Michael Sisak ‏@cvmikesisak 12m
#Sandusky prosecutor Frank Fina tells @CBSNews evidence did not show late PSU football coach Joe Paterno participated in coverup of abuse

Not yet published but will be soon...

Let's look at what he said in context...

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57...ove-abuse/

KETEYIAN: Do you believe that Coach Paterno was a part of the conspiracy to conceal -- to cover up the crimes at Penn State by Jerry Sandusky?

FINA: I do not. And -- and I -- I'm viewing this strictly on the evidence, not any kind of fealty to anybody. I did not find that evidence.

KETEYIAN: But you know as well as I do, Frank, Joe Paterno was the most powerful man on that campus, arguably the most powerful coach in college football. He knew what was going on in that university, and the argument is if he knew what he knew, he should have put a stop to it. He should have done more.

FINA: Well, that's right. And I don't see any need to judge him beyond his own words. He said it best: "I didn't do enough. I should have done more."

(09-03-2013 07:31 PM)psualltheway5 Wrote:  Michael Sisak ‏@cvmikesisak 12m
#Sandusky prosecutor Frank Fina tells @CBSNews evidence did not show late PSU football coach Joe Paterno participated in coverup of abuse

Not yet published but will be soon...

Oh god, not this crap again.

The PSU truthers are just as bad as the holocaust deniers and 9-11 inside jobbers.

Sorry,, Paterno was told of the Bathroom incident, and kept his mouth shut. Take your Penn State BS somewhere where you are surrounded by other blind mice.

(09-03-2013 08:03 PM)NJRedMan Wrote:  

(09-03-2013 07:31 PM)psualltheway5 Wrote:  Michael Sisak ‏@cvmikesisak 12m
#Sandusky prosecutor Frank Fina tells @CBSNews evidence did not show late PSU football coach Joe Paterno participated in coverup of abuse

Not yet published but will be soon...

Oh god, not this crap again.

The PSU truthers are just as bad as the holocaust deniers and 9-11 inside jobbers.

"Sandusky was a CIA plant!" --Alex Jones on PSU, probably.

Hands down the most absolutely batschitt crazy fan base of all-time. Whomever you think has the most cult-like fans, make them no. 2 on your list behind that group of nut cases.

They do not care that there was a cover up, only that Joe wasn't implicated in said cover up (and thus his rep and wins restored).

Utterly bizarre.

To state that Joe did not know something was amiss with Sandusky is complete BS. He, essentially, willingly turned a blind eye to the atrocities; others would later blame it on the police for not doing enough to stop the evil bastard. Some in the Penn State crowd need to get their priorities in order!

Don't kid yourself Paterno knew of Sandusky's ways. Quit protecting pedophiles in the name of football - sickening and disgusting.

I think the op smokes rocks.

(09-03-2013 07:31 PM)psualltheway5 Wrote:  Michael Sisak ‏@cvmikesisak 12m
#Sandusky prosecutor Frank Fina tells @CBSNews evidence did not show late PSU football coach Joe Paterno participated in coverup of abuse

Not yet published but will be soon...

There's no doubt this is a pretty big quote. Coming from a prosecutor on the Curley/Schulz/Spanier case.

There's two questions on Paterno:

(1) Was he part of an active cover-up of Sandusky's crimes?

(2) Should he have morally done more re: Sandusky? (e.g., gone to the police once it became aware Curley/Schulz/Spanier didn't or wouldn't).

I'm a PSU alum who has always felt the answer to each was "yes", but someone like Fina saying what he says will weigh on my mind and cause me to reconsider.

If the answer to question 1 is truly "no" and the answer to question 2 is "yes", it should influence how Paterno is looked at in retrospect. Hardly a perfect man, but not the monster that a "yes" answer to each question implies.

No doubt this quote has drawn the attention of Paterno's lawyers re: their lawsuit against the NCAA. A lawsuit by the Paternos against Louis Freeh himself isn't a matter of if, but when (IMO).

That said, this is an uphill battle for Paterno supporters. Most people have their mind made up here and aren't open to any reconsideration.

This is nothing new. The whole Freeh case against Paterno was based on one e-mail where the one guy said he re-considered, after talking to Paterno, whether it would be "fair" to Sandusky to go to the police without talking to him first. We don't know what his discussion with Paterno involved. There's no reference to other discussions in 2001.

