# 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:** 33
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/641 "2011-11-10T22:04:54Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > I suppose I’m a bit out of my league when it comes to anal sex. Sparky, those sounds occur from either direction. Fuck, those sounds occur even when you are going solo. Quit watching your old Barbarella VHS tape and get out there. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/642 "2011-11-10T22:06:53Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > There are going to be civil suits for damages to kids for the next few years. It will cost the university a lot of money. i am sure tuition will go up. But this can not be swept under the rug. It will be fromnt page news for a long time. I’m betting they’re insured? Though this could test any policy limits . . . . ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/643 "2011-11-10T22:08:17Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Sparky, those sounds occur from either direction. Fuck, those sounds occur even when you are going solo. Quit watching your old Barbarella VHS tape and get out there. Perhaps if we give him the onomatopoeic definition he’ll understand: [**fapfapfap**](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fapfapfap) ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/644 "2011-11-10T22:09:00Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > No, it was not his job. So your point is wrong. > > The only question here was whether JP should have reported it to the police directly or suffice with reporting it to his superiors. Either way, his job was just to report it to someone, and he **didn’t have to know the precise details.** Technically, because JP was a security authority at penn state (read the Clery Act, you will find that a football coach is considered a security authority), he is required to take the report, which certainly includes the details of the report. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/645 "2011-11-10T22:10:57Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > I’m betting they’re insured? Though this could test any policy limits . . . . Lawyer’s view: [**Victims likely to sue Penn State**](http://espn.go.com/espn/commentary/story/_/id/7216591/expect-victims-sue-damages-wake-penn-state-abuse-allegations) ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/646 "2011-11-10T22:11:08Z")
People who are defending Paterno are insane. I have never seen so much “but if you squint your eyes and turn your head just right on the dark moon the night of the 5th of November, you can see how Paterno is totally not culpable.” Of course, I have long held the people that are doing so in utter contempt anyway, so I suppose it’s just par for the course. Nice to see the consistency, though. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/647 "2011-11-10T22:11:48Z")
> [@RedFury](#): > > Perhaps if we give him the onomatopoeic definition he’ll understand: [**fapfapfap**](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fapfapfap) Ummm, is that “paint” on that womans pants? ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/648 "2011-11-10T22:19:18Z")
Oh hey and . . . > **[McQueary threatened, won't coach in game](https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/7215664/penn-state-nittany-lions-mike-mcqueary-coach-weekend)** > > Mike McQueary, one of the central figures in the burgeoning child sex abuse scandal at Penn State, will remain receivers coach Saturday when the Nittany Lions play their final home game of the season. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/649 "2011-11-10T22:23:00Z")
Sandusky should already be in prison. Paterno and the other “higher ups” should also be in prsion for not going to the (real, nhot campus, but real) police. Paterno and the other “higher ups” should also be in prsion for covering the mess up all these years. If the law does not require them to report crimes, then they should rot in hell anyway, just for the gross lack of any ethics and morals. Let the criminal and civil proceedings begin. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/650 "2011-11-10T22:24:15Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > People who are defending Paterno are insane. I have never seen so much “but if you squint your eyes and turn your head just right on the dark moon the night of the 5th of November, you can see how Paterno is totally not culpable.” > > Of course, I have long held the people that are doing so in utter contempt anyway, so I suppose it’s just par for the course. Nice to see the consistency, though. This. Plus 9000. And then a shit ton more. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/651 "2011-11-10T22:40:19Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > I am kinda leaning towards the idea that folks covered up “minor” stuff and once they had dug themselves in a bit too deep they reached a point of no return and they had “no choice” but to move forward hoping things would never come out. Or cover up for a criminal long enough and then you get the “if I go down, you sure as hell are too” deal. Sociopaths like Sandusky are extremely adept at manipulating people. I wrote earlier about how everyone should have realized, and cut short, his classic pattern of manipulating the victims as he groomed them. But he obviously manipulated the university staff too, including Paterno. We don’t know what he said to Paterno/staff during/after the 1998 investigation. But it was obviously some version of “I’m sorry, I’m a little over affectionate, it was an error in judgment, it won’t happen again.” I’d bet money that at some point he came out with the classic insincere “apology:” “I’m sorry for whatever happened,” or (even better) “I’m sorry he felt that way.” And yes, once he’s gotten a free pass for one form of sexual misconduct, why wouldn’t he push the boundaries further? Big difference is those kids had no chance of resisting his boundary-pushing. The adult university staff – they had a duty not to let themselves by used and manipulated, but they went along to get along. One of the don’t-crucify-Joe posters has kept asking “What would Joe have to gain from a coverup?” This rationale proves a little too much – “What would the most powerful man in the world, the President of the United States, have to gain from a cover-up?” Then you have to confront the fact that Presidents have committed or participated in a half dozen or more major cover-ups. “Penn State is not the kind of place where _things like this_ take place, largely due to the high moral tone set by Joe Paterno” – that’s the notion that Paterno felt strongly enough about maintaining to passively participate in the coverup. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/652 "2011-11-10T22:41:59Z")
