a**********n
发帖数: 71 | 1 ZT
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/11/our_view.htm
OUR VIEW: Penn State's Graham Spanier, Joe Paterno need to leave as result
of Jerry Sandusky case. Doing what the law required wasn't enough
Published: Tuesday, November 08, 2011, 7:00 AM Updated: Tuesday,
November 08, 2011, 9:59 AM
By Patriot-News Editorial Board
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NABIL K. MARK/Centre Daily Times
Penn State University President Graham Spanier and head coach Joe Paterno
talk before the Iowa game, Oct. 8, 2011.
There are the obligations we all have to uphold the law. There are then the
obligations we all have to do what is right.
It has become increasingly clear that while Penn State University President
Graham Spanier has not been charged with breaking any laws, he did not do
what is right — for his school or, more importantly, for the alleged
victims of coaching legend Jerry Sandusky.
Spanier needs to step aside. If he doesn’t, the university board of
trustees needs to take that step when it meets this week.
As for Joe Paterno, the face of Penn State and the man who has pushed for
excellence on the football field and for the entire university, this must be
his last season. His contract should not be extended.
This is not about age. This is not about rebuilding a football team.
It is impossible not to cringe when hearing the charges against Sandusky.
From 1994 to 2008, he is said to have sexually abused eight boys as young as
8 years old. Some victims reported up to 20 incidents.
Though Sandusky is said by the attorney general’s office to have found the
boys through his Second Mile charity for kids, many incidents are said to
have happened in the football locker room at Penn State — both before and
after Sandusky retired as a Nittany Lions coach in 1999.
The allegations are horrifying in nature, stupefying in quantity, nauseating
in detail.
The courts will determine whether Jerry Sandusky is guilty of any crime.
Until then, he is presumed innocent. That is the bedrock of our democracy.
The court system will also determine whether Athletic Director Tim Curley
and university Vice President Gary Schultz committed perjury. The twists and
turns of such things as the statute of limitations and legal definitions
will play key roles in the courtroom.
But right now, here, today, we know what Spanier and Paterno did — and did
not do.
According to the grand jury, in 2002, then-graduate assistant Mike McQueary
saw Sandusky performing a sex act on a young boy in the football locker room
showers. Distraught, he went to head coach Joe Paterno.
Paterno’s response was to tell his boss. He called Curley at home, on a
Sunday — he knew it was serious.
He told Curley that Sandusky had been seen “fondling or doing something of
a sexual nature” with a boy in the showers.
That is what Paterno said under oath.
And with that, the attorney general has determined, Joe Paterno fulfilled
his obligation under the law.
Graham Spanier, too, apparently did everything the law required.
Curley and Schultz told Spanier there was “inappropriate conduct” between
Sandusky and the boy.
Curley insists that is what he heard from McQueary. Schultz concedes that he
heard “Sandusky might have inappropriately grabbed” the young boy’s
private parts.
So how did a college football legend, known nationally for the integrity of
his program, respond to a report of “something of a sexual nature”
occurring between his longtime colleague and a little boy?
And how did a university president responsible for the welfare of thousands
of young people respond to the very idea that an older man was showering
with a boy and engaging in “inappropriate conduct” on campus?
They banned Jerry Sandusky from bringing children on campus.
That was all.
Here is what they did not do:
Neither Joe Paterno nor Graham Spanier called the police.
Neither Joe Paterno nor Graham Spanier seem to have demonstrated any concern
for the victim. They never tried to find him. They never tried to get him
the emotional help he might need.
When Paterno heard that the milquetoast response was to ban Sandusky from
bringing kids on campus — a ban that Curley himself called unenforceable —
there is no indication Joe ever went to Spanier to warn him that this could
be far more serious.
Spanier didn’t even think it important to speak personally with McQueary.
If he had, McQueary would have told him what he told the grand jury: that he
saw a boy pinned against the shower wall and Sandusky engaged in what the
law calls “involuntary deviate sexual intercourse.”
How about more recently?
Paterno and Spanier both knew that a grand jury was investigating Sandusky
for possible sexual abuse. They were called to testify. Yet Sandusky
continued to have a private office on campus and access to any building.
At midnight Sunday, Spanier issued a statement that said, “The protection
of children is of paramount importance. The university will take a number of
actions moving forward to increase the safety and security within our
facilities and make everyone aware of the protocols in place for handling
these issues.”
Where was Spanier’s concern when he first heard about the investigation?
That was the time to think: “Whether Jerry Sandusky committed a crime or
not, I need to ensure the safety of children on our campus right now.”
The attorney general has determined that Paterno and Spanier did everything
the law required. But a university president must be held to a higher
standard. The most famous coach in college football history must be held to
a higher standard.
Since taking the reins in 1995, Graham Spanier has done great things for
Penn State. He has built world-class facilities, added a law school,
increased fundraising and strengthened the school’s reputation as a center
for research.
But a leader who lacks moral authority has nothing. By doing the absolute
minimum when hearing potentially serious allegations, by doing more to
protect the school’s reputation than to protect children, Spanier has lost
that moral authority.
Joe Paterno is a different story. That doesn’t let him off the hook. He
should have done more. A man who has spoken with such affection for 46 years
about “his kids” failed real kids when they needed him most.
But this incident does not undo a lifetime of achievement.
Some people will argue that Joe should step down immediately as well. Given
what we know now, we don’t agree. Paterno should be allowed to finish out
the year and retire with the honor and admiration he has earned since taking
over as head coach in 1966.
It might always be honor with an asterisk, admiration with a shake of the
head. Joe will have to live with that.
There will be other people who argue that Graham Spanier and Joe Paterno
should not be punished at all. After all, they obeyed the law.
Eight little boys would have said: that simply isn’t enough. | b**j
发帖数: 20742 | 2 joepa肯定这个是last season了。问题是是不是要马上辞职。我觉得还是让他结束这个
赛季吧，也算对球队那么多年轻人负责。punish joepa不该牺牲那么多球员。
【在 a**********n 的大作中提到】
: ZT
: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/11/our_view.htm
: OUR VIEW: Penn State's Graham Spanier, Joe Paterno need to leave as result
: of Jerry Sandusky case. Doing what the law required wasn't enough
: Published: Tuesday, November 08, 2011, 7:00 AM Updated: Tuesday,
: November 08, 2011, 9:59 AM
: By Patriot-News Editorial Board
: Follow
: 172
: Share
| i**w
发帖数: 787 | 3 就是啊。而且一代传奇最后如此谢幕，真是意料之外。
【在 b**j 的大作中提到】
: joepa肯定这个是last season了。问题是是不是要马上辞职。我觉得还是让他结束这个
: 赛季吧，也算对球队那么多年轻人负责。punish joepa不该牺牲那么多球员。
| b**j
发帖数: 20742 | 4 woody hayes, JT, 落幕也是不光彩的。不过joe pa这个，更令人痛心。
【在 i**w 的大作中提到】
: 就是啊。而且一代传奇最后如此谢幕，真是意料之外。
| s***f
发帖数: 103 | 5 是啊，道德审判比刑事审判更可怕！
【在 b**j 的大作中提到】
: woody hayes, JT, 落幕也是不光彩的。不过joe pa这个，更令人痛心。
| c*******s
发帖数: 1555 | 6 不知道penn state的球员们现在怎么看joe pa. Must be a hard situation for them. |
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