Former PSU grad assistant speaks out.....WOW

[sportsart]

Interesting (yet sad) read with more insight to the Joe Pa regime.

http://m.nbcsports.com/s/2927/Home?viewOnOnePage=true&articleId=45283472

 

[UCername]

I hope Franco Harris reads this instead of holding court in front of the Paterno's house for all to hear his stupidity. Sorry but PSY admins aren't stopping the sideshow now either, they are still very much trying to preserve brand via their network.

 

[ktuck911]

yeah, I think Franco Harris wet the bed on that one. I understand he's trying to bring sympathy to his coach, but, he just mad a hiney of himself... This type of situation you just have to kinda sit back and see how things unfold ( at the very least ) before you open your mouth....

 

[Waquoit]

"[Paterno] wouldn't give you time of day unless you were on his level, or have any interaction with you without it serving him." He saw a system that served as a "kingdom," designed to serve a single person, without checks or balances. He saw a coach who had been able to produce a constructive output on the field, but "underneath, optimized fear."

Moral guys don't act like that. The emperor had no clothes. And I guess neither did his top assistant which is why we are discussing this.

 

[SubbaBub]

I am still eager to hear the missing facts in this case. This provided none. While, the assumptions here may ultimately prove close to the truth, it unfortunately comes across as an abuse victim projecting his understandable anger in the wrong place. If he is willing to put this out there, how's about calling the police on his own attacker? Surely, he is still abusing kids.

At its stands his opinion is the opposite of, but no more valid than that of, Franco Harris'.

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk

 

[beerfan]

The whole situation is just unnerving but just as unsettling is people with an agenda adding their 2 cents

"Paknis is a management and leadership consultant for high-end companies and enterprises, and his unique perspective has inspired him to speak out not only about sexual abuse but also about the abuse and misuse of power at the highest levels of the university and athletic program, which he blames for allowing an abuser to freely operate.
He has done so on a blog entitled "Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely."

 

[upstater]

When I was there in the 1990s, Paterno used to walk from his home to his offices. I stopped him one day and had a long chat with him. He didn't know me from Adam. Not sure what he was trying to get out of it, what his agenda was. It was just a regular talk about Providence and Brown, where I happened to spend half my time back then, and the PSU English Dept. Several months later, or it could be a year, we sat in a booth next to him at a German restaurant in nearby Bellefonte. We could hear the family the whole dinner, they were kind of raucous, it was pretty funny. The booths were separated by high wooden backs and you couldn't see the people on the other side, but e could hear Paterno's distinctive voice. When the Paternos got up to leave, Joe glanced at our table and recognized me, asked how I was doing, said hello to everyone at our table. Asked about Brown.

I find this fellow's picture of Paterno not to be the whole picture, if it's even true at all. If that's how Joe acted in the football offices and locker room, it's his own business.

 

[RS9999X]

Now he can double his speaker fees. In a bad economy you go with what works.

 

[ruskin]

I'm a little stunned about the negative comments about this former grad asst. Unless he's shown to be lying about his background, he deserves the benefit of the doubt.

I'm not killing him for not going to the cops in later years. Sounds like he handled his abuser the best way a teen could 35-plus years ago. And based on way '98 PSU incident was handled, who's to say if it would have done any good?

Also sounds like Sandusky was very lucky - and it's a great shame - this guy didn't catch him in the act.

 

[Husky68]

When I was there in the 1990s, Paterno used to walk from his home to his offices. I stopped him one day and had a long chat with him. He didn't know me from Adam. Not sure what he was trying to get out of it, what his agenda was. It was just a regular talk about Providence and Brown, where I happened to spend half my time back then, and the PSU English Dept. Several months later, or it could be a year, we sat in a booth next to him at a German restaurant in nearby Bellefonte. We could hear the family the whole dinner, they were kind of raucous, it was pretty funny. The booths were separated by high wooden backs and you couldn't see the people on the other side, but e could hear Paterno's distinctive voice. When the Paternos got up to leave, Joe glanced at our table and recognized me, asked how I was doing, said hello to everyone at our table. Asked about Brown.

I find this fellow's picture of Paterno not to be the whole picture, if it's even true at all. If that's how Joe acted in the football offices and locker room, it's his own business.

