Just puts into stark reality where we seem to be placing our values in the country.

It is unfortunate that he is rotting before serving justice.

Oh well, may he, his sympathy for pedaphiles, and the necrophilic obsession with football rot with him.

All hail to the mighty American pigskin.

he (Paterno) and all others involved in keeping their little secret and creating an air of fear amongst the rank and file are coward low life losers to which there is not enough evil acceptable to punish them with....

To put it simply- Disgusting.

To put it another way- If (for any unfortunate reson) it was my child, I'd hire a great lawyer and own Penn State. The investigation is damning, the coverup is obvious, and the entire University is liable for protecting a pediphile in their midst. Get ready, you will be handing out many, many millions.

Oh yeah, I hope the NCAA envokes the death penalty to their football program for aiding in the coverup!

The people of Pennsylvania already do own the school. And a lot of people elsewhere also. I was looking around the psu site last night and was amazed that even today it only costs a freshman less than 13000 dollars tuition (per year!) to attend a branch campus, a little more than 15000 at U. Park. The school has done a great service for many children over the years. That should not be forgotten. These idiots, dead and alive, being rightly accused and convicted, have damaged a great institution beyond comprehension.

Penn State's Football Program deserves the NCAA Death Penalty.

Spanier is the most interesting fall from grace. As a sociologist he was considered the leading expert in the world on "wife swapping" or "swinging." This would indicate that he most likely had an intimate and complete knowledge of the issues involved in serial sexual abuse of children.

In my mind this swings the weight behind the the accusation that he knew for 14 years about this stuff and never once tried to find out the indentities of the victims, inquire about their welfare, or seek to protect them. In fact, he did just the opposite and actually placed the very lives of the victims at risk, knowingly, willingly, and with expert knowledge of sexuality issues.

The man deserves to be tried as a sexual offender himself.

JS, I also bothered to read through the entire report. Paterno had an obligation to report child abuse, not only to his superiors, but to the police. Freeh's report makes it very clear that Paterno was aware of suspicions about Sandusky starting around 1998. Firing Sandusky is not a "strong" response, it's a response made to protect his reputation. And still letting JS have access to the facilities? Paterno has no moral high ground here; he participated in simply foisting Sandusky off by firing him and still letting him have access to Penn State locker rooms. He failed to report re: the Clery act, he failed to report suspected child abuse to the APPROPRIATE authorities (the real police, not the campus police), and he failed to show any sympathy toward the victims of Sandusky's crimes, therefore allowing more abuse to go on.

@JSinSD,

The report does include the charge that Curley, et alia, intended to report the first offense but that Paterno changed their minds. I am sure that the three of them will rat him out in a second when their own freedom is at stake.

Paterno made it a point of macho pride that he did not "do email." The problem is that he had his assistants write emails over his name. These assistants are still around to rat him out.

You have to remember that the Freeh report was a "fact-finding" report on the behalf of PSU. A prosecutorial criminal investigation will have the power to compel witnesses and to charge those who are uncooperative or involved in the coverup. This will unravel like a cheap sweater over time onbce the prosecutors have the ability to do more than just "interview and report."

Also, Paterno continued to allow Sandusky to have office space near his own office and to use campus athletic facilities for overnight "sleepover" football camps until November 2011.

It's so sad that he had the chance to do something 20 years ago. Who knows how many kids have been abused since then. These men covered this up so they could continue with their squeaky clean image and their football program. They knew what they needed to do, they knew what was the right thing, but they wanted their program. It sounds just like the catholic church treatment of pedophile priests. Just keep shuffling them around different churches.

The penn state football program should be banned completely until all of the victims have passed away.

What an unthinkable disgrace.

joe pa was a shameless coward, a despicable narcissist, he put his goal of a legacy as the winningest coach ever over the lives of those boys and the reputation of the university he worked at.

Now, his legacy will be a reflection of what he truly was, not the pathetic myth that he tried to spin for the world.

Mr. Wesley Oliver hasn't a clue to what he is talking about in all due respect.

Pennsylvania law enforcement officials and state child welfare services personnel knew of allegations on Sandusky and were investigating them as early as 1998. There is a clear legal paper trail for more than a decade. The District Attorneys' office, of which Governor Tom Corbett was aware, had an open investigation on Sandusky in 2005.

The Washington Township School District — look it up Mr. Oliver, do your homework— banned Mr. Sandusky from its public schools property in 2008 because of allegations.

Why weren't law enforcement, child welfare services, local school board officials and yes Governor Corbett notifying the Penn State officials of these issues and inquiring as to Mr. Sandusky's continued relationship with the university.

Are they all indictable too? Yes Mr. Paterno, and the other three PSU administrators are responsible for the campus and there lack of diligence. But the real reporting should be finding out why all of these other agencies didn't somehow get on the same page with the university and deny access to Sandusky of said facilities LONG before he was arrested in November, 2011. That might merit some criminal action or at least will add to the civil suit allegations. There is enough blame to go around a stadium full of people here.

