upstater1
Hall of Fame Poster
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2005
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The university cleared house? The university was FORCED to clear house, and even then, dragged their feet reluctantly every step of the way.
The cover-up was not just a football team issue, but went up to the athletic director and the senior vice president, both charged with perjury and failure to report suspected child abuse. The president issued a statement of "unconditional" support for both of them. He would later be forced to resign, over 3 years after the investigation was initiated.
Meanwhile, their head coach was forced to resign and an estimated 10,000 PSU students gathered in support of their coach and to protest, tipping over a news truck. A trustee involved in the matter told the media that the board actually considered letting Paterno finish the year, though ultimately deciding against it.
None of the above was about taking responsibility. It was all reactive, defiant at times.
Were there some PSU students, fans, and alumni who were absolutely disgusted by the entire cover-up. Absolutely. But not as many as you'd like to think considering the circumstances.
This is just wrong on so many levels. You're basing everything on a grand jury presentment and haven't even delved into the pretrial testimony. The story has yet tom come out. Those two will not be dinged for perjury. And Paterno in the unreleased testimony was credited by the AG for pushing for an investigation very hard multiple times.
They weren't charged with failure to report because there's no law in PA for that. They were charged with perjury. I support the fact that they fired these people to preserve the rep of the university but I think in Paterno's case it was precipitous.