Penn State did the right thing. They fired head football coach Joe Paterno and president Graham B. Spanier.
It mattered to the 22,000 other employees of the university. And it matters to the 60,000 students who attend Penn State. It was a message that values still matter.
How the Board of Trustees handled this awful situation says a lot about about them a what PSU stands for.
That was a great HR decision. And it’s a lesson for all of us: Standing up for what’s right is always the right thing to do.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Frank…do you have a clue??? Let me ask you one question. How exactly is this the right thing to do, when 2 other staff members, higher up on the chain of command than Paterno, knowingly lied about the facts, covered them up, and then pleaded guilty to perjury….and they are simply placed on administrative leave????? So basically, what you are saying is, that partially standing up for what is right is always the right thing to do. Please explain, in your infinite wisdom, how this was the correct course of action.
Unfortunately, you are like the many other people outside of the State College area who are looking on this story and drawing their own radical conclusions not based on facts. Few also understand the facts in the case, and you obviously fall into that realm. If you would take the time to read the grand jury testimony, you would realize that Joe Paterno was approached by a grad-assistant coach, and he was informed that the grad assistant was uncomfortable with the “horsing around” which he witnessed. At no point in time did it say that Paterno was informed that the grad assistant witnessed a boy being brutally and forcibly raped. My recommendation to you, like much of the other moronic members of the media covering this tragedy, is to stay out of matters which you have no clue what you are talking about. You obviously don’t even know the correct number of students who attend the school…so if you don’t even know that, then who are you to draw any conclusions or opinions on this matter???
Bryan, read this: http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/264787/grand-jury-report.pdf
I’ve read it Frank. The facts in the case stand. Paterno’s testimony with what he heard from the grad assistant was consistent with the grad assistant’s testimony with what he told Paterno, that having seeing “groping”. Groping is far from forcible rape, and I think many people would agree with me, that if he heard “forcible rape”, and not “groping” that things would be a lot different. I feel for the victims in this case, but your summary judgement that the right decision was made, stating that values still matter, is so far off base its not even funny. I say again, how can you say the Board of Trustees did the right thing, when they continue to allow Paterno’s 2 bosses to be on administrative leave???? How is that the right HR decision??? What kind of a message does that send???
Bryan, can I ask why you’re so angry? Lots of people got hurt. Badly. And some of it is directly tied to Joe Paterno not doing the right thing.
My personal feeling is that they all should go. Everyone in the football program. Everyone in management at PSU. Start over with good people who have a moral compass.
Remind me again why you’re so angry. And why you feel the need to hurl personal attacks at me. Thanks.
I have not hurled a personal attack, but I have read story upon story today, many along the same opinion as yours, and you sit here and write the briefest of articles, on an extremely deep reaching subject. In 8 sentences you state that they did the right thing, yet when I comment further, questioning why these 2 guys are still associated with the university, while Paterno is fired, only then do you realize that yes, everyone should be fired. This is the same kind of mentality that the media at large is taking with this story, and nobody seems to look past the celebrity of Paterno, making him the focal point of everything, kind of the mentality of shoot first and ask questions later. The fact of the matter remains the the utter integrity of the Board of Trustees is now in question here, and from a human resources point of view, your statement that they did the right thing by simply firing the President and the Coach is not accurate, and you just confirmed this with your last post, saying that they should fire everyone.
Hmm…so only when your angry attacks started did I think other people should be fired too? Little self centered, non?
As far as Paterno goes, I don’t care about how many wins he had or how much money he gave to the library. That doesn’t balance out his obligation to make Sandusky stop. Not for a second. Him…and no one else who knew.
Time to take a deep breath now, Bryan. Think about why all the misdirected anger. Where’s the worry about the victims? Put that anger to that use and we have something to talk about.
Angry attacks? I am not angry…nor am I attacking, and I apologize if I gave you that impression…the internet is not an avenue for attacks. I am better than that. I think it will be interesting to hear what exactly Joe Paterno has to say with regards to what exactly he was told. Here is a quote for you, and its a good one. “By focusing on the tear-down of the most notable figure involved in the case, people have become numb to the man who did the most damage and those who have been accused to covering up that damage.” The media is responsible for focusing attention on whomever they select, and unfortunately, they have put all the focus on Paterno. They have taken focus from the man who allegedly committed these heinous acts. They have taken focus from the men who covered up the heinous acts. They have taken focus from the numerous unnamed victims in this case. They have taken focus from the abscence of integrity on Penn State’s behalf in dealing with this matter…so I guess the media will always be media. Unfortunately I am hearing that some further allegations are forthcoming, and if that is true, then its a sad, sad day in Happy Valley.
Frank – i commend you for keeping your composure with Byan. Bryan – Obviously everyone should be fired. Alot of times with these cases unfourtunately justice is nowhere to be found. I believe Frank was grateful for the fact that action against these cruel and senseless people has begun to take place. You did insult him personally and tried to make your point in a rude and disrespectful manner. This is a blog for discussion – not attacks. Maybe you should channel your anger toward the real villians and not Frank. Yes you have a point but you executed it
horribly. Now, it would be a good idea if we focus more on spreading awareness on sexual child abuse than on each other.
Thanks, HR Girl. I know this stuff is filled with emotion…mine comes down for the abused children. I don’t give a second of worry about JoePa or the rest…they were bad for not reporting Sandusky and letting him keep raping kids. It’s sick.
Check this out: http://thisisnthappiness.com/post/12608321290/success-with-honor
You are right…I definitely chose the wrong words, but please do not confuse passion for anger. My intent was not to attack Frank, as I stated its not my style. I never insulted him personally, but like I said, I think I chose the wrong words. Be careful when associating Joe Paterno with the words “cruel” and “senseless”…I am not here to discuss what he knew, didn’t know, etc. All I can say, is that knowing who he is, and what he stands for, and knowing Penn State, I cannot believe that if he knew of a child being raped that he would sweep it under the carpet. But we have to wait to hear exactly what he heard and what he knew, and like I said I am not here to debate that. I simply saw the original blog, and commented about how I think Frank’s original blog was well off-target. So far what the Board of Trustees has done is laughable. They fired the President, and the media-hyped head coach. They completely dropped the ball in firing the 2 men who covered up everything. The assistant coach who witnessed everything is set to coach this weekend. Far from very sound HR-decision making, don’t you guys agree? You say its a start…maybe. What I am saying, whether its just a start or whatever, is that what has been thus far is not acceptable, and for the Board of Trustees to say that what has been done thus far is “in the best interest of the university” is proof that they are completely lacking of any integrity…
It is sick. “Success with Honor” … Really? Rape and neglect.. Seems like they have to look up the word honor in the dictionary.
This is in God’s hands now.
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