Oh boy let's sue them too 'cause money will make everyone forget this issue. Did people call for the shutdown of the Catholic Church when their indiscretions were uncovered. Please punish those who are a part of this and not everyone you try to dig up. Did Joe Paterno use due diligence? I believe if the campus police were investigating based on information he had given them then yes he did. Is it his fault they came up with nothing and did not advise him to take any actions? No. Some people are good followers and do as their superiors tell them. Do you think for one moment if the investigation had resulted in Joe's superiors telling him to dismiss this person and turning him over to the authorities that he wouldn't have done it? Not a chance. I am not a Penn State fan nor do I think Joe Paterno is a god but to saddle a dead person with all these allegations without looking at the truth of the matter instead of with such rage is unthinkable.

What Paterno didn't want to interfer with was the reputation and the support he would receive to become the winningest coach in NCAA football. Sure he told his superiors what happened, but then he washed his hands clean. He knew in his heart of hearts what was going on, that it was wrong, and he never stood up to ensure the right thing was done. He is NOT the only guilty party. He's unfortunately the one with the most to lose. If he would have pushed that would have brought negative attention, recruits would have gone to different schools, penalties may have been handed down slashing scholarships, just the pressure of knowing people are whispering behind your back is enough to cause stress that could alter your coaching ability. ALL of which would have impacted his win record, salary, status, etc. He wasn't protecting Sandusky. Sandusky wasn't a friend or pal. Paterno was protecting himself. Tell me. For all of the good everyone says Paterno has done, and I admit he has done wonderful things, what about all of the life-changing positive things those boys could have grown up to do? Children of rape and abuse are more likely to be offenders themselves. Low self-esteeme, suicide, etc. Few go on to help others. What about them? If this were a fight for a recruit, new uniforms, or stadium improvements I bet you any money Paterno would have organized a march through town, pounding doors until his voice was heard. Too bad he didn't have the balls to do that for something with an actual heartbeat. Pathetic.

It all boils down to the god of money.

OK, Koolaid Drinkers.

1) The campus police are not real police and do not have the means nor the training to investigate child sexual abuse.

2) dlhawk, had Paterno and Co not kept this quiet, those investigation would have most likely resulted in charges. They aren't indictable because they are the actual proper authorities and they were actively trying to ensure a predator would be brought to justice. Which is the opposite of Penn State officials and that is why they have been indicted and once convicted.

3) The fact that the Koolaid drinkers keep defending the indefensible pretty much fits in with the entire Penn State modus operandi. Not a soul has taken responsibility for anything, not a soul has apologized for any of it, and if that weren't enough, we have to read all the idiots who think poor Jo was just another victim and how the actual victims are just in it for the money. Which of course is what we would expect from the alumni and current students of a school that enable a child molester. It's time to find your moral compass, the one Penn State failed to give you.

If I were a student, I would be appalled that I actually paid for a education form these fools. I would feel ashamed that my school allowed this to happen, but most importantly, I would have the GD courage to not defend people who could have stopped a grown man from raping little boys.

Don't forget, Sandusky was a Penn State employee as well, he was as much one of you as Pappa Joe.

@ScottW714 - Actually you are wrong. Unlike many universities where campus police are simply rent a cops, at Penn State they are actual police officers with full legal and investigative authority. I won't bother to get into a debate with you on your other points, since it is obvious that you have not bothered to read the actual report. Despite the headlines and assertions made in general statements, there is nothing in the report at all that points to Paterno doing anything wrong with only one minor exception. That exception is that he reported the allegations to the head of the campus police instead of to the designated Cleary Act compliance officer. I will forgive him this since the report also says that the university had not conducted any training on the Cleary Act for any personnel and Paterno likely did not even know who the compliance officer was or that he needed to report the incident to him. It was not at all unreasonable for Paterno to expect that the head of the university police would make the required reports.

@JS in SD

Claiming ignorance is not a valid defense. Passing the responsibility is not a sign of a great man. If Paterno, were still alive he should be indicted once sickdisky was convicted, as the most powerfull man at psu, you don't get to claim being one of the ignorant regular staff.

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*******************************I say Dig his @ss up and indict him !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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PSU - Pedophile State University. I hope every team in their conference kicks their butt. I hope no future talent desires to go to Penn State to play football.

JS in SD@ScottW714 - Actually you are wrong. Unlike many universities where campus police are simply rent a cops, at Penn State they are actual police officers with full legal and investigative authority.

No, you didn't read what I said, they are not real in cops in a sense that they did not have "means nor the training to investigate child sexual abuse." They aren't equipped for this type of crime.

Are you seriously suggesting police designated to 'protect' students and staff have the training to investigate a child rapist. And have you ever been on a large campus, their biggest crimes are theft and underage drinking, not many felonies fall under their jurisdiction. Anyone wanting a serious and effective investigation would have contacted the real police who have people specifically trained to deal with kids and/or sexual crimes. Duh.

The fact is too many grown ass people, including JoeP, could have stopped this and didn't. This is the opinion of a former FBI Director hired by Penn State, as well as anyone with a lick of sense.

There are Sanduskys and Paternos lurking in every corner of this Earth. Joe has been indited by a group of his peers and most likely is, in a warmer place, than Pennsivania.

