Sunday, November 6, 2011

THROUGH THE SECOND MILE, SANDUSKY HAD ACCESS TO HUNDREDS OF BOYS, MANY OF WHOM WERE VULNERABLE DUE TO THEIR SOCIAL SITUATIONS:  I think Yahoo Sports' Dan Wetzel is undoubtedly correct that the alleged Penn State child rape coverup represents what "could be the ugliest scandal in the history of college athletics."

Questions about athletes and their families receiving improper benefits seem trivial in comparison to the horrific allegations in the grand jury presentment, which asserts that after a graduate assistant reported to Joe Paterno that he saw former coach Jerry Sandusky raping a ten-year-old boy in the gym showers, Paterno waited until the next day before contacting athletic director Tim Curley to inform him of the allegations. Curley then waited a week and a half before bringing in the assistant to recount what he saw. Subsequently, Curley never called the police or any other law enforcement agency, instead merely issuing an unenforceable and unenforced ban on Sandusky bringing kids into the locker room.

Words like appalling and disgusting may have lost some of their force in our heated culture, but I don't quite know what else to say. There have been at least eight victims, and I fear more will come to light now. If the allegations are true, Penn State officials protected a colleague and for years allowed more boys to be raped.  It is unconscionable.

57 comments:

  1. JosephFinn10:53 AM

    This story has just had me on and off enraged over the last couple of days since I saw it on Deadspin.  It just keeps getting worse and worse.

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  2. Meghan11:25 AM

    This story just shakes me. What on earth happens to people that would allow them to ignore an eyewitness account of child rape?

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  3. lisased12:46 PM

    Or not try to stop it while it was happening in front of them?

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  4. isaac_spaceman1:07 PM

    Fucking asshole criminals, every one of them. 

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  5. Lou W1:31 PM

    Joe Posnanski, the best sportswriter in america, is embedded at Penn State this year to write a book on JoePa.  I hope to hell that he uses his access and pulpit to force the media to shine a bright light on this horrific situation.  I've been infuriated by the lack of attention this has been given on ESPN and CNNSI. 

    Unless there's a serial killer coverup that I've never heard about, this is unquestionably the worst sports scandal ever.  How warped do these people's priorities have to be???  Beyond that, the response by the Penn State president is despicible.  You have multiple incidents of Penn State employees SEEING CHILD ABUSE, and you dare to take the position that this is all a big mistake.  Fuck Penn State.  I hope the lawsuits bankfupt them.

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  6. isaac_spaceman2:49 PM

    My reaction about Spanier was pretty much the same, but after reading the grand jury presentment, it's apparent that Spanier is in some trouble himself.  The document says that he claims he was made aware of allegations of inappropriate behavior by Sandusky and did nothing about it.  He's ultimately the person who was, according to Pennsylvania law (as set forth in the presentment), legally required to report the information to the police.  He can't very well say that Curley and Schultz should have done anything differently, because then he would have had the same obligations.  And he currently is carrying a lot of risk that Curley and Schultz could hang him out to dry even worse if they recant their testimony about what the grad assistant told him, because if they told Spanier about it, he's finished.  So even if the right thing to do would be to fire everybody -- Curley, Schultz, Paterno, the grad assistant (who is now the WR coach, and who is coming off right now like a guy who has deep regrets about not having done the right thing in 2002) -- there's no angle in it for him. 

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  7. Meghan3:47 PM

    I'm not a lawyer and I don't know legalese, but language that normalizes child sex abuse is a huge pet peeve of mine. I can't bring myself to read the indictment again, so I don't know if it was a direct quote from witnesses' testimony, but the crime isn't "having sex" with children, which would beimply that it's consensual. The crime is raping children, as they cannot legally consent to sexual activities. I know it can be argued that rape is inappropriate in he-said-she-said situations where it is to be determined if a crime was perpetrated, but sex+kids=crime, so rape fits. Anyway, the indictment lists the allegations per victim, which again would indicate that the children have been victimized. So why can't we just say what it is (which Adam did and I appreciate). Writings shouldn't say he is accused of "having sex" with these boys. He is accused of raping them. Don't put heinous actions in everyday terms. This isn't standard and language should be used to reflect that.

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  8. <span>This warrants the death penalty for the PSU football program, and A) I am not kidding; and B) I am not saying this because I am a Michigan fan.  There is obviously a culture of corruption that pervades the program, and includes the head coach.  As Adam said, it goes way, way beyond the sorts of financial improprieties for which other programs have been given heavy penalties.  Those responsible for running the program allowed children to be raped in their locker room because it was one of their own doing the raping.  Not only should everyone who had knowledge of this and did nothing be sent to prison, but the program should be shut down for a few years to underscore the seriousness of what was allowed to occur there for years.  It may be unfair to those who had nothing to do with this, especially the current players, but the program is tainted beyond belief and needs to be rebuilt from scratch by people who haven't been associated with Penn State athletics in the past and can make a clean start.  
     
