Joe Paterno, 85

He changed the lives of many athletes for over 7 decades at one school. JoePa will be a legend at Penn State for many years to come.

May God rest his soul.

While this may sound cold, I lost all respect for anyone involved in this scandal. While I know he was not involved directly, he turned his back on young men, maybe even possibly on those that helped him become the great coach that he was.

Makes you wonder, doesn't it.

If I were 85 diagnosed with lung cancer, I think that I would have accepted my fate, having lived a productive prosperous life, the treatment can be devastating for those in not good health.

Perhaps this just goes along with the fact that these men believed they were untouchable, that nothing could hurt them.

My condolances to his family and Penn State.

Let's pray that he repented of all the young boys sodomized because he did nothing.

"When a nervous and uncomfortable Mike McQueary sat at Joe Paterno's kitchen table and tried to explain what he'd witnessed Jerry Sandusky doing with a boy in a Lasch building shower, Paterno said he struggled to comprehend.

"He didn't want to get specific," Paterno said in an interview this past week with the Washington Post, his first since a child sexual abuse scandal involving Sandusky, his longtime aide, hit State College like an earthquake on Nov. 5 of last year.

"And to be frank with you I don't know that it would have done any good, because I never heard of, of rape and a man. So I just did what I thought was best. I talked to people that I thought would be, if there was a problem, that would be following up on it."

Does anyone else buy his story? I don't.

it does not make wonder----nobody knows all the facts---look what is happening at syracuse now---coach fines accuser is now recanting his claims---sad aspect about the paterno situation is that with his death we may never know the real truth

May God grant peace to his family and friends; Joe Pa, as is true with all of us, really eventually only has to answer to one Judge. While we all have our thoughts about the Sandusky issues, in the end, he has to answer to only one Judge, who is the forgiving type.

I'm sure it's a very tough time for his friends and family.

quote:

Originally posted by TRhit:
sad aspect about the paterno situation is that with his death we may never know the real truth

Are you saying that the victims coming forward are not being truthful?

That the truth in all of this lies just with one man's, "I did what I thought was best"?

I don't buy his explanation either, he kept his silence to protect his friend and the reputation of the school? JMO.

Yes, makes ME wonder, with his passing, how many more victims will come forward?

It is VERY sad!

I'm going to remember all the positives and hope the huge negative leads coaches to understand they need to take responsibility for everything going on in their program. There was a lot about the football program JoePa delegated in the past ten years. The Sandusky issue shouldn't have been one of them.

I told a friend a few months ago JoePa would probably die within a year of being removed from something that was his life. I didn't realize cancer was going to take him down sooner. It's possible in his state of mind and sense of guilt he didn't have the will to fight it off.

Rest in Peace Big Joe. There should have been another way to handle that scandal at Penn State, two months later this man dies after being kicked down by so many. I am not saying things were right, or wrong. I am saying he was guilty by the the court of public opinion and was never given his day in court. At least he is resting now.

This morning, I found myself struggling to find the words to express how I felt about the passing of Joe Paterno in a manner that gives proper respect while being sensitive to the things that have come to light in the past several months. Then I listened to the Coach K interview. What he said. I encourage everyone to listen to that interview.

RIP Papa Joe. His death two months after being fired shows that there was no way he had neither the physical nor the mental capacity to handle the demands of being a head coach of a major D1 program. He bullied Penn State to keep him as coach which will now haunt the program for years.

Good riddance. Paterno oversaw these dispicable crimes in his own facility and chose to turn a blind eye for his own ego and power. Now he's dead. End of story.

quote:

Originally posted by cabbagedad:
This morning, I found myself struggling to find the words to express how I felt about the passing of Joe Paterno in a manner that gives proper respect while being sensitive to the things that have come to light in the past several months. Then I listened to the Coach K interview. What he said. I encourage everyone to listen to that interview.

Do you know where we can hear his interview? I've tried a couple of searches on the internet and not finding anything.

"The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interrèd with their bones."

Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act II, Scene 2.

Rest in Peace Joe Paterno.

quote:

Originally posted by coach2709:

quote:

Originally posted by cabbagedad:
This morning, I found myself struggling to find the words to express how I felt about the passing of Joe Paterno in a manner that gives proper respect while being sensitive to the things that have come to light in the past several months. Then I listened to the Coach K interview. What he said. I encourage everyone to listen to that interview.

