Joe Paterno Fired - Penn State Students Riot - Ashton Kutcher Supports Paterno
Yesterday morning, Joe Paterno announced he was going to retire at the end of the season. Last night, the board of trustees at Penn State fired the President of the University and Joe Paterno effective immediately. So much for going out on his own terms. I totally agree with the board of trustees. Apparently the students at Penn State though did not agree with the decision so decided to riot. Well, you know, it was a Wednesday and they don't have an occupy Wall Street there so they decided to go crazy. Not like Vancouver crazy after the Stanley Cup or Detroit crazy like they used to be on Halloween, but for some college kids during the week in a sleepy town they did manage to cause some damage and roll some cars.
Meanwhile, Ashton Kutcher had Tweeted that the firing of Joe Paterno had no class. Apparently Ashton takes the side of child molesters and those who do nothing about teen boys being raped. This is the same guy who supposedly wants to end sex slavery. Guess if it is a football coach molesting one kid 20 times and raping a bunch of other boys though it is ok. After realizing that not one of his followers agreed with him, Ashton decided to Tweet that he recanted what he had previously said and that he did not have the full story. He had the full story, but didn't expect everyone to yell at him or remind him that as someone who cheated on his wife on their anniversary, class is not something Ashton should be discussing.
53 comments:
Ashton is a douche and everyone knows it. As for Joe Paterno getting fired, I wholeheartedly agree, and here's why:
Something very important that a lot of people have forgotten in the past few decades: Men in a situation of power and paternalism are under Honorable obligation to protect the weak, and dispense justice to those victimizing their team members, whomever they may be.
Weren't we all disgusted at the Catholic church's shenanigans and denials in protecting its pedophile priests? How can you demonstrate sportsmanship when you let one of your own get raped? REPEATEDLY!
Enough with the covering for sex offenders. Beyond civic duties and honor, you are bound by contract to provide a safe environment for your own, and Joe Paterno has tremendously failed in his duties. And No matter how long it has been, like all these Catholic priests, there is no time limit for submitting adequate punishment.
When you are witness to a crime and do nothing, especially if it's in your power, aren't you also a participant in said crime?
The ex Israeli PM just got convicted of rape AND sexual harassment, and would be serving 7 years in prison (ISRAELI PRISON, not a golf club) with no release, how come the United States of America, a country reputed for justice and equality, still lets perverts get away with it in 2011?
Nice! Thank you for the smack down on Ashton. I work with someone who is a diehard Penn fan. He just doesn't get that it was wrong of the coach to refrain from going to the police. He insists that the coach didn't know about it until 2002 which was after the monster retired. Who cares if the guy had already retired. The coach had an obligation to go to the police as did all the other people who knew. Who cares if he was told he couldn't bring kids on campus again. That is the same as saying "hey, I don't care what your doing as long as you don't do it at work". This isn't pot smoking, it's child rape! (my friend is a nut) If I have my facts wrong I apologize but I am pretty sure I read it right.
@Rita! Exactly! I like that so much! Can I parapharase you on my social page? It would certainly put my friend in their place.
There's another point: I read Maureen Dowd's column today http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/09/opinion/dowd-personal-foul-at-penn.html?_r=2&ref=maureendowd
This McQuery guy actually saw the rape take place and he didn't call the cops immediately? He should be fired and Pennsylvania should see if there's a statute about WITNESSING rape and not reporting it.
Secondly - I just read this article on Mediaite:
http://www.mediaite.com/online/local-sportswriter-suggests-investigation-that-jerry-sandusky-pimped-boys-out-to-rich-donors/
It says there's an investigation that Sandusky pimped out young boys to donors to his Second Mile foundation for sex.
Pedaphiles DON'T CHANGE!!!! It'll be interesting to see how many victims come out - as old as this guy is and as long as he's been doing this, I wouldn't be surprised if there are over 100 victims.
@BigMama, Thank you and it will be my pleasure.
Remind your friend that growing up and becoming a man is about being honorable: you are not a man when you defend those victimizing the weak, you are not a man when you stand aside and let those under your responsibility rape, whether it be men, women or children.
If we women are rising to the occasion - like for example what happened in Chicago when a group of 3 men where beating up another man for being gay, and only a group of women came to his rescue while others just stood and watched - time to man up and understand that sex crimes are as heinous as any and all violent crimes, and unworthy of the evolutionary human condition.
Shame on anyone defending those who protect rapists.
