There has been a clamor recently to bring back the Joe Paterno statue in ‘happy valley.’ They he was unfairly persecuted before death.. that Sandusky was the real villain and Paterno did what he could behind the scenes and properly reported things.
The statue delivery will be on hold now.. new allegations surfaced just this past week that Paterno may have known about the abuse allegations during the Gerald Ford Administration in 1976!
The secret of what happened and whether this could be substantiated went to Paterno’s grave in 2012 ( not to say others would not know ) .. Penn State released this statement:
“The university has no records from the time to help evaluate the claims,” the statement said. “More importantly, Coach Paterno is not here to defend himself. Penn State does not intend to comment further, out of concern for privacy, and due to the strict confidentiality commitments that govern our various settlement agreements.”
But then there is this..
IT goes further than what was alleged before … This time, the accusations say that Penn State personnel SAW the behavior.. saw abuse.. told the accusers to drop the cases.. This piece of information from the SPORTS ILLUSTRATED story caught my attention:
One of the two victims tells CNN that he was hitchhiking when Sandusky picked him up, bought him beer and provided him with marijuana before he was attacked while standing at a urinal in a Penn State bathroom. He was 15 years old at the time and had previously been abused by a local priest. The victim, who is now 62 years old, told Paterno and the complaint went ignored by the longtime head coach. Paterno accused him of making it up and said that he would call the authorities.
There has just been a release of truly scandalous information from PA Attorney General Kathleen Kane regarding priest abuse in central Pennsylvania..
More and more, when you take a step back and realize the connections between abuse, that this is a global thing. A global trade.. A global crime and a universal problem that I wish could just be eradicated…
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Penn State’s insurer claims there is evidence of several early acts of molestation by Sandusky, and not just the one by a boy who allegedly went to Paterno with his report in the 1970s, according to the ruling by Philadelphia Judge Gary Glazer. Glazer said the events are described “in a number of the victims’ depositions.”
The Paterno family immediately dismissed the allegations as false… Paterno’s widow Sue has long stated that Joe Paterno did not have awareness of anything this long back.
But with the invocation of public opinion on this matter, it brings to a boil the Penn State scandal all over again..
