The Penn State Football Show

I'd love to see the team come out and play with all the emotion that has surfaced over this past week and put together a win over Nebraska that would never be forgotten. I Jiust can't imagine the team accomplished much this week at practice, and that has to put them at a pretty big disadvantage. If all of us fans were so impacted by this scandal all week, think about how the players and coaches were affected. There is no way Mike McQueary, Joe Paterno and Jay Paterno were thinking about Nebraska this week. Not to mention, the assignments of the coaches were re-shuffled after Paterno's firing only two nights ago. I think all of these distractions really inhibited the team this week, which would make a win over a good opponent that much more impressive. I really hope it happens, I just don't know that it will.

Anybody who has taken a mid-level sports management/business management class knows that there’s always an important game plan, sometimes referred to as a crisis management plan, sitting on the back shelves in case of a public relations nightmare. It doesn’t spell out the all the specifics, but it gives a basic strategy to control the damage, publicly defend the organization, and maintain as much of the image and integrity as possible. Well, apparently, the officials at Penn State University must have been absent that day because, to me, this whole situation reeks of utter incompetence of crisis management. Not only was Joe Paterno the media scapegoat, it turns out he was ostracized by his own people…the Penn State board of trustees and “powers-that-be.” Some part of me thinks they let it happen so they could force him out, a feat they could not overcome in the recent previous years. Chronologically cited, these are the lingering questions I have that make me believe this is the case…

1. Was the Sandusky indictment really a shocking surprise to anybody associated with Penn State University? There were serious newspaper reports of these allegations 6 months ago and, as far as I know, Penn State never commented or made any action. Why was there no action plan in place on how the media coverage would be controlled once this disaster broke?

2. Why were a mob of reporters lined up on Joe Paterno’s front lawn Monday afternoon and NOT on Jerry Sandusky’s or even Mike McQueary’s? Why did Penn State let this happen? This was problem area #1. Joe had to be frantically represented by his son Scott, who has nothing to do with the university. Basically, at this point, he was set free to the wolves.

3. Why was Joe Paterno’s Tuesday press conference cancelled? Why wasn’t he allowed to speak and defend himself and provide some answers that everyone wanted/needed?

4. Why is Penn State protecting Tim Curley and not Joe Paterno? After all, Curley WAS indicted in this case…Joe WAS NOT.

5. Furthermore, why was Joe Paterno FIRED while Mike McQueary was not and Tim Curley is placed on “administrative leave?”

6. Why was Joe Paterno fired over the phone? Very disturbing to hear that many of the PSU players heard of Paterno’s firing by watching Sportscenter! What was of so much immediate concern/action that had to be done at 10:45 at night? Couldn’t it have been put off till Thursday or even Friday where all parties could sit down and at least discuss the decision before making it public? Doesn’t this man at least deserve a full explanation of why they are firing him? Or better yet, shouldn't he be afforded the opportunity to publicly announce that he will be stepping down, effectively immediately?

Remember, at this point, everyone involved is afforded their due process. The funny thing is…Jerry Sandusky is allowed to continue living his life until his court arraignment. He will be rightfully judged by 12 people before he gets his punishment. But, Joe Paterno, a guy that is probably 5th or 6th on the list of people to blame here, if he actually is to blame at all, isn’t allowed to continue coaching football games until the investigation becomes final? Instead, his trial has already occurred within the media and public opinion where he was undoubtedly set up for failure and the board of trustees ultimately caved in to the propaganda.

Unfortunately, the way things played out in the last 3 days, Penn State had no choice but to fire Joe. This circus would only have continued and possibly gotten worse in the weeks to come given he remain the head coach and that simply would not be fair to the players and the university. It’s true…at this point in time, Penn State made the right decision. However, a lot of this could have been avoided if Penn State took better actions earlier in the game. Maybe they saw this as a way to force Joe out. Or maybe they are just really that ridiculously incompetent at handling a challenging situation. Either way, Penn State dropped the ball here. Penn State let it get out of control and ultimately had to make a decision that will resonate throughout eternity.

I have remained silent with regard to my personal opinion on Paterno and Curley and will continue to do so until I know more about what exactly transpired. But I have no hesitation in commenting on the events of last night.

First, I believe the decision to not allow Paterno to coach this weekend was the right one, and it was a decision that needed to be made. There are many people who are protesting this decision and saying it is unfair to Paterno. But this is not about Joe Paterno. It is about the University and standing up for what is right.

