Football

Everything I keep seeing is so appalling. I was reading a few Deadspin articles on it last night, and apparently, YEARS AGO, the mother of one of the victims approached Sandusky and demanded, "What did you do to my son? Did you touch him?" And Sandusky said, and I quote, "I don't think so. Maybe." MAYBE? How do you even SAY THAT to someone?

My mother was saying that the grad assistant who witnessed it at the time was probably scared of Sandusky as an authority figure, and I was just like, I do not know how you do not lay hands on the nearest blunt object and beat the shit out of a guy who's assaulting a ten-year-old child and make him stop. Yeah, it's shocking and horrifying. So... you're just gonna stand there and let him do it?

PrincessCleo wrote:Everything I keep seeing is so appalling. I was reading a few Deadspin articles on it last night, and apparently, YEARS AGO, the mother of one of the victims approached Sandusky and demanded, "What did you do to my son? Did you touch him?" And Sandusky said, and I quote, "I don't think so. Maybe." MAYBE? How do you even SAY THAT to someone?

According to the grand jury report, this conversation happened over the phone in 2007 or 2008, AND THERE WERE TWO POLICE OFFICERS LISTENING IN. I can't even.

I KNOOOOOOW

The more you think about it, the more awful it gets. Because you know that no one involved kept this secret without telling a soul. Officials, coaches, janitors--they had to have confided in wives, girlfriends, parents (like the graduate assistant, for example). And the officials who did know must have had at least one meeting where they agreed to hush it up. Cops and investigators knew about the accusations and declined to press charges; they must have discussed it with people, whether they should have or not. There must have been literally dozens of people who had some idea something was going on.

OH AND THEN THE DA WENT MISSING AND WAS DECLARED LEGALLY DEAD?

I do not know how you do not lay hands on the nearest blunt object and beat the shit out of a guy who's assaulting a ten-year-old child and make him stop. Yeah, it's shocking and horrifying. So... you're just gonna stand there and let him do it?

And his father who told him to leave (leaving the child there) and not call the police but just inform Paterno used to be a Little League coach! And two other witness were a wrestling coach and assistant principal at the local high school, your job is to look after children/teenagers! How could you be so cavalier with that responsibility!

And the president was a) a family therapist and b) president of the National Council on Family Relations, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Christian Children's Fund, and chair of the NCAA Division I Board of Directors. There's just not enough FAIL in the world.
It's so heartbreaking to read about the victims coming forward again, and again, and nothing happening. The DA disappearing is such a WHUT that I haven't even tried to go there yet.

Wow.

Usually the half-assed resign after the season would be enough, but the pressure was bad enough to force action. I am still stunned.

So sad. What a horrible, heart-breaking end to a wonderful career. Which does not, of course, excuse his inaction, but still: sad. Now, are they going to fire McQueary or what? I don't see how in the world they can justify keeping him on the staff.

jstilwe wrote:So sad. What a horrible, heart-breaking end to a wonderful career. Which does not, of course, excuse his inaction, but still: sad. Now, are they going to fire McQueary or what? I don't see how in the world they can justify keeping him on the staff.

It's horrible to see him go out like this, but really, there is no coming back from this. I really can't see any justification for them keeping McQueary either. How do you, as an eyewitness who was from all accounts markedly distraught over what you saw, NOT FOLLOW UP WHEN NOTHING WAS DONE???

This whole situation has me so sickened.

This is the part I can't understand. You witness this brutal crime, you only half-heartedly tell your boss, and then you shut up about it and don't even TRY to get that child help?? Or get that man away from other children?? Quite honestly, that guy should get in just as much trouble as the rest of them. And I hope he has to face that kid's mother and explain why he did nothing.

I'm not following it too closely, but I can kind of see how it happened. He sees something, but he's afraid for his job and his career. But his conscience won't leave him alone, so he half-heartedly tells a higher-up and dumps it in that guy's lap. And then he goes about convincing himself that it was probably only that one time, and it's not like he didn't do anything -- he did tell someone, after all -- and the administration probably took care of it, so his conscience can rest easy, and really, it probably looked worse than it was. A whooole bunch of delusion and convoluted reasoning to convince himself that what he did was okay, even though deep down he probably knows it wasn't.

That's not to excuse his actions or absolve him of responsibility -- because seriously, if you see a child being abused and you want to let the administration know, by all means, go ahead. But your very next phone call, literally, as soon as you hang up the phone, should be to the police -- but I can definitely see how it happened. People have a remarkable ability to rationalize in order to make themselves feel better.

And OMG FUCKING SERIOUSLY, students fill the streets protesting Paterno's firing.

I'm not surprised they're rioting. Disturbed and disgusted, but not surprised.

Are they actually rioting? The last live coverage I saw was pretty orderly.