    When Paterno retires/dies, I sure as hell don't want to hear all of these glowing tributes about what a great, stand-up guy he was.  If I were a PSU alum and saw him standing on the sidelines next Saturday I'd raise holy hell.</span>

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  9. The Pathetic Earthling4:49 PM

    PSU ought to be banned for playing football for five years, for certain.  If NCAA could see fit to do that (which it won't), it could see fit to allowing all eligible players to either transfer without loss of eligibility or to simply retain their scholarships without playing at all.  If this goes as high as the AD or higher (I'm really just tuning in, I missed this story until mid-day today, and I'm not sure if I have the stomach yet to read it all), then PSU ought to be banned from playing intercollegiate sports for five years (again, allow players in other sports to transfer or keep their scholarships without playing). The program has to be completely destroyed and no one who ever worked in the PSU program during the relevant period should ever be allowed to work at PSU athletics, regardless of guilt or innocence.  

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  10. Unfortunately, i deal with such issues in my job and often have to force people to report.  I'm regularly shocked at how people *pause* even a second before filing a report.  Meghan had it right above - there is nothing okay about this.  I'm so tired of people being afraid of reporting dangerous/illegal activity - when children are involved, there are no options. You must act.  

    I can't even read the report - I'm likely to read others this week and don't need more pervs in my head.  PSU should have their athletic dept gutted for long enough that weeds grow on the football field.

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  11. Carmichael Harold5:48 PM

    I am also a a lifelong Penn State football fan, and agree with all of this.  It is infuriating and horrifying.  I don't know what else to have expected, but Spanier calling the charges against Sandusky "troubling" makes me want to scream.

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  12. Thought experiment: if Sandusky had been seen raping a 10-year-old girl at 9:30pm in an empty gym shower room, would these administrators have been so passive and half-assed about it?

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  13. lisased6:08 PM

    I honestly don't know. If this behavior with boys was considered "horsing around", what would it be with a girl? And all of these people have children. How can a parent possibly think this is OK?

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  14. Less Frequent Amy6:15 PM

    If it had been a girl they would have likely blamed her, Roman Polanski style.  Would have explained how she wanted it and this wasn't "rape, rape".

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  15. GoldnI6:20 PM

    And then they would be citing the fact that the charges are just now coming out now as proof that the girl is just after money.

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  16. Benner6:24 PM

    If they recant about what they told Spanier, they're not credible. If on the other hand, the head of the university police didnt believe a crime occurred, where does duty come from? The statment was unfortunate, but as long as nobodys pled guilty and the univ has to assume the defense of Curley and Schultz, perhaps understandable. As for Paterno, the waiting a day thing might be because it was a weekend. Who knows. Hes the head coach but not a witness and would have no reason to get involved in the investigation. Why should he assume the GA was telling the truth, let alone with absolute certainty?

    The big question, which might warrant sanctions or orse, is why did Curley and Schultz find it necessary to protect Sandusky, or adopt willful ignorance? He was already retired. I guess it would be almost as embarassing if the story came out in 2002, or if other allegations came out in 1998, but i wonder if below the surface he has deeper protectors, you know who. Unclear -- Paterno is testifying for the prosecution, and his testimony ruins Curley and Schultz. Maybe the OAG wanted to bring Paterno in, but they couldnt stick a crime and they need his remaining credibility to get the perjury convictions. Id like to know what else he talked about with Curley that Sunday, though. And what else he knew re the prior Sandusky investigations.

    On these facts so far, i dont see a basis for strong NCAA sanctions.

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  17. Oh, God.  Is there any chance the University settled with any of the victims?

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  18. GoldnI6:27 PM

    I agree with those saying that they should get the death penalty--the death penalty is reserved for cases where the culture of corruption is so ingrained that it's out of control.  If even half of the accusations in the indictment are true, then it's clear that ALL of them, including JoePa, knew what was going on.  Paterno is going to testify for the prosecution so I'm guessing he cut some sort of deal to keep himself out of legal trouble, but everyone in the leadership of that program needs to be gone, whether they go to jail or not.

    But watch, they'll get a (comparative) slap on the wrist from the NCAA.  After all, no alumni bought any dinners for any players, so in the eyes of the NCAA, it doesn't count.