Imagine you are one of the victims that was abused after 2002 (when Joe was made aware of an incident) and your cries have gone unheard all of this time. Finally, after an unnecessarily long period of time, these crimes are finally being taken seriously and justice will be brought upon the man that tortured you. I will be careful not to speculate here, but from the little information that we do have, it certainly appears that Paterno was made aware of one such crime, was in a position to put an end to it, and failed to do so. By his own admittance, he said he wishes he had done more. Had he done more, you never would have been harmed. How would you feel about watching that man be carried off the field this Saturday, cheered and celebrated like a hero by thousands? Once more, you are being told that nobody cares about you or what you have gone through. These victims have suffered enough, why make them suffer once more?

What message would the University be making if they allowed him to coach this team on Saturday? They would basically be saying, “We know he made a mistake and multiple children have been harmed because of it, but his contributions to the University outweigh this one failure, and we believe he has earned the right to coach one last time at Beaver Stadium.” And that is simply the WRONG statement for this University to be making at this time. That would be just one more terrible decision in a long line of terrible decisions by University administrators that got Penn State in this mess to begin with.

By firing Joe Paterno, Penn State took a stand for children around the world. That takes priority over taking a stand for your football coach, no matter how much he has done for the University. It keeps coming back to the same principle, one which Paterno himself preached every day as the head coach: No individual is bigger than the team.

I believe he should have acted in accordance with this very same credence, and resigned as Head Coach on his own yesterday. In his statement released yesterday, Joe said “"I have come to work every day for the last 61 years with one clear goal in mind: To serve the best interests of this university and the young men who have been entrusted to my care. I have the same goal today.” He went on to add, “I will spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to help this university."

The first step he should have taken was to step down, and he failed to do so. I truly believe had this occurred when he was younger, he would have had the sense to step down and do the right thing. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Over the last 30 years, Joe Paterno has grown accustomed to being the most powerful man at Penn State University. Whatever he says, goes. He thought he could get away with that one more time, by flat out challenging the Board of Trustees to fire him. “At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address.” Upon reading the statement, I immediately did not like this line. Of course the Board of Trustees is going to discuss Joe’ status, they are going to discuss this long and hard, because, despite what he said, there is no more important matter for them to discuss at that time.

Joe is about to turn 84 years old. Someone close to him needed to explain to him that his removal prior to Saturday was inevitable, and advise him to properly and courteously step down for the best interest of the University. Perhaps people tried to and he was too stubborn to cave. Perhaps he was still under this delusion of power that he felt nobody could tell him what to do. Whatever the case may be, nobody wanted this to go down the way it did, with Joe being fired over the phone, and it’s terribly unfortunate that it had to happen that way. I do believe, when the dust settles, Joe will look back and realize that his removal from his position was necessary for the good of Penn State University.

It’s hard to watch this sad old man and his wife in their pajamas in front of their modest house and not feel sorry for him. It’s a shame his remarkable career had to end this way, but there are many others involved in this case that deserve your sympathy more than Joe Paterno. Joe will be fine. As you saw last night, the man has plenty of support from both current and former students. While it certainly seems Joe has made a mistake of the gravest proportions, that will not erase his many accomplishments and contributions over the last 61 years. Even the reporters who bashed Joe’s inexplicable negligence on this matter expressed how much respect they still have for him, what he has done, and what he stands for.

I never realized that I could be so shaken, so distraught, essentially so affected by something that didn’t directly involve me or anyone I’m close with. I know I’m not the only person who was this moved by this scandal. I’m sure it’s a hard thing to grasp for anyone that did not attend Penn State and does not feel such a strong connection to both the University and Coach Paterno himself. When people begin to question the integrity of not only a man you have admired all of your life but an institution that has become part of who you are, it hurts to the core. Especially when both Paterno and Penn State specifically pride themselves on just that: Having integrity. Success with honor. Doing things the right way. That’s why so many Penn State fans have taken the defensive and refuse to believe any wrongdoing could have been done by their idol and by their university. I think it’s human nature for a Penn State fan to refuse to believe Joe Paterno may have done something wrong, and that is why so many people are searching for some sort of explanation. But, as always, I have made an attempt to be as unbiased and as rational as possible in this response, and I hope that is evident.