Your last paragraph is spot on, many "grown ass people" dropped the ball and should be held accountable. Then again you are completely wrong about the University Police Department and their capabilities. Although they are a "campus" police department that deal mainly with crimes you allude to in your post, most are trained just as any other police officer. An officer or agency need not be an expert in a field of investigation to perfom an initial investigation to determine whether or not the crime in question did in fact occur. Once the campus PD determined that these crimes had in fact been committed if they felt uncomfortable heading this type of investigation they could have requested assitance from a state agency, but any capable police department could have gotten to that point. A campus PD with the experience you speak of is no different than some of your smaller bedroom communities throughout the country, but when a major crime is committed in their jurisdiction they are expected to investigate, just like the PPD or the NYPD.

It is so disappointing to read most of your comments. They are ridiculous on their face. The S-aints on this site want to indict the entire university, the faculty and staff, the students, and anyone who follows Penn State Football as if they are all to blame. Jerry Sandusky is to blame. He is the criminal, and he has made victims of the children he molested, his family, his friends, and his colleagues.

To be sure, PSU officials, including Coach Paterno, could have and should have done more. However, experience shows us that in these crimes, many people don't do the right thing. They find it distasteful, they are afraid to make accusations, they don't want to cause their friend or colleague to be arrested. Many, many people pause when faced with knowledge of these crimes. That is why we have a law that requires people to tell law enforcement - we try to compel them since enough don't do it on their own. I am sure many people talked to Sandusky directly and and most likely he explained things away or he said it would stop. It doesn't mean they didn't care about the victims.

Of course the S-aints on this site would have reported their family member, friend or colleague right away. Next they would have beat the crap out of the person, just to show how much they cared. Or at least that is what you are telling us. But once again experience shows most won't report the person, at least not right away. We should be spending more time asking why don't we as a society do a better job in acting on our suspicions and stopping these people? Sandusky made victims of us all.

Finally, the S-aints on this site would have us believe that not reporting suspicions was as bad, or perhaps even worse, the crimes committed by Sandusky. I think the PSU officials had a responsibility to act, and they failed in that responsibility, but the real criminal was Sandusky.

Right now we are focused on what PSU did or did not do. But there were many others who had suspicions about his actions. Surely some in his family knew. Parents of children had suspicions, but did not report. Local officials failed to follow through on reports. A local high school banned Sandusky - but did they report him? Sandusky's adopted son was a victim, but he was also aware of other victims and did not speak out until the trial. And where were all the sports writers, whose job it is to hand out in locker rooms and find stories. Did none of them had any clue or suspicions? Should they all be condemned as well?

For a pedophile to victimize children over time, many have to look the other way or not report their suspicions. There must be something about human nature that makes us not do the right or best thing in these cases. Why don't we, and can we do better? Those are far more important questions to ask all of us, far more important than death penalties and shutting down a university.

Scott W714 - No, you didn't read what I said, they are not real in cops in a sense that they did not have "means nor the training to investigate child sexual abuse." They aren't equipped for this type of crime.

You are wrong again! The Compliance officer was apart of the Penn State police department and they did have the means and the training to investigate the sexual abuse claim. In fact it was the PennState police department that investigated the 1998 case. Read the report and don't just make things up!

tomilvento: Sandusky made victims of us all? Did he rape you as a child? No? Then shut your disgusting mouth. You want to argue that since so many people did the wrong thing that no one than should be punished? People are crappy. There is no goodness to be found in a human - only levels of badness. BUT you don't evolve by throwing up your hands and going, "Oh well!" You take responsibility. You don't punish the victims. You punish the perps. It's so sad that you can't recognize the difference. I hope you aren't breeding.

This is the report of a prosecutor looking for a reason to indict and prosecute. It is not a conviction in a Court of Law. If the same standards for conspiracy and complicity law discussed in the article are uniformly applied, then one would have to indict: The Centre County DA (Ray Gricar), the child welfare officials who knew of complaints, Dr. Dranov, McQueary's father, The Second Mile officials, members of the Board of Trustees, Tom Corbett (who was PA. DA and knew of the allegations - but did not prosecute Sandusky or protect the children - and is current Governor of PA who controls the Board of Trustees), and many others. Several of these people are formally trained in - as part of their professional jobs - the investigation and prevention of these kinds of crimes. They are not University administrators or football coaches or "the man on the street". If these laws were applied as proposed in the article, then a large % of the public could be held as subject to indictment for involvement in crimes they have some nonconclusive knowledge of but fail to report. I am personally not for guilt or innocence in this case. But I do believe this must be fairly argued in a Court of Law. Evidence and information released selectively to the public prior to a trial suggests ulterior motivation to create bias in favor of the releasor's case. Prosecutors and DAs are frequently politically motivated. It should also be kept in mind that this report was made after Sandusky was convicted. The accused did not have the benefit of this hindsight.

Just wanted to weigh in since some people are saying the "entire university is responsible" for protecting Sandusky.

No, the people who knew are responsible. I am not from Penn State, but no, the whole university is not responsible for this. Only a few key people.

Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve. - Benjamin Franklin

@tomilvento: An excuse wrapped in eloquent writing and impeccable grammar is still.....an excuse.

What's truly disappointing is that weak minded, conformist people like yourself just chalk it up to "people doing what most people do."

Why do people keep defending this creep? "Oh, he didn't know what was going on for sure." "He did what he could." "It wasn't his job to follow up." Blah, blah, blah.