Some folks need to STFU and SIT DOWN
I heard about this while watching msnbc last night. Pretty sad day for Big Ten football, both the termination and the fans' reaction. But pedophilia is pedophilia. And it's pretty clear Joe did the minimal maintenance
I used to say to my fiancee that Ashton always gets a pass because he went to my alma mater - the wonderful University of Iowa. That was two months ago. In lieu of the philandery and now this, I really want him to shut the hell up. Everyday Iowans are not like this 'bag.
Go Rita! This story is beyond disgusting and upsetting.
My Man was upset about the way this man was fired. But he hadn't read details of the story, so he is uninformed. I explained that Paterno was QUOTED saying he should have done more.....he got quiet after that.
Fuck this guy for covering that up. How many boys' lives are scarred because of these rapes?
These fucking celebrities think they are above everything, Asston is an immature, self centered, narcissistic jerk. His support of Paterno is no surprise, he doesn;t have the brain cells to see what the truth is here. A man knew of child abuse and rape and did nothing about it to protect himself and his job and what he thought would be his place in college sports history. Now he is paying the price.
It is like those asshole celebrities that defend another child rapist~Polansky.
Ashton is a lowlife moral free scumbag. Who would follow this loser on Twitter? Why would you give a frick what he had to say? I heard this on the radio this morning that more stuff is going to come out and it is REALLY SHOCKING. That is kind of scary as it already is. The OMG and WOW for me was when they said that a District Attorney that was investigating Sandusky DISAPPEARRED and no body was ever recovered. They found his lap top in a river with the hard drive removed from it. So it looks like some Penn State Fan hitman killed a DA to protect this lowlife? OMG!!!!! Would that have not been a clue that something is terribly wrong here?
when i read paterno was retiring, i thought WTF?? he should be FIRED.
to defend him by saying he reported the incident to his 'superior' is total bullshit. paterno HAS NO superior at penn state. while the heirarchy may be set up that way, everyone with a brain knows who's been running the entire show up there for years and it's HIM.
it's a shame he can't be prosecuted for failing to report a crime. and all these students should be ashamed of themselves for defending him.
this entire story is just sickening to me.
Ashton (like we didn't know this already) is a dumb ass. I've been reading Twitter feed for several days on this and it's pretty obvious the way the majority of Americans feel about this. I don't buy his "apology", either. It's another example of putting football above and beyond any common sense & decency.
I read this opinion piece by a Penn State grad. Too bad the rest of the student body isn't having the same reaction.
It's crazy that students would riot in support. Riots should serve only one purpose as the ballot box of the poor; they are not to be use in support of someone who knowingly allowed sexual abuse to happen and did nothing. Idiots.
Guess who'll be coaching this Saturday? Mike McQueary: the guy who WITNESSED the actual rape, and reported it to Jo Pa... and that's it. He shut up afterwards and never reported it to the police.
He never reported that with his own eyes, he witnessed a child being raped.
I give up. Dumbassness continues to surprise me.
This is terrible.
I just don't get the rabid-ness of people when it comes to sports. Like this crazy shit! What the fuck?
This whole thing makes me queasy. SOMEONE should have called the police. I wouldn't even be concerned about "going through the proper channels" if I saw what was happening to that child.
Sickening.
Of course Ashton K is going to support dumbasses. They're as scummy as he is.
Just a couple of comments:
1) Ashton is an idiot and once he got twitter-bombed, he deleted the tweet and "apologized." Not good enough for me, don't speak without having all the facts, asshat.
2) Funnily enough, Penn State did have a little Occupy movement going on. My friend was up there about a month ago and she said they were all camped out in the cafeteria or union or something. Dumb, uninformed, privileged college students weren't even camping outside! My friend said they needed to occupy a shoer because the BO they created was unreal!
3) I live in Central PA but I am not a Penn State fan. It has always baffled me how they are supposed to be a "state school" which are generally less expensive than private institutions and they bring in a shitload of money through the football program, yet their tuition is remarkably high. Even worse, there are many people around here who are still trying to find ways to offer excuses for everyone's conduct (not just JoePA).
shoer = shower
I said my part about knowing some inside stuff about this last night on a different thread.
The same professor that taught at Penn State and shared this information with us literally while his cell phone was blowing up with other alumni/faculty calling him with updates said this: Penn State students riot all the time. They riot when good things happen and bad. This is their history- they just love to riot. The town is small and my professor said Penn State is such a powerhouse in Pennsylvania that when babies are born they are given little blue and white booties- my point is the love for Penn State by students and the surrounding town alike is intense and generational.
