Bob Schieffer on the fall of icons

The fall of icons are the stories that always hit us the hardest. When our heroes let us down, it forces us to question our own judgment for elevating them in the first place.

So it was, when we learned that the legendary football coach Joe Paterno and a lot of other people above and below him at Penn State either looked the other way or, at worst, covered it up when they learned that one of Paterno's top assistants was a child molestor.

We said what that kid said to Shoeless Joe Jackson, one of the players accused of fixing the 1919 World Series: "Say it ain't so, Joe."

Shoeless Joe was a barely-literate man who claimed he was duped by gamblers. But it is hard to believe that anyone who had an inkling of what was going on at Penn State didn't understand its significance.

But they had bigger fish to fly - protecting a football program that brought millions of dollars and national attention to their school.

Paterno was a great coach who now says his heart goes out to the young victims, but it's a little too late for that.

As the Catholic Church learned, when protecting the institution is put ahead of protecting those it is intended to serve, it is eventually the institution that is put at risk.

That is unfortunate, but let us remember those the institution forgot, the victims - children who may have been scarred for life.

They deserve to know those who wronged them and those who knew about it are being brought to justice.

And yes, that includes the icons.

[mrleme]

No one even talks about the police who literally walked away from victims- evidence screaming at them, yet Joe gets EVERY THING taken: football, retirement, presidential award, name on trophy, character... every thing, he's 84 years old, he has nothing, it's as if he committed the crime. Sandusky still has his retirement.

[bikerb54]

You hates of Paternor have got to stop and think past your own "moral outrage"! Paterno did nothing wrong. If it would have been taken care of with the first report of Sandusky's abuse, like not dropping charges, sweeping it under the rug (yeah, the police helped do that) and stepping up to put him away (the whole legal system) we wouldn't have had to go through all this B/S! But for some reason, all your anger and judgement is being placed on Joe Paterno. You all act like he was the abuser, and the witness to it all. He was told about it A FULL DAY after the abuse happened. And Paterno wasn't there when any of this occured. Do you think he would really condone the action of this sicko? He has been there for alot of the kids in this region and I truly believe if he would have been aware of the actions of this man, Sandusky would not have been allowed to continue. Joe doesn't run Penn State, had no role in the running of the university, or the financial state of the university. HE WAS A FOOTBALL COACH! He recruited players, coached them to win games, gave most of his paycheck back to the university to help them maintain the excellence in education and lived in the community all his adult life. Why would he jeopardize that by hiding the disgusting acts of one single man? He had so much to lose if he had hidden it, and he didn't. He told what he was told and he still lost.

[RenaeMe1972]

He did nothing LEGALLY wrong. If he's religious, he knows he did wrong in that light.

He condoned the action by not calling the police. There's no evidence that he even followed up with his superiors. And it's quite clear he didn't try to find the child to see if he getting any help dealing WITH BEING RAPED.

I don't hate Paterno, I hate his lack of OBVIOUS ethics. This isn't "is it ok to steal medicine for my sick family"; this is NOT REPORTING CHILD RAPE TO THE POLICE.

McQuerry is still getting paid. That's wrong.

Why would he jeopardize it all? To protect his beloved program. And he did, for years and years.

He didn't hide the actions. He unethically ignored them after legally fulfilling his role.

[DCCorruption]

Wrong you are. Paterno and everyone at Penn State who knew about this and didn't report it to the police are accessories to the crime. They knew about it and only reported it to university officials who then sat on it. That's a cover up. If you witness a murder, do you go tell your boss about it, or the police? Paterno and everyone else at Penn State was on spin control instead of doing what they were legally obligated to do. They are all guilty of criminal offenses. Take off your blinders.

[DCCorruption]

Here's the wikipedia definition of accessory to a crime. "In some jurisdictions, an accessory is distinguished from an accomplice, who normally is present at the crime and participates in some way. An accessory must generally have knowledge that a crime is being, or will be committed. A person with such knowledge may become an accessory by helping or encouraging the criminal in some way, or simply by failing to report the crime to proper authority. The assistance to the criminal may be of any type, including emotional or financial assistance as well as physical assistance or concealment."