I don't care if he only "slightly" "thought" that Sandusky "might" "possibly" be a pedophile because "someone" "may" have saw him doing "something". Allegations or not, he was the head coach of the team, and he should have taken the lead, whether it was his responsibility or not. Not because it was his job, but because he was a man *rolls eyes*, and a human. Make no mistake, Paterno was in a position of great authority. He should have been making 100 calls a day, to investigators, campus authorities, other coaches, Penn State players, other boys, Sandusky, Sanduskys wife, the dude down the street, EVERYONE, until the situation was resolved. I would have.....wouldn't YOU?

As a father of 4, I find myself feeling kind of soiled just being in this string of comments with pigs like you.

If you happen to be a lazy procrastinator, that's YOUR problem. If you feel "uncomfortable" talking about such things, that's YOUR problem. Don't attempt to drag the rest of us down with you. Some of us out here aren't sheeple.

If you hold the view that Paterno did everything he could to avoid future molestation of boys, or that he could be excused because he did what "most would do", then your morals, and your work ethic, aren't worth the trail of slime left by a maggot in a piece of sheep dung.

Twoparts,

I hope I would have done the right thing. I hope you would as well. I didn't excuse anyone. I just noted that many times in these cases, people don't do the right thing right away. I think that is accurate - sad, but accurate. And we should focus on why that is and resolve to do better.

I said, "To be sure, PSU officials, including Coach Paterno, could have and should have done more." "I think the PSU officials had a responsibility to act, and they failed in that responsibility, but the real criminal was Sandusky."

I didn't say any of the other quotes you gave. Not a one.

@tomilvento: An excuse wrapped in eloquent writing and impeccable grammar is still.....an excuse.

What's truly disappointing is that weak minded, conformist people like yourself just chalk it up to "people doing what most people do."

That ^^^ up there was directed towards YOU. There are NO quotes attributed to YOU. The "people doing what people do" is a representation of the overall tone of your comment, which I believe is accurate. Everything else in my comment is directed at EVERYONE in this chain trying to find excuses, not just YOU.

And if you don't think the tone of your comment is excusatory, and accusatory, with your "S-aints", then you don't speak the same English I do.

@tomilvento: Hey, it's me again.

I just wanted to man up and apologize if I misinterpreted your comment.

It's just that there are several comments in this chain that REALLY tick me off. It's enough to make one wonder what happened to peoples moral code. The tone of a lot of these comments is excusatory, and even though that may not be YOUR agenda, you must admit that the overall tone of your comment makes one wonder just what side of the fence you reside on.

Once again, I apologize. I'm man enough to force my way through the sheeple, and say I'm sorry if I read something into your comment that was not there.

Paterno is just was worse as the rapist, if not more. He is one of the biggest scumbag pieces of @!$%# that ever graced this planet. I hope Joe Pa is getting raped over and over again in hell

By not reporting Sandusky's activities and allowing him on the campus after these incidents, university officials essentially assisted Sandusky in his crimes. As the report poignantly states, university officials gave him access to the university and the trappings of a top college football program. The officials thus "provided Sandusky with the very currency that enabled him to attract his victims."

Exactly. It's monstrous! So many innocent children have suffered, and now who pays? The students at Penn State and the citizens of Pennsylvania. Paterno is lucky to be dead.

Just football doin' what football do.

Ya'll act like you're shocked.

I don't get it.

Twoparts,

I understand. This is emotional. I am a Penn State Alumnus and I am stunned, shocked and ashamed at how certain people in key roles failed to do the right thing. I am also Catholic, and I am equally ashamed at how church leaders consistently failed to do the right thing. In the Catholic church's case I think they were much worse in how badly they handled it once they knew, but PSU officials also failed in their moral, ethical, and legal responsibilities. Finally, I live in Delaware and recently we had a bad case of abuse with a children's doctor, and it is clear that key people in the medical profession has concerns about this doctor and didn't do the right thing.

I see a pattern of how in this type of crime. People often fail to do the right thing. Not everyone, but it seems some drop the ball and that is how these criminals are able to get away with what they do for so long. And I wonder why seemingly good people don't choose to do the right thing?

I did not mean to pick a fight. Perhaps my S-aints was pushing it. And I don't mean to excuse the moral failings of some of the key players in this, including Paterno. I carry a small stone in my pocket every day to remind me of one of the best pieces of wisdom I have ever read - let he who is without sin cast the first stone. I am sure I would do the right thing if I knew of the abuse of a child. I hope I would. But I know not everyone will.

peace...

I say they should exhume Paterno and charge his corpse, unless it's been like cremated. Just because he's dead isn't any reason he should get away. When found guilty, his corpse can be animated for use in advertisements about the dangers of smoking. Paterno very skillfully timed his death through decades of heavy smoking but his talking corpse can live on to scare the bejesus out of stupid teenage smokers who want to look dead just like Paterno. Or Paterno's corpse can be jailed with Sandusky in the same cell. There's lots of possibilities, and I don't have a favorite one. Sandusky's victims will have some creative ideas.

Paterno is dead. He was likely a senile old man during this entire travesty. He should have been forced into retirement much like the rest of the American workforce. Grandpa fiercely demands he keep his car and driver's license despite the fact he is a deadly danger on the roads due to dementia. Those that love Grandpa do all they must to keep him off the road.