McQueary has to be in the booth Saturday because they are worried about his safety. The only one who tried to do the right thing is in danger. What does that say ? ---
**Author:** ![DxZero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DxZero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DxZero)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/653 "2011-11-10T22:55:18Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > McQueary has to be in the booth Saturday because they are worried about his safety. The only one who tried to do the right thing is in danger. What does that say ? I’m sorry…what? ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/654 "2011-11-10T22:58:22Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > McQueary has to be in the booth Saturday because they are worried about his safety. The only one who tried to do the right thing is in danger. What does that say ? McQueary’s an idiot who probably needs Paterno to tell him when and how to wipe his own ass. While it’s a shame he’s worried about his safety, it’s a much lesser shame than him running away while that horrorshow was in progress, without even so much as flashing the lights to let Sadunsky know he’d been seen. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/655 "2011-11-10T22:59:34Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > McQueary has to be in the booth Saturday because they are worried about his safety. The only one who tried to do the right thing is in danger. What does that say ? Yeah, I [read that](http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/11/10/fearing-for-his-safety-penn-state-board-wants-mcqueary-off-the-field/) as well. But I differ greatly on your take of him being the only one trying to do the “right thing.” If anything, he comes off as the biggest coward in this whole saga – imagine, a 6’4" 28 year old ex-PS QB, sees an sexual predator in action and his first response is to run to daddy? And he actually states he made eye-contact with that child? Beyond disgusting. However, what the call for protection shows is how putrid the whole football culture is at PS, because, yes, ultimately, he had enough “balls” to to tell GodPaterno about the **crime** he witnessed…and thus start the avalanche we’re seeing today. But again, his actions at the moment of the crime itself are likely as distanced from the “right thing” as you could get. As the victim from that day, and all the ensuing ones, would undoubtedly tell you. ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/656 "2011-11-10T23:02:32Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > One of the don’t-crucify-Joe posters has kept asking “What would Joe have to gain from a coverup?” This rationale proves a little too much – “What would the most powerful man in the world, the President of the United States, have to gain from a cover-up?” Then you have to confront the fact that Presidents have committed or participated in a half dozen or more major cover-ups. What presidential cover-up are you referencing? Were any of them covering for someone who didn’t work for them accused of one of the worst crimes imaginable? Again, you might have a point if he was a current employee, or if Paterno would have been in any way culpable for the crime itself (unlike most presidential cover-ups). If Paterno appreciated the seriousness of the crime a the time, there is no downside for him to report it. > [@Huerta88](#): > > “Penn State is not the kind of place where _things like this_ take place, largely due to the high moral tone set by Joe Paterno” – that’s the notion that Paterno felt strongly enough about maintaining to passively participate in the coverup. Who are you quoting? ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/657 "2011-11-10T23:08:29Z")
There was an obvious downside. It obviously reflects poorly on Penn State football, and doubly so because so many people bought into the notion that Paterno ran an especially moral program. I think if you step back from this for just a second, you can appreciate at least that Joe Paterno, when he found out that his prized assistant was raping children, probably could have seen a benefit in the course of action that might lead to nobody finding out about that. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/658 "2011-11-10T23:10:48Z")
> [@brickbacon](#): > > Who are you quoting? Me/my pretty reasonable speculation as to Paterno’s thought process. ---
**Author:** ![Normal\_Phase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Normal\_Phase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Normal_Phase)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/659 "2011-11-10T23:15:33Z")
> [@Da\_Mikster](#): > > Without a victim coming forward, the University couldn’t prove a crime was committed, so they were limited in what they COULD do. Oh BS. Without a victim coming forward? Did they even try to find out who the victim _was_? Grand Jury presentment says nope. Buncha morally upstanding human beings. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167/660 "2011-11-10T23:21:24Z")
> [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](#): > > I think if you step back from this for just a second, you can appreciate at least that Joe Paterno, when he found out that his prized assistant was raping children, probably could have seen a **benefit in the course of action that might lead to nobody finding out about that.** (bolding mine) Except, when you step back even farther, you realize that Joe did a spectacularly horrible job of ensuring this outcome. The course of a action they took was…nothing. Sadunsky was still allowed to come and go as he pleased on campus, still had his charity, still had all the access to children that he wanted. If Joe had really just wanted to make the Bad Thing go away without getting law enforcement involved, he could have gotten the mafia to pay a visit to Sadunsky and then hired somone else to ply the victims with hush money. This is a how a decent cover up looks like. If reality had looked like this instead of the other thing, I betcha Joe would be looking a lot better right now. He’d at least be serving out the rest of the season. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167.md?page=32) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-to-officially-pit-joe-paterno-and-the-penn-state-football-program/602167.md?page=34)