Penn State Molestation Scandal: Joe Paterno should be held responsible

The mistake here is believing that Paterno runs Penn State. He is not a "god." He cannot magically fix things. We have a system. He did what he was supposed to do. We are confusing work rules with the law. Paterno received second hand information from an assitant. Call CPS or the police right now with second hand information and you will be ignored. They will ask you what did you see. You will say , "nothing." And they will tell you to have a nice day. I know. I have called. In court, second hand knowledge is hearsay--been there too. Read the grand jury report. Clintion County High school allowed Sandusky to take the boy out study hall. The Clinton County HS wrestling coach caught Sandusky and "Victim 1" wresling in a spare wrestling room. The mom allowed her son to receive cash, golf clubs, a computer, and clothing. The victim spent the night with Sandusky 20-30 times. Where was mom?

To those who are defending this guy, consider this for a second: A witness reported the rape of a young child to him, and instead of asking any follow-up questions (why would you feel the need to when someone tells you they saw a child get raped?), instead of even speaking to his rapist assistant coach even ONCE about the report, instead of calling the police (which is who you're supposed to tell in case of a federal crime, not your coworkers or boss, even if you are part of a school), he tells his employers that he received a "vague" report about the rape of a child that was - get this - probably just some "horsing around" (in his own words). What else could the poor misunderstood guy have done? *dramatic tear* The guy cared more about football than about someone witnessing a rape of a child by one of his employees. He was in the wrong. He deservingly got fired for it. End of story.

..And to those saying "Don't label all PS students this way, because not ALL PS students went on the riots or wore shirts to defend this creeper:" No. But from what I see here, nearly all the PS students here are in turn defending the students that did. This massive ball of defending-defending-defending right after this event is what's causing people to criticize the school. To put that in perspective: We had a case at my school where an economics professor posted a blog about finding underage prostitutes in Thailand. The entire student body was disgusted by the guy. Even his own students that I spoke to. No one wore shirts saying "He Knows Economics" or stated that "he just helped pedophiles commit their crimes, but didn't actually DO the crimes himself, so it's totally fine. :D" It's the defensiveness of PS that is causing them to get this attention. And to those who are defending this guy, consider this for a second: A witness reported the rape of a young child to him, and ins

Okay, to those of you apparently wonderfully educated people from Penn State: You honestly don't think PS brought all this criticism on themselves? Even the Catholic priests didn't riot, tip over vans, vandalize property, try to set fires, throw rocks at cops, wear shirts defending the people who tried to cover up the molestations, and generally humiliate themselves in every possible way after the fact. Yes, the molesters are the ultimate monsters, but whining that "PS students did nothing wrong and don't deserve this criticism!!1" right after their students went on this rampage defending a guy who helped keep the rape of a young child under wraps is just dumbassery at it's finest. I mean, really? Tipping over media vans in defense of a pedophile-protector is "doing nothing wrong?" That "doesn't deserve criticism?" The numerous public spectacles of stupidity is what's attracting all the attention to this case. Stop acting stupid and I bet people will forget about it after a short time.

As an educator in San Antonio, like Paterno has claimed to be in PA, it is not only expected but by law DEMANDED that we report ANY SUSPICION of Child Abuse to authorities. Otherwise we are subject to being fired and losing our teaching license. Just "passing the baton" to a "higher up" is NOT accepted! This was going on right under Paterno's nose!! He is (was) revered at PSU as a GOD and he could have DEMANDED an investigation as soon as he heard! They should ALL be held responsible. I'm sure when the investigation is concluded we will see a whole bunch of "scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" BS that went on. Those defending Paterno are more concerned about the "athletic" part of the story. Kudos to PSU for showing that one program and one man is NOT bigger than the institution itself.

I'm going to go out on a limb and assume those who aren't defending Paterno were too ignorant to read all 23 pages of the jury report. Especially where it states that " Pennsylvania's mandatory reporting statue for suspected child abuse is located at 23 Pa.C.S. and provides that when a staff member reports abuse, pursuant to statue, the person in charge of the school or institution has the responsibility and legal obligation to report or cause such a report to be made by telephone and in writing within 48 hours." Holding the AD Tim Curley and Head of the Board of Trustee's Spanier responsible.

To the defenders of sicko Paterno-no wonder child deaths and rapes continue to plague society. Surprised no one has actually blamed the victim. To the defenders I ask: what if you say a person being beaten or robbed? are you satisfied to report it and drive or walk away? just consider how many more boys were raped because Paterno did the minimal? hope none of his 16 grandchildren are ever raped. It is not Harris' responsiblity to investigate when he has no authority. Yes, it was rumored prior but whose responsibility was it to investigate and take action? from the get-go it was Paterno. How indeed can a responsible adult sleep at night knowing that Sandusky was raping children? Let's all call it what it was-the raping of children. Can you say it and still not fault Paterno?

Does anyone actually care what Don Harris says? I mean, who actually watches TV anymore?

Paterno and the man who witnessed the assault had a moral obligation to report it to the police, especially after the athletic director did nothing. How he slept at night knowing his buddy was a pedophile is beyond me. And to those who support Paterno, I guess as long as it wasn't your child, it's alright. Perhaps you should remember the victims.

Maybe that's why they call it Pen State, like prison? Sick, Disturbing, Disgusting. Evidently, Collage, is no longer the best 4 years of your life! What a shame.