I wrote my controversial column for Wednesday's newspaper about Joe Paterno, who in my opinion didn't fulfill his moral obligation in the Penn State scandal and therefore should retire.
Paterno has released a statement today saying he will retire at the end of the season.
I have received a ton of phone calls and emails today, and there are close to 100 comments below the column itself. This is a deeply divisive issue -- it wasn't Paterno who allegedly committed these heinous crimes, after all, it was his longtime trusted assistant Jerry Sandusky. But Paterno didn't do enough to report one particular horrific alleged incident when it was brought to him in 2002, and that's why I think his time has come and gone.
I take no pleasure today in the fact that Paterno -- who is 84 and has 409 victories, the most of any major-college coach -- is retiring. But it is the right thing for him to do.
We're moving!
9 years ago
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7 comments:
Scott, once again you dive head first into sensationalistic journalism. You are much better suited for the Enquirer. Please report facts and keep your narrow minded myopic viewpoints to yourself.
Scott didn't write anything about Paterno breaking any laws. He said that he didn't fulfill his moral obligation to turn that creep in to the police. And to the creep above who said America has a certain type of problem, you are partially correct. America does have a problem, and it is homophobic, narrow-minded, troglodytes such as yourself that would post such an ignorant and offensive thing. I somehow think you might possibly feel different about Paterno if this had been your child that was victimized.
If I learned anything in 34 years as an officer in our Armed Forces it was the saying taught to me during my first summer as a Plebe at the United States Naval Academy: Rank has its privileges; rank has its responsibilities. As an officer I enjoyed the privileges, but I always found them much less enjoyable and not so weighty as the responsibilities of a leader. Paterno failed in his responsibilities as the ultimate leader of the major face of Penn State University.
@ Anonymous Idiot 12:08 PM
America has a 'homo' problem? So then if they were 10 year-old girls would that make it ok??
That said, I tend to agree that Paterno can't be made into the villain here. He heard an allegation about a man he'd known for decades (which certainly shocked him & which he probably didn't even believe), and he informed his bosses who did very little. The campus administrators are the ones to blame, not the football coach. He hears about an unconscionable and unbelievable act he didn't personally see happen & he's supposed to go right to the police?
It's just sad that it has to end like this for Paterno. Perhaps he should have retired years ago but now people will always associate him with a child molestation scandal, and that's just wrong.
Paterno should have taken the eyewitness to law enforcement, at a minimum, to campus police.
Paterno should have taken the eyewitness to law enforcement, at a minimum, to campus police.
was sandusky the tight ends coach?
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