Backstabber Report

Joe Paterno, Penn State University and Molestation. Who is at fault?

The Penn State molestation scandal has focused on Joe Paterno, the winningest coach in college football. While the victims, the alleged abused children, have been lost in the media frenzy of Joe Paterno being fired, nobody has answered the question of exactly who is to blame for the failure to report the abuse to authorities. While two administrators have been charged with that failure, it is unlikely they will be successfully prosecuted.

When the abuse was reported in 2002, Pennsylvania law required that the abused must make the complaint. This isn’t what occurred. The alleged abuse by assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was reported to Joe Paterno by then student assistant coach, Dede McCreary, who said he witnessed it. Paterno then reported it his superiors, the administrators. That seems to be as far as it went. The sad fact is that no “requirement” existed at the time to report it to authorities.

Since then a new law had gone into affect.

Before the new law went into effect in 2007, in order to trigger the duty to report, a child had to actually come before the reporter who was dealing with the child in a ‘professional capacity.’

The legal fault isn’t with the assistant coach, or Paterno. They are coaches and they did what was expected of them, if they were expected to follow the letter of the law. They reported their suspicions to those who had the power to conduct an investigation and make a determination of whether the abuse occurred and to report it, if necessary. No such investigation took place. The two administrators, athletic director Tim Curley and and senior vice president of finance and business, Gary Schultz, simply ignored the report, taking no action. They didn’t pass it upward and didn’t investigate.

McCreary, who has said he witnessed the abuse has also stated he stopped the act, at the time he witnessed it. Could he have done more? Certainly. The rest of us would have busted Sandusky’s head open with a steel pipe if we saw a grown man sexually abusing a child. It’s doubtful any jury would have convicted McCreary, if he had done so. Morally, he was wrong in not notifying authorities of the act he witnessed.

Paterno, on the other hand only had the word of McCreary and didn’t witness the abuse. Paterno should have instructed McCreary to immediately contact authorities, but didn’t. To the shame of both Paterno and McCreary, it is likely such reporting to the authorities didn’t happen because of the known ramifications to Penn State University. Even we can’t believe this was not on the minds of both men.

Penn State’s board of directors, in an obvious effort to shield the university from the lawsuits that are sure to arise from the victims and their families have taken the action of firing Paterno. A fixture at Penn State University since 1949, Paterno is as close to a “living God” in Pennsylvania, as one could hope to have, if you are a football fanatic in PA. Paterno has a life-size bronze statue outside the stadium. He has been respected and admired for decades, as well as beloved by the players and fans.

This was only made too obvious when, after the announcement of his firing was made, Penn State students rioted, tearing down light posts and overturning a news media van, as they fought with local police.

If any blame is to be given for this fiasco it should go to Curly and Shultz, the two administrators who tried to bury the report – not to Paterno.

Penn State would have been better off apologizing to the families and explaining the law at the time, while leaving Paterno to finish his last season. The ball-less wonders couldn’t even fire him in person. He was informed through a phone call shortly before the announcement was made to the media.

The fact is that nobody will be successfully prosecuted for failing to report this case of alleged child abuse to the authorities.

Paterno, now 84 years old, will slowly rise out of the muck once the fervor dies down. He’ll be invited to speak and paid well for it. If he has some longevity remaining, you’ll see him honored with numerous awards within 5 years, though the specter of his failure to take individual action will always remain as a side note to his accomplishments.

If he passes sooner, he will be eulogized as a great coach and human being, with barely a mention of what occurred under his watch. Nobody likes to demonize the dead. It just isn’t politically correct.

This writer doesn’t follow college football. I don’t love, hate, like, or dislike Joe Paterno. I have no interest in Penn State University.

It’s just a simple conclusion from someone outside the box of emotional attachment. Joe Paterno was made the patsy by both his University and the media.