Nike founder defends Paterno response to scandal

Phil Knight, former CEO and co-founder of Nike, becomes emotional as he speaks during a memorial service for former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa. Thursday Jan. 26, 2012. / AP Photo/Alex Brandon

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Nike founder and chairman Phil Knight got a standing ovation at Joe Paterno's public memorial Thursday for defending the late coach's response to an accusation of child sex abuse against a former assistant.

At a ceremony filled with lavish praise that would likely have embarrassed the school's beloved coach, Knight waded into a subject that had been virtually ignored since Paterno died on Sunday from lung cancer — the immediate cause of his firing after 46 seasons leading Penn State's football team to a record-setting 409 wins.

University trustees have said a major reason Paterno was ousted Nov. 9 was that he failed to alert anyone beyond his two superiors at the school when he was told of an abuse allegation against former assistant Jerry Sandusky in 2002. Sandusky was charged with dozens of child sex abuse counts on Nov. 5, two school officials were charged with perjury and former school president Graham Spanier was pushed out the same night as Paterno.

Special Section: The Penn State Scandal
Penn State says last goodbye to Joe Paterno

Commenting on those events, Knight said, "it turns out (Paterno) gave full disclosure to his superiors, information that went up the chains to the head of the campus police and the president of the school. The matter was in the hands of a world-class university, and by a president with an outstanding national reputation."

Knight added, "...this much is clear to me. If there is a villain in this tragedy, it lies in that investigation and not in Joe Paterno."

The remark drew a standing ovation from the crowd of 12,000 at the Bryce Jordan Center — with Paterno's widow, Sue, and former defensive coordinator, Tom Bradley, among those rising to their feet.

"Who is the real trustee at Penn State University?" Knight asked.

The campus has been torn by anger over the Sandusky scandal and Paterno's firing, but this week thousands of alumni, fans, students and former players in Happy Valley have remembered Paterno for his stellar career, his love for the school and his generosity.

That made Knight's remarks even more surprising.

Paterno's son and former quarterbacks coach, Jay, also got a standing ovation near the end of the ceremony when he imitated his raised-in-Brooklyn father's voice, telling the audience to "Sit down! Sit down!"

Then, growing serious, he told the crowd, "Joe Paterno left this world with a clear conscience."

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Joe Paterno, 1926-2012

Earlier in ceremony, the focus was praise for Paterno and fond memories.

"Bless us this day as we honor and celebrate one of your greatest gifts to the world — Joe Paterno," the Rev. Matthew Laffey said in the opening prayer.

A short time later, after a video montage, former star Penn State quarterback Todd Blackledge said, "No one individual has ever done more for a university anywhere in the country than what Joe Paterno did for this school."

The line drew applause, and Blackledge was followed on the podium in the darkened arena by Lauren Perrotti, a Penn State student and Paterno fellow.

Thursday's event brought to a close the public mourning period for Paterno.

Public viewings were held Tuesday and Wednesday morning at a campus spiritual center, followed by a funeral Mass, procession and burial for Paterno that afternoon.

[Samlv]

JoePa never did anything wrong.

[betterusa]

This is for the people that want to ridicule and mostly hold responsible Joe Paterno for the Sandusky alleged crime. This is a man that coached, taught life lessons, and made better people of over 1000 young men in his lifetime at Penn State yet all you can do is believe he could care less about a child that he was told was "horse playing" in the shower with Jerry Sandusky. He went to the administrator's in charge, in fact the one was responsible for the university police, and reported what he was told; he did not witness anything or hear the child was in danger.

Where are these children's parents and/or guardians through all of this? As a father, if a man in his fifties or sixties wanted to take my 8 to 12 year old son out of town for a weekend, week, day etc. I would sure as h-ll want to know a lot more about this person. If my son came home with lavish gifts I would want to know why. What about in 1998 when Sandusky was supposed to be investigated by the law and nothing happened? A DA disappears and the cops cover it up but who cares, it's all Joe Paterno's fault. Sandusky was no longer on the coaching staff and Joe Paterno did not give him permission to use University facilities, the administrators did; in fact, Joe asked that Sandusky NOT be allowed to use the football facilities.

