Joe Paterno Is NOT A Victim

November 10, 2011 1:00 pm     Posted in Reality  Jasmine R. g+ page


By Jasmine R.

When news that former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was a serial child molester and rapist broke, I was utterly disgusted. The fact that several children had been mercilessly violated by an authority figure in their lives is truly heartbreaking.

But that’s not what the media circus has been highlighting because these instances of pedophilia have an additional element of horror. Several people were aware that Sandusky had inappropriate and criminal relationships with children. The most notable of those aware was head football coach Joe Paterno.

I don’t know anything about college football. I had heard the name Paterno before, but it wasn’t until this week that I learned of the legacy that he built. How his presence is firmly enmeshed in the institution of Penn State. How he has spent the last 46 years cultivating an excellent football program, how he was an exceptional  leader, a virtuous man full of integrity and morality. The kind of man you trust.

But this purportedly great man failed. He failed when he made the decision to not report his knowledge of Jerry Sandusky’s behavior to the proper authorities. Each moment that he carried the cognition of Sandusky’s crimes silently showed a deficit of all the values he publicly stood for.

No one knows why he didn’t report to the authorities .The idea that he was more interested in protecting the reputation of his program instead of standing up for victims of sexual violence is absolutely sickening. And yet, why is it that not only him, but a graduate student, several Penn State administrators, and members of the maintenance staff witnessed or knew of Sandusky’s conduct and didn’t report him. Is it because they believed so deeply in the power of their institution that they were in a state of denial? Or did so many people really value Paterno and football over human lives?

Naturally, there have been people who are asking why the responsibility fell to Paterno and other PSU higher-ups. Why didn’t the children say anything? It’s not Paterno’s fault. He shouldn’t be punished. Here’s the deal –  these children were in a position of subordination. Sandusky was an authority figure. Not only are children not conditioned to question authority, but our society is often guilty of victim-blaming as soon as  sexual violence comes into play. Paterno is complicit in Sandusky’s crimes the same way you would be complicit you would be if you walked in on your roommate’s boyfriend raping her and failed to take action. When people are powerless to defend themselves, it is the responsibility of those who have power to us it accordingly. And Paterno didn’t.

Joe Paterno has been fired, as have other members of Penn State’s administration.  They have been punished for not holding Sandusky accountable for his actions, and I believe that is fair.  Many people are far from pleased. Some of Paterno’s supporters rioted last night. He is not the victim here. The children who were molested under his watch are. And I firmly believe that enabling a child molester overshadows his legacy of being a football coach.

Molestation is always more important than football. Always.

14 Comments on "Joe Paterno Is NOT A Victim"

  1. Emily says:
    Thu, 10th Nov 20111:20 pm 

    Paterno did follow protocol in reporting what he had been told to the PSU AD and to the chief of Penn State police. Why has Paterno, a living legend who has dedicated more than sixty years of his life to the program at Penn State, been fired via a phone call while current coach and ex-qb McQueary, who actually witnessed some of the assault while he was an athlete, still has a job and will be coaching on Saturday. Yes it's horrible what happened to these boys and the victims do come first, but the board of trustees has handled the whole situation with Paterno in the wrong way. JoPa deserves better.

  2. Nina says:
    Thu, 10th Nov 20112:04 pm 

    I wholeheartedly agree with you that the victims in this investigation are the children, and the abuse that they now have to live with in their 20's and beyond is absolutely horrendous. However, seeing as how this case is still open and small details are still being discovered, I find it ill fitting to say that Paterno "failed."

    According to the grand jury report, the graduate assistant who witnessed the incident and his father both agreed to tell Paterno the very next day. Paterno, in turn, did the right thing and notified his immediate supervisor and Athletic Director, Tim Curley. Curley and VP of Finance, Gary Schultz then met with the grad asst to discuss the issue. Here is where things get hazy. While the graduate student testifies that he told the pair very specifically what he had seen, they testify that they were unaware the incident was so severe. Who is right? Even the president was somewhat aware of this incident. You would assume that with all these top administrators knowing, including Schultz, who oversaw the University Police, SOMEONE would file a report and try to find out who the victim was. If I was a student, I would assume that after I'd told staff, the issue would be looked into by someone who has the power to do so. In the report, the maintenance staff were afraid of losing their jobs, but did tell their immediate supervisor, as well.