[GauvDog]

Yes!

I'm surely glad that Jerry Sanduski, Joe Paterno and others have been tried and found guilty, if not by legal standards, then of moral ones. Yes, they have been tried and convicted without trial! Fantastic!!

It is so absolutely wonderful, on a grandeur scale, that opinion and hearsay have become the courtroom of America. I could not be more pleased! Yes, folks. American freedom gives us the privilege of ignoring the standard, "Innocent until proven guilty"! In place of that, a better standard has arisen that promotes the hype of the media followed by the absence of cognition issuing forth the verdict, "Guilty beyond any shadow of a doubt!" It's so wonderful to be able to enact this process!!

Why should we stop there? I say we should abandon the law altogether. Yes, that's it! Let's just form an unruly mob like the one's we see in the old movies. We can unite as one great, big, national mob carrying torches and guns and throw a rope over a giant oak. As a bonus we can ignore our own wretchedness. It'll be fun...

The Salem witch trials have nothing on us. Ain't it grand!

[CBS_CEO]

Honor values, not people.

[GauvDog]

Yes!

I'm surely glad that Jerry Sanduski, Joe Paterno and others have been tried and found guilty, if not by legal standards, then of moral ones. Yes, they have been tried and convicted without trial! Fantastic!!

It is so absolutely wonderful, on a grandeur scale, that opinion and hearsay have become the courtroom of America. I could not be more pleased! Yes, folks. American freedom gives us the privilege of ignoring the standard, "Innocent until proven guilty"! In place of that, a better standard has arisen that promotes the hype of the media followed by the absence of cognition issuing forth the verdict, "Guilty beyond any shadow of a doubt!" It's so wonderful to be able to enact this process!!

Why should we stop there? I say we should abandon the law altogether. Yes, that's it! Let's just form an unruly mob like the one's we see in the old movies. We can unite as one great, big, national mob carrying torches and guns and throw a rope over a giant oak. As a bonus we can ignore our own wretchedness. It'll be fun...

The Salem witch trials have nothing on us. Ain't it grand!

[spike176]

It is time to stop dumping on Joe Paterno. There is no reason for it. Anyone, including Bob Schieffer, who has read the Grand Jury Report must see that of all the people discussed in it he was the most responsible. Just because he was powerful at Penn State does not mean he therefore tried to hide what he knew or protect anyone. Look at the report. First, a 28 year old former Penn State player saw the ex-assistant coach rape a 10 year old boy. This mature adult could have stopped the crime. It would have been easy. He could have yelled. He could have pulled the fire alarm. He could have called 911. He was 6'2"; he could have physically intervened. What did he do? He walked away and called his father, went home and talked to his father about it, and reported something to Paterno the next day.
I say something, because it is not clear what he did report. Paterno says he reported something much less onerous than what he saw and did nothing about. What was reported to Paterno might not even have been a crime. We don't know. Paterno did what the law required him to do and reported the following day to his director and the person who had supervisory duties over the campus police. They took a week to interview the GA that saw the incident. They both say that he stated something much less than what he saw. They did little, if anything.
In hindsight, Paterno should have done more. And perhaps he would have if he knew what really happened. There is absolutely nothing in the report that indicates he tried to hide anything or protect his former assistant coach. There is nothing in the report that suggests his internal thought process. The prosecutor in the case said he did nothing wrong. What the GA who saw the rape reported, at least at this point, is open to question. Everything about Paterno's power and protecting the rapist is pure supposition. Unfortunately, Bob Schieffer and much of the media is just piling on.
What about the Governor who was the prosecutor that initiated the Grand Jury in 2009? Not only did he know about the acts, but he knew the indictment was coming and claims he could not do anything because he had to keep it secret. Does any credible reporter believe that crap? Do you think if he heard his nephew was hanging around and being pursued by the rapist he would have sat back and done nothing because he had to keep a secret? Nuts. There are plenty of things he could have done; many that would not have revealed the Grand Jury investigation.
And, the prosecutors knew what was going on. Do you think that the Grand Jury investigation had to last more than 2 years? Read the report. The investigation could have been finished in a month. It is not much of an investigation. They certainly could have moved much quicker and probably saved some young boys from a predator.
And this is not just a Penn State problem. Ever since Kitty Gennovese (sp?) we have been shocked and what people don't do to help others. It is a cultural problem.
In hindsight, knowing what we know now, Paterno should have done more. And if he knew what we know now, maybe we would have. We don't know. To crucify this man on supposition just because he was "powerful" is beneath us. We should give him the benefit of the doubt unless and until FACTS that indicate otherwise come out. And we should hold a lot more people responsible for what happened and what was allowed before we get to him.
Bob Schieffer, you should be ashamed of yourself. We should be ashamed of ourselves for jumping on the bandwagon without giving it much thought. And anyone who has criticized Paterno without reading the GJ report and just on the shallow media nonsense, well.............

