Quote:
Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger
Paterno knew for sure. He is the only one not being accused of perjury (or charged with perjury). He was the only one that did anything but he only did the legal minimum which was informing school officials. Most of the coaches testified in front of a grand jury iirc. They all lied except Paterno. None of them did anything.
Multiple school officials right up to the highest ranks knew the guy was frequently raping kids in the locker room and didn't do a thing.
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This isn't completely true. The only coach involved is Paterno, the others are administrators.
Nobody seems to know for sure what these people knew, but they knew enough that they should have taken action. Paterno did what he was legally required to do, but that's not enough, especially from someone who has built a good deal of his legacy on being a 'do things the right way' kind of coach. Paterno says he didn't know the details, but frankly that doesn't matter. The allegation minus the details is enough.
I really don't understand the rationale for covering this up. If the school had acted immediately upon finding out it certainly wouldn't have looked good, but it obviously would have been much better than this result. Would it have hurt the football program? Yes, but it wouldn't have been something that prevented them from still being a strong program. Would people hold it against Penn State if they had acted strongly as soon as they had found out? I don't think so. I mean there are sickos hiding in the shadows all over the place, the fact one is associated with your school looks bad, but a swift response reaffirms that you have morals and values and you aren't going to stand for it. This undermines all of that.