Do you know where we can hear his interview? I've tried a couple of searches on the internet and not finding anything.

Hi Coach,
Go to ESPN.com and search "Coach K Paterno Radio interview"

I'll try a link...
http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten...ke-krzyzewski-reacts

Terribly sad situation all the way around.

I still think that Paterno should have done more with the information given but can you imagine the stress he was under in the last few months. No 87 year old could have ever survived that.

Thanks cabbage - I'll check it out after this game goes off.

To touch on a bit what has been said...

There will be more to out than previously stated, for better or for worse.

quote:

Is it possible that he made a mistake? Is it possible that at the time he did what he thought was best for all involved? I feel like he was a strong man with a good heart. He wasn't a perfect man but neither are any of us.
For all those years he strove for integrity and had an amazing life's work that is just incredible.
I do not believe he had an evil heart, I believe he was a great man that made a big mistake and was vilified by the media...

Innocent Bystander,

That is what I want to believe. What would have been the perfect way for him to handle the Sandusky problem. Evidently, he did not see anything himself. He heard something from someone else. I can't believe Joe would have just allowed a child molester to run loose arounf his program. So I do wonder what he really knew. Unfortunately we may never know.

What should people do with something really bad that they heard? I suppose most would say go to the police. But wouldn't many of us relay the information to someone capable of doing something. Isn't that what he did. Then once it became more obvious about Sandusky, you realize that you could have done more.

I hate what happened to those kids. I want to think Joe Paterno hated it just as much. Sandusky is the villian here if all is true. I believe Joe could have/should have done things differently. He said that himself. I think it might have killed him.

What a sad way to go out! RIP Joe Paterno

Apart from being my dad, my father was the greatest man I have ever known. He served his country in WWII through circumstances that required unbelievable bravery. He spent his entire professional career with sole purpose of helping others and easing their pain. Over the years, I heard from many people I didn’t even know how my dad “saved their lives”, “performed miracles”, “is a saint”... He had an impeccable reputation in a profession where such is nearly impossible. He tirelessly provided for a very large family. He could have done so in a much easier fashion, but chose to accept payments of baked goods and such (or none at all) from those who couldn’t otherwise afford his help. He was a dedicated husband, often writing love poems to my mom. He served his community, served his church and wrote books for the benefit of his profession in his spare time.

My dad was also a product of his generation and of his surroundings and circumstances. Much later in his life, there were situations where people of today’s generation would not find his words, thoughts or actions acceptable and he would draw criticism. Certain things that today’s society finds acceptable, he couldn’t begin to fathom. He made some mistakes in handling things in a manner that he thought was the right.

No man is perfect. I have heard many tremendous things about the positive impact the Mr. Paterno has had on the lives of so many and for so long. I know that I will never forget the great man that was my father. I didn’t know Mr. Paterno but am certain that there are many that rightfully feel the same way toward him.

My Dad was a WWII veteran. Having the luxury of looking back how he raised myself and 8 other kids there were things he tended to choose not to be aware of. I think it was a generational way of raising kids. Remember it was the WWII vets that produced the hippies.

We all see things differently.

20 years ago I reported a suspected case of child abuse (sexual)to my superior, who was required by law to report the allegation to the state for investigation. You have to be pretty sure about this stuff before you make a report, but as a teacher, it was my duty and obligation to protect the child, not any adult involved. I made sure that I asked my boss later on if they did their part. I often wonder about that child, it haunts me.

I don't understand being confused, I understand that he didn't work with young children and may not have had any interest in really thinking too much about the real truth, maybe it wasn't important to him, maybe he was in denial his coach was capable of such an act.

However, Sandusky's dismissal without outside authorities being alerted, didn't take place because of "suspect". I beleive it happened to take the heat off everyone involved.

Everyone.

I passed a man on the street the other day. I began to pass judgement on what type of person he was and why he was in this position. Then I was struck by the fact that he was looking at me and maybe he was judging me. I decided to just say hello and accept him for what he was, just a man. Until I had walked in his shoes, done what he had done, lived what he had lived, it was not for me to judge. It was a very nice suit he was wearing though.

May God have mercy on his soul.

One way to judge a mans character is to hear what those who knew him well, have to say about his impact upon them.

