# It's time to officially Pit Joe Paterno and the Penn State football program. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 7, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167 "2011-11-07T14:23:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 179
**Author:** ![NoLittlePlans](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8797f3/32.png) [@NoLittlePlans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoLittlePlans)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/3562 "2012-04-05T21:58:09Z")
> [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > No, my opinion on the matter hasn’t changed. Because you know what? Even if they had been looking for a reason to get rid of him, the one that ultimately resulted in him getting relieved was a pretty damn good reason in my book. It’s like saying, “well it’s not fair that they fired poor old Tom, they really had it out for him!” and it turns out the reason Tom was fired was for embezzling money. Well, yeah, maybe they did have it out for Tom. But embezzling money is still wrong, and it’s still why Tom was fired. > > Bottom line: Paterno may have thought at the time he was doing the right thing, he admitted in retrospect that he wished he had done more, and we do too. Nothing in that article refutes any of those points. Wrong. Paterno was fired for dictating his own exit plan when he announced his intentions to retire at the end of the 2011 season. The BOT saw this as a challenge to their authority. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/3563 "2012-04-05T22:59:03Z")
> [@NoLittlePlans](#): > > Wrong. > > Paterno was fired for dictating his own exit plan when he announced his intentions to retire at the end of the 2011 season. The BOT saw this as a challenge to their authority. I’m curious. Have you read this thread? ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/3564 "2012-04-05T23:13:34Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > I’m curious. Have you read this thread? I’m curious about who he is. He joined at the end of last month and he’s only posted in two threads, both about Paterno. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/3565 "2012-04-05T23:26:39Z")
> [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > Welcome to the party, you fucking idiot. Have you not seen that this thread is 71 goddamned child fucking pages long? Perhaps you’d like to peruse, oh I dunno, just the middle 30 before you come in here with that bullshit. We had a nice conversation on cats going on for about half a page. Surely that must count for something! ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/3566 "2012-04-06T14:18:37Z")
> [@NoLittlePlans](#): > > Paterno was fired for dictating his own exit plan when he announced his intentions to retire at the end of the 2011 season. The BOT saw this as a challenge to their authority. Pray tell, was there maybe some event, some national controversy, that sprung up during that time in which maybe rumors circulated about the board firing Paterno as a result of his actions, in which he felt it necessary to assure the public that there would be no need to fire him, that he would leave of his own volition at the end of the season? Naaahhhhh…you’re probably right. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/3567 "2012-04-06T14:25:10Z")
This shit is still going on? The Google ads at the bottom of the page ask if I have painful throbbing in my feet. That’s not where I would say that pain is located. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/3568 "2012-04-06T15:46:40Z")
> [@lorene](#): > > This shit is still going on? > > The Google ads at the bottom of the page ask if I have painful throbbing in my feet. That’s not where I would say that pain is located. If it’s in the backs of your legs, I don’t want to know about it. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/3569 "2012-04-06T17:05:39Z")
The only good thing about this thread is that it seems like SA took the advice to show it to his family and they had him committed. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/3570 "2012-04-06T17:28:12Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > The only good thing about this thread is that it seems like SA took the advice to show it to his family and they had him committed. I don’t know why but this made me laugh so hard I got tears in my eyes:):):)🙂 ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/3571 "2012-04-06T18:52:05Z")
Its because you are not a very nice person. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/3572 "2012-04-06T19:03:22Z")