What my professor thinks happened is a social psychological term called GROUPTHINK.
Penn State and the administrators literally viewed the univeristy as 'pristine' (words they actually used he said) and untouchable. A scandal of any kind would ruin that. When Mike told his dad about seeing Jerry rape the boy, his dad said go to Joe Pa BECAUSE in this town, with this university, football is.god. to them- it's their lifeblood, and thus Joe Pa was their everything. I truly feel he could have helped more than he did- his power could have made things really happen. When you tell an administrator that 'horsing around' happened between Jerry and a 10 yr old, it's not the same as saying someone was being anally raped.
I thin what we can learn from this- as many of the fine bloggers already posted above- is that NOTHING and NO ONE should have that kind of ultimate untouchable authority or sanctity -i.e. the uni's pristine rep pertaining to college ball- because this image, this mentality was so damn important to them that children being hurt meant nothing in the grand scheme of things.
Anyway, the riot is being blown outta proportion- take a look at Penn States history of rioting/protesting things and you will find this new addition (despite the controversial reason why) is nothing new.
I had to delete a facebook friend yesterday because she went to Penn State and was putting up a series of statuses about how unfair Paterno's fairing was. One status was something along the lines of "Who is on this Board of Trustees? This is so unfair! He already said he was retiring at the end of the season. SHOW SOME GRACE!" I just wanted to write, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! GRACE?! This man doesn't deserve anything. You gave up the right to play the victim in this when you knowingly let so many boys be victimized. I'm glad they fired him, because otherwise he would've ended the season on his terms, and probably been able to deflect some of the blame. Don't get me wrong, I think there are a ton of people to blame in this whole situation, but I also don't think ANYONE should be defending Paterno because he doesn't deserve it. He made no effort to defend and protect those being abused, so he deserves the same amount of apathy and disregard, in my opinion.
@Rita- everything you said!
@Rita - WELL SAID!
I am glad Asston made himself look like a ass with his comments.
Interesting, Jasmine. I was just kind of sitting here, disappointed in the future of college students if they were actually defending this asshole. So the reputation of their school is more important than doing the right thing? Gross.
And fuck you, Ashton. Just sit fucking down.
You know what? I do not condone child molestation, but what everyone seems to forget is that these are allegations, right? Has someone been convicted here of anything or have I missed that? These days, you just have to be accused of something and then everyone just convicts you.
Unless you're Michael Jackson and then everyone forgets that you molested children.
reading all these posts reminds me why I love this blog so much!
Actually nunaurbiz, MJ was never convicted, so by your own argument....
Rita wonderfully said
Yes, he did report it, but I think the million dollar question is..
Wasn't he curious to see what happened? Didn't he want to know the follow up?
Didn't he raise his eyebrow when this sick person had more kids around him?
Yes he is the 'most winningest coach' and focused on football.. but somewhere deep down inside he knows he really should have followed up with this.
Jasmine is absolutely right. I'm also a Big Ten grad (ILL!), and football is LIFE in so many places. It's Godly, and Joe Pa is God to those people.
You know what I think is even sadder? That Mike McQueary, the man who actually WITNESSED a boy being raped, not only didn't report it to the police, but apparently he didn't stop it. How could you see a boy being raped and not do anything?! HOW?! He was 28 years old at the time. A grown man. I think he'll lose his job sooner or later. He still very much works for the Nittany Lions, and is still scheduled to work at the Nebraska game this weekend.
Those who are defending Joe Pa and McQueary are saying that they did the correct thing because there is a chain of command. There's a chain of command in EVERY workplace, yes, but this isn't someone taking a late lunch or stealing office supplies. This is a child being raped AND knowing that this might have happened before and will most likely happen again if no one does anything. How could anyone with any shred of a moral compass let that happen?!
Of course, Sadusky deserves the worser punishment, but it makes me sick that people are defending him and believe he shouldn't have been fired. Like Rita said, EVERYONE has a responsibility to protect our young. I don't care if you're considered a God in Pennsylvania. Big fucking deal.
All I'm going to say is that it's so easy for everyone to scream and yell and say they would have done things differently. And yet, bad things happen to people every day that others are aware of, and don't report because they "don't want to get involved". Obviously that doesn't make it right, but for many people it's hard to do the right thing. Paterno is from a time when people didn't talk about these things. I still fault McQuery more than anyone, because he actually did see what was happening and didn't immediately call the police.