Man after well respected man that have played for him and seen his contribution to his family, his job, his university, their personal development, have come forward speaking of high integrity. I have to believe that so many couldn't be so wrong.

It appears to me that the University handled his firing very poorly. He was scapegoated in the purging to deal with this real nightmare. He did what most would do; take the testimony of a third party about Sandusky, to his immediate superiors, his AD AND the University President. He didn't witness, what else was he to do?

He said it best in hindsight; "I wish I had done more." How many of us could utter those words about much in our lives?

The outcome for Joe, the others involved and for the victims, is really sad. Sandusky, now that's another matter.

I said many critical things about Joe Paterno (and others) in the thread from a couple of months ago on the Sandusky scandal, and I don't want to minimize those things for which JoePa was rightfully criticized in the wake of that scandal breaking.

However, especially at the time of the man's passing, it would be just as wrong (maybe even more so) to minimize the far greater number Coach Paterno's good deeds over the many years of his fine - even exemplar - career at Penn State. The reality is that his actions and inaction during the Sandusky scandal represented a lapse in moral judgment, but the key word there is "lapse." There really is not a lot of evidence that this was anything but an exceptional blip in a life otherwise lead with character and good values.

PGStaff asks what would have been the perfect way for JoePa to handle the Sandusky scandal, and I really think Coach Paterno struggled with that question as well. Cabbagedad's comments about his WWII-era father ring really true for me, and I think this played a credible part in JoePa's struggle to comprehend the situation and how best to handle it. That doesn't excuse it, but it does help to give it context.

So I choose to believe Joe's most recent comments, that he truly struggled to comprehend and how best to have handled what he had been asked to handle, and just as others have, judged himself to have come up short. Unfortunately, that judgment - for all of us - comes only with the benefit of hindsight. Hopefully, this scandal has provided an entire nation a teaching moment, so others who face scandals like this will know better how to behave and conduct themselves.

It is too early and the scandal is too fresh in people's minds to make a true judgment of Coach Paterno's legacy. I do think we need to look at the whole picture, and (as many others have said) realize that we are ALL imperfect and may not be as unlikely to fall prey to the kinds of lapses of judgment JoePa had as we would like to believe.

A great but imperfect man has fallen. Let's remember him for both his greatness and his human imperfections, and celebrate a life well-lived.

I think Coach K's sentiments were the best. JoePa did not deserve to be villified by the press for the actions or inactions of others. Even now, the misinformation that the media spread about Joe and his role continues as shown in several postings in this thread. Maybe Joe should have followed up on what he reported or maybe he trusted his superiors a bit too much. Bottom line, Joe reported what McQueary told him to those in authority and cooperated fully during the legal process as evidenced by no charging of wrong doing. From his perspective, this was an isolated incident and Sandusky had not worked for him for several years. 20-20 hindsight is a wonderful thing and I challenge anyone who has never had a "I wish I had done more" moment.

I did not know JoePa but I do know someone who played for him and was a graduate assistant coach. He said that Joe always felt that he would die if he retired. I was surprised when I started hearing this in the media reports yesterday from several people. That is probably the true answer behind why he kept coaching for so long.

I think that we heard a lot about what his legacy will be from the people who really knew him. Not those who are passing judgement based on imperfect knowledge and supposition. Joe's true legacy will live on through all of the lives he touched and made better.

quote:

Originally posted by TPM:
We all see things differently.

20 years ago I reported a suspected case of child abuse (sexual)to my superior, who was required by law to report the allegation to the state for investigation. You have to be pretty sure about this stuff before you make a report, but as a teacher, it was my duty and obligation to protect the child, not any adult involved. I made sure that I asked my boss later on if they did their part. I often wonder about that child, it haunts me.

I don't understand being confused, I understand that he didn't work with young children and may not have had any interest in really thinking too much about the real truth, maybe it wasn't important to him, maybe he was in denial his coach was capable of such an act.

However, Sandusky's dismissal without outside authorities being alerted, didn't take place because of "suspect". I beleive it happened to take the heat off everyone involved.

Everyone.

Coach Paterno explanation:
....it was clear that the witness saw something inappropriate involving Mr. Sandusky. As coach Sandusky was retired from our coaching staff at that time, I referred the matter to university administrators.....


Seems to me that Paterno's response was similar to yours. Substitute the word "teacher" with "coach" and you pretty much make his case.