Molester State

I have wondered for awhile now what crime, if any, trumped sports' wins & losses in this society. Apparently, none. #PaternoDefenders -Richard Hunter, Dallas radio host

 So Thursday night, we learned that Joe Paterno has, as they say, lawyered up. Joe Pa has sought out the services of prominent criminal lawyer J. Sedgwick Sollers, whose claim to fame was representing George H.W. Bush in the Iran-Contra affair. Many of Paterno's backers would say that the only lawyer he should be getting is one to sue Penn State for wrongful termination. I would say those folks are short-sighted. What would he be suing for, his own money back? Others would say that Paterno searching out a lawyer so quickly has him concerned that he may be more culpable in all this than people are letting on. But the facts (as we allegedly know them) remain that he obtained information about an "inappropriate" situation and he followed the chain of command by sending it up the line to the athletic director. The facts (as we allegedly know them) make Paterno sound like a naive child that everyone in a big room wanted to protect from some obviously harsh realities. The way they've made it sound, if Joe Paterno came anywhere near an R-rated movie, people would start fumbling for the remote. Yahoo Sports writer Pete Lieber, great article here

Now enter the lawyers and the manipulation of the law for Joe Paterno. Just like the Catholic bishops and Wall Street executives, he'll spend not one second in jail for his crimes of indifference and cover ups. Ain't that America...*insert John Cougar Mellencamp song here*

So SMU gets the death penalty for a much lesser offence and Penn St. gets to keep playing football this weekend. Is this a prejudice towards Texans?

 Everybody involved kept their mouths shut about it because they didn't want to jeopardize their positions. I got news for you, your job does not define who you are; It's just a way to keep the lights on. What matters is the content of your character.(a great man said that) ZERO CHARACTER IS ON DISPLAY FROM PENN STATE HERE...ZERO

The key words that have come out of Joe Paterno Wednesday and Thursday are, "With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more." I've heard some talking football heads twist those words into what amounts to a guilty verdict when Joe Pa isn't even charged (to date) with a crime of any kind. I believe if you twist those words the right way you find a saddened old man who is slowly starting to pull back the layers of ignorance. We can't possibly know, at this point, how high and how thick the wall was that may have been built around Joe Paterno in this case. When most people would tell you that he wasn't exactly heading up the program anymore, rather simply acting as a figure head, a grandfatherly visage, a mentor to young men, whose real coaching days were long in the past, is it so hard to imagine that the powers that be have gone years going by a "what Joe don't know won't hurt him" mantra in this case?

Or maybe the marbles are still in full motion in Joe Paterno's 84-year old head. Maybe it's all an act. Maybe he knows every bit of it, but also knows the world will buy a ticket to the show where he plays the role of the credulous old man. He's going to need that lawyer no matter how you look at it, because in this litigious world we live in, civil suits abound. That may be an understatement in this case.
Either way, it's going to play out like an HBO mini-series with twists and turns and shocks and more horrible details that will ratchet up the ire of us all. As the puzzle pieces come together, we just need to remember what Joe's new lawyer will undoubtedly know, whatever your take on it, there's always going to be another side.

He may have met his legal obligations with regard to reporting. But his moral obligations started before the second incident. I suppose that up in Pennsylvania child abuse is OK if the team wins, but even in Texas most of us have higher standards than this barest minimum.  -Robert Rister, Texan

 I'm outraged that the NCAA would allow Penn State to play football this weekend. Looks like denial ain't just another river in Egypt.