[bart]

Originally Posted by Mike P

Mike---put the pitcher of Joe Pa Kool-Aid down, and accept the fact that there is overwhelming evidence that Paterno knew what Sandusky was doing back in 1998, and not only didn't alert the authorities, but engaged in a deliberate cover-up to protect the reputation of his football program. This is what is at the heart of the Freeh investigation, and why they took his statue down, and why the football program is being hit with unprecedentedly severe sanctions. If it was the president's and trustees' fault, the football program would not have been penalized---or at least, not to that degree.

In my business, we call stuff like this obstruction of justice, and accessory to a crime. Based on what we now know, if he hadn't died, Paterno could have easily been prosecuted for being an accessory after the fact for the abuses that took place prior to 1998, and accessory before the fact for the ones after 1998. What he did wasn't all that much different than helping a killer dispose of the murder weapon. Every time thereafter, when he saw Sandusky in a locker room, or at a game, with a young boy at his side, the old bastard HAD TO KNOW what Sandusky's plan with that boy was. And his continued silence, and active cover-up, assisted Sandusky in carrying out those plans.

I completely agree with everything you said in this post.