Gee, wish I had known you were Paterno's buddy when I was reading your earlier posts. Maybe that is why you have so many "Huh's" and "incomprehensibles" in your responses.
Not like power guys can never turn it on and off, or that serial killers can fool people or that male serial butt duckers of 10 year olds can fool a whole town for at least 16 years. No, if someone smiles and talks to you, proves they are just peachy. No one's whole picture is dark, can't get to power or do the harm they eventually do if it is.
What I didn't like is this guy confronted his abuser and then "let him go"; even the therapist didn't seem to step in. Guy gave some lame "he probably didn't last long" rational, that's what I noticed. What you noticed was that the JoePa you knew in two encounters from his 84 year life painted a different picture.

To quote article:

"Paknis didn't think much of the Penn State power structure, or the man at the top, who "wouldn't give you time of day unless you were on his level, or have any interaction with you without it serving him." He saw a system that served as a "kingdom," designed to serve a single person, without checks or balances. He saw a coach who had been able to produce a constructive output on the field, but "underneath, optimized fear.""

I don't know Paterno as intimately as you, nor ever heard of Paknis before, but would not say per the above quote re what you said :

"...if it's even true at all. If that's how Joe acted in the football offices and locker room, it's his own business." - nah, JoePa was an employee of a public university and if true this type of behavior should not have been allowed for 45 years".

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

There really isn't much to that article. He has no information on what PSU is currently going through, and only offers speculation on what might be. He has a right to his opinion, but that's all it is...an opinion.

I am friends with a former PSU player, and the image that Upstater portrays is more in line with everything that I have heard.

 

[upstater]

There really isn't much to that article. He has no information on what PSU is currently going through, and only offers speculation on what might be. He has a right to his opinion, but that's all it is...an opinion.

I am friends with a former PSU player, and the image that Upstater portrays is more in line with everything that I have heard.

Quick, concise, comprehensible post.

 

[Waquoit]

There really isn't much to that article. He has no information on what PSU is currently going through, and only offers speculation on what might be. He has a right to his opinion, but that's all it is...an opinion.

I am friends with a former PSU player, and the image that Upstater portrays is more in line with everything that I have heard.

I disagree. It's another piece of the overall puzzle. If Paterno was all that the PSU suckpumps said he was, he does the right thing and this scandal ends the day he finds out. The Paterno portrayed in the article is consistent with the Paterno who would look the other while one of his guys is ass raping young boys.

And you can't see why he would spend some time talking about one of his old haunts with someone who is from there? Really?

 

[ZooCougar]

Quick, concise, comprehensible post.

Only because it supports your reality. I don't think the article was without merit and neither is your one little vignette.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

I disagree. It's another piece of the overall puzzle. If Paterno was all that the PSU suckpumps said he was, he does the right thing and this scandal ends the day he finds out. The Paterno portrayed in the article is consistent with the Paterno who would look the other while one of his guys is ass raping young boys.

And you can't see why he would spend some time talking about one of his old haunts with someone who is from there? Really?

I guess I don't see the relavance of someone who 25 years ago was on PSUs staff and his only claim to fame was that he had a locker next to Paterno. He knows nothing about this case.

To be clear...Paterno deserves the situation that he is in...I just think the article is lame.

I have tried to avoid these PSU threads because of these exact discussions. It's all opinion and emotion at this point.

 

[freescooter]

First and formemost, Sandusky is the person at fault here. He is the one who committed the most serious offenses and it isn't even close. I do sort of think some people are ignoring that fact in trying to find fault with Paterno and McCreary. But having said that, as we've seen in so many instances, the nature of entity and the desire to protct the image of the institution so often takes priority over individuals. It sure seems clear to me that Paterno created a culture where protecting the image of Penn State football was the most important factor ad it is pretty likely that that idea was passes down throughout the coaching staff, indeed throughout he Athletic Department and the University. And clearly that attitude allowed serious problems to persisit. But the source of the problem wasn't Paterno or his attitude. The source was Jerry Sandusky.

 

[upstater]

Only because it supports your reality. I don't think the article was without merit and neither is your one little vignette.

So you know Paterno is an ?

 

[upstater]

Only because it supports your reality. I don't think the article was without merit and neither is your one little vignette.

By the way, can you translate the other post for me?