All decent humans care about the welfare of a child and do not want to see them as victims of sick people but to put this on Joe Paterno is totally unjust and most that do are either hateful, jealous or ignorant.

Blame: Sandusky (especially if he's found guilty); the children's guardian(s); the PSU administrator's; the media for automatically trying this case in the public opinion and sensationalizing their reporting; the assistant principal and wrestling coach from the school close to the Second Mile; and lastly, the Second Mile administrator's and guardians for not monitoring the children.

Joe Paterno never sought the spotlight and never stated he didn't make mistakes in his life. Apparently all of you that criticize his life and accomplishments are perfect human beings. I for one admire Knight's support and will buy Nike products as much as possible.

[Emloutom]

Thank you! We echo your sentiments!

[aChangeOfIdeas]

So the next time someone says that someone else was seen "maybe" doing something hinky with a kid (remember, McQueary's story to Paterno was NOT what it is now) make sure you go to the police because with no name, no address, no pictures, and not being an eyewitness they are certainly going to jump all over your story.
McQUEARY should have gone to the police, but he is still employed by Penn State. If you say well McQueary reported it to his superior, well HELLO, that's what Paterno did.
And let's keep reminding everyone that the DISTRICT ATTORNEY did not find enough evidence to move the case forward, the boy said nothing happened, and that is why there was no case back then.

[longtree-2009]

this man might just be in the corner of pedophiles and those who know of it and do nothing. psu will stink for years to come as will past and present graduates if they continue to praise a man who didn't do the right thing, simply dial 9-1-1 and notify the police. how would you feel if the children used, raped by sandusky, was your sister, your brother, any young relative, your best friend's child? would paterno still be your personal hero?

[betterusa]

YOU ARE an azz hole.

[Berkland4]

Your argument is old and tired and lacks intelligence. ONCE AGAIN, support for Joe Paterno is not support for pedophiles. 9-1-1 on campus would put you in contact with campus police which is a REAL police force. We are all parents, brothers, sisters, etc. and we're all outraged at the actions of ANYONE who would hurt a child. If Gary Schulz, Tim Curley and Graham Spanier had done their jobs and Jerry Sandusky had been investigated sooner, Joe Paterno would have been praised for what he had done. These children were failed by a few Penn State administrators, The Second Mile, law enforcement, then PA Attorney General Tom Corbett, school district administrators and, of course, Jerry Sandusky who very cleverly gained the trust of everyone, including these childrens' parents. Joe is resting in peace with the Lord - no question about it!

[ralphing]

I have asked this before, but why was Sandusky reported to the school's president when he wasn't an employee of the school?

He was a former employee, now a private citizen. None of Paterno's bosses had no real jurisdiction over Sandusky. If some unknown person was seen committing a crime you wouldn't tell Paterno or his boss, you would call the police by dialing 911. This is where McQueary and Paterno failed. A company boss can fire an employee or put him on administrative leave for doing something against company policy. All you can do to a non-employee is to tell them to leave the premises or you will call the police and have them charged with trespassing.

[Berkland4]

PA law clearly states that an employee, if given information about possible child abuse, should report that information to their superiors. It then lists the exact steps that those individuals are to take in further reporting the information. That is why Schulz and Curley were charged. They were given the information and did not further report it. Furthermore, they are accused of lying to the grand jury when they were questioned regarding the incident. 9-1-1 on campus reaches campus police. Gary Schulz was head of campus police.

[OPPORTUNITIESPASS]

I would never send any of my 4 sons to PN State! Ever!

[betterusa]

they probably aren't smart enough to get in.

[Berkland4]

I would agree with betterusa. If they are like you, they lack the intelligence required for admission.

[Montana5]

Those who defend Paterno's handling of this information just need to answer one question: would they think Joe had done enough if it was their child who was being victimized in the showers? I venture to say if it was Knight's kid, he wouldn't have been within 200 miles of this memorial service.

