E-Mails Suggest Paterno Role in Silence on Sandusky

[groovypq]

I think I see what NutBrnHair is getting at, after reading the article.

"But in one e-mail, Curley wrote that after talking to Paterno, he no longer wanted to go forward with that plan."

and

"Wick Sollers, a lawyer for the Paterno family, said in a statement: “To be clear, the e-mails in question did not originate with Joe Paterno or go to him, as he never personally utilized e-mail. "

This article is pretty vague. Nothing concrete is said. It's not revealing some email from Paterno to Spanier, Curley, etc. that says "Leave Sandusky alone." It's speculation, and reads pretty weakly to me.

I'm not a Paterno/Penn State apologist, and if more comes out to this, I'm not going to stick my head in the sand about it. But all of the FB postings I've seen to the effect of "ZOMG JoePa covered it up! Penn State should kill off its football team! The NCAA should kill off the Penn State team," well, if they're based on this article, it's sensationalism and a huge rush to judgment. Sorry, I want something more substantial.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by groovypq

I think I see what NutBrnHair is getting at, after reading the article.

"But in one e-mail, Curley wrote that after talking to Paterno, he no longer wanted to go forward with that plan."

and

"Wick Sollers, a lawyer for the Paterno family, said in a statement: “To be clear, the e-mails in question did not originate with Joe Paterno or go to him, as he never personally utilized e-mail. "

This article is pretty vague. Nothing concrete is said. It's not revealing some email from Paterno to Spanier, Curley, etc. that says "Leave Sandusky alone." It's speculation, and reads pretty weakly to me.

I'm not a Paterno/Penn State apologist, and if more comes out to this, I'm not going to stick my head in the sand about it. But all of the FB postings I've seen to the effect of "ZOMG JoePa covered it up! Penn State should kill off its football team! The NCAA should kill off the Penn State team," well, if they're based on this article, it's sensationalism and a huge rush to judgment. Sorry, I want something more substantial.

There's obviously room for reasonable people to disagree, but here's what we do know from the emails currently released:

1 - The emails are "encoded" in a CYA maneuver by three men who know their emails are a matter of public record - because of that, it's reasonable to infer that there is more than the "surface" reading going on.

2 - The emails say that the decision to effectively bury the Sandusky matter (by going to HIM rather than the POLICE) occurs after a meeting with Paterno, and likely that meeting was basis in part for the decision. True, there's no evidence that Paterno said "Don't go to the police, please" - but there's pretty solid evidence he did not say "Please go to the police" given the nature of the emails and subsequent actions.

It's not necessarily damning, but it's clear there was a coverup, and given Paterno's stature, he's at least involved as a University representative (and friend of Sandusky), if not directly. And it very well could be read as he was directly involved in the coverup as well.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

They keep dropping Joe Pa's name because it gets headlines, but that's not what this is really about. It is about the institutional power that would allow something like this to happen without anyone speaking up, and that deserves an investigation. From a very-big-picture standpoint, it's not even about Penn State, as we will likely see changes at schools across the country.

Exactly. And arguments being made on both sides of the fence are quite ridiculous...

Trying to eliminate the football program won't help. Attempting to defend the football program won't either.

This isn't about football.. or Penn State.. or whatever else people seem to associate it with. This is about someone abusing his power, and in turn, abusing kids. And other people in positions of power decided not to act appropriately. It's sad. And disgusting. As a Penn Stater, I wanted so badly to believe that no one attempted to cover it up. However, reality eventually sets in, people are fired or resign, and trials take place. The school will eventually get past this and things will return to normal. Unfortunately, for some of those kids, they may never again know what "normal" is.

I HOPE the investigation continues, and I hope that every detail about what happened and who was involved comes to the surface. No one should get away with ANYTHING in this case. Paterno passing away doesn't change that.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

Exactly. And arguments being made on both sides of the fence are quite ridiculous...

Trying to eliminate the football program won't help. Attempting to defend the football program won't either.

This isn't about football.. or Penn State.. or whatever else people seem to associate it with. This is about someone abusing his power, and in turn, abusing kids. And other people in positions of power decided not to act appropriately. It's sad. And disgusting. As a Penn Stater, I wanted so badly to believe that no one attempted to cover it up. However, reality eventually sets in, people are fired or resign, and trials take place. The school will eventually get past this and things will return to normal. Unfortunately, for some of those kids, they may never again know what "normal" is.

I HOPE the investigation continues, and I hope that every detail about what happened and who was involved comes to the surface. No one should get away with ANYTHING in this case. Paterno passing away doesn't change that.

The sad thing is, this could have happened anywhere in any sports program. It's not unique to Penn State. It's not unique to sports. It happens anytime people in power sacrifice the weak for the benefit of those who are strong. We see it all the time. It will never change. Sadly, otherwise good people justify covering up these heinous actions. We've seen it now with the church and with officials at Penn State. God only knows where else this ugliness breeds.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

Exactly. And arguments being made on both sides of the fence are quite ridiculous...