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  19. TonyH6:52 PM

    Paterno has now released a statement, which is so pathetic and infuriating that I don't even know what to say.  His says the graduate assistant who talked to him was "distraught" and that it was clear he had seen something inappropriate, but that he was never told of the details.

    This is not a believable statement to me, but even if it were true it is completely and utterly irresponsible.  He didn't think to ask his distraught assistant coach what those inppropriate things were?  He just wanted to kick it upstairs and wipe his hands of the whole thing, even though Sandusky had been his friend for years?

    I concur with the posters here who say Paterno needs to be fired. 

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  20. It's an awful statement, because all the "hey, I did what I was supposed to do" posturing and defensiveness (because "<span> </span><span>scores of professionals trained in such things" also allegedly got it wrong) has no place in an initial statement.  All he should be saying is that this is horrific for the victims, that he encourages others to come forward, and that he prays justice be done.</span>

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  21. Christy in Philly7:08 PM

    There is nothing "appropriate" that could have happened in the shower between a grown man and a 10 year old boy. Paterno saying he didn't know specifics excuses nothing.

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  22. Less Frequent Amy7:25 PM

    I am finding myself stuck on the grad assistant/assistant coach.  He had to be an adult; somewhere between 22 and 26 is my guess.  He witnesses a child being raped and his reaction is as follows: runs and hides; calls his father; receives advice to run further away; waits a day and then goes to the home of the former boss of the rapist.  I know we can never truly know what we would have done is a situation but... Help the kid, save the kid, stop the kid from being raped.  I am confounded by this.  Everyone later failed as well.  But imagine being raped and someone walks in, you have to think you were going to be rescued, helped in some way. And then no.  This other adult runs away leaving you with your rapist. 

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  23. Well put.  The most damning fact, to me, is that they barred him from bringing children to campus.  Why would they do that unless they knew he was molesting kids and just didn't want it happening in their house?

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  24. and deadspin is now reporting that Sandusky was still holding overnight football camps for young boys at Penn State campuses as recently as 2009.

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  25. Meghan8:26 PM

    I had the same thought--this kid who was preyed upon in part because he already didn't have someone to watch out for him. So he has absent or dysfunctional parents and is raped by the guy who's supposed to be helping him, is discovered during the rape, and no one even tries to find out who he is, if he's physically okay or if anything is/can be done to help heal psychologically. It wouldn't be more acceptable if he had been 15 but ten is so, so young.

    My heart keeps breaking for these poor kids.

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  26. JosephFinn8:45 PM

    Deadspin link., with flyer scans.


    <p> Seven years later, in the summer of 2009, Sandusky was still hosting overnight camps for children as young as 9 at other Penn State schools.
    </p><p>A reader sends us the flyer for the Sandusky Football Camp, a four-day, three-night resident clinic offered at Penn State's Behrend campus in Erie, and other stops around the state including Penn State Harrisburg. 
    </p><p>Unconscionable.
    </p>

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  27. Scott8:48 PM

    Oh, come on.  I'm as disgusted as anyone, but this is a huge overreaction.

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  28. Scott8:57 PM

    Wow.  I know I'm going to be accused of being a Penn State homer, but I have to defend Paterno here.  Why do you all automatically assume that he knows more than he's letting on?  I don't see anything wildly wrong with his statement.  It's not his job to perform an investigation.  He followed the escalation policy, and it was the scumbags Curley and Spanier who should have gotten all the details and taken appropriate actions.  JoePa (wisely, I might add) didn't want anything to do with it, in part so that he could claim, like he is doing now, ignorance of the extent of the horrificness.  We can quibble with that (and obviously a lot of people are making the huge assumption that JoePa should have know that whatever the GA told him equated to something as awful as child rape, even though no one knows the exact nature of that conversation), but I have a really hard time believing that you all would have acted differently in JoePa's situation, as easy as it is to say otherwise sitting here today from our computers.

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  29. Scott8:59 PM

    Now this, I agree with.  We can all argue over what should have been done the next day, next week, ensuing years, etc., but it is very difficult for anyone to defend the fact that this guy didn't say something or do something to stop a rape in progress!

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  30. Benner9:03 PM

    it's at best premature.  I share the intuition that in order for Curley and Shultz to allegedly lie to protect Sandusky, there must be some deeper problems with the program and the culture, as if they're not going to do the right things, they're not going to be doing the wrong things without any self-benefit.  But it's at this point an intuition.  

