Not just "sex abuse scandal." Cover-up of CHILD RAPE. Paterno gave 10 extra years of the ability to abuse children to Sandusky and never reported eyewitness accounts of child rape to the police. Wonder how those students would feel if it were their 10 year old brother who was anally raped in the locker room shower. Oh that's right, the victims were kids in an at-risk program, so socially miles away from these football-worshiping, privileged idiots.
What 1 and 2 said. If the students are supposed to be the 99%, that means Paterno is the 1% here. That makes those students protesting for him more like the 53% or whatever.
As I was listening to the NPR story on this, I wanted to scream. Did no one explain to the students that ignoring/allowing child rape is not okay? No one told them that Paterno's not the victim here? No one mentioned that the victims were the [at least] eight boys who were raped - and how many of them were raped AFTER the witness reported it to Paterno?
Let's not forget all the sexual assaults and other crimes committed by top athletes that are never reported, swept under the rug, blamed on the victim, etc. Crimes that if committed by a regular University employee or student might be dealt with appropriately.
Yes, set up an occupy rally defending someone who willfully withheld information on the rape of a child. This will work out for everyone and no one in the media will use it to try and smear the movement at all.
Don't forget the real victims, the real kids being hurt in all this. The now coach-less PSU football team, they came to PSU with dreams of the NFL and now their dreams are in jeopardy
By the way, I have a problem with BBC's characterization of the Penn State "sex scandal". This is not a sex scandal.
This is a "rape of a child" scandal.
The views of the minority don't represent the views of the community as a whole. There are 44K students on that campus and the vast majority of them DID NOT riot. Please be aware that there are many, many of us in the Penn State community who are disgusted by this and agree with the decision to remove Paterno and Spanier.
Personally, I wish they had acted much sooner. 13 years sooner.
Only 80 -100 students turned out for that UW protest yesterday. Saw them on 45th. About 95% white. Guess all those Asian students at UW believe in studying not entitlements.
How many rapes at Occupy Something rallies so far?
Fucking sickening. I would love to see the cops cave in the heads of the bros and trixies that put their beloved football program above the welfare of children.
I think its sad how most of you are calling for the heads of these idiot Penn State students for rioting and at the same time are calling for the heads of police who maced and arrested dozens during last weeks Chase Bank riot on Broadway.
Exactly how many sexual assaults have occured in these OWS tent cities? Were they reported immediately? Nobody seems to be interested in these attacks, nobody wants to talk about it.
PS: NCAA should law down the hammer @ Penn State, the school should be banned from all playoff games for 5 years minimum.
@11
I do wonder at the white-washing of the coverage. Do the media think that referring to child rape as a sex scandal will make this more genteel? That calling rape ārapeā will upset people? If some people only read the headlines, they could imagine he was having sex with an of-age student. Letās be blunt and call it what it is. He raped children. Itās not sex, itās rape.
@11 and @21 In the Seattle Times today Bud Withers called the locker room rape of a 10 yo a "sexual encounter." WTF? There are some weird ass value systems in the world of sports.
I agree with the firing of Paterno. His position wasn't tenable after the revelation. However, the lion's share of blame must go to the graduate student who evidently, viewed the one assault and who testified to the grand jury. He supposedly called his father first not the police. WTF! While Sandusky is claiming innocence, I'm quite dubious of it. This event is so sordid and sad for all. Especially the boys. Sigh.
@ 24, I wouldn't be so quick to judge that kid. (And yes, he was still a kid, even if he was past 21 - anyone who's made it to 30 knows what I mean).
When you're in that kind of position, it can be scary because you're talking about the most important figures in a big operation, and someone like that witness was a nobody. He should have gone to the police, but he might have trusted the university process - they conducted an investigation, after all. I doubt he was made aware of the findings or the decision to leave it at banning Sandusky's activities from campus; he might have been naive and trusting. I don't know - maybe more about that will come out.
@24, the lion's share of the blame goes to those with the most authority, because they have the most responsibility to get the problem solved. Paterno's crime is more serious than the grad student's because of the authority of his position. Likewise, the Pope's crime is more serious than those of lesser authority who committed the same crime.
Yeah, who cares that he knew a child had been anally raped and yet felt to problem in doing the bare minimum of telling his superior and never following up once he saw that absolutely nothing was being done. Dude won a bunch of games. What are the destroyed bodies and minds of a group of little children next to being a good coach?
While I agree that it's very unfortunate for the Penn State football players, their situation in no way compares with the group of young boys who were raped by Sandusky. To characterize the players as the "real victims" is to ignore the real and lasting damage done to the ACTUAL victims in this case.
@27 - he is to blame because he walked into a room where a child was being raped and did not rescue the child. There is no excuse for that. I don't care what channels he went through after the fact, he knew what he saw and he didn't stop it.
McQueary had an interview with the head of the police where he documented exactly what he saw. Schultz was the head of the police, people! If you see a rape and report it to someone who oversees the police department, wouldn't you expect it to get investigated? Remember, this investigation now started in 2008, so they take time. I cut the kid a ton of slack. I do not cut the Penn State Board slack for paying for Schultz's legal defense with Penn State money.
And those kids are fucking disgusting to say the least. It's like watching Catholics defend the Pope after he covered up child rape in the church.
no.
the raped kids are the 1%.
the students are the 99% in that they are clueless spoiled unprincipled selfish brats....
This is a "rape of a child" scandal.
Personally, I wish they had acted much sooner. 13 years sooner.
How many rapes at Occupy Something rallies so far?
Cunts. All of them.
Exactly how many sexual assaults have occured in these OWS tent cities? Were they reported immediately? Nobody seems to be interested in these attacks, nobody wants to talk about it.
PS: NCAA should law down the hammer @ Penn State, the school should be banned from all playoff games for 5 years minimum.
I do wonder at the white-washing of the coverage. Do the media think that referring to child rape as a sex scandal will make this more genteel? That calling rape ārapeā will upset people? If some people only read the headlines, they could imagine he was having sex with an of-age student. Letās be blunt and call it what it is. He raped children. Itās not sex, itās rape.
Fuck off with your right-wing bullshit. Free Republic is over there.
When you're in that kind of position, it can be scary because you're talking about the most important figures in a big operation, and someone like that witness was a nobody. He should have gone to the police, but he might have trusted the university process - they conducted an investigation, after all. I doubt he was made aware of the findings or the decision to leave it at banning Sandusky's activities from campus; he might have been naive and trusting. I don't know - maybe more about that will come out.
Penn State, you fail, hard.
Ive never voted Republican and Free Republic has banned many of my accounts, simply for calling them on their BS.
Try again.
While I agree that it's very unfortunate for the Penn State football players, their situation in no way compares with the group of young boys who were raped by Sandusky. To characterize the players as the "real victims" is to ignore the real and lasting damage done to the ACTUAL victims in this case.