> [@NoLittlePlans](#): > > I understand you’re tired of the story, but if you’re going to pretend there was nothing new or significant reported in the [_Politics in play at Penn State_](http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/7770996/in-wake-joe-paterno-death-sandusky-sex-abuse-scandal-power-struggle-spread-penn-state-state-capital) story, then you’re just not being honest with yourself or anyone here. > > Did the article impact your perception of the dynamics at play behind the scenes of the Sandusky Scandal in any meaningful way? This is the first major media release that I’ve seen addressing a very strong undercurrent of suspicions that have been repeatedly expressed here at StraightDope and, well, pretty much everywhere else in America. Oh good lord. If you think that that article reveals anything new or significant you are seriously naive. Which part of it surprised you: - That university politics are vicious? - That politicians will act in a political manner? - That Penn State had been trying to retire Paterno for years? - That Graham Spanier is an unctious slimeball? Trust me, none of those are news to anyone who paid any attention to what was openly known about Penn State. Hell, I used to work in the office directly above Spanier’s when he was at Nebraska and he was a gladhanding prick then too. But what that article does not disprove - and indeed the argument it goes some ways to support - is this: > [@](#): > > Paterno, REGARDLESS OF THE FAILINGS OF ANYBODY ELSE AT PENN STATE, had an ethical and moral responsibility to do MORE than the legal minimum. Keep re-reading that until it sinks in. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/3573 "2012-04-06T21:55:02Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Its because you are not a very nice person. No, I knew that already.🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/3574 "2012-04-07T16:49:32Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > I’m curious about who he is. He joined at the end of last month and he’s only posted in two threads, both about Paterno. Jerry Sandusky. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/3575 "2012-04-07T17:55:17Z")
I thought I recognized his foul stench when he was brought onto the board. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/3576 "2012-04-07T19:35:37Z")
So somebody needs to teach \*him \*how to shower? ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/3577 "2012-04-07T20:32:09Z")
> [@NoLittlePlans](#): > > Paterno was fired for dictating his own exit plan when he announced his intentions to retire at the end of the 2011 season. The BOT saw this as a challenge to their authority. Yes, most likely true. I think any non-naive person knows that the motivations behind most of those people’s actions are only tangentially related to the incident. Most people just think Paterno made a mistake when this all went down. That’s all. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/3578 "2012-04-07T20:58:15Z")
Gonna haveta disagree. Child rape is about as abhorrent a crime as there is. An institution, especially a _public_ one with a huge responsibility towards a huge number of young people, cannot tolerate _or be seen as tolerating it_, or protecting anyone involved with it, for even a moment. Not even the image of the Football Program trumps that. Joe was inarguably involved in protecting a child rapist, so he had to leave \*immediately \*when it all came out. He refused and therefore had to be fired immediately. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/3579 "2012-04-08T00:54:09Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Gonna haveta disagree. Child rape is about as abhorrent a crime as there is. An institution, especially a _public_ one with a huge responsibility towards a huge number of young people, cannot tolerate _or be seen as tolerating it_, or protecting anyone involved with it, for even a moment. Not even the image of the Football Program trumps that. > > Joe was inarguably involved in protecting a child rapist, so he had to leave \*immediately \*when it all came out. He refused and therefore had to be fired immediately. But don’t you think at least some members of the BOD were aware of previous Sanduksy allegations/investigations? My gut tells me more people were aware than we currently know of and they probably thought that the problem was not as serious as it really was. ---
**Author:** ![NoLittlePlans](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8797f3/32.png) [@NoLittlePlans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoLittlePlans)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2012, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/3580 "2012-04-17T11:26:46Z")
Due to her outstanding coverage of the Sandusky Scandal, Harrisburg Patriot-News reporter Sara Ganim goes down as the third youngest journalist ever to win the Pulitzer Prize. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2012, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/3581 "2012-04-17T12:20:51Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Gonna haveta disagree. Child rape is about as abhorrent a crime as there is. An institution, especially a _public_ one with a huge responsibility towards a huge number of young people, cannot tolerate _or be seen as tolerating it_, or protecting anyone involved with it, for even a moment. Not even the image of the Football Program trumps that. > > Joe was inarguably involved in protecting a child rapist, so he had to leave \*immediately \*when it all came out. He refused and therefore had to be fired immediately. Succinctly and accurately stated. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167.md?page=178) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167.md?page=180)