    And that's leaving aside the fact that I'm not even sure if the NCAA has jurisdiction here to impose sanctions, and I don't see this as a reason for the school to completely overhaul the program.  I think Spanier's guilty of receiving bad advice on these facts, even if all the allegations are true, but he's done.  If this gives the new AD cover to do what Curley clearly couldn't -- force Joe to retire -- he will, but quietly.  So the problem, if it's limited to the people under or named in the indictment, largely takes care of itself.  If this involved other university officials who knew of or were complicit in a cover-up, then we can have the bigger conversation.  PSU at minimum needs to do its own internal investigation, but prejudging guilt or innocence on Sandusky's part is already a stretch, and further consequences is a different one.  

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  31. girard319:04 PM

    I don't blame the grad ass, because I think seeing that would have caused a "did I see what I thought saw" reaction, even shock. And it's possible his walking in on it caused the action to immediately stop so it might have been unclear what was going on. Although I night have tried to get the kid's name.Discussing it with his father seemed a natural reaction.

    FYI -- The grad ass has been identified as former Penn State QB Michael McQuery. Which kind of makes him more credible to JoePa, no?

    What happened next is unforgivable. No notifying the authorities, but ban on him using the facilities means they kind of believed what was going on, but just didn't want it going on around them.

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  32. Benner9:05 PM

    Did he have to believe the GA?  Do we have to believe him now?  

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  33. Benner9:10 PM

    It's possible he and his father believed Sandusky might have tried to kill him.  If Paterno has blame, here, it's that the GA evidently believed that such an allegation should be handled internally, or that nobody messes with Sandusky, for whatever reason.  It did ultimately go to the head of the University Police, who the GA has no real reason to know is involved in a cover up (allegedly).  He did in fact speak with Schultz, whose job was in a position to run an investigation.  As for the moment, if his reaction is to panic, it's understandable, but he has to live with himself.  

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  34. GoldnI9:52 PM

    Considering how far back all of this goes, it wouldn't surprise me if there was some hush money paid at some point.

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  35. Yeah, it's McQueery, who was the QB when I attended PSU.  He was a lousy quarterback and and a d-bag around campus, but that's neither here nor there.

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  36. <span>I don't know, the grand jury report paints a pretty graphic picture of what mcqueary witnessed in the locker room showers. sandusky was raping a 10 yr old boy. and mcqueary fled instead of helping the kid or even calling the police. he kept it within the family. and mcqueary was hired on staff the next season and has been the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator at penn state for the last eight years.</span>

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  37. Um, can we talk about this sentence for a second?

    "<span>The fact that someone we thought we knew might have harmed young people to this extent is deeply troubling."</span>

    Is there some level of harming young people that isn't deeply troubling?  Is that just thrown in there to emphasize how terrible it was?  That statement is so infuriating, even worse than Spanier's yesterday.

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  38. Look, JoePa is the public face of Penn State football.  Hell, he is Penn State football.  It is his program, and I don't care that there were others who were technically higher up the chain of command, or that he may not have technically violated Pennsylvania law or university policy.  The fact is, this happened on his watch, and that's unacceptable.  He needs to fall on his sword and resign, or he needs to be fired.  End of story.

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  39. Hannah Lee12:51 AM

    Agreed,

    I was going to "Like" this comment, but "liking" anything related to this story seems off.

    If the allegations are true and multiple people in a position of power knew about this, and allowed it to continue, PSU should absolutely have their athletic dept gutted.   There should be a strong message sent that no one, no matter what their position, or how well they are liked or respected in sports or any other publicly noted field, should be allowed to take advantage of children in this way.

    Those who enable them, or look the other way and allow the rape and abuse to continue in the name of "protecting the program" or "protecting the legacy" of a well-known person should be punished right along with those who committed the physical acts of rape (For previous examples, see Bishops, Cardinals, administrators of the Catholic Church who enabled sexual abuse to take place with the protection of officials of that institution)

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  40. Anonymous2:15 AM

    Well then there's your hush money. McQuery was rewarded for keeping the problem in house instead of immediately going to the State College police.

    --bd

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  41. Posnanski's column regarding this was disappointing to say the least.  He pretty much punted it.

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  42. piledhighanddeep9:07 AM

    Well, this morning brings news that the two administrators, Curley and Schultz, are no longer with the university.  That is good news.  Next, JoePa needs to resign.  Not effective at the end of the season, but now.  And they need to find someone to coach through the end of the season who is not tainted by this scandal, someone without longstanding connections to PSU football.  What are the chances of that?  My impression is that most of the assistants are guys who've been around PSU football and Joe Pa forever.  I don't know about going nuclear on the program, but the personnel who were in a position to know ANYTHING about this situation all need to be fired immediately.

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  43. The University VP has stepped down; the AD's only taking temporary leave.

