Anyone that follows Philly Pressbox knows that I’m a huge Penn State fan and a huge Joe Paterno fan. You also know that I’ve been a season ticket holder and I coached at the Penn State Football camps from 1994-2002. I had the opportunity to meet Joe Paterno several times and have a signed picture with him hanging on my wall. I also worked with Jerry Sandusky during those years until his retirement, as well as the rest of the coaching staff. I knew Sandusky by name and he knew me by name during that time. With that said, this chain of events saddens me to no end. Obviously, the most important thing in this tragedy is the victims. Anything that is noted in this article is not meant to diminish them and what they have had to endure in any way. Please keep that as the top note.
As I watched the craziness of seeing Paterno fired by what appeared to be a disorganized, panic stricken, Board of Trustees that appeared to be bowing to the media and public pressure to do “something” even if it was wrong, I was filled with disbelief. Seeing Joe Paterno die so quickly amidst all of this without ever seeing the end of it was also saddening. Watching the Sandusky trial and the verdicts I couldn’t help but be sickened and wonder how could this happen. I then listened to the Louis Freeh press conference and the presentation of the Freeh Report and was in disbelief, and again wondered how could this possibly happen. Finally, the word came that the Paterno statue was being removed on a Sunday morning under the cover of darkness and secrecy. With that, I decided I needed to read the Freeh Report for myself and see what exactly was so damning to a man that built Penn State University, and the local community, over 62 years as the football coach, into one of the finest institutions in America that is filled with over 500,000 living alumni, pride and key slogans. (Success with Honor, We are Penn State).
The purpose of my reading the Freeh Report was to look strictly at the actions, or inactions, of Joe Paterno to try to determine for myself where I feel he stands in this tragedy. My finding is that there are many things in this report that a purely speculative and made from assumptions. There is some very good information here that can, and apparently will, be used by the university to improve awareness of signs of child abuse and provide training for all employees regarding the Clery Act among many other things as well as implement a system that guarantees communication at the highest levels to the Board of Trustees among many other things. However, as I will point out below, how can a report be “the gospel” by the university and the NCAA when none of the “key” players were interviewed for the report? They include Joe Paterno, Graham Spanier, Tim Curley, Gary Schultz, Mike McQueary, Jerry Sandusky, Wendell Courtney, and Thomas Harmon. Richard “Dick” Anderson is the only assistant coach mentioned in the report and that is in relation to his Grand Jury testimony representing Sandusky, although it is stated that they talked to many people “including coaches”. So who are Wendell Courtney and Thomas Harmon, you ask? Courtney served as Penn State’s Outside Legal Counsel from 1980-2010 and was a partner at a law firm that performed legal services for the University for nearly 50 years. Courtney also served as legal counsel for the Second Mile and sat on its Board from 2008-2011. (page 107). Harmon is currently the Penn State Director of Public Safety. He held the position of University Department Police Chief in 1998. It’s very interesting that they wouldn’t be included in the report as they were key pieces to this story. Also, have you ever heard of the following people; Alycia Chambers, Ron Schreffler, Chambers colleagues, John Miller, Jerry Lauro, Karen Arnold, John Seasock as well as several State College Police Officers? Each was involved in the in-depth 1998 Sandusky investigation in which no charges were filed because, as it states on page 50, “there was no criminal behavior established (and) that the matter was closed as an investigation.”
Alycia Chambers – a licensed State College psychologist. She was the first person notified by Victim 6’s mother. Page 42.
Ron Schreffler – University Police Department Detective that conducted the initial interviews with Victim 6. Page 42.
Tags: Freeh Report, Gary Schultz, Graham Spanier, Jerry Sandusky, Joe Paterno, Mike McQueary, Penn State University, Tim Curley
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