Paterno Notified Police but Media, Pundits, and Public Continue to Promote False Narrative
In 2002, Joe Paterno met with Gary C. Schultz, then senior vice president for finance and business at Penn State University, to convey, second-hand, allegations that former defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, engaged in disturbing and inappropriate conduct with a 10-year old boy in the showers at the football facility.
Schultz, in his capacity as senior vice president for finance and business, was the administrative head of the Penn State University Police Department. In fact, Schultz was Penn State's administrative equivalent of a state police superintendent; indeed, the director of the Penn State University Police Department reported to Schultz, according to the university's organizational chart. As it turns out, however, Schultz allegedly never informed the director or chief of police of the allegations reported by Paterno. As a result, Schultz has been indicted; he has also been indicted for perjury.
Although Paterno advised Schultz of the allegations against Sandusky, the media, pundits, and public continue to recklessly promote the false narrative that Paterno never contacted the university police. Dan Patrick, host of the syndicated television and radio sports talk show, The Dan Patrick Show, spent the entire week as the sports world's unreliable narrator, repeatedly criticizing Paterno for failing to notify law enforcement. Joining Patrick this week in similarly misreporting the easily ascertainable facts of this matter were ESPN personalities, Rece Davis, Chris Fowler, and Neil Everett as well as MSNBC personalities Joe Scarborough and Willie Geist.
The Grand Jury report, available online to anyone interested in knowing the facts of the matter, reads in material part: "Schultz testified that he was called to a meeting with Joe Paterno and [Athletic Director] Tim Curley, in which Paterno reported 'disturbing' and 'inappropriate' conduct in the shower by Sandusky, upon a young boy . . . ." The Grand Jury report continues: "Although Schultz oversaw the University Police . . ., he never reported the 2002 incident."
Another common and related refrain by Dan Patrick and others is that Paterno should have followed up with Schultz and Curley as to the status of the Sandusky investigation. This view demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of basic law enforcement. If Schultz had initiated an investigation, he would not have been at liberty to discuss the details or progress of the investigation with Paterno and other potential witnesses.
I agree with Dan Patrick and others that everyone's focus should be on the alleged victims of this awful tragedy, but that viewpoint does little more than belabor the obvious. The irony in Patrick's admonition, though, is that reckless reporting by him, Davis, Fowler, Everett, Scarborough, and Geist has led to even more unnecessary tragedy, not the least of which is Joe Paterno's storied 61-year career ending in disgrace.
Published by J.C. Grant
A writer interested in education, finance, health, history, law, music, polemics, politics, satire, sports, statistics, travel, and trivia. View profile
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20 Comments
Post a CommentVery interesting!
Absolutely brilliant, but I've come to expect nothing less from you! I've found the reporting of this situation to be so frustrating.
You should have stuck with the state comparision, B, and said that it's like reporting to the governor; however, that would be wrong since a govenor doesn't directly oversee the state police. Rather, the attorney general and state police superintendent do.
I disagree. Reporting to Schultz (Business and Finance) is like reporting to your crony, the mayor, and saying that you've reported to law enforcement, because he "oversees the police."
Put yourself in his Paterno's place. Would YOU have gone to the media or the cops on your own, or stood on your roof and announced this? Really?
McQueary didn't tell Paterno UNTIL THE NEXT DAY! Reporting to his superiors was ALL he could do at the time, with the assumption that THEY would call the authorities. You people just don't understand how the law works. If he'd called 911, and somebody told me they saw something happen yesterday, there's absolutely NOTHING the cops could have done! It was his word against McQueary's. Don't forget, Mike, the cops HEARD SANDUSKY ADMIT showering naked with a kid in 1998, and STILL didn't arrest him! DA Gricar said there wasn't enough evidence! Now, when the cops HEAR the guy admit he did it, and still don't arrest him, what chance does a second hand account have?
Isn't what's important is that Paterno reported the allegations to Schultz rather than whether he or Curley called for the meeting?
Paterno and Curley met with Schultz to discuss it, Mike. That's clearly in the Grand Jury report. It's quoted in the article. Whether it was Curley or Paterno who set up the meeting is really unimportant. What's important is that the meeting took place.
Yes, Grace. It's so bizarre how so many people think that "calling the police" is limited to ringing the switchboard and talking to some low-level handwringer. If you were made aware of an alleged crime and you had the power to report it at the highest possible level, why isn't that better? Do people think that reporting an alleged crime directly to a state attorney general or state police superindendent (if you had that kind of drag) is less effective than reporting it to a random patrolman on the beat? In this case, that patrolman would have had to meet with the chief, director, and Schultz anyway. Things didn't work out here, but no one could have predicted that Schultz wouldn't initiate an investigation.
A closer closer review of the grand jury report reveals that Joe Paterno reported the incident seen by the graduate assistant only to AD Tim Curley, and not to VP Gary Schultz. Here is a quote from the report: “Joseph V. Paterno testified to receiving the graduate assistant’s report at his home on Saturday morning. Paterno testified that the graduate assistant was very upset. Paterno called Tim Curley, Penn State Athletic Director, and Paterno’s immediate superior, to his home the very next day, a Sunday, and reported to him that the graduate assistant had seen Jerry Sandusky in the Lasch Building showers fondling or doing something of a sexual nature to a young boy.” Clearly, Paterno did not contact Gary Schultz or any law enforcement officer or person of equivalent status.