigation into Sandusky's Second Mile charity. Who could've seen this coming?

[CS85]

The plot thickens:

A Penn State Attorney Who Reviewed The 1998 Police Report Against Jerry Sandusky Also Represented The Second Mile

[infrared41]

This tells you all you need to know about Mike McQueary. It also pretty well sums up everything that went wrong at Penn State.

From SI:

McQueary's situation is the most curious. The next paragraph comes directly from the grand jury presentment, which was prepared using McQueary's under-oath testimony. Be warned; the account is graphic.

"As the graduate assistant entered the locker doors, he was surprised to find the lights and showers on. He then heard, rhythmic, slapping sounds. He believed the sounds to be those of sexual activity. As the graduate assistant put his sneakers into his locker, he looked into the shower. He saw a naked boy, Victim 2, whose age he estimated to be 10 years old, with his hands up against the wall, being subjected to anal intercourse by a naked Sandusky. The graduate assistant was shocked but noticed that Victim 2 and Sandusky saw him. The graduate assistant left immediately, distraught."

In other words, McQueary told the grand jury he saw a boy being raped, and he ran away. McQueary told the grand jury that he next told his father, who told McQueary to report what he saw to Paterno. McQueary made his report at Paterno's home. What happened next has been parsed endlessly this week.

Bottom line, nothing happened. No one followed up. No one tried to identify the boy.

How did this happen?

[CS85]

This tells you all you need to know about Mike McQueary. It also pretty well sums up everything that went wrong at Penn State.

From SI:

McQueary's situation is the most curious. The next paragraph comes directly from the grand jury presentment, which was prepared using McQueary's under-oath testimony. Be warned; the account is graphic.

"As the graduate assistant entered the locker doors, he was surprised to find the lights and showers on. He then heard, rhythmic, slapping sounds. He believed the sounds to be those of sexual activity. As the graduate assistant put his sneakers into his locker, he looked into the shower. He saw a naked boy, Victim 2, whose age he estimated to be 10 years old, with his hands up against the wall, being subjected to anal intercourse by a naked Sandusky. The graduate assistant was shocked but noticed that Victim 2 and Sandusky saw him. The graduate assistant left immediately, distraught."

In other words, McQueary told the grand jury he saw a boy being raped, and he ran away. McQueary told the grand jury that he next told his father, who told McQueary to report what he saw to Paterno. McQueary made his report at Paterno's home. What happened next has been parsed endlessly this week.

Bottom line, nothing happened. No one followed up. No one tried to identify the boy.

How did this happen?

Self-preservation and blinded reverence for the program's image overcame humanity and decency, on a mass scale.

[Gothamite]

Bottom line, nothing happened. No one followed up. No one tried to identify the boy.

How did this happen?

Leadership at Penn State set the tone - Sandusky was to be left alone.

That's why I place so much blame on Paterno. Had he been even a little interested in following up, Sandusky could have been stopped years ago.

[dfwabel]

Author Buzz Bissinger goes off!

[The_Admiral]

(Note: we need to stop the daintiness and describe the alleged offenses for what they truly are in the vernacular to somehow try to capture the monstrousness. Not anal intercourse or oral sex, which sounds clinical, but butt-f--king and blowjobs and -grabbing and pants-groping and other assorted acts that the 67-year-old Sandusky allegedly inflicted on eight minor victims over a 15-year span, according to the 23-page grand-jury report, and resulted in 40 counts of serial sex abuse of minors.)

No argument here!

[Panthers]

Its simple what Penn State must do in the face of these crimes:

De-emphasize sports. CCNY - one of the biggest basketball powers of its era, did so after a point-shaving scandal rocked the university; NYU did the same. NYU has a top-tier MBA program, a top-tier law school and a top-tier media program. CCNY and NYU have done fine without major sports, thank you.

Yes, I know. Why make the athletes pay? Is Penn State about athletics or education.

The only way to honor the vicitms, to shop support for them is to get rid of athletics. It is the only way.