Penn State University "scandal"
Nov. 9th, 2011 06:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lionkingcmslI will weigh in with my opinions on the matter.
A disclaimer: I am not affiliated with PSU or the Paterno family in any way.
First things first. In our system of judicial law a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law and not the court of public opinion or mass media.
That being said, if those that have been charged. formally, with criminal misconduct are guilty of the charges brought against them then they will deserve what the court decides is a just and fair punishment. It is not for the general public, at large, to decide what a person's fate shall be.
In the case of those not charged, particularly Mr. Joesph Paterno, I feel they are being unfairly judged for something they did or did not do.
The public has vilified Mr. Paterno to the point you may think he was the one charged with the crime. We do not know what was said to him in that meeting with the grad student. Mr. Paterno, from what I can determine, is an upstanding man; who requires that his players wear suits and ties, when traveling, and demands them to comport themselves to the highest ideals. To think that he would knowingly not follow up on a serious charge of an ex-coach, friend or not, is hard to believe. Let me repeat that one point: Mr. Sandusky was an ex-coach at the time the charges were first brought to Mr. Paterno's attention. There was nothing Mr. Paterno could do other than follow the rules as laid down, which he did with out fail. If he did not follow those rules then he would be totally wrong.
Should he have done more? I can't say, as I don't know what was reported to him. It could've been nothing more than, "I saw (ex)Coach Sandusky have inappropriate contact with a boy." In fact Mr. Paterno has related he was not told of the seriousness of the matter, by the grad student. It was not Mr. Paterno's place to start an investigation, as Mr. Sandusky was not under him at the time. In my mind Mr. Paterno did what he was obligated to do and what he thought was the right thing to do.
It is always easy to sit back after the fact and say, "He should've ...." This is known as "Monday morning quaterbacking.
In closing I will note that a long time ago a very wise man once said to a crowd, who was about to stone a woman, "He that is with out sin cast the first stone." I have to say that to the people who are "Monday morning quaterbacking" Mr. Paterno's actions: if you never made an error or omission then you have a right to continue to vilify an innocent man, in the eyes of the law.
And that same man said, "Judge not, lest you be judged." It is amazing how many so-called Christians have forgotten that man's teaching or think they do not apply to today's world.
You may repost this as you see fit, as long as you credit me and link back to this post.
A disclaimer: I am not affiliated with PSU or the Paterno family in any way.
First things first. In our system of judicial law a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law and not the court of public opinion or mass media.
That being said, if those that have been charged. formally, with criminal misconduct are guilty of the charges brought against them then they will deserve what the court decides is a just and fair punishment. It is not for the general public, at large, to decide what a person's fate shall be.
In the case of those not charged, particularly Mr. Joesph Paterno, I feel they are being unfairly judged for something they did or did not do.
The public has vilified Mr. Paterno to the point you may think he was the one charged with the crime. We do not know what was said to him in that meeting with the grad student. Mr. Paterno, from what I can determine, is an upstanding man; who requires that his players wear suits and ties, when traveling, and demands them to comport themselves to the highest ideals. To think that he would knowingly not follow up on a serious charge of an ex-coach, friend or not, is hard to believe. Let me repeat that one point: Mr. Sandusky was an ex-coach at the time the charges were first brought to Mr. Paterno's attention. There was nothing Mr. Paterno could do other than follow the rules as laid down, which he did with out fail. If he did not follow those rules then he would be totally wrong.
Should he have done more? I can't say, as I don't know what was reported to him. It could've been nothing more than, "I saw (ex)Coach Sandusky have inappropriate contact with a boy." In fact Mr. Paterno has related he was not told of the seriousness of the matter, by the grad student. It was not Mr. Paterno's place to start an investigation, as Mr. Sandusky was not under him at the time. In my mind Mr. Paterno did what he was obligated to do and what he thought was the right thing to do.
It is always easy to sit back after the fact and say, "He should've ...." This is known as "Monday morning quaterbacking.
In closing I will note that a long time ago a very wise man once said to a crowd, who was about to stone a woman, "He that is with out sin cast the first stone." I have to say that to the people who are "Monday morning quaterbacking" Mr. Paterno's actions: if you never made an error or omission then you have a right to continue to vilify an innocent man, in the eyes of the law.
And that same man said, "Judge not, lest you be judged." It is amazing how many so-called Christians have forgotten that man's teaching or think they do not apply to today's world.
You may repost this as you see fit, as long as you credit me and link back to this post.
