The JoePacolypse: Takes and Tweets

What a night that was. Fascinating and terrifying at the same time. I couldn't pull myself away from the TV as they showed video of the riots. If this is what happens when a football coach gets fired, what's next?

Takes

•  Bryan Navarro lays out the evolving story in real time, glued to TV and his Twitter feed.
• Former GUTV colleague Nate Coombs, on Facebook: "This PSU thing is like a horrible game of telephone. Everybody played it in first grade, the teacher would whisper, "I have twenty cookies to bake today" and after a dozen odd seven year old's whisper it to each other, it comes out, "I hate reading books let us play". Except this time, the teacher said "There are boys being raped in your locker room" and all the high level state administrators sitting in a circle turned that message into "there might have been some horseplay".
• Coaches at Oregon and SOU react to the news of Paterno's firing. Coach Craig Howard has a very candid take.
• When video emerged showing a news van being tipped by protesters, my friends in the media were shocked. It was a scary moment to see something like that actually happen for something like this.

Immediately after that link appeared, a Web editor in New York took to Twitter and tried to play Journalism Ethics Police, tweeting: "Fellow journalists, it's not our job to judge these Penn State students. Their discontent & gatherings are just another layer to this story."

I'm sorry, but I can't be objective about this. Those students crossed the line by flipping that news van and putting reporters and photogs in danger.

Here's another angle, as students chant "flip it!"

It makes me sick, not to mention scared for the well being of my colleagues. I hope everyone involved gets thrown in jail. They attacked the media and put lives at risk. Don't tell me to be impartial about it.

• Chris Breece, on Facebook: "...PSU students...unbelievable disgusting ridiculous inexcusable mind boggling etc etc etc.

  Tweets

• Ken Tremendous of Fire Joe Morgan - 10:59 p.m.: "You know why these PSU students are protesting Paterno's firing? None of them have kids. If they had kids, they'd have run him out of town."
• Chris Leone - 9:56 p.m: "Has Mike McQueary been fired too? No one's said anything about it."
• Bryan Navarro - 9:44 p.m.: "You say, "We are Penn State." Who is Penn State?"
• Lindsay Joy, reporter for KTWO in Casper, WY -  9:17 p.m. (moments after seeing picture of flipped news van): "This hits home."
• Jim Rome - 9:15 p.m.: "Students reportedly standing on top of an overturned news van yelling "We want Joe." They're more out of touch than Joe is."
• Geoff Ziemer of The Sports Trap - 8:28 p.m.: "OMG, this might get outta control."
• I credit Julian Olivas for coming up with the hashtag #JoePacolypse
• And Ashton Kutcher goes completely bonkers, gets skewered on Twitter.

No sympathy for old men

Do not, for one second, feel sorry for Joe Paterno.

Yes, he has had a long and storied coaching career. He has won national championships. He has helmed a powerhouse for decades. He is one of the most successful, decorated, and venerated college football coaches of all time.

None of that means anything anymore. Not after what we've learned.

Football is a game. It means nothing. The abuse of young children is deplorable and heinous. Punishing those responsible, and preventing it from happening again, means everything.

Children were being raped. Paterno knew about it and did nothing to stop it.

Instead, he was a part of the cover-up. Assistant coaches, graduate assistants, Athletic Directors, University Presidents, and yes, the head football coach, all played some role in letting the abuse happen. They all knew what the scandal would do to the program, and that led all of them to do the bare minimum. Saving their skins, but not their souls.

Paterno was part of a larger pyramid of enablers who took the protection of their multi-million dollar footbal program more seriously than protecting innocent kids who were being preyed upon. For years, each man in that program had a chance to step up and do the right thing.

No one did.

Wednesday, Paterno was fired from his position as head football coach. He's had a long career. He has the money. He still has the wins. He'll be fine.

Don't feel sorry for him. Feel sorry for the kids he failed to protect.

They won't ever be fine again.

Legacy, Honor and Scandal at Penn State

 And just like that, the walls of an institution come tumbling down.

I don't know if the allegations against Jerry Sandusky are true. I'm not privy to what Joe Paterno knew, or what he told and who he told it to. I'm unclear about how far up the alleged cover-up went.

All I know is that it makes me feel sick, shocked and jaded.

The Penn State Nitany Lions are one of the most revered programs in all of college football. Even a casual fan knows about the school's storied history. We all know about the legacy of Joe Paterno and his tradition of winning.

All of that means nothing now. Not after something like this. Not while so many questions remain unanswered.

How could no one step up and stop this?
Because of so many selfish reasons. Wanting to protect a friend. Wanting to protect your own skin. Wanting to save a successful football program. And everyone bought into this mentality. From Sandusky for allegedly doing it in the first place, to Paterno for not telling police, to the higher ups at the university for doing nothing once they were told. One by one, the dominoes fell.

How could this happen at Penn State, where they are all about honor and tradition?
Unfortunately, it's becoming clear that those are simply buzz words to bolster recruiting and increase donations to the athletic department. Really, it's all about keeping the money coming, no matter who gets hurt.

Why didn't Paterno go to the police?
Because he's either a selfish football coach wanting to avoid scandal at his program, or because he's a loony old man who didn't know any better. Neither of which excuses what he failed to do. As a leader of young mean, he failed in his responsibility.

It's all coming out how about the hypocrisy of this major football program. All of the accolades, honor, and legacy with that school and team don't mean anything if no one steps up and does the right thing.

It's ironic that it's exactly that honor and legacy that led to this downfall. Paterno was protecting a longtime friend and assistant coach. Paterno, in turn, was having his legacy protected by school administrators who know how important the coach is in college football history. Because these men put so much stock in a tradition of winning and excellence, they completely shut themselves off from the horrible actions that were taking place.

To them, football was more important over whether kids were raped.

And all that honor and integrity allowed it to go unpunished.