And FYI again, Paterno did report it to the AD who reported it to the head of the campus police (who have jurisdiction on crimes committed on campus) and they were the ones who didn't do anything, and in my view much more in the wrong than Paterno.
@Jolene: Yes, actually they ARE the police at State College.
I completely agree that more should have been done, but I think McQuery should have been following up on it, as he was the WITNESS, and Paterno was merely told of it happening. McQuery was told two weeks after he spoke with the AD and head of campus police that all they were doing was taking away his keys and not allowing him to bring kids onto campus. And that is when McQuery should have said "F that" and gone to someone else to report the incident. Paterno was no longer involved at that point.
nunaurbiz- He DID molest and rape children-sheesh.
He was caught AGAIN by the janitor doing some shit to another young boy on a separate occasion.
Liz--You're right, a lot of people are at fault. And yes, people have different reactions in stressful situations. But what I have read, when Paterno reported it to the AD, he gave a "version" of what McQueary told him. I believe he said "disturbing things" happened, or something to that effect. He really didn't reveal the whole truth, as far as what I have read today. McQueary is also at fault, moreso I believe, being a first-hand witness. Either way, Joe Pa is the face of that football program, and it's in Penn State's best interest to let him go because it tells the rest of the world that they don't condone not properly reporting such a crime. Heads will roll. . .
Liz--I didn't know the campus police had jurisdiction, that's why I deleted my comment. :) You're right. I always thought campus police was a joke in Champaign. . . so I was totally wrong. They're in the wrong as well, obviously.
@Jolene, agreed. I don't think PSU had any other options than the fire Paterno at this point. What I find really odd, is that they apparently knew in April that these charges would be coming. Why didn't someone go to Paterno at that point and tell him it would be in his best interest to retire then? I can only surmise that along with the rest of the people doing the cover-up, they must have underestimated the response to this story or felt that Penn State was immune because of their previously pristine reputation.
^ EXACTLY. I think he/they figured he would be safe. He's JOE PA and the Penn State football team has been quite the model program for so long. He probably thinks that reporting it to the AD and then turning a blind eye was the right thing to do, and since he wasn't the actual abuser, that it wasn't really up to him and figured he did all he could do. He would be wrong if he did think that, but I'm going to assume that something like was going through mind. I don't know.
If anyone is interested, here is a timeline from ABC of Sandusky's case. It's quite disturbing, and what Liz said, they knew for a while what was coming. More information will continue to come out as the story unfolds.
I also think that it's important to note that reports say it's about 1,000 students who were rioting after his firing. To be fair, PSU has almost 45,000 students, undergrad and grad. Those 1,000 are idiots, but it's not like the entire campus feels that way.
http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/key-dates-penn-state-sex-abuse-case-14914687
@Rocketqueen, @Jasmine: The point here is, Sandusky has NOT been convicted of ANYTHING. He has just been ACCUSED.
The other point is that MJ WAS acquitted in ONE case, but there is so much more evidence, and his own words, that show his own perversions. But everyone wants to sweep THAT under the carpet.
So, to make it perfectly clear: While there is ample evidence in one case (MJ) that he molested children, he was acquitted in ONE case and thus, nobody wants to believe that he was a child molester.
But, when this guy Sandusky is just being ACCUSED of molestation, everybody convicts him before he's even charged with anything.
So you're saying that while MJ was acquitted in ONE case, ALL the other accusations are foundless. He's innocent. Yet Sandusky has been accused and, in your eyes, is guilty of everything that's being said about him.
I see the hypocrisy, but I guess you can't.
Hang onto your hats and read this... it's about the DA investigating this story who disappeared (!) in 2005:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/09/sports/ncaafootball/questions-on-sandusky-wrapped-in-2005-gricar-mystery.html?_r=2
I think we're at the tip of the iceberg with regard to this story, and more and more victims and sordid details are going to come out. There are credible rumors that Sandusky was pimping out boys to DONORS. A DA has been missing for 6 years. As incredible as it seems, there may be a MASSIVE coverup going on, and a rural area where a football basically rules the entire town and its economy is a place where this kind of insanity could happen.
To be fair, Ashton deleted the tweet and apologized, explaining he didn't know the news.
I'm all for Kutcher's douchebaggery being exposed when warranted, but this was just an honest mistake on his part.
Oh yeah--PS people are rabid about the damn place.