Trying to eliminate the football program won't help. Attempting to defend the football program won't either.

This isn't about football.. or Penn State.. or whatever else people seem to associate it with. This is about someone abusing his power, and in turn, abusing kids. And other people in positions of power decided not to act appropriately. It's sad. And disgusting. As a Penn Stater, I wanted so badly to believe that no one attempted to cover it up. However, reality eventually sets in, people are fired or resign, and trials take place. The school will eventually get past this and things will return to normal. Unfortunately, for some of those kids, they may never again know what "normal" is.

I HOPE the investigation continues, and I hope that every detail about what happened and who was involved comes to the surface. No one should get away with ANYTHING in this case. Paterno passing away doesn't change that.

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

The sad thing is, this could have happened anywhere in any sports program. It's not unique to Penn State. It's not unique to sports. It happens anytime people in power sacrifice the weak for the benefit of those who are strong. We see it all the time. It will never change. Sadly, otherwise good people justify covering up these heinous actions. We've seen it now with the church and with officials at Penn State. God only knows where else this ugliness breeds.

This is where we keep saying the same thing over and over again. Yes, this can happen at any institution. Yes, this is about power dynamics. No, this is not just about college athletics. No, this is not just about Penn State.

Now that we have appeased some of the Penn Staters and anti-Penn Staters who needed this redundancy (they know who they are--I do not think they are in this thread):

Jerry Sandusky Case: Paterno family urges release of all Penn State memos in scandal

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

This is where we keep saying the same thing over and over again. Yes, this can happen at any institution. Yes, this is about power dynamics. No, this is not just about college athletics. No, this is not just about Penn State.

Now that we have appeased some of the Penn Staters and anti-Penn Staters who needed this redundancy (they know who they are--I do not think they are in this thread):

Jerry Sandusky Case: Paterno family urges release of all Penn State memos in scandal

BTW...don't know where the smiley face came from. It popped up on my post and when you're on an iPad, it's too big of a pain in the ass to get rid of it.

Now that we're done petting the Penn Staters, I'm sick of hearing people jump to Paterno's defense to the detriment of the entire case. Being a good coach with a great reputation, dying of cancer before the end of the investigation and being an institution in the State of Pennsylvania do not earn you a pass. He may come out fine in the end, but IF he was involved in a cover up, all his good work deserves a nice thick coat of tarnish.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

BTW...don't know where the smiley face came from. It popped up on my post and when you're on an iPad, it's too big of a pain in the ass to get rid of it.

I was intrigued by " The sad thing is...."

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

Now that we're done petting the Penn Staters, I'm sick of hearing people jump to Paterno's defense to the detriment of the entire case. Being a good coach with a great reputation, dying of cancer before the end of the investigation and being an institution in the State of Pennsylvania do not earn you a pass. He may come out fine in the end, but IF he was involved in a cover up, all his good work deserves a nice thick coat of tarnish.

From the general public's perspective (since we only know the after the fact cliff notes of Sandusky's offenses, Paterno's health, and the institutional dynamics) this all happened so darn quickly. Those who are in shock and awe (and who feel the need to pick a side) will make some...interesting...comments. I think Paterno's family just wants the truth to be told if there will be an investigation at the institution-level. They want ALL the emails to be released rather than a biased selection of emails.

Redundancy/

The-institution-that-shall-not-be-named did what many institutions have done/would do/will do by responding almost too darn quickly (i.e., replacing Sandusky on the mural and alleged debate over Paterno statue). This made it seem as though they were saving face, protecting their brand, keeping their money, etc. It made some people think the officials at The-institution-that-shall-not-be-named were more "oh snap, what was in the dark is now in the light" rather than "darn, we never knew the alleged incidents were happening...omg."

Again, perception.

/Redundancy

[als463]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

BTW...don't know where the smiley face came from. It popped up on my post and when you're on an iPad, it's too big of a pain in the ass to get rid of it.

Now that we're done petting the Penn Staters, I'm sick of hearing people jump to Paterno's defense to the detriment of the entire case. Being a good coach with a great reputation, dying of cancer before the end of the investigation and being an institution in the State of Pennsylvania do not earn you a pass. He may come out fine in the end, but IF he was involved in a cover up, all his good work deserves a nice thick coat of tarnish.

Seriously, what is your problem? So, Penn Staters are not allowed to be upset about this whole thing? What holier-than-thou school did you attend that you think it is okay to talk about us like we are a bunch of children who need our egos stroked?

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by als463

Seriously, what is your problem? So, Penn Staters are not allowed to be upset about this whole thing? What holier-than-thou school did you attend that you think it is okay to talk about us like we are a bunch of children who need our egos stroked?

Certainly your reading comprehension is better than this. Take off your Penn State Goggles for a second.