We understand this as we continue to allow Supreme Court Justices to serve well beyond their cognitive years. Many of us vigorously worked hard to re-elect President Reagan despite very obvious signs of his dementia early on. We have the same social responsibilities to restrain and protect the elderly from doing harm to themselves or others as we do with our minor children.

Joe Paterno left a terrific legacy as one of greatest college football coaches in history. He sent countless young men to fame and fortune with his brilliance. His love of football and unending devotion to these young men explains that brilliance. Paterno was kept on long past his usefulness to sell the Penn State program by greedy administrators.

True college football fans will remember Woody Hayes and Bear Bryant. Both tremendous coaches and devoted mentors of young college athletes in their prime. Both encouraged to stay on the job well beyond their productive years for University financial gains until both became senile and an embarrassment to their respective schools. These old men should have been sent home to bask in the glories of their many past accomplishments long before being forced to slink home in incomprehensible shame.

I believe that Joe Paterno provided his own death sentence. His wrong-doing was of a demented mind only acting to protect his reputation, his school and the future of his current young athletes. His last days should have been a peaceful reflection of making the world a better place instead of a confused mind incapable of understanding how his own inaction was party to horrible crimes against innocent children. May God forgive him.

Nice try! But there isn't any evidence Paterno was demented. From all appearances Paterno was most likely not senile, not demented, and in charge of his senses and moral judgement. He failed in his moral judgement and excuses don't cut it.

mark-1751582, You obviously don't watch much college football. Paterno's mental farts have been an embarrassment for several years. The fact that is was seldom mentioned is out of respect for the great coach that he used to be.

common. Well that's what you expect from an old man. However, that doesn't make him senile. From video of him just before his death, Paterno was obvioiusly not senile.

JS in SD

How about this - if Paterno and everyone else at Penn State didn't do anything wrong, then we won't see them paying out of the nose to the victims and we won't see any of the Senior Management being indicted.

Rather than speculate, we'll just wait and see what happens. Anyone want to bet that Penn State will pay out millions and may even have their football program suspended for a short time?

(If Paterno knew anything and had the influence that everyone says he had, he could have done a hell of a lot more than essentially nothing. I thought football coaches could get results.)

yes, yes, yes, you said a mouthful! all of the money should go to the victims. man, i couldnt agree more, thanks for that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On a related tangent, I found his death rather convenient. I'm not trying to imply a conspiracy, just saying that the timing of his death was rather uncanny.

On a not-so-related tangent to the tangent:

“How do you fire Jo Pa? #insult #noclass as a hawkeye fan I find it in poor taste,”

--Ashton Kutcher tweet

i've thought ever since he died that he knew he would at least be somewhat blamed, and he just gave up.

and one of the strangest as yet unsolved things is what happened to that cop who disappeared.

I Agree, he has a huge responsibility in this and his estate should be divided up to help compensate the victims.

That school should tear the statue of his ass down, melt it down and turn it into a sculpture with a message that we must always protect those who cannot protect themselves.

Joe Pa's "brain" was just fine. He was a COWARD, who put "his program" above the protection of children. Take down his statue, and I don't give a darn how much he gave to the library or to the University, he's a slivering snake of a man.

I disagree, no sane man would ignore the rape of a child.

Joe Paterno's name has figured prominently in this matter. However, I'm sure we all remember that the police officials have stated all along that Joe Paterno did not break the law. One police official stated that he thought Paterno was "morally" wrong for not personally pursuing this matter after reporting what he heard, second hand, to the responsible authorities at Penn State. It's interesting to see that his police official transformed himself from a man with the mission of determining who might have committed a crime to a philosopher of morals. That is a trick I would not want to attempt.

What we have here is a fairly common situation. From Louis Freeh, to the police chief, to the reporters writing and talking about this story, to the personal injury attorneys swarming over the victims, Joe Paterno's name is what makes this a "really big story" and "really big money." This story has "legs" if Joe Paterno's name is attached to it. Take away his highly recognizable name and we have 3 or 4 guys who are known to 50 people. With Paterno's name attached to it, that number jumps to - say - 50,000,000 people.

From Freeh, to the personal injury attorneys who have attached themselves to the victims, to the reporters, all benefit in one way or another if Joe Paterno can be roped into this affair. Take away Paterno's name and not only does the size of the potential money awards to the victims (and consequently the profits of the personal injury attorneys) disappear, but so does much of the interest in this story - a circumstance that from the standpoint of the media and reporters is very much to be avoided. All the more reason to twist the "facts" around until somehow the above mentioned interested parties can somehow point their accusing fingers at Joe Paterno

Sorry Joe, what Paterno did WAS criminally wrong. Failure to report to the REAL police not campus cops and not taking stronger steps to prevent another child being HARMED are illegal. He had a duty and a legal obligation to report and failed in that duty. Stop making excuses for the man. He is not a deity and not a great man. He looked the other way on this and for that he deserves to have his statue taken down and his legacy permanently tarnished and destroyed. No sports game is worth harm to an innocent child.

I agree completely.

I feel for the victims, however, shutting down their football prgram is only going affect innocent students & not the perps. I don't see everyone calling for the courts or justice system to be shut down or barred from practicing every time they knowingly let the rich rapist or one of their walk free. Attorney's get known rapists off all the time so the rapist can continue their spree.