I will close with this: I always make a conscientious effort to learn valuable lessons and take positives out of every momentous event in my life, whether it be the saddest of tragedies or the greatest of successes. I’m not quite sure yet what lessons I will take from this saga. Perhaps it’s a reminder that even the mightiest can fall. But I know there is definitely the opportunity to take a positive away from this, as impossible as that may sound:

With the extensive media coverage and exposure of this horrifying event, hopefully this will serve to bring much needed attention to what is clearly an existing problem in our society. Perhaps people will take child-abuse reports more seriously and give them the attention they deserve, regardless of how well you know and how much you trust the accused. Additionally, perhaps now victims will know how important it is for them to come forward and describe what they have been subjected to – no matter how difficult that may be – in order to prevent others from experiencing the same thing. If it took the firing of four men and the suffering of these 8 victims (possibly more) to ultimately prevent the future suffering of hundreds of others, that’s certainly a step in the right direction.

I remember his last game so vividly. It was December 28^th, 1999 and the Alamo Bowl was being broadcast on ESPN. Even at only 13 years old, I knew Penn State football like it was a multiplication table, and I knew the significance of this game. It was Jerry Sandusky’s last game after 32 years at Penn State, the last 23 as defensive coordinator. This Penn State team was special. LaVar Arrington and Courtney Brown, who would get drafted into the NFL with the first two selections) led a Penn State team to a 9-0 record before they broke the hearts of PSU fans by dropping their last three games to the three M’s (Minnesota, Michigan, and Michigan State).

My family at that time (and even 10 years after that) did not have cable. Our next-door neighbors happened to be out of town for the holidays, and being that we lived in a small friendly town, we had exchanged keys over the years just in case someone got locked out or if someone had left the stove on and realized it later. I was probably screaming at my parents that I wanted to watch the game. “Why can’t we have cable like everyone else!?” Eventually they gave in. They gave me the key and I ran through the short path between our houses and let myself into my neighbors house. I went upstairs, turned on the TV, and watched Penn State shut out Texas A&M 24-0. I was so proud of the team. They had put forth arguably their best defensive effort of the season to send their retiring defensive coordinator our on top.

Now the pillars upon which he once stood in my mind have shattered. The recent news of Jerry Sandusky’s child molestation has sent shockwaves not only though the Penn State family, but the entire country. People are sickened, as they should be, and now the blame game ensues. People are calling for Joe Paterno’s head. They say he should be fired. They say the entire staff should be replaced. Well, here’s what I have to say:

The incident that set all of this in motion occurred in 2002. Jerry Sandusky was retired as a football coach, but was helping out with an organization he created to help children. He was on campus at the football building and was seen by a graduate assistant (Mike McQueary, now the receivers coach) in the shower with a young boy. Mike reported what he saw to his boss, Joe Paterno. He probably said something along the lines of: “Coach, I saw Sandusky doing something inappropriate with a boy in the showers”. Joe immediately reported this to the athletic director, Tim Curley who was Joe’s boss and it was his job to notify the University police who had jurisdiction. This never happened. Should Joe have pursued further? Should that young graduate assistant continue to pester the legendary coach or confront the athletic director? Maybe. But who knows what they were told. It’s possible that Curley told them all that everything was reported and that the police were going to look into it, don’t worry.

Joe banned Sandusky from football buildings after that. He probably had a conversation with Sandusky, informing him that someone saw him doing something. Jerry had worked with Joe for 32 years. Joe probably thought he knew this guy pretty well, and gave him the benefit of the doubt that what someone witnessed was not what it really seemed. Regardless, Joe still told him that he was no longer welcome at football facilities. Joe is not a cop, he is not Jerry Sandusky’s boss anymore, and what he did was perfectly legal. He does not deserve to be tossed out of his position that he has held for over 40 years because of something people think he should have done. People that were not in his position. People that have no clue of what actually happened. Firing him, or having him resign now would taint his legacy. And I know that this is about more than Joe, that it is about young men that were abused. But firing Joe doesn’t fix that. It only makes it worse by destroying the man we associate with honor and integrity. He did what he did, and can you blame him? Would you have done anything different? Like Drew said so eloquently. Fuck you.

Now people are coming out of the woodwork, calling out Penn State for not being as upstanding as we all thought. And you know what, sure, I guess we deserve to be humbled, but this was the heinous act of one man, and the bad judgment of an athletic director that probably didn’t know the extent of this issue. This issue has absolutely nothing to do with the current Penn State team, the current Penn State students, and for the most part, the current Penn State coaching staff.

