Riots in Penn State, I heard the story on ESPN of a man who would go to the last home game the last couple of seasons, because it could have been JoePa's last. He, his wife, and 9 month old child parked their van away from the original protest, and assumed they were safe. However, later into the night, as the protest reared its ugly head and showed that some people support causes, other people are looking for excuses to be jackasses. (Excuse my language). You think a man who dedicated that much time to a program, to students, to fans, and the game of football would want you disgracing his legacy by standing on top of a flipped news van. Yeah, I'm talking to you Guy-In-Black-Shorts-and-a-Lame-Haircut. The fact is, these 2,000-3,000 students involved with the on-campus riots, have done nothing to help JoePa's stance, nor have helped the Board of Trustee's attempt to rebuild not only their image, but start over and try to fix what they can.
The fact is, by protocol Joe Paterno did what he was supposed to do, he reported what he heard to his superior's, he had no power over how the investigation was handled, or how Sandusky was to be punished, nor did Coach Paterno actually see the incident occur. We've seen scandals across the board when it comes to college sport, so we call into the idea of the morals of a man. A highly respected figure in college athletics didn't go to the police when he heard of the wrongdoings.
But no one points the blame towards McQueary. The man who saw the incident, and went to Paterno. No one has called into question, if YOU saw it, why didn't you go to the police? You went to the Head Coach of a College Football team, not the chief of police. The fact is, Paterno going to Law Enforcement would have been the right thing, but if we all had hindsight, if we all went on the belief of one man's word, the world would be a very different place.
I'm not trying to say whether or not crimes were committed, I'm not that ignorant, and I think we all know what happened. It all makes us sick to our stomach. JoePa had a great impact on players, and his staff. But do I think that the firing of JoePa last night was wrong?
No, I do not think so. No one has ever really stood up to that man, and to say that this is a witch hunt to discredit, or dishonor this man. No. This is a start of a process of Penn State to clean house, but the fact remains that we're saying Paterno is wrong because he didn't call the police, because he didn't do the right thing. He didn't follow up on the investigation. But what is anyone supposed to do when they don't witness a crime first hand? Why did McQueary go to Paterno, instead of the police himself?
Do you know what telling the law enforcement something, someone told you? It's called hearsay, and doesn't stand up in court without some sort of documentation. No one knows what the conversation was between the former Grad Student now Coach, and the former head coach of Penn State.
But to imagine that a man who dedicated so much time would be fired over the telephone? It kind of turns my stomach, I think this could have been handled differently, I feel like someone who has done so much for a University deserves a little more. The fact is, this situation, from the day McQueary saw it, to today has not be handled right, but the firing of Joe Paterno was a start in the right direction.
It keeps the man away from the school, he's really up there in age obviously. In my opinion keeping him away from the program, from this stress, is the best thing for him at this point. I would have loved to see him finish the season and retire. But this is reality, not a sports movie. Penn State needs to rebuild, and sadly, Joe Pa needed to go.
The fact is, everyone from McQueary to Joe Pa needed to be removed from this situation. It only makes me fear the fact that this could be happening in other organizations, at any level of sports. We live in a society where Law and Order Special Victims Unit has high ratings, that deals with child abuse, both physically and sexually, rape, and other crimes of that nature. I'm left scratching my head at this situation.
So, I'll finish this piece here. I love Joe Pa, I think he is a polarized figure in what college coaches want to be. The crimes that set this scandal make me sick, and I pray that the victims find some sort of peace in their lives. Nothing can bring back the innocence taken, and I hope Jerry Sandusky spends the rest of his life behind bars. And Penn State kids, class it up, there isn't a need to Riot. Grow up, and have a little respect for yourselves, your program, and your dignity. I'm hear to talk to you about Sports. I'm speaking of Coaches and expressing a view of a situation from my eyes.
This isn't to offend anyone, nor is it to discredit anyone.
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