Just saying lets not punish the innocent to get revenge on these perps.

I feel sorry for the kids he raped. After reading the pedos defenders here I DO NOT feel sorry for the school or it's students. (When you defend the rape of little kids .. don't come to me for support)

Close this school down .. burn it .. salt the earth after as you do with all truely evil places.

I feel bad for them too, they are also victims in a way.

These pathetic narcissistic cowards were willing to risk all of the damage to those tens of thousands of people as well. It's really unthinkable.

"shutting down their football prgram is only going affect innocent students"

Not really, as it would send a strong message to those who who think they can get away. Those students can transfer to other schools, and those who can't, well life goes on. If shutting down the football program can protect future abuse, it is worth it.

DKJ's quote "I feel for the victims, however, shutting down their football prgram is only going affect innocent students & not the perps"

Bull, let them go to USC or FSU or wherever, this school and it's legacy deserve to be tainted. Joe Pa is a slithering snake who put "his program" above the protection of children. If he were alive he should be in prison. Football is a da.. game for Gods sake, not the Shroud of Turin. There are over a 100 1A schools, let them transfer to another, I'm sure most programs would love a PSU recruit.

The kids that worked their butts off with dreams of playing for PSU have no more to do with this travesty than the hard working kids that chose USC or FSU. If they are to be punished by destroying their dreams, then close all of collegiate sports. High school graduates can go straight to the NFL or abolish the entire game. They can all play soccer or take up ballet. Who cares? They do!

Good way to put it, Styro!

Styro you have a way with words.......unfortunately, too true!

Yes, the only difference is that the people who lose their lives in that scenario don't have to live the rest of their lives with that scar in their memory, which is in a way, like torture.

Bingo Sytro!!!!

I read this great article last night called "The Shame of College Sports" by Taylor Branch in The Atlantic. I suggest everybody interested in this tragedy check it out. It would seem that actually they should give the death penalty to the NCAA for 5 years and severely interrupt corporate involvement in collegiate sports. Being an ex-PSUer it's a really sad day, but the school is so much more than just the football program, that it will rebound, eventually, much better and stronger than ever.

Frankly, I'm not at all surprised at this whole thing. Football, at some institutions, is everything, and if a few kids get raped in the process, so be it. It already starts at the high school level (definitely not all high schools) where football players will be given passing grades and other special treatment to stay in the program, possibly with full knowledge of the parents. All those PSU people who had knowledge of this tragic situation deserve to be in jail and I hope they get sued for every cent they have.

Yes, and football....... it's nothing more than entertainment.

ram, I agree that the penalty should be so severe that no other university football program would even think of covering crap like this again. I do feel for the Penn State fans who weren't aware of this situation, but how do you separate the fans from the punishment? At the least, anyone that had any inkling of the situation, should never be allowed to even visit the PSU campus for life.

Rot in jail Sandusky

Rot in hell Paterno

I am happy that Paterno's family won't be able to successfully argue that Paterno knew nothing. Sorry. Freeh's report is more credible than their allegations.

It's too late for this voice of responsibility you talk of. The damage is done. We have all read the alumni defend the rape of small kids.

Now is time to close the whole school down and make many prison cells available.

It's too late for this voice of responsibility you talk of. The damage is done. We have all read the alumni defend the rape of small kids.

Now is time to close the whole school down and make many prison cells available.

It's too late for this voice of responsibility you talk of. The damage is done. We have all read the alumni defend the rape of small kids.

Now is time to close the whole school down and make many prison cells available.

How about focusing on the perps that are still their sexually assulting children instead of those already dead. The world is full of men like Jerry rapist & people of power helping. Time to make child rape or molesting a dealth penalty offence the first time around, no plea dealing, to protect our children this needs to be down at federal level. There is no cure or reasoning with these monsters.

It would be one thing if this email was created NOW. But back in 1998, there is no reason to question Curley's statements, as they are statements against interest, which statements tend to be credible, which is why they fall under the hearsay exception in the rules of evidence. You can question whether Paterno knew all you want. I trust Freeh's conclusion, which is based on e-mails and multiple interviews.

This comment is way off base and not representative of the facts. Overwhelming testimony has confirmed that Paterno knew quite a bit of what was going on, the '98 incident was one drop is a huge bucket that spanned a decade.

It's absolutely disgusting when people feel the need to blindly defend him. Your words and support are misplaced. This is about child rape and the men who covered it up for years, it's not about how you feel about Joe Paterno.

krullulon, other than this tainted email, can you state a single "overwhelming piece of testimony" stating unequivocally that Paterno knew about the '98 incident?
And Alex, Curley DID have an incentive to lie, just as he did with the Grand Jury - to achieve an agenda he KNEW Paterno would never agree with.
Just like so many internet quotes are associated with Lincoln - ones Lincoln NEVER SAID.
Credibility by eminent proxy.
Name any incident where Paterno was caught in a lie.

yes1fan. I myself liked Paterno, but come on. You really don't think he had no info about all the problems going on. Why was Sandusky kicked out of the facilities? I believe the big problem here is, Paterno (along with many others) knew what was going on and did not do enough to stop it.

Let me ask you this, if this was your kid that was rapped and Joepa could have stopped it, woulld you really be looking at this the same way? Little kids were rapped here.