Friends have texted me asking me if I’m embarrassed. Am I going to change my license plate (JOEPA) now? Am I not going to wear Penn State stuff all the time? Hell no. Penn State has educated my family for three generations. My grandfather was a professor there, and my own father called State College, PA home. I am still proud to be a Penn Stater, and that will never waiver. That school made me a better person, and those 100 kids on the football team will leave Penn State as better men as a result of the coaching and the education they receive. Success with honor. That’s what Penn State is about, and what it will continue to be about. The action of one man will not bring down what hundreds of thousands of us have built together. Sandusky deserves whatever is coming to him, but I will not let him destroy something I have loved my entire life and will forever. We Are Penn State

So I'm sure many readers are in the same boat as I was today with work colleagues just tearing at themselves to make a joke at Penn State's expense. All I could do is just sit there and take it because this is just about the worst thing to happen to an athletic program that I can remember. Jerseys for tattoos sort of seems like small potatoes compared to what is going on as Penn State. I have no defense for Sandusky. Since I believe in America so much I'd like to think I could abide by innocent until proven guilty but at my core I truly wish Jerry Sandusky would hang himself and put an end to all this. The truth is if he's guilty he deserves much worse. Where I did stand tall is in my defense of Joe Paterno.

This is where it gets tricky for non-PSU people to follow. Growing up as Penn State fan I absolutely revered Jerry Sandusky. I've heard my father's re-telling of the championship game against Miami so many times I feel like I were there. To listen to him and many others give their recap, all praise was due to Sandusky for the scheme he put out against Testaverde. His stout defenses were the pride of my early years as a Penn State fan. While Fran Ganter consistently put out the worst offense of any major program, Sandusky's side of the ball kept us in the national spotlight. Until a year ago, when I first heard of these allegations, his name rang as holy as Cappiletti, Warner, and Conlon. Now imagine turning that guy over to the cops and the papers based on a second hand account that lacked any detail. Tough to do.

So now everyone is calling for Paterno to step down. To them I say simply, Fuck you. What gives you the right you self-righteous little pricks? Paterno has done so much good for to countless young players, the university, and the sport. And all the Neil Rudells and David Jones'es can't change that for all their efforts. They don't get to win. Not like this. Paterno has done too much to be brought down for the wrong-doings of a former assistant.

The truth of the matter is, who with any sort of power can make Paterno step down? The athletic director has just been indicted himself and the last thing Spanier or the board of directors needs is to force out the one symbol of Penn State more recognizable than Old Main or the logo? So for me the media can make all the noise they want. My coach fucking stays.

By now, everyone and their mother has heard about the scandal that has erupted in State College regarding former Defensive Coordinator Jerry Sandusky. This is obviously a very troubling and disturbing story for many reasons, and you have to feel terrible for the victims and their families. It is too early to comment on what actions need to be taken by the University. More facts need to come out first.

But I do want to point out two things:

First, I am very concerned about how Joe Paterno’s press conference goes tomorrow. For the last 20 years, Joe has been in control of every press conference he’s attended. I went to almost every press conference between 2004 and 2007. There is not a single member of the local media that covers PSU football that has enough courage to ask Joe any tough questions, even when they obviously need to be asked. Every so often someone would try, or some national media member would come in for a big game and ask a tough question, and inevitably they would always leave with their tail between their legs after getting chewed out by Joe for challenging him. Make no mistake about it, the man has an enormous ego whether you realize it or not. If you have seen him interact with the media in the last 10 years, it’s clear he feels he has earned the right to answer whatever questions he wants and avoid any he’d rather avoid. And he won’t hesitate to let you know if he feels you are out of line for asking a question… Most of the time the questions are perfectly legitimate too.

Anyway, the point I am trying to get to is that Joe will not get away with this tomorrow. This is not something he can shy away from and use his stature to intimidate reporters and get out of. If he tries to boss the media around tomorrow like he’s grown accustomed to, it’s going to be really ugly and make him look very bad to what has turned into an unimaginably large national audience. Hopefully the PR people at Penn State are explaining all of this to Joe and letting him know how to respond tomorrow. The truth is, he probably can get away with not answering a lot of questions tomorrow since there is a legal issue at hand here. But it’s important he goes about it the right way and responds appropriately, instead of lashing out at reporters for asking him questions he feels he’s immune to. I’m sure there are PR people prepping Joe for the press conference. I just hope he’s not too stubborn to listen.

People have been questioning how mentally sharp Joe is this days. I think we will find out in the coming weeks, if not tomorrow.

The second point I want to make seems relatively unimportant compared to everything else that is at stake, but it’s unfortunate nonetheless. And that is that there is a 8-1 Penn State football team in the midst of a great season that is in the driver’s seat to win the Big Ten, and this whole scandal has undoubtedly created an enormous distraction for the team. Probably not for the players as much as the coaches, but there is no way Coach Paterno and Coach McQueary are focused on Nebraska right now. I don’t see how effectively the coaching staff can prepare the team for this game on Saturday with this whole mess hanging over their heads.