This past weekend, the cult that is Penn State thought it’d be a good idea to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Joe Paterno’s first game as head coach of the Nittany Lions for reasons that are beyond me and anyone with a soul.
For those who don’t remember, or choose to ignore like Penn State, Joe Paterno was at the center of one of the most egregious and horrific scandals in US History that involved the serial sexual abuse of children by former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky and the University’s heinous attempts to cover it all up. Time and again, Joe Paterno’s name has climbed to the surface by way of court documents, PH 375 testimony and desposition as someone who knew about the incidents and not only failed to act appropriately on them, but knowingly impeded justice and kept Sandusky out of harm’s way.
As seen in the videos below, the celebration was met with little opposition from Penn State fans, students, and supporters who roared when Paterno’s face graced the screen and his voice echoed among the 100,420 at hand at Beaver Stadium to witness the worship.
Pictured below, you’ll find two regressive shit-stains in their (seemingly) natural habitat:
Scum of the earth @PennStateFball pic.twitter.com/XYMeiM2yC4
— CanesInSight (@CanesInSight) September 17, 2016
What is mind boggling is how an entire community that includes well-educated and informed individuals, could be so coldly re-missive and so completely out-of-touch with reality. They are willingly deaf to the collection of facts that directly implicate Joe Paterno allowing children to be sexually molested for over 33 years.
Staunch defenders of Paterno and his legacy cling to the fact that he “reported it to the right authorities and that’s all he could have done” even while Paterno, himself, released a statement just a few months before his passing saying he “wished (he) had done more” and piling evidence that has been uncovered more recently suggests that he should have done A LOT more.
At The Bench Wire, we stand behind our statements and this article isn’t any different. The following are facts that Joe Paterno knowingly harbored a child sexual predator on his staff:
A) CNN reported that in 1971, family of a victim who was sexually attacked after he was hitchhiking and later picked up by Sandusky called Penn State, who had Joe Paterno on the phone as well, and told them “Stop this right now! We’ll call the authorities,” dismissing the victim’s claims that the sexual assault had even occurred.
B) Unsealed court documents state that in 1976, a child victim reported an incident in the shower between himself and Sandusky to Paterno, to which Paterno said to the child victim “I don’t want to hear about any of that kind of stuff, I have a football season to worry about.”
C) In 1998, a child victim reports to his mother that Sandusky sexually assaulted him. The mother in turn reports the incident to the University. AD Tim Curley notifies Joe Paterno about the incident and emails University Vice President Greg Schulz: “Anything new in this department? Coach (Paterno) is anxious to know where it stands,” however Paterno denied knowledge of any of this.
D) In 2002, Mike McQueary reports that he witnessed Sandusky sexually assault a child in the locker room shower to Paterno, to which he says “you did what you had to do. It’s my job now to figure out what we want to do.” Paterno then reports it to AD Tim Curley on a Sunday because he “did not want to interfere with their weekends.” From the NY Times, “Curley informs Shultz and (University President) Spanier that he has changed his mind after “talking it over with Joe” Paterno. Instead of reporting the incident, he says they should offer Sandusky “professional help” and tell him to stop bringing guests to the locker room. Spanier worries that if Sandusky continues, “we then become vulnerable for not having reported it,” before agreeing the approach is “humane.” They do not report the incident.”
E) In 2012, the Freeh report is released accusing Paterno and other Penn State officials of deliberately hiding the facts of Sandusky’s sexual abuse of children since at least 1998.
In no universe can a logical person who has reviewed the facts revolving around this scandal can argue that Paterno either had no knowledge of the incidents or had done his due diligence to ensure the safety of the children that were being sexually abused by his peer.
But here we are, a statue removed and five years later still arguing the technicalities of “what did Joe Pa REALLY know? and “did he do enough?”
To perhaps see this objectively, let’s say that bestpharmacy.org Penn State chose not to honor him and the fans, students, and alumni all vilified him. What then? What happens now to all of the records, the wins, the academic All-Americans and football All-Americans, and all of the good will that was built up through the years? The life-lessons he preached about “doing the right thing” and “family;” should any of it mean anything?
Do we throw out the truth in search of a saint when the truth is so damning?
No, we can’t.