If Joepa was such a good man, why did he not kick Sanduskys ass and bring him out to he public along with all the other scumbags. He had a lot to lose in the football program, and so didn't the school.

Very unfortunate, my thoughts and prayers are with all the victims.

Stop defending the indefensible...try reading the ENTIRE report...there are other references to "Coach" wanting to be kept up to date on what was happening and other stuff...you are so wrong to defend someone like this...it is people like you who keep these situations going...poor children who finally get the nerve to speak out and people like you refuse to believe that their idols have feet of clay, so children keep quiet

jopa was a shameless despicable narcissistic coward. Here's a perspective that will give you a little more balance:

Imagine if it was your 10 year old son getting sodomized and forced to perform oral copulation on that sick freak.... and your hero jopa was there hiding all of these unthinkable crimes.

Is football really that important to you? After all, it's only entertainment...

good post, Berry-- attacking him now only hurts his family. The facts from Freeh's report are now in the public record-- it is what it is. Let's hope people from all walks of life are more closely watching their children, and more closely watching these "leaders" who have sometimes unlimited access to children.

So what? Here's the great things that come out of this: (1) people will feel compelled to report something like this if they hear about it, which will help prevent child molestors from expanding their victims; and (2) Penn State is in the spotlight, and it's hard to find NOT credible Freeh's report. This whole thing has brought pedophilia to the forefront, and I am hoping this helps prevent one childfrom being molested.

yeah and with these weirdos out of the school, can you imagine the resources they had to commit to this over the years, and i mean mental and worry etc other than money or possibly payoffs etc, now the school can put even more effort into their already great (per cost) academics.

In this country when someone has committed an act ofbetrayal to this country we call them a Benedict Arnold. If the names Joe Paterno and Jerry Sandusky are name dropped and be done so for the act of pedophilia so be it.

It's important to continue to talk about Paterno's involvement, otherwise his legion of fans will whitewash what he did and justice will not be served. He does not deserve to have a legacy, he deserves to be known by history as the man who enabled child rape.

Alex and Daniel--I agree with you. This whole child molestation scandal is horrible and ugly. The more that can be done to prevent such aberrations, the better. But prosecuting Paterno, after his death, is a waste of time and resources. Put that time, resources, money into hunting down the dirty monsters who continue this horror. Unfortunately, we have plenty of them. There's no need to seek out Paterno; we know exactly where he is confined--forever.

Those who think we should just drop the case again Paterno just because he unfortunately died before he could face justice........how do you think victims feel everytime they see that statue of Joe on the campus? Just knowing everyone is worshiping the guy who allowed this to all continue because his football program was more important to protect than any children that would be abused.

Essentially you all want to believe a lie.......Joe is an angel and did nothing illegal that harmed children directly or indirectly, which is completely proven false in this report. Now the response is, stop piling on a dead man? You would rather live in ignorance.

This reminds me so much of the church scandals. I remember having to attend a function with a priest (before I got married) with other couples and some people actually defended the church without even mentioning the children that were involved. It was like watching sheep following blindly not even considering that the church did something wrong. They took the approach that it was unjustified attacks on something that is holy to them (much like Paterno is to all you fans). This is exactly how people are treating Paterno......thinking this way is dangerous and means the only lesson you gals/guys are learning is the more popular you are the more you can't be touched.

ahhh, it's just that i know people. the fall will come around and many of the same people i've heard trumpeting children's rights will be watching nfl and college ball (with other or their teams, of course, and not connect the two with Penn State.

my main point is there are a whole lot of these events happening around the country and world. these children were so easily targeted, aside from the power and influence of psu, because they were poor or disadvantaged children from the dregs of US society. Look at the situation in the country, Scranton the other day lowered all its public position employment, cops, firemen trash men etc, to min wage. Harrisburg tried to declare bankruptcy but was prevented by a stipulation. Reading, PA has the highest unemployment rate in the COUNTRY (look it up), 41%. Stockton, CA first in the US to accomplish bankruptcy. What do you think is going to happen to the kids living in these towns? Human trafficking is rampant in this country.

We just had a ten year war justified by non-existent WMD by the previous president of the country, where hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi children were incinerated. Where was the concern then? The protest?

We've got actors who openly admit that they belong to cult groups. You are very correct, watch your kids, because these PSUers are only a few perpetrators. Cults and gangs (for example MS-13, who I read a while back has now left behind tattoos for higher education), well where would you go if you wanted to indoctrinate and incurse yourself into the mainstream? College. And they are there.

One person in a very high position in Pa has a good reason to continue to beat that dead horse - a tactic known as a "re-direct".

"Paterno is dead, and that's where it ends for him."

No it does not, does hitler get a pass after he died, No, should bin laden get a pass cause he died, No. So why would Paterno get a pass cause he died. Because his legacy will live on, it needs to include that when he was in a position to do a great justice, that the most powerful man at PSU turned a blind eye to protect the football program.

When his family is still proclaiming his innocence and trying to continue the herowirship of him. No not the time to stop beating this dead horse. Not until the paterno family STFU and apologizes to ALL the victims. No more statues or memorials for him. Not while a single victim still lives.