My deceased Father in law graduated there in, like, 1950 and my Mother in law lives in PA in a finely "decorated" house a few hours away. To this day, she still has this hideous Penn State throw rug on her bathroom floor. I know it was a gift at some point, but FFS put it in the garage or laundry room or some place it fits or matches! Crazy. And I'm sure--while she has almost given up her whole Catholic life and upbringing over the Priest sex abuses--she will still make excuses for Paterno. Guarantee.
Yikes nunaurbiz - no reason to be nasty.
Sorry, I don't believe there was "ample evidence" that MJ was guilty, I just don't. Everyone has a right to their own opinions in each case, period. And everyone is innocent until proven guilty.
nunaurbiz--I get what you're saying, but Sandusky has been accused of sexually abusing eight boys BY those eight boys as well as the witnesses who first-hand saw the abuse take place--janitorial staff, an assistant coach, the mother of the boy who came home from The Second Mile with wet hair who learned that he had been "showering" with Sandusky. This is all in the grand jury report. No, he has not been officially "convicted" by a court of law, but unless all of these people are lying, there is a lot evidence that he is in fact guilty.
IMO there is MORE than enough evidence, conviction or no conviction yet. Jesus. Come ON! The sheer fact that the administration took Sandusky's keys from him and forbid him from bringing any more boys into the athletic buildings at some point is ENOUGH evidence for me.
I don't understand why Mike McQueary wasn't fired before Paterno. I find him to be more despicable. Ithink as soon as it was known he did nothing to stop a boy from being raped, and did nothing to report it to the police he should have been kicked off the team instead of becoming a coach.
@Comment deleted - well said.
This whole things just makes me ill. Being a mom to boys, too, has made me so upset. Those poor children. If we as adults can't protect them who will? I'm sooooo mad this thing has even turned into a debate on whether paterno should or should not have been fired.
Maybe Penn State are true PR geniuses for firing Joe because it has taken the attention away from the act of abuse itself and now onto poor Joe. Sickening.
He's not just accused. In 1998 he admitted it. His victims were all from his charity-a charity! "Detective Ronald Schreffler testifies that he and State College Police Department Detective Ralph Ralston, with the consent of the mother of Victim 6, eavesdrop on two conversations the mother of Victim 6 has with Sandusky. Sandusky says he has showered with other boys and Victim 6's mother tries to make Sandusky promise never to shower with a boy again but he will not. At the end of the second conversation, after Sandusky is told he cannot see Victim 6 anymore, Schreffler testifies Sandusky says, "I understand. I was wrong. I wish I could get forgiveness. I know I won't get it from you. I wish I were dead."
Little boys were being raped. End of story. At least a few people knew about it, heard rumors, witnessed it, etc. and no one did anything. No one. They're all complicit I don't want to hear "I reported it to so and so" and then washed my hands of it. When you're Joe Pa there is no one higher-he had the authority AND the clout to make sure things were handled properly. I don't care if his legal obligation ended with reporting it to his superior. He had a moral obligation to make sure little boys were not being abused by someone on his staff. Eight years old. EIGHT. Who speaks up for him? Where were all these grown men who were supposed to know better?
The Morons Protesting Paterno's Firing: Proof again that perhaps we really shouldn't fund higher education with tax dollars. And that we need to do a better job of teaching our kids about morality.
Ashton: More proof that actors are human parrots, except better paid and less well-behaved.
Hayley: Good for you to excise the Facebook friend. Moral lepers don't deserve the company of decent people. Not that any of us are perfect. But there's a difference between having shortcomings and working to be better, and just being comfortable supporting nasty behavior.
I wonder how these people that are protesting would feel if it were THEIR little brother or child that had been raped? Just like the Michael Vick situation, football/status wins over everything else. Who cares if he chops up a dog in front of everyone!!! HE'S AN AWESOME FOOTBALL PLAYER!!! WHO CARES IF HE KNEW ABOUT 8 YEAR OLD BOYS BEING RAPED!!!! HE WINS FOOTBALL GAMES FOR MY SCHOOL!!!!
Suck my butt.
A lot of great analysis here, thank you everyone ( & insiders like Rita.) The University did the only right thing in firing everyone. It took them too damn long though - like the Catholic Church.
By the way, Enty, did you read through Ashton's "explanation" of his tweet and why he's taking his 8 million-follower Twitter marbles and going home in a pout? Did you read the grammar/spelling mistakes and the malaprops? I love how everyone considers this guy a "social media genius." Lainey said it well - he is a fraud. An utter fraud. With only B level talent & ability.
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