SCRANTON TIMES-TRIBUNE Editorial: There is irony and symmetry to Penn State University’s effort to prevent public disclosure of information relative to the Joe Paterno estate’s lawsuit against the NCAA.
Penn State’s board and administration have mishandled most aspects of the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal since it broke in 2011. At the top of the list is public relations, which the board and administration initially thought they could best handle by saying as little as possible and then issuing pronouncements from a bunker. So bungled has been PSU’s public relations effort that Dr. Dave Joyner, who was appointed as athletic director amid the crisis and who soon will retire, recently surprised just about everyone when he claimed that Mr. Paterno was not fired in November 2011.
So it is rich that Penn State, in its effort to seal information that it will turn over in the lawsuit, offered as a reason that the Paterno family might use the information for public relations purposes. Well, heaven forfend… (more)
The speed at which Joe Pa was tossed under the bus was incredible, especially given the lifetime of dedication Joe gave to Penn State. Let us hope that justice will prevail and Joe’s records and those of the Penn State football program will be restored. Releasing all information is required to insure the public confidence.