11/21/24
January 14, 2012
Paterno speaks for 1st time since firing: Speaking to a WaPo reporter in his hospital room, "former Penn State coach Joe Paterno says he 'didn't know which way to go' after an assistant coach came to him in 2002 saying he had seen retired defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually abusing a boy."
posted by billsaysthis to culture at 07:13 PM - 2 comments
Paterno sounds like a weak, easily disoriented old man today.
The Washington Post article paints Joe Paterno as "wracked by radiation and chemotherapy, in a wheelchair with a broken pelvis, and "shocked and saddened" as he struggles to explain a breakdown of devastating proportions." Being around family who've battled and passed on from cancer, another who's fought and won (for now), and even currently dating someone who's battling it herself, the confusion and memory loss he seemed to exhibit during the interview are easily explained IMO; whether or not these are selective memory lapses are debatable. But the cancer is probably a battle he's going to lose soon, and this is probably an effort to restore at least some of his reputation before he actively can't anymore. However....
His interview shows that he washed his hands of it as quickly as he could -- and never considered it again.
Agreed, all things considered. The interview still failed to achieve its purpose.
posted by NerfballPro at 12:55 PM on January 15, 2012
Paterno sounds like a weak, easily disoriented old man today.
But if he was capable of coaching a college football team in 2002, he was capable of handling a child sex abuse complaint properly and following up on it with his superiors to ensure the matter was fully investigated.
His interview shows that he washed his hands of it as quickly as he could -- and never considered it again.