[betterusa]

Montana: are you 100% certain the child was victimized in the shower and are you 100% certain McQueary told Joe that is exactly what happened? By the way, the trial still has to take place and no one has been found quilty or innocent yet. Even if Sandusky is guilty (I too believe he is), Joe did what he had to do with SECOND HAND information.

[OPPORTUNITIESPASS]

SHAMEFUL WHAT PHIL KNIGHT CHOSE TO DO AND SAY TODAY AT THE MEMORIAL SERVICE OF JOE PATERNO. JOE HIMSELF HAS SAID IN RETROSPECT, AFTER HIS FIRING, THAT HE COULD HAVE DONE MORE IN THE CHOICES HE MADE- ONCE HE WAS MADE AWARE OF A BOY BEING SEXUALLY ABUSED AT PN STATE. HE APPARENTLY WAS GRIEVING HIS IDOLOTRY OF PN STATE,THE PN STATE FOOTBALL PROGRAM AND HIS FOOLISH PRIDE IN PROTECTIING ALL OF THEM OVER THE PROPER CHOICE OF THE PROTECTION OF INNOCENT BOYS. KNIGHT NEEDS SOME THERAPY- HE IS AN ENABLER!
HOW RUDE OF HIM TO DISHONOR HIS HERO IN SUCH A SELFSERVING WAY! ALSO WHERE IS THE MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR THE VICTIMS LIVES THAT HAVE BEEN STOLEN FROM THEM? WHERE ARE THE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE DRESSING UP TO GIVE HONOR TO THEM PN STATE? JOE PATERNO'S LEGACY SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE FROM KNIGHT ON HOW HE WOULD WANT HIS LIFE TO MEAN SAVING OTHER KIDS FROM SEXUAL PREDATORS,FROM SEXUAL ABUSE, FROM SODOMY-AS AN INNOCENT CHILD/BOY SHOULD NOT HAVE HAD TO EXPERIENCE WHILE AT THE BELOVED PN STATE. THE OPPORTUNITY PASSED TO REALLY MAKE YOUR HERO PROUD, KNIGHT! YOU ACTUALLY DISGRACED WHAT HIS LEGACY COULD REALLY BE BY YOUR ENABLING. YOU PAINED ME AND OTHERS DEEPLY THIS DAY BY YOUR ARROGANCE! GET SOME SERIOUS THERAPY AND TAKE UP YOUR HERO'S OPPORTUNITY TO STAND UP FOR THE VICTIMS, THEIR FAMILIES AND THE KIDS WE PUT IN YOUR SHOES ALL THESE YEARS! NEVER JUDGE WHAT A MAN WOULD WANT SAID AT HIS MEMORIAL SERVICE UNTIL YOU HAVE WALKED IN HIS SHOES.

[Berkland4]

OPPORTUNITIESPASS.....you are clearly quite passionate about the subject of child sex abuse, so please, share with all of us all of the outstanding things that you have done to end such abuse. You must spend tireless hours working on that issue if you can condemn Phil Knight of not talking about what he should now do to combat child sex abuse. Penn Staters have been raising money to benefit RAINN. I believe more than $500,000, when last counted. The university has committed to several initiatives to research, raise awareness and help educate people about the issue and hopefully make an impact in preventing things like this in the future. They have also committed money to covering costs for victims who are now suffering and in need of assistance as they try to move forward in their lives. The entire Penn State community is sad and outraged that someone once considered part of the family could use his former position at Penn State to hurt helpless children. My guess is that you didn't actually watch the memorial. Too bad because you missed an opportunity to hear about the lessons taught to us by a really exceptional human being. I applaud Phil Knight for his courage to speak out on behalf of someone who can no longer speak for himself. And, I look forward to hearing about your philantrophy work to benefit the victims.

[PSUSkier]

Your comment doesn't merit a response. However, for your own sake, I suggest you look down at your keyboard. Specifically that button on the left hand side that says "Caps Lock." Just go ahead and give that button a press for me then never touch it again, m'kay?

[davidhmace]

Great man. He might have made a mistake or an error of omission. He should not be vilified. However, you have to follow up. And sometimes, you have to make that anonymous call to the police.

[Noval53]

Joe Paterno was a great man who was betrayed by those he should have been able to trust.