[helloall34]

Mr Paterno deserved to be fired, and he earned the criticism he is receiving. Is it sad that this is what he will be remember for? No, he earned it. It is true he is not the only person who earned this, but he is no more nor less guilty of being morally bankrupt for not calling the police. This was a heinous criminal act, and he was one of many that allowed it to continue by not simply picking up the phone and dialing 911. It is those people on the campus rioting over the firing that should be ashamed. That rioting will go down in history as one of the most ignorant acts by a group of students ever, and Penn State will forever be remembered for this.

[bikerb54]

I agree. I understand why they did it, but I don't have to agree. Joe did what he was supposed to do under the legal system and if he had gone further, it would have been dubbed as "hear/say" and swept under the carpet like it was before when it was reported to the police. Do you people ever read anything beyond what you see in front of you? Why is Joe paying a bigger price than Sandusky, McQueary or Curley? Sandusky did the actual act, McQueary actually watched it and did nothing to protect that child and nothing to stop it then or in the future, and Curly ignored all the reports of the abuse. And guess what, they are all still going on with their lives, some with pay, others having their legal fees paid for by the university and the other is still walking around like he did nothing wrong!! So before you condemn Paterno for what he did, take a look at who is still being treated as innocent!

[myth1958]

Bob Scheiffer again rings true with an apt analysis of the situation over at Penn State. The riot-reaction by football fans angry that their icon had been fired shows how shallow our collective sensibilities can get: the following candlelight rally by ten thousand for the victims demonstrated how many folks actually aren't that shallow. Sure, there's pain (for some fans) that Paterno won't be around. But it pales compared to the pain the boys who were molested will feel for the rest of their lives. These sorts of downfalls always contain a moral lesson, and though this episode is ugly, let us all hope that the failure by leadership in this case will teach the next leaders how not to be.

[wrangler73]

Albert Schweitzer expressed how baffled and dumb-founded he was to see how "physical courage" is so praised, revered and lionized, while "moral courage" is so "denigrated, maligned and despised."

Penn State, like the mafia, touted and glorified physical courage with the edict that its members must "protect the family" at all costs. After their last home game, Penn State repeatedly praised, applauded and extolled the players' integrity and courage and perseverence on the field, as a demonstration of their stellar character. Yet we now know that in this hubris-laden ego-driven culture, this brand of physical courage often does NOT translate into moral courage at all. In fact, in this case, physical courage intimidated, squelched and villified moral courage as being "NOT a good team player."

The sports industry 'culture' at Penn State, like the mafia culture, denigrated "moral courage" by characterizing such people as "traitors" - "snitches" and cowards who violated the 'code' that protects "the family" at all costs.

American History, to the present day, abounds with a relentless torrent of examples of how we have crucified the moral courage of "Whistle Blowers" - labeling them as "traitors" and "snitches" who violated their 'loyalty oath' for something as pedestrian as 'moral conscience.'

So it is incredibly important to distingiush which brand of courage we are talking about, and what petty or venerable human values it is serving. And whenever the 'incentive' for that courage is self-serving and traceable to an ego - its integrity and objectives are highly suspect -- to say the very least.

[ArmedForces]

Beautifully Stated!