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  44. Nothing feels like an overreaction.  I can't stand any of this.  Arguing for suspensions on the basis that "the program has been tainted" misses the point.  On that logic the building should be burned down, for all the good it would do. 

    Those who failed to report this should be going to jail.  What is the Statute of Limitations in Pennsylvania on criminal failure to report abuse of a child?  If it had conveniently run before whatever information event triggered the investigation of Sandusky, I am going to be sick.

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  45. Benner10:39 AM

    The current head-coach-in-waiting joined the team in 2004.

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  46. isaac_spaceman10:44 AM

    It's two years.

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  47. The Pathetic Earthling10:45 AM

    Here's a 25 year old, no doubt still in excellent shape, and he's afraid to confront a 60 year old man who is raping a 10 year old?  God, I could understand a small woman retreating to call the police in the face of ongoing sexual assault, but this guy hasn't a single excuse.  It's not even that our 25 year old didn't have a weapon to help him.  It's a WEIGHT room.  Grab a handweight or a weight bar and attack the bastard. 

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  48. Nigel from Cameroon11:18 AM

    The whole things just confirms for me that a) JoePa is a vile old man with extraordinary poor judgement (God, what an understatement), and b) the journalistic standards of ESPN are embarrassing. Deadspin and Sports by Brooks own this story. You can just feel the fear radiating out of Bristol at the mere thought of covering a tough story within the industry they are so deeply embedded.

    And I expect more out of SI and <span>Posnanski.</span>
    <span></span>
    <span>Rage.</span>

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  49. Benner11:58 AM

    Reread the presentment, and I hope Posnanski focuses on the following:  1.) what did Paterno know of the 1998 allegations?  2.) what specifically did the GA/McQuade tell him?  (was he explicit, the indictment is I can only assume deliberately vague on this point, saying "reported what he had seen.")  3.) what, specifically, did Paterno tell Curley?  (if Paterno soft-pedaled the allegation, as the presentment suggests, was that interpreted by Curley as an instruction, especially depending on the answers to qusetions 1 and 2.) 

    For Paterno's testimony to have any value, though, he had to have been told by McQuade the full extent of the sexual assault, or else he doesn't corroborate the case that McQuade didn't tell Curley and Schultz it was rape.  If that's so, the indictment itself is incredibly bad for Paterno because it seems he told less than the full account to Curley.  That means there's a very good chance it's Paterno who is at the source of the fucked up culture.  This is corroborated by the fact that if Paterno thought McQuade made a false accusation of rape, he would have fired him immediately, unless as suggested, he's also buying silence at worst, or is indifferent at best.

    So, I stand by the claim that the presentment is deliberately written to downplay Paterno's role to keep him as an effective witness, but if this goes to trial, he'll be slaughtered on cross.  Just resign.

    I wonder what Posnaski thought he was initially getting into with this book.

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  50. Yup, I have to agree BK, I'm very dissapointed, I was hoping for the journalist to step up, not the biographer.

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  51. Nigel from Cameroon3:21 PM

    <span>ESPN asks how the Penn State molestation scandal will affect recruiting</span>

    Way to go, World Wide Leader. Great prioritization. If there were just a slideshow to go with this of the 10 sports hotties you'd most like to get caught in the shower with, they'd be indistinguishable from Bleacher Report.

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  52. Duvall5:43 PM

     Deadspin and Sports by Brooks own this story.

    It's probably easier to "own" a story when you know no one will care if you get part of the story wrong.  That's never been an issue for the scumbags at Deadspin in the past - why start now?

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  53. Jordan5:44 PM

    Aaaaaand Penn State just opened the Gary Schultz Child Care Center.  Not great timing.  http://deadspin.com/5857212/six-weeks-ago-penn-state-dedicated-the-gary-schultz-child-care-center

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  54. Meghan12:49 PM

    Reports are circulating that JoePa is out.

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  55. Anonymous12:40 PM

    Retiring at the end of the year? BULLSH!T! He needs to be fired NOW. No glorious send off. No inagural Big Ten championship game. No BCS bowl. NOW. Imagine Penn State beats Michigan State in the Big Ten championship. Now we get get six more weeks of this before the bowl game? With more damaged teens and young adults stepping forward every day?

    Paterno must go NOW. His retirement was a half-hearted opening negotiation position. The trustees should counter with "You leave by the end of the day today, you get to keep your pension. Or tomorrow you will be fired for cause."

    --bd

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  56. Nigel from Cameroon1:11 PM

    The right thing to do is clear to almost everyone but JoPa and the University. Both institutions (which JoPa surely is) hav been oblivious for years...which is how you end up with an 84-year old head coach who coaches from a press box.

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