I tweeted this earlier today and it was posted to my Facebook page. The following is a back and forth I have with a friend who still wants to defend Paterno.
#JoePa is NOT THE VICTIM. He is PART OF THE PROBLEM. I'm sorry his career had to end this way, but he SHOULD have done more than he did.
Adam Foster: So you're saying if I see a crime and I report it but don't push to have it taken care of it's MY FAULT? no it's on the law enforcement and higher authorities no the person who reported it
Brent Lawson: First off Adam, you aren't the head football coach of a major university who has been preaching morality and doing the right thing for the past 60+ years. Knowing the kind of person you are, I would hope that you would have done more than the graduate assistant did, which was only to go to Paterno 24 hours after he witnessed a 10 YEAR OLD CHILD BEING RAPED in the Penn State locker room. Yes, Paterno followed the law by notifying his superiors. But that was all he did. He did not follow-up with the AD he notified or the University President or the police. This was buried by the university and it's DISGUSTING and PATHETIC. All respect I had for this man has gone out the door. The powers at PSU thought poorly enough of Sandusky that he was BANNED from bringing children onto the campus. Paterno, had an obligation as a FATHER, COACH and RESPECTED MEMBER of his community to follow-up on this. If I witness a 10 year old being raped, I'm not going to leave the scene, call my father and then 24 hours later go to my boss and hope that he does the right thing. Also, If I was the one being told about the rape, you can damn will be sure that I would not just pass the buck off to my boss. I'd be following up with questions to him and if not satisfied would have gone to the authorities. The cover-up in this case is pitiful and the people who support JoePa should be ashamed. I'm glad that he was fired. What about the victims here? If he had stepped up and followed up on his report to his superiors maybe he could have prevented Sandusky from raping several other kids? The fact that this guy was NEVER banned from campus is disturbing. As late as last week he was seen working out on the PSU football locker room. He still had an office on campus and was listed as a professor emeritus of physical education. What about the first time JoePa saw Sandusky in person after hearing ANY form of allegations? What about the first time the grad assistant saw Sandusky walking the halls of the football complex after witnessing him RAPING a 10 year old? At that time they KNEW nothing had been done.
Adam Foster: So why does all this fall just on Joe? Why not the witness an everybody involved in this? I don't understand it and I don't care for the way they handled this.. Let the man finish his 46 yr career by retiring. You coach and mentor thousands of college kids and this is how he will be remembered... And it's BULLSHIT!! this was not just his fault and I hate it for him
Brent Lawson: It's a sad day for everyone involved, JoePa included. He has done so much for the game of football and PSU. But in the one instance where he TRULY could have made an impact, he passed the buck. I never said all of this fell on just JoePa. The President was also fired and rightfully so. The PSU VP and AD were also both fired. I think that the grad assistant who is now a full-time coach on the PSU team should be fired. I think ANYONE who had ANY knowledge of this should not only be fired, but open to litigation. It's sick, disgusting and really just pisses me off. You've got 18-22 year old kids rioting in the streets last night because JoePa was fired. They should be rioting and upset because the PEOPLE IN CHARGE DID NOT DO ONE DAMN THING to stop a predator. Adam, for 61 years JoePa talked, preached and coached about the Great Experiment and doing things the right way, THE PATERNO WAY, SUCCESS WITH HONOR AND INTEGRITY. The ONE TIME that he SHOULD have done the right thing, he looked the other way. He passed the buck. Nothing to see here. I'll continue to be a media icon, a "leader" of men and collect a paycheck. I'll become the all time leader in college football victories. That's great. But he knew that Jerry Sandusky raped a 10 year old in HIS FOOTBALL TEAM'S LOCKER ROOM. He never ONCE approached Sandusky about it. I'm AMAZED that they were able to keep this quiet for over 10 years. This investigation has been going on for over 3 years now. You can't let JoePa ride off into the sunset when HE KNEW SO MUCH and DID SO LITTLE.
Adam Foster: It is a sad situation I agree I just wish they would of let him finish out the year and let him retire... To the kids that were attacked I am really sorry I cant imagine what they went through it's a sad day for all
Brent Lawson: I agree that it is sad that JoePa had to go out this way. His image will be tarnished and his legacy takes a big hit because of this. I truly hate that for him and his family. But if he had FOLLOWED HIS OWN LIFE RULES, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Can you imagine the victims seeing JoePa being celebrated on Saturday if they were to win? What if they win the B1G Championship in Indy? Hell, imagine the victims over the last 15 years who had to see and hear all about Paterno. PSU HAD to fire him. The media would have hounded him relentlessly to the end.
Zoe Dorsey: I believe PSU did the right thing. They simply cannot let him stay with his involvement.
Adam Foster: It's a messed up situation... And it's sad it happened but my outlook at Joe PA will not change. Who are we to judge anyone right
Zoe Dorsey: I just feel so terrible for those kids.
Derek Osgood: Amen.
Brent Lawson: I agree that it's sad Adam. And normally I would agree that we should not be one to judge. But again, for 61 years Joe Paterno coached and preached about doing things the right way. Living to a higher standard. Being the better person. He may have done that in every instance but one. Unfortunately that one instance could have prevented several other kids from being raped. Why even go to the AD over this? After living in State College for 50 years at the time I'm sure he was friends with almost every major person in law enforcement. He should have notified the police and we would not be having this discussion today. Instead everyone involved tried to sweep it under the rug. PSU would have had a small black eye over this a dozen years ago. Today, you see what we have. Agreed Zoe. It's horrible that anyone, especially an impressionable child could and was subjected to those horrors. Adam, I challenge you to read the indictment against Sandusky. Paterno was aware of some of these allegations. The fact that he and a whole lot of other people at PSU stayed silent is where my outrage is pointed.
Adam Foster: I see where you're coming from Brent... And rape i don't wish on my worst enemy... It's a bad deal
Brent Lawson: Sandusky is the worst kind of person. He preyed on the innocent, using Penn State football and his The Second Mile foundation as bait. Truly sickening. The focus on this shouldn't be about football anyway. It should be about the victims and their families.