[cyberboohoo]

One of those rare moments when a collateral comment eclipses the feature article. An insightful revelation. Something no doubt Bob Schieffer would rate highly.

[ojossogood]

Thank you for this reasoned comment. If I had the power, I would strike down those who let this happen. Fortunately, there is a Higher power and it is being played out now!

For some in the human race, they will not be denied nor thwarted. It is those that commit this crime that we should unmask before their believers.

Thank you again for your thoughtful words.

[asopw]

This is absolutely the best commentary I have heard so far. Thanks.

[myth1958]

wrangler73 has nailed it with a clear-eyed breakdown of some of the human motivations we've seen on display around this shameful episode. Certainly, Penn State and their foibles are merely the tip of the iceberg and thousands of other horrid examples are out there to be uncovered and rectified by all of us collectively. When we know something is wrong, it is our fate to either try to correct it, or squirm out from the obligation and become less noble, permanently.

[rank_n_file]

A Penn State 'pledge' to restore broken trust rings hollow. There was simply too much betrayal going on here - stretching through the ranks and up the entire chain-of-command, to the upper echelons of the political hierarchy called Penn State. We are talking about a wholesale top-to-bottom corruption of moral values so thoroughly embedded in that 'culture' and environment that you'd have to wear 'Moon Suits' to enter that domain in order to 'clean it up' - if indeed, it is not damned to long-term Chernobyl off-limits status. It is such a decrepit, disgusting, reprehensible breach of moral conscience, one is strongly inclined to conclude that it defies "rehabilitation."

All these young, helpless sex-abuse victims needed was for just ONE Penn State official to do the right thing - the eye-witness (McQueary), Curley, Schultz, Paterno, Spanier, the janitors, the 1998 prosecutor. Not one of them had the moral courage or integrity to stand-up to the Penn State sports industry culture and do the right thing.

And Penn State IS 'beyond rehabilitation' so long as business institutions and governments insist on turning 'cash cows' into 'sacred cows.' For it was that demented culture that inspired morally destitute Penn State authorities to trivialize the most reprehensible crime imaginable - just to protect that Sacred Cow. So this brand of moral bankruptcy is likely to propogate, multiply and migrate often in a national and global culture bent on throwing innocent victims into the mouth of the volcano - to appease the money gods and protect the Sacred Cow that fertilizes their bank accounts.

[cyberboohoo]

That's exactly what happened here and it replicates itself throughout the sporting industry. A helpless 10 year old boy was considered expendable road-kill enroute to the glory and fortunes which Penn State was determined to protect.

That makes at least two morally depraved unconscionable sports industry episodes in Pennsylvania in recent times. The NFL and the Eagles were mapping out plans to embrace depraved dog fighter, torturer and killer Michael Vick before he even got out of prison, demonstrating a ghastly moral deficit beyond what should have been compassionately concievable. The disingenuous, self-serving, Vick 'apology' sounded as sincere as a Ted Bundy morality speech at a sentencing hearing. With millions upon millions of dollars at stake, Vick and the NFL were convinced that a conscience could never bring in that kind of money.

Such sweet, innocent creatures decimated by such an ugly, twisted value system.

[ivychum]

Dear Mr. Scheiffer;

Hats off to you. I was so relieved to finally hear someone with a conscience get to the truth about just how damaging this was. I was shocked that society could come to the support of any of those involved in this CRIME. Those involved are all perpetrators and should all be ashamed of themselves, to turn their backs and allow this to happen to young children. What kind of person could knowingly do such a thing?

Thank you for your thoughts and for letting me know that there are still good people in the world who have morals about what is the right thing to do. I hope the victims can finally get the justice they deserve.

[hf3210]

Problem at Penn State is this institution wanted to protect itself but not the children who were molested by its own star coach. Its president, head coach and up and down its organization looked away and neglected their duty as educators and wanted no part in stopping this horrible monter from molesting more children. It is a real shame that Sandusky is still allowed free on bail and he is able to cause more harm at any time and anywhere he chooses.

[tsigili]

It only takes one coverup, to destroy a life's work.