Freeh is assuming Paterno was involved all along and pushed against doing anything. That's not evidence, its an opinion based on a lot of assumptions. There are no facts to back it up. That's all the prosecutor is saying. So the prosecutor is not saying anything that should change anyone's mind one way or the other.

(09-03-2013 08:03 PM)NJRedMan Wrote:  

(09-03-2013 07:31 PM)psualltheway5 Wrote:  Michael Sisak ‏@cvmikesisak 12m
#Sandusky prosecutor Frank Fina tells @CBSNews evidence did not show late PSU football coach Joe Paterno participated in coverup of abuse

Not yet published but will be soon...

Oh god, not this crap again.

The PSU truthers are just as bad as the holocaust deniers and 9-11 inside jobbers.

+ 1

Shame on Joe, because he knew his coach and friend was bunkering little boys! Joe put has career in front of the helpless little boys welfare. What a scum bag Joe really was!

(09-03-2013 10:21 PM)Wilkie01 Wrote:   Shame on Joe, because he knew his coach and friend was bunkering little boys! Joe put has career in front of the helpless little boys welfare. What a scum bag Joe really was!

Tell us how you really feel.

(09-03-2013 09:31 PM)bullet Wrote:  This is nothing new. The whole Freeh case against Paterno was based on one e-mail where the one guy said he re-considered, after talking to Paterno, whether it would be "fair" to Sandusky to go to the police without talking to him first. We don't know what his discussion with Paterno involved. There's no reference to other discussions in 2001.

Freeh is assuming Paterno was involved all along and pushed against doing anything. That's not evidence, its an opinion based on a lot of assumptions. There are no facts to back it up. That's all the prosecutor is saying. So the prosecutor is not saying anything that should change anyone's mind one way or the other.

Let's see . . .

1. Joe knew froma first hand reportof Sandusky's activity.
2. Joe knew for a decade afterwards that Sandusky was being given university privileges to freely walk around campus, use facilities - the same facilities where the reported incident happened - and associate with kids.

Sure, Joe had nothing to do with any cover up.

(09-03-2013 10:51 PM)OrangeCrush22 Wrote:  

(09-03-2013 10:21 PM)Wilkie01 Wrote:   Shame on Joe, because he knew his coach and friend was bunkering little boys! Joe put has career in front of the helpless little boys welfare. What a scum bag Joe really was!

Tell us how you really feel.

All the PSU , it just makes me mad at their blindness to what happen in their locker room!

-We know that Joe Paterno was aware that Jerry Sandusky worked with the Second Mile, a charity for at risk youth

-We know that Paterno learned that Sandusky was doing "things of a sexual nature" with a young boy in the shower (because those are the words Paterno used under oath to the grand jury)

-We know that Paterno continued to allow PSU players and assistant coaches to work with the Second Mile for years, even though Sandusky was still involved with that group.

-Sandusky was convicted of molesting kids he didn't even meet until after the shower incident.

We have enough facts to know that by his INACTION, Joe Paterno enabled child molestation.

The continuing attempt to parse whether his ACTIONS constituted a coverup is just another attempt at deflection and more proof of the mental illness of many of his supporters.

Paterno had motive to cover it up. He was 74 years old when McCready witnessed the shower scene. He was coming off a 5-7 season. He had 322 career wins.

If he reported Sandusky in February 2001, there was going to be a major investigation into what the program knew and when given Second Mile etc. Combined with his advanced age and poor showing in 2000, there was a chance Paterno could have been forced out depending on how the investigation went.

Paterno couldn't let that happen. Not when he was so close to breaking Bear Bryant's record of 323 wins. Bryant's record was at least part of his motive.

Cougar, this is the dumbest of all rationale.

If the administrators responsible for reporting a former employee's actions (Curley, Schultz, and Spanier...the three who are actually being tried...while Paterno was said to be innocent and perfectly compliant according to investigators) had turned Sandusky in immediately, there would have been a minor news story...probably would have lasted a few weeks at most and PSU football would have been barely scathed.

Like in the Tat-gate and Tressel's firing at OSU, it was the delay and the inaction that caused most of the outrage in this situation. The delay was not Paterno's doing. Anyone who is a public employee knows that you report incidents to superiors.

And Paterno's quote was "With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more." And Paterno and Sandusky were not friends. FWIW.

I want the guilty to pay as much as anyone; I just don't think Paterno deserves the full brunt of the outrage.

So, Fina is saying that there is not substantial evidence that Paterno actively tried to prevent others from going to the police. I guess that better than if he did. However, he still knew and didn't come forward. No redemption for that.