You folks just don't get it. The person--Paterno--is dead. His legacy, his football, his history, his fortune can all be put on the chopping block, but he's dead. There's not one worldly thing we can do to him, short of digging up his dead body and putting it on a pike in front of the courthouse. If you want to do that, then be my guest. But we humans have no more power over him than we do after any other dead person. They're dead. They feel nothing. They know nothing. They don't create or destroy. They're not of this world anymore. Folks need to get a grip of that reality.

Please, put your energies into something that will help and/or profit those that were harmed by the acts of the criminals. If it helps any of you to destroy football and university he was involved with, get started. If you think your actions to paint all students at the school as pedophiles will help those harmed, then state your case and go for it. But NONE of us, can Frankenstein Paterno back to life to account for his actions. As much as we would like, we simply don't have that power over death. Paterno is dead.

I hate football (always have.) Never have I respected it as a sport. I think it's a horrible violent expression. This crime against children has nothing to do with the sport. It just so happens that some of the "players" in this crime were involved in football, and apparently, they did football very well. (I think I may have heard Paterno's name in the news before all this came to pass, but that's about the extent of my involvement with him.) I can vilify the sport all day long, simply because I don't like it, but it's a separate thing from these monstrous crimes that were committed against children. What anyone chooses to do about their involvement with football is up to them, but never say I defend football for the sake of any coach or player.

Please understand, there is no profit in trashing the dead. They're dead, and they don't care. We can spend our time and efforts in more constructive venues, and that would be my hope and wish for all those who have been affected by this crime and tragedy. Our energies would be better spent helping and healing those who have suffered at the hands of abusers.

This is a tale of a sick, twisted, vile, monstrous horror. Those who harm children (or willingly allow them to be harmed) deserve no place in this world; therefore, we can safely mark Paterno off that list. I don't know what his belief system was based on, but my firm belief is that he will be held accountable for his life and actions, by powers much higher than mine and yours.

He's got a zillion dollar estate that can be sued by the victims.

He HAD a zillion dollar estate, which his heirs inherited. Sentence 3 above--please read again. It's all on the chopping block.

As much as we can hate, despise, and lash out against this injustice, targeting the person--Paterno--has no value. We can take/sue for his legacy, his money, his possessions; but he is gone.

(I know that some think I'm defending him, but I'm not. I'm hoping people will realize that once someone is dead--that's it, game over [pun intended, again.] We can't resurrect anyone to meet our terms regarding appropriate justice. I know I'd like to, on any number of crimes, but once dead and gone, always dead and gone.)

What Paterno did was turn a blind eye to a terrible crime. The criminal Sandusky is still alive. I'm sure he will be punished for his crimes, but we must never forget that he will continue to do them as long as he is able to get away with them. We have living monsters to get off the street. We would be better served by focusing our energies on that path than the one at the cemetery.

It is important to note that his heirs are not responsible for anything he did or didn't do.

i'll repeat it, but it goes a lot farther than library or football. it only costs less than 13k per year to go to a psu branch campus as a freshman, 15 k at main campus. that in itself is an astonishing fact. a lot of kids wouldn't get an education otherwise.

What he gave in donations will not even be a fraction of what the school will pay financially and in other ways in the future. Not only in compensation to the victims, but in the proceeds from future enrollment which will surely be drastically reduced.

In the end, jopa did far more damage to the school than he did to benefit it.

he was a shameless, despicable narcissistic coward.

Do we really need kids getting an education about raping kids and covering it up?

I don't think so .. close the school, send the admin to prison.

Closing the school or shutting down the athletics department isn't going to change anything that happened. You are suggesting punishing an entire student body and community based on the actions of a few. Say what you want about Sandusky and Paterno and anyone else involved, I'll agree with you, but there is no need to point the fingers at the students or other people living in the area. They are ashamed enough at what happened there under their noses. I live 30 minutes from State college and I know very well the impact this whole situation has had on everyone here.

what's so amazing about it? people have had entire lifetimes during the period that joe was coach at psu, i know grandparents, aunts and uncles, children and grandchildren of the same families who've all gone to, been involved with, or at least watched the games on holidays, etc over a period of 45 years? how can you expect people to suddenly turn around a lifetime of perception just because some freakish reality unearths? it will take a long time to settle in.

Seems there are lots of pedos on these boards. That's why they defend him. These people talk of honor .. they don't know the meaning of the word. Best to keep a distance between these child rape defenders and our kids.

45 years of successfull football does not nor will it ever equate to the lifetime of hell Sandusky put the victims through, all made possible by Joe Paterno and the rest of the administration that failed to or dare I say refused to report this monster to the proper authorities and let him use their facility to rape boys. As a father this whole story is about as sick, horrifying, maddening, depressing, and frightening as they come. On a personal note the more I hear the more I'd like to have a few minutes with Jerry Sandusky, just me my louiville slugger, a pair of vice grips and a bolt cutter.

Yes. He had what many many people considered to be admirable traits. One was his loyalty. Here, so badly, sadly, wrongly misplaced, creating great grief for the young people he purported to serve.

Get over it. In an ongoing 'investigation' the one being investigated doesn't have the right to know. Period.

The fact that these men went to Sandusky and didn't seek out the child to check on his welfare says it all. These men should be sent to prison and live in Sandusky's cell since they 'care' about him so much.