I remember Joe Paterno as a great head coach who did good things for the University. I remember him as a good man who stood for the right things. That being said I will not elevate him into sainthood just yet because I think what has happened the last few months has to be considered and investigated. So I reserve judgement for Joe in that regard till more facts come about. I never thought JoePa wanted kids to get hurt or let them but sometimes people make mistakes and dont handle things the right way. That being said this might have been or was a GRAVE mistake so I still have no problem with the way things went down in happy valley. Just like in any other profession if something bad happens under your watch then you got to pay the price for it even if it was a mistake. So for now my thoughts are that Joe handled the situation way too lightly. Maybe because he thought the situation was under control or maybe not. I dont know. But I highly doubt he didn't do more/enough because he could care less of the kids. Until any facts come out that dispute Joepa's character I will continue to think he was a good guy. I have a few more thoughts on some things.
I think the biggest issue when it comes to Joe Paterno is whether he had all kinds of power at Penn State or not. He was just a football coach but he was treated as more than a football coach, at least by most. Most people think he was the most powerful. Maybe Paterno didnt think that way about himself but I think the thought of him having all the power at Penn State came when Joe's bossess tried to convince him to retire and he threw them out of his house. I mean if you're a coach for 40 years and your bosses are afraid to fire you then you do have lots of power.
I can't stand the media sometimes. Take it from a Catholic and a Penn Stater. It sucks. The media was an absolute circus. BUT it is expected though. Penn State University is well known and proud so when something as big as a child molestor running around on campus comes about, the media is going to have a field day with it. I dont think the media portrayed Paterno as the villian. They wanted answers from Joe and I think thats fair. THE MEDIA IS NOT TO BLAME FOR EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED AT PENN STATE. Sandusky, Curly, Schultz, and everyone else who covered this up and let the monster stay on campus to protect their own asses and their brand is to blame. The media would not have anything to attack if people knew how to protect children. Here is a good article about the "media" and encourage everyone to read it http://communityvoices.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php/sports/bob-smiziks-blog/31656-a-word-about-the-media .
I dont like when people say "he did all he should have done" or "he told his bosses that's good enough" because if it was your kids, you would feel differently. Alot differently. I also dont like the thought that Joe should not have stopped it cause it could've caused a lawsuit to the university or whatever. I read a post from "that lawyer dude" (real credible name eh?) and while it all sounds good, I would take saving a child over risking a lawsuit for my university any day. But thats just me...
I do believe Joe wasn't proactive enough but I don't believe Joe wanted kids to get raped or didn't care that kids were getting raped because of a few things. He did tell his bosses, and he did testify against Sandusky. If he really wanted to be involved the coverup he would've had the same story as Curly and Shcultz and lie just like the both of them to the grand jury. I was also thinking maybe his age could've been a factor but if he is able to coach his team at that age then he can prob tell when something as severe as this is going on. I'm sure my co-blogger james dotson will disagree with me on that.
Like I said before Joe Paterno was a good man. When more info comes out I may adjust my opinion. IFFFFFFFFF it turns out Joe did in fact brush this under the rug (doubt that's the case but still possible) and didn't give a crap about the kids or whatever then anything good he has done in the past is meaningless to me. But like I said I highly doubt that and we should be thankful for Joe and be proud of what has done not just for Penn State but for people in general.
As Dellav said I need to put in my two cents...
ReplyDeleteIn terms of a "power struggle" at Penn State, it's no secret that Joe was in control of when his reign as head coach would end. After 50+ years working for the team, with success of his players both in and out of the classroom, it was guaranteed that he'd be in control. He said many times that when he felt he couldn't coach his team (for the field and real life) then he'd step down. Stories you hear confirm that this was just the case for Joe.
The bigger question now it appears is whether the PSU Board of Trustees even had the POWER to dismiss a school employee in that fashion. ...Ironic isn't it? A vote of no confidence in the board is expected in the next few weeks. They've already gotten a new president and vice president on the board. Who knows what's going to happen. Again, we need to wait for an investigation to finalize before making any judgements.