Report Regarding Penn State University Scandal Released Today

Former FBI Director, Louis Freeh

It would be silly if I didn’t say something about the Penn State report that was released today by former FBI director Louis Freeh.  If you want, you can view the 200+ page report here.  Here’s the brief version of what the report said though.

Paterno and others, including former President Graham Spanier, Senior Vice President of Finance and Business Gary Schultz and Athletic Directory Timothy Curley, showed “callous and shocking disregard for victims” with respect to Jerry Sandusky’s criminal actions at Penn State University.  Paterno knew as early as 1998 that Sandusky was being investigated for criminal activity.  When Spanier and other PSU officials became aware of Sandusky’s abusive behavior they decided to consult Paterno.  When Paterno was consulted in 2001, Penn State University changed their approach to the problem and did not alert authorities.  These men, “concealed Sandusky’s activities from the Board of Trustees, the University community and authorities.”  They also “exhibited a striking lack of empathy for Sandusky’s victims by failing to inquire as to their safety and well-being…”

By not reporting these crimes, Freeh argues, these mentioned individuals (including Paterno) “empowered Sandusky to attract potential victims to the campus and football events by allowing him to have continued, unrestricted and unsupervised access to the University’s facilities and affiliation with the University’s prominent football program.”  Curley and Schultz stated that the “humane” thing to do in 2001 was to, “carefully and responsibly assess the best way to handle vague but troubling allegations.”  In other words, Curley and Schultz believed that it was not necessary to bring in outside authorities to investigate Sandusky’s abusive behavior after a Penn State University janitor witnessed him engaging in such behavior with an 11-year-old boy in the shower in 2001.  When Paterno became aware of what was happening in 2001, he was “afraid to do something that might jeopardize what university procedure was. So [he] backed away and turned it over to other people, people [he] thought would have a little more expertise…”

Sandusky (left) with Paterno (right)

The investigation also revealed, “a President who discouraged discussion and dissent,” as well as, “a lack of awareness of child abuse issues, the Clery Act, and the whistleblower policies and protections.”  Freeh noticed how “a culture of reverence” for the PSU football program is ingrained at all levels of the campus community and that the officials were extremely concerned with attracted bad publicity to the University.

Oh man.  This makes me feel a little disgusting to read the report and hear all of the ESPN coverage. I have no doubt that Spanier, Schultz and Curley will be brought up on perjury charges, as well as other charges for lying to investigators and essentially covering up Sandusky’s behavior.  None of this blog is my opinion, these are all facts proven with evidence in the report.  Frees and his team of investigators conducted 430+ interviews and analyzed about 3.5 million emails and documents.  The report concluded that Paterno, Spanier, Curley and Schultz, “failed to protect against a child sexual predator harming children for over a decade.” 

This is devastating for the college football community without a doubt.  Paterno has the most wins out of any college football coach in NCAA Division I history. He had also developed one of the most revered and respected football teams in the NCAA.  Does this tarnish his reputation? Should the Joe Paterno statue be taken down at PSU?  I think his reputation is absolutely tarnished.  He made a huge mistake that will live in infamy for the rest of Penn State’s history.  Despite this, I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to share my opinions on what I think of about Joe Paterno’s character.  Paterno said just before he died that the Sandusky allegations (at the time) was, “not a football problem.”  He made a mistake by concealing facts from authorities regarding Sandusky’s behavior, but I continue to hear about what an incredible man he was.  What do you all think?  Should that statue be taken down?  Will Paterno go down as a villain or a man who made a mistake?