Starving Artist tried to argue that Jerry Sandusky could not have been raping a boy in the shower while both of them were standing, due to the presumptive difference in height between the 6’3" coach and a 10-12 year old boy. He invited the males in the thread to try thrusting their penises into a cardboard tube held at an angle, while their knees were bent, to demonstrate the difficulty.
Penis did not ensue, but double-digit pages worth of argument sure did.
Really? That’s crazy! As it happens, I’m the only Democrat on this message board!
As the only atheist, I welcome you!
Look, at this point, there are only two possibilities: that Joe Paterno knew what Sandusky was doing and took no action (which would make him evil) or that Paterno had only a vague notion that something bad was happening, but looked the other way and didn’t take any trouble to find out.
The BEST Jay Paterno can hope for is to prove that his father was asleep at the wheel when something horrible was going on.
That’s better than being evil, sure, but is it really worth writing a book to prove that point? “My father was a clueless old man, rather than a willing accomplice to a child molestor?”
I’ve got to say, I never followed the details of this story, but I find this reasoning highly suspect: “Joe freely acknowledged he screwed up; you can’t hold his screwup against him!” Uh, yes, we can. And the fact that he admitted he screwed up is all the evidence I need to convince me that he screwed up.
Raven: I meant that in a legal context. A LOT of people failed.
His failings aren’t being held against him in a legal context. He was never charged with a crime. Most of the criticism of Paterno Sr. is in a moral context.
Well, so what? This book isn’t a legal defense of him. Joe said he screwed up, you said he screwed up, so people (in general) think of him as screwing up. It isn’t like he’s going to be hauled into court next week (for a few reasons).
Count me among the college football fans who DID admire Joe Paterno. I have absolutely no ties to Penn State, but I liked him and what I THOUGHT he stood for.
But even before the Sandusky scandal became public knowledge, it looked to me as if Paterno had lost his way. In the 5-10 years before he was fired, there were numerous incidents in whch Penn State football players were involved in assaults and other crimes that Paterno would never have tolerated in their glory days.
It looks from a distance as if the football program was declining, Paterno knew his job was in jeopardy, and he started recruited bad characters he once would have turned his nose up at. At BEST, he was looking the other way.
And that’s the BEST spin we can put on his tolerance of Jerry Sandusky. It’s POSSIBLE he didn’t know exactly what was going on, and chose not to look too closely. But EVERYBODY in the athletic department knew that Sandusky had been investiagted by the police for impropriety with kids. That was why he had to step down as defensive coordiantor and lost his status as Paterno’s heir apparent.
After such an investigation, you’d THINK Paterno and the administration would tell Sandusjy to get out of Dodge. They didn’t- they let Sandusky hang around all he wanted.
You’d THINK that, even if they foolishly believed Sandusky was innocent, Paterno and the administration would tell Sandusky, “Jesus, Jerry, after a scandal like that, don’t you think you should lay low and stop hanging around with little boys?”
We KNOW that Paterno did little or nothing to rein in Sandusky. That’s bad enough. But it’s ALSO possible he actively covered things up. That would be pure evil.
Either way, Paterno’s “clean” image is now tainted forever in ways that make traditional “corrupt” coaches like Barry Switzer and Jerry Tarkanian look quaint.
No matter how much Jay Paterno loved his Dad, he has to know that Joe Paterno’s saintly image is way beyond salvaging. Jay is entitled to love his Dad and cherish whatever memories he has of his father… but there’s no way to make Joe an icon again.
Why would I read a book by someone who is not remotely objective, not inclined to be intellectually honest, and not a professional writer?
Boredom?
etv78: you understand that Joe Paterno was never charged with a crime, right? You understand that nobody demanded that he be charged with a crime, right? Joe Paterno’s reputation was not tarnished because people think he was a criminal. It was tarnished because people think he fucked up. Jay agrees. What are you trying to debate, exactly?
He seems to believe Paterno deserves to have his great reputation back even though he fucked up in his handling of this scandal and football isn’t that important.
You’re reading this thread, aren’t you?
+1
Perhaps, should it ever be released with an appropriate cover:
If He Did It