The Nittany Turkey

Primarily about Penn State football, this is a tale told by idiots, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Search This Site

Enter keyword(s) below to search for relevant articles.

Home Archives for General

Thoughts on Paterno, Spanier

Posted on Written by

As we await the arraignment of Curley and Schultz in Harrisburg at 2 pm, I wanted to quickly pass on some thoughts about Joe Paterno and Graham Spanier, with respect to how they might fare as the weeks wear on in the shadow of Showergate.

I’ve spent many years in state universities, both working there and going to school there. I’ve seen university presidents and football coaches come and go. I think I have a feel for who will stay and who will go, although I’m no more qualified than anyone else to opine on that subject. In the wake of the present serious and disgraceful scandal at Penn State, I my opinion is that both head coach Joe Paterno and president Graham Spanier will continue on in their positions until they are personally ready to retire.

I’ve likened Spanier to Bill Clinton before. He’s a master politician with strong, well cultivated ties in Harrisburg. Nothing really sticks to him that he wants to shrug off. He’s very intelligent, although he has made a couple of miss-steps in this case. A powerful man at the head of an organization, whether that organization is in turmoil or not, will be hard to bring down. Who is going to force Spanier to resign? The Board of Trustees could, but won’t. Spanier simply has too much power in Harrisburg. The governor? I’m not sure there. Interesting proposition, as he has stated that he will attend the public meeting of the Board of Trustees. Of course he will, to cover his own ass. But I think in the end he’ll support Spanier instead of attempting to give him the ax.

Paterno vows to leave on his own terms, and has maintained that posture for as long as I can remember. He is the Godfather, the Tony Soprano of Penn State football. He brings in lots and lots of money, which gives him lots and lots of power in Harrisburg. This has been tested over and over again. He did what the law said he should do, which was to report the incident to his “boss”, Tim Curley. (“Boss” is in quotes because Paterno has known Curley since he was a boy, was instrumental in getting him hired, and has subjugated him to a sycophant role.) Paterno will be protected by Spanier and by Harrisburg. You’ve already seen the state attorney pat him on the head for doing the right thing regarding Showergate. That office unequivocally stated that Paterno is not a defendant and will not be. This is not to say that anyone can’t see through what happened. I’m sure that even those in Harrisburg who feel obligated to protect Joe feel that he had a moral obligation to do much more to ensure that justice was done, particularly because of the youths and their families. Hanging onto power comes first with Joe, in spite of what his statement (co-written by son Scott, who is an attorney) might have said. Public outcry might be fierce, but Joe has lived through fierce public outcry before. I don’t think he’s going anywhere.

Spanier and Paterno are content to let Curley and Schultz take the fall. However, Spanier, Paterno, and the Board of Trustees left the door open, at least for Curley. (Schultz is merely reverting to his formerly retired state.) Curley is not fired. He hasn’t resigned. He’s merely on administrative leave while he’s ostensibly working on his legal defense. This leaves the Spanier/Paterno/BOT continuum the option of letting things cool down and quietly reinstating Curley, or if things get too hot, severing the ties. It’s probably appropriate that he doesn’t get fired while “we let the legal system do its job”, but of course, if he’s convicted of perjury, he’ll get the axe. If he is merely convicted of the summary offense of not reporting the Showergate incident, he could still wind up keeping his job if Paterno and Spanier want him there.

I might be full of beans (I just had some chili for lunch), but this is the way I see it. These guys didn’t build their nuclear arsenal to not use it when it appears that all-out war will break out.

Speaking His Mind (And Ours?)

Posted on Written by

This morning in the Centre Daily Times, a fan blog caught my attention. It pretty much captures the essence of thoughts we’ve all been thinking, and it does so eloquently. ???? ?????? I recommend that all who are involved to any extent, observers and participants alike, read this well written piece. The central theme struck a familiar chord with me, having been involved with another state university: money, power, secrecy. ???? ??????? I believe that these keywords veritably define the ivory tower of today, and not just at Penn State. ???? ????

Paterno Makes Statement about Sanduskygate (Updated)

Posted on Written by

Since the time I wrote the previous post about the Sandusky morass, Joe Paterno has issued a statement of his position with regard to the allegations. No doubt written by university attorneys, or at least edited by them, Paterno’s statement is troubling to this Turkey, because either he is lying to protect Tim Curley and Gary Schultz (and ostensibly, the university) or Mike McQueary lied to the grand jury about what he saw Sandusky doing in the shower with the ten year old Second Mile youth in 2002. Here’s Joe’s statement, with my comments interspersed (in Italics):

If true, the nature and amount of charges made are very shocking to me and all Penn Staters. While I did what I was supposed to with the one charge brought to my attention, like anyone else involved I can’t help but be deeply saddened these matters are alleged to have occurred.

Sue and I have devoted our lives to helping young people reach their potential. The fact that someone we thought we knew might have harmed young people to this extent is deeply troubling. If this is true we were all fooled, along with scores of professionals trained in such things, and we grieve for the victims and their families. They are in our prayers.

If Joe had ended the statement right here, it would have been fine. However he seems to have felt the need (or the lawyers did) to go further, apparently with the hope of exonerating Curley and Schultz of their perjury charges.

As my grand jury testimony stated, I was informed in 2002 by an assistant coach that he had witnessed an incident in the shower of our locker room facility. It was obvious that the witness was distraught over what he saw, but he at no time related to me the very specific actions contained in the Grand Jury report. Regardless, it was clear that the witness saw something inappropriate involving Mr. Sandusky. As coach Sandusky was retired from our coaching staff at that time, I referred the matter to university administrators.

This is in conflict with Paterno’s testimony to the grand jury, to wit: “Joseph V. Paterno testified to receiving the graduate assistant’s report at his home on a Saturday morning. Paterno testified that the graduate assistant was very upset. Paterno called Tim Curley, Penn State Athletic Director and Paterno’s immediate superior, to his home the very next day, a Sunday and reported to him that the graduate assistant had seen Jerry Sandusky in the Lasch Building showers fondling or doing something of a sexual nature to a young boy.” [Emphasis mine. —TNT]

[Thanks to K.B. for pointing out my omission. —TNT]

Paterno’s lawyered up statement above uses the words “…very specific actions contained in the Grand Jury report.” Obviously, Joe’s testimony does not make clear what “very specific actions” occurred between Sandusky and the boy in the shower; however, his grand jury testimony, albeit nebulous, does allude to “fondling or doing something of a sexual nature.”

So, Paterno is accusing McQueary of lying to the grand jury. Is he throwing McQueary to the wolves to save Curley and Schultz? If so, I and countless other fans and alums have been wrong about Paterno’s honesty all these years. I am seriously disappointed. Is Paterno just another university official taking care of his own?

By the way, Paterno knew that McQueary was a GA, not an assistant coach, in 2002. Was this an honest error on Joe’s part, or did he miss it in the paragraph that was written for him by the university attorneys?

I understand that people are upset and angry, but let’s be fair and let the legal process unfold. In the meantime I would ask all Penn Staters to continue to trust in what that name represents, continue to pursue their lives every day with high ideals and not let these events shake their beliefs nor who they are.

This sounds much more like Joe than the previous paragraph. I would expect him, as always, to reiterate that those people charged are innocent until proven guilty. And how many times have we heard him tell us to be patient and let the legal process unfold? Yeah, that’s Joe.

Obviously, there will be much more to come on the Sandusky affair. I intend to comment on issues as they arise.