 

[metsfan2323]

When I was there in the 1990s, Paterno used to walk from his home to his offices. I stopped him one day and had a long chat with him. He didn't know me from Adam. Not sure what he was trying to get out of it, what his agenda was. It was just a regular talk about Providence and Brown, where I happened to spend half my time back then, and the PSU English Dept. Several months later, or it could be a year, we sat in a booth next to him at a German restaurant in nearby Bellefonte. We could hear the family the whole dinner, they were kind of raucous, it was pretty funny. The booths were separated by high wooden backs and you couldn't see the people on the other side, but e could hear Paterno's distinctive voice. When the Paternos got up to leave, Joe glanced at our table and recognized me, asked how I was doing, said hello to everyone at our table. Asked about Brown.

Your story tells me that Paterno has a good mind and a great memory. If that is the case how could he then forget to follow-up on the story about the kid being raped in his locker room? How could a man with Paterno's mind continue to let that monster have access to his team? Your story makes Paterno seem more guilty in my mind. He clearly was not a forgetful old man in 2002.

Part of the reason that this is such a big story is due to the fact that Paterno has always been portrayed as the man that greeted you in your restaurant booth. It makes the pedophile cover-up story so hard to reconcile.

 

[upstater]

Your story tells me that Paterno has a good mind and a great memory. If that is the case how could he then forget to follow-up on the story about the kid being raped in his locker room? How could a man with Paterno's mind continue to let that monster have access to his team? Your story makes Paterno seem more guilty in my mind. He clearly was not a forgetful old man in 2002.

Part of the reason that this is such a big story is due to the fact that Paterno has always been portrayed as the man that greeted you in your restaurant booth. It makes the pedophile cover-up story so hard to reconcile.

The fact that Paterno is a regular guy is not a defense of what he did.
The fact that he enabled a child molester means he deserves to be fired and more. Personally I think he's addled.

 

[ctchamps]

It is hard to take one individuals account as proof of anything one way or the other.

Paknis was sexually assaulted as a child. He observed questionable behavior with Sandusky. What action did he take? I'm not condemning him for not taking action. It just seems strange he's casting stones.

I think his portrayal of Paterno as being cold and aloof, has to be questioned based on so many accounts of Joe reaching out to people who were "below his station" in life.

I'm not apologizing for Paterno. I don't know him. But this report has too many holes in it.

 

[businesslawyer]

No one who had an open mind about Paterno and what may have happened would give this story any attention. If you're trying to be patient and fair until you see where the facts come out, there is just nothing material, or even interesting, in this author's comments about him.

 

[sportsart]

Yup...this guy was srxually abused so he is angry and can't be telling the truth. He was sexually abused but he didn't tell anyone so blah, blah blah...

He didn't speculate he told what he saw but blah blah, blah..

He was around the program for 2 years but his impression of the program means nothing but Joe Pa remembered someone's name and that means something.

I've worked for bosses who were dicks in the office but at functions they could make people believe they were God. Remember Joe Pa was a sales manager and one of the best at that.

Showering with the coaches? Just seems wierd.

Amazing thread.

 

[businesslawyer]

FWIW, because I don't think that was directed at me, I am not doubting the credibility of the former assistant's statement. Just its importance.

Ultimately, JoePa acted illegally in covering up the rapes, or he didn't, and JoePa acted immorally in covering up the rapes, or he didn't. From what I've seen the answer is almost certainly "yes" to the latter question, but probably "no" to the former. But debates about "he is or he isn't" otherwise a good guy are utterly irrelevant to the questions at hand, and frankly not very important. Almost every human being on earth is a "good guy" greater than 0% of the time and less than 100% of the time. Anecdotes as to what that percentage is for anyone when you're really debating specific actions or inactions don't add anything.

 

[upstater]

So, Jerry Sandusky's son-in-law was an Assistant DA in 1998, with a working relationship with Ray Gricar, the Centre Cty DA.
The same DA--the son-in-law--was criticized for not investigating the Gricar disappearance thoroughly by a fellow DA in the county where Gricar disappeared.
Sandusky's son-in-law forwarded the case to AG Corbett in 2008 because of a conflict of interest.

I would note that 11 of the 40 counts that Sandusky has been indicted on relate to victim #6, the 1998 incident. Apparently, Sandusky's admission is worthy of 11 counts, 13 years later.