    There are so many inconsistencies in the way that this information traveled, that it is premature to assume that Paterno did not do what he saw fit at that time. Lastly, I don't think PSU students are rioting because they see Paterno as the "victim." We know who the victims are, and Paterno has said multiple times on his front porch to pray for those victims. I think they were rioting to show their displeasure at how the Board notified Paterno of his dismissal, and their frustration that he wasn't allowed to coach his last home game.

  3. Molly - UNL says:
    Thu, 10th Nov 20112:55 pm 

    My biggest beef with all of this is how JoePa is getting all of the media attention. What about justice for these kids and seeing Sandusky go to jail? Where's the coverage for that. Bigger picture, people.

  4. Kylie - Vermont says:
    Thu, 10th Nov 20113:09 pm 

    According to PA law, Paterno did alert the proper sources… kinda. Because he alerted campus authority (and campus authority works for the state) he did report the crime, just in a round about way. I think the media spin on everything is just making all of the rumors circle like wildfire and I'm not really sure what I believe. I want to believe that he's an 84 year old cute little old man who was kept from the real truth of what was going on. I'm just afraid the media is making that impossible.

  5. Kylie - Vermont says:
    Thu, 10th Nov 20113:10 pm 

    Nina, I think your points are so well stated. I think there's a little of if and buts in this story and it's hard to tell what really happened when the information was supposed to travel into the right hands.

  6. Cora says:
    Thu, 10th Nov 20113:13 pm 

    If you walked into your professor's office and saw him raping a student, would you go to tell the department head or would you go to the police? I don't get why everyone is acting like PSU is the same as the police. And it's not like it would be hard to tell if anything was done. If you KNOW child rape is illegal and you know Sandusky isn't in jail, then you can assume that going to your boss wasn't enough.

  7. Kate says:
    Thu, 10th Nov 20116:50 pm 

    I completely agree. If you watch the press conference where they announce JoePa's termination, the first question reporters asked was, "Who's coaching on Saturday?"

  8. Deb S. says:
    Thu, 10th Nov 201111:50 pm 

    Spanier made Joe Paterno his ultimate scapegoat. It's terrible because the situation really doesn't have anything to do with Joe Paterno, it has to do with Sandusky, Schultz, Curley, McCreary and Spanier. Oh, an have we forgot about the victims? Hmm?

    Leave Joe alone. He did what he thought was necessary at the time, and has since admitted that he should have done more. There is no reason to forget everything he has done for my hometown and my university.

  9. Deb S. says:
    Fri, 11th Nov 201112:31 am 

    Spanier made Joe Paterno his ultimate scapegoat. It's terrible because the situation really doesn't have anything to do with Joe Paterno, it has to do with Sandusky, Schultz, Curley, McCreary and Spanier. Oh, an have we forgot about the victims? Hmm?

  10. criolle johnny says:
    Fri, 11th Nov 20116:55 am 

    The dust has yet to settle and the view is not yet clear on this issue. Perhaps my hesitation is somewhat jaded by the memories of Duke University hysteria.
    In any human organization, responsibility will flow high enough to satisfy The Press and The Public. It will stop before it hurts anyone who belongs to the "right" families or who is Politically Correct.
    It will be some time, if ever before we know who knew what, and when. In the meantime, I do have to remember the number of athletes rejected by Coach Paterno because they did not meet his standards of personal responsibility and judgement.
    Laurence Phillips who ended up at Nebraska and Demetrius Summers who ended up at South Carolina were not recruited by Penn State. These are only two of a large number who went on to … nothing in particular or outright notoriety. Joe Pa WOULD NOT HAVE THEM.
    Again, hopefully the facts will sort out in the future and we can then form opinions with cooler heads. Perhaps C/C can post an article a year from now as an update in their outstanding current events column.

  11. Kayla says:
    Fri, 11th Nov 20119:09 am 

    Read the grand jury report. The facts are all there…and they're disturbing.

  12. anon says:
    Sat, 12th Nov 20119:44 pm 

    Don't blame the grad student, he was the first one to report anything. The janitor did too. I'm not sure it's Joe Pa's fault because when the campus authorities were notified, it was out of his hands and the board of directors ( you know, the ones who decided to make Joe Pa a scapegoat) decided not to investigate for the sake of reputation and to not report it to children's welfare department.

Tell us what you're thinking...