[Husker] In defense of JoePa

[Scott Stewart]

I am resending this because I was told the HTML formatting would get
it blocked (and I thought everyone was just ignoring me LOL)

I will probably upset some people and get nasty responses to this, but
I think Joe Pa is not being treated fairly. He will likely lose his
job, but I think he is going to be caught up just because he was close
to the situation than because he did something wrong.

I am a mandatory reporter. That means that under state law, I am
legally obligated to report child abuse if it comes to my attention. I
don't know what Penn. law is, but I don't think JoePa would be a
mandatory reporter under Georgia law. Therefore, what he did or didn't
do did not break any laws.

As a mandatory reporter, hearsay is not subject to mandatory
reporting. So if Grad Student told me he saw something, I am not under
any obligation to report; though it might be smart to do so (You have
to weigh the cost of being sued for breaking confidentiality vs. the
cost of being sued for not breaking confidentiality. The sad thing is
you will likely get sued and lose either way).

So I don't think it was illegal. Now the tougher subject. Was it
immoral or unethical to not report? I think he did the appropriate
thing. He was not Sandusky's boss. This was a matter for the Athletic
Director to handle. Why, because it is the Athletic Director's
facilities. To report on his own is not his place in the business of
college athletics. If Sandusky had been his employee, I think things
could have been different.

So when nothing happened, should he have reported. I think that WOULD
have been inappropriate, and would be considered undermining the
Athletic Directors responsibilities.

I have been involved in several cases of mandatory reporting. They are
always very difficult and the ethics are never as simple as it appears
after the fact. Once you have handed it off to the appropriate person,
you have done what you should have done. Does that mean that the
outcome is always what I expect or want, No. In fact, I often have
felt that things were not handled correctly, but that is not my call.
My call is to report it again if I learn of something else.

Scott

On Tue, Nov 8, 2011 at 5:45 PM,  <aj05810 at windstream.net> wrote:
>> Bottom line is that I'm not going to judge anyone in this until all of the
> facts come out.  It's very possible that JoePa did due diligence, which is
> why he is not under investigation.
>>
>> Tommy Thompson (Pa)
>> "GO BIG RED"
>
>
> You may not, but everyone and his dog will judge him. That's the way it is today especially with allogations like these. There is very little tolerance for even the hint of wrong doing when it comes to abuse of children. It's mud that sticks forever.
>
> aj
>
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