Ugh, this whole thing is so upsetting. The case itself is horrifying, both because of the nature and scope of the abuse and the coverup. But then to have people take to the streets not because a university covered up a years-long molestation scandal, but because a football coach was fired... It really is disgusting. what the fuck is wrong with these people?

They flipped a News Van.

blixie wrote:

It's crazy to think about how many people about this and did nothing.

It's unbelievably gross, and it's reminding me of a much MUCH smaller scale incident with Graham James, who also was generally known to be into young boys in the Canadian amateur hockey system and wasn't busted for it until Sheldon Kennedy came forward. Canada actually pardoned the creep, even though new victims were still coming forward in 2007. Luckily he's back in custody facing even MORE charges from all the yeas no one talked about it, but GOD.

Here's an article on the Grahame James incident. Since then Theo Fluery confirmed the open secret that he was another James victim.

There have been rumors about coach/agent Steve Frost who player Mike Danton tried to have murdered.

blooey wrote:Ugh, this whole thing is so upsetting. The case itself is horrifying, both because of the nature and scope of the abuse and the coverup. But then to have people take to the streets not because a university covered up a years-long molestation scandal, but because a football coach was fired... It really is disgusting. what the fuck is wrong with these people?

They're not thinking rationally at all. As they see it, Joe Paterno is part grandpa, part Mr. Rodgers and they're reacting on behalf of the guy they see as the face of their university. The reason why Paterno is still there even though he's done less and less is because he is so beloved.

Jerry Sandusky Rumored to Have Been 'Pimping Out Young Boys to Rich Donors,' Says Mark Madden.

Madden is the one who broke the story six months ago and no one really paid attention.

I can't even.

I really hope that and other details I've heard aren't true. The whole business is evil and disgusting enough as it is.

That's grotesque. I am still in shock that something this depraved (it is hard to find adjectives extreme enough to capture the situation) happened at a program with such a pristine reputation. I think I'm out of the denial phase, at least, in which I was clinging to the tiniest shred of hope that somehow Paterno didn't have any idea what happened and wasn't actively involved in a cover-up. It now appears extremely unlikely to be the case.

This whole story is so horrifying, I wish it were just an SVU episodes without real victims. I read the grand jury indictment (extremely disturbing and graphic). I think it is probable that the MANY in the football power structure knew something about Sandusky's behavior for, well, who knows how long. The first time he was reported according to the grand jury indictment was the late 90's - first report isn't first time. And most child molesters don't just start acting out at the age of 55, you know?

My theory is that a disturbing number of people knew something was off/wrong (God forbid they knew the specifics) about him and looked the other way until the late 90's. I suspect he was pressured to retire in 1999 after people SAW him molesting children. Why 'make him retire' was the solution to this issue confounds me. But I do think Penn State football KNEW what he was doing. Why would he rape a child in the Penn State locker room? Because he knew he would get away with it. What a toxic ideological environment that has to have occurred in.

Mark Madden reported on Sandusky and the molestation in April 2011, way ahead of the curve. But I really, really hope his sources are wrong about donors getting young boys. Horrifying.

I suspect he was pressured to retire in 1999 after people SAW him molesting children.

Yeah exactly, sports talk radio here has been, typically offensive and horrible, but one guy brought up that Sundusky, when he retired was considered by many, purely based on the football, someone other schools might consider as a head coach (even if Penn State wouldn't because Jo Pa would never leave), so his getting out of the game entirely was suspicious. It feels very much like the program getting him officially off the books, all while letting him a) hang around the team anyway, and b) enabling, and even *protecting* his access to his victim pool via the charity work. That's where AD Curley comes of the scuzziest of all to me, since the charity asked about the 2002 investigation and he said Sandusky was cleared. CLEARED. That right there is straight up evil. His needs a nice roasty cell in hell next to Sandusky.

jstilwe wrote:That's grotesque. I am still in shock that something this depraved (it is hard to find adjectives extreme enough to capture the situation) happened at a program with such a pristine reputation. I think I'm out of the denial phase, at least, in which I was clinging to the tiniest shred of hope that somehow Paterno didn't have any idea what happened and wasn't actively involved in a cover-up. It now appears extremely unlikely to be the case.

I think that's why there's so much media attention on it now. Not only the extent of the crimes and the coverup, but the fact Joe Paterno held himself out there as a man of character. Penn State put him on a pedestal and I think that's part of the reason why there was rioting. Some of it was people acting out for the sake of acting out but I also think some of it was displaced anger at someone they'd looked up to. I imagine it's similar to finding out an adored parent had an affair. They feel betrayed. They're angry they were deceived and that a man they admired isn't who they thought he was.

They feel betrayed. They're angry they were deceived and that a man they admired isn't who they thought he was.

Wait what? The rioting and crowds were in *support* of Paterno, not against him right? That's what I saw last night. They felt betrayed by the Regents who fired him and wanted him to be able to coach the rest of the season and retire (relatively) on his own terms.