sapphi_snake said:
HappySqurriel said:
sapphi_snake said:
HappySqurriel said:
I'm not going to say that either side is right in this case because it depends heavily on Joe Paterno's side of the story, which he hasn't told yet ...
What we know is that Joe Paterno was told by one of his coaches that he witnessed another coach abusing a child, and then Joe Paterno informed his superior of this incident. While Joe Paterno should have gone to the police, I don't believe he was trying to cover it up, and it is plausible that he believed his superior was going to handle the police and begin an investigation. Regardless of this, the coach who witnessed the abuse had an obligation to report it to the police.
While I can see the justification of firing Joe Paterno, I don't understand how either the athletic director or the coach who witnessed the abuse still have their jobs; because, as far as I can tell, their obligations were far more clear than Paterno's were and were certainly not met. |
You never ever ever 'go to your superiors' when witnessing an illegal activity at your work place. You go straight to the cops, because corporations don't like whistleblowers, and always try to cover up thigns like this.
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That's fine, and I agree (in general), except you're angry at Joe Paterno for not reporting a crime he wasn't a witness to ...
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But a crime he heard was commited. And a very serious crime. It was his duty to urge the person who saw it to report it to the police, else report it himself. Sorry, he just wanted to wash his hands of it, and go on leading a nice cozy little life as a hothot coach or whatever his job was, with no paedophilia scandal or anything at his workplace. What did he care that a 10-year-old boy was being raped? He deserved what he got.
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How do you know that he didn't urge the person who reported it to him to go to the police? How do you know that when he reported the incident to the Athletic director he wasn't told by him that he would inform the police?
While I admit that he should have probably contacted the police, I can understand how someone could make that mistake. On top of that, while you can debate whether he should have done more, it is quite clear that the Coach who abused the boys, Coach who witnessed the abuse, the Athletic Director, and the President are much more to blame (because of their actions or inactions) and yet people are fixated on Joe Paterno.
It may be entirely justified to fire Joe Paterno, but there is no justification for keeping the Athletic director and witness coach employed while letting Paterno go ...
