Dick Vitale still supporting Joe Paterno, not afraid to defend his point of view
Without question it remains somewhat controversial when a member of the national sports media voices his or her opinions about Joe Paterno, whether in support of or in defiance to the former Penn State head coach. Many times the anti-Paterno statements can be lost on specifics of the story. To be fair, there are many times when Paterno supporters fail to look at the situation without blue and white goggles as well. Noted ESPN basketball personality Dick Vitale shared his thoughts on Paterno over the weekend following this interview Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski had with CNN's Piers Morgan.
Coach K SAYS Penn ST made mistake in firing of Joe PA - I agreenewsobserver.com/2012/06/16/214…
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) June 16, 2012
In the interview Coach K, who as you remember took part in a special ESPN program last summer about doing things the right way in collegiate athletics, criticized Penn State, among other things, for the firing of Paterno. Vitale took to Twitter to agree with the fact that Paterno was not the main villain in this tragic tale, and quickly became the target of criticism for defending the actions (or inaction) of Paterno in response to the Jerry Sandusky allegations and alleged incidents.
As a Twitter onslaught against Vitale ensued, Vitale at times reminded his followers just what was the point of his initial comments. Paterno, while not 100 percent free of guilt in this unfolding story, was never the number one villain to be focusing on, just the most notable.
Respect those of u that have a diff. view on Joe Pa-I feel that it was not proven to me beyond a doubt that he covered up theSandusky sit.
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) June 16, 2012
Do u believe Joe Pa would allow this monster to attack innocent young ppl?Maybe I am naive but I just don't believe it-attack the man JS.
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) June 17, 2012
So we can have a better feel 4 my views on Sandusky sit.-1st Coack K was stating his feelings on firing of JP-I agreed . JS Should be focus!
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) June 17, 2012
Now if JP was aware of all the things we r hearing obviously he & the Univ officials r guilty . I can not believe he vwould accept this.
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) June 17, 2012
We should be concentrating on the REAL MONSTER Sandusky - My heart goes out to all those victims. JP went directly to his bosses when told.
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) June 17, 2012
Yes Joe Pa SHOULD HAVE DONE MORE - but let's not get away from the real problem & that is Jerry Sandusky.
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) June 17, 2012
U have my views & I will be 1stto scream I was wrong if proven that Joe Pa wascovering up these cruel acts by this alleged monster .
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) June 17, 2012
I, for one, agree with the above Vitale tweets. Could Paterno have done more? Yes. Should he have done more? I believe so. Is Paterno the man people should be focusing on right now? More than the people who had more power and possibly knew more about the situations related to Sandusky, the real antagonist in the whole mess? No.
I do not blame anyone for feeling Paterno should be called out for his role in all of this, but just keep in mind just how much more responsible other people may have been in all of this.
The trial of Sandusky will resume Monday, with the defense ready to start staing their case and calling their witnesses.
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I don't agree that Paterno should have been fired, especially without any direct communication with the BoT. I think that after 6 decades of coaching an outstanding football program he should have been given more consideration that a piece of paper indicating he should call a telephone number. That was a ridiculous and gutless way fro the BoT to handle his termination.
reh9993 has it exactly right. All of those who repeat the mantra "Joe should have done more", never say what more he should have done. Make a citizens arrest? As reh9993 said, the PSU Campus Police have the same policing power as the State College Police. They also have jurisdiction over any alleged crimes on campus and within a 500 feet radius of campus. They were not only the RIGHT police force to inform, they were the ONLY police force with jurisdiction to investigate McQueary's claim. Furthermore, if Joe had notified the State Police (who would have kicked it right back to the campus police) and said "A guy who works for me thinks he might have seen a guy who used to work for me years ago doing something sexual to a kid in a shower" the first thing they would have asked is who is the kid (never identified), has the kid or his parents ever filed charges (no), did the guy who saw it notify campus police (yes), then why are you calling us? The legal system doesn't work the way the "Joe should have done more" bandwagoners think it does. Joe's comment that he regretted that he did not do more was based on all of the information that came out in the Grand Jury Report - NOT based on what McQueary told him. As the lead prosecutor opened the Sandusky trial with "Penn State University (and by extension Joe Paterno) is not on trial here."
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Joe Paterno did the right thing legally and morally. When told by Coach McQueary about an incident involving someone who no longer worked for him (Jerry Sandusky) he told his superior, Athletic Director Curley and the Chief of Police, Schultz, about it. He also arranged for McQueary to talk to these men. The University Police at Penn State are a real police force, with the same responsibilities as any municipal police force. If I had heard about an illegal incident that involved someone who used to work for me, told my boss and the local police chief about it and arranged for the eyewitness to do the same I would feel I had met my legal and moral responsibilities. I would not call the chief of police back at regular intervals to see how things were going. In fact, such activity could well be seen as an attempt to influence an investigation. Joe Paterno did the right thing with the information he was given. He did not run Penn State University. He was the football coach. He was sacrificed because the media demanded a sacrifice and Paterno was the only name big enough to satisfy them.
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@reh9993 I agree with you to a point. I still believe Paterno could have, and perhaps should have, done more. I would like to think I would have done more in the same situation but who knows. As far as Paterno could have been concerned, the issue was dealt with appropriately.
And while Paterno was a recipient of plenty of national attention, which comes with being the face of the program, it really is hard to argue that Paterno should not have been fired given the circumstances. The manner in which it was handled, on the other hand, could have been done differently and I think that, more than anything, is what continues to rub some people the wrong way.
@reh9993 I agree whole-heartedly with you. I cannot understand why others cannot seem to understand this.....
And perhaps more should be made about Mike McQuery's lack of response as an actual EYE WITNESS....no one seems to make much of an issue about that or that his father is apparently experiencing wither dementia or supidity and claiming he did not testify
I agree that Joe Pa could have done more - he said that- but our focus should be toward the accused Jerry Sandusky.
