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Erickson was stuttering like Mel Tillis on crack.

 

MacGregor at his best.

 

BOB SCHIEFFER: Joe Paterno was a legend. He was an icon. Did he stay too long?

RODNEY ERICKSON: I would say that Coach Paterno's legacy, as far as I'm concerned and I think everyone will have to assess that personally how they see the coach's legacy--from my standpoint, I see the coach's contributions to-- to the educational life of the university, and that's one of the reasons that I said I felt strongly that the Paterno name should stay on our library. I think when some years pass and we get more perspective, we will also come to understand that that he had a very important role over sixty years in the education that our educational goals and our aspirations at the university, and-- and nothing will change that part of Coach Paterno's legacy.

BOB SCHIEFFER: Well, why did you take his statue down?

RODNEY ERICKSON: I thought the statue had become a kind of a symbol, a kind of a lightning rod, if you will, for the controversy that-- that has erupted over the past eight months. And I felt that it was a kind of open wound for the victims of-- of child abuse across the nation, and in that respect I thought it should be-- it should be removed.

BOB SCHIEFFER: What will you do with it?

RODNEY ERICKSON: It's-- it's in a safe place right now.

BOB SCHIEFFER: Could you ever see it coming back, being put back on display somewhere?

RODNEY ERICKSON: We're certainly not prepared to-- to make any decision about that issue at this time. It needs-- it needs perspective. It needs time.

BOB SCHIEFFER: What do you say now to these children who-- who were molested, some of them are older now, but what-- what does the university want to say to them?

RODNEY ERICKSON: Well, we're-- we're deeply sorry and-- and sad, regretful that this happened at-- at our university. We want to do the right thing. We want to help them in their healing process. But we also want to make sure that-- that Penn State becomes a national leader in this whole area of-- of child abuse prevention and treatment. We've already taken a number of very concrete steps to do that. We're committed to being a national leader in this. And to-- to make sure that-- that hopefully some-- some good in the larger perspective of things can-- can emerge from-- from this very tragic situation. And of course the sixty-million-dollar fine will go into an endowment, the proceeds of which will be used to-- to assist in the prevention and treatment of abuse.

BOB SCHIEFFER: As difficult as this was, what is the lesson here? What happened then that can never happen again? And how do you keep that from happening?

RODNEY ERICKSON: I believe there are several lessons here, Bob, that-- that we can learn from this. One, of course, is-- is to be very mindful of our children and the circumstances under which they engage in activities and so forth. Our children are our most important assets. I think another lesson to be learned is-- is one of accountability, the accountability of the moment. We make-- need to make sure that-- that everyone, regardless of their-- their position or standing, is-- is held accountable for-- for actions that they take. We need to make sure that all of the units across the university are really interacting and sharing information.

BOB SCHIEFFER: Why were people afraid to talk about this? Why-- how did this-- how did this happen? That's the part that I find so difficult. I mean, how could people have known about this and not tried to do something about it or just tried to tell somebody about it.

RODNEY ERICKSON: I think that's a very-- very difficult question for-- for all of us to come to grips with. When I read the-- the grand jury presentment last November, I was horrified what I read. And the first question that came to my mind is how could something like this have happened at a place that I thought I knew after thirty-five years quite well? And so I think many of us are still asking that question. Is it-- is it something, again, related to the kind of organizational structure that we have? How much of it is-- is simply due to human-- human frailty? And-- and not willing to step forward when-- when they see something terrible happening and-- and again, it's accountability of-- of the moment. So we need to-- every one of us, even though we don't have clear answers to that, needs to reach into our own hearts and-- and think about that issue very deeply, and going forward, you know, we can't change the past, but we can look to the future, and we can-- we can hold ourselves accountable, to our-- not just to our-- our children but to all aspects of the-- the world we interact with.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3460_162-57481922/face-the-nation-transcripts-july-29-2012-mitt-romney-rep-wasserman-schultz-rodney-erickson/?pageNum=5&tag=contentMain;contentBody

 

Hey, I'm the first one to highlight O'Brien's "punch back" statement on this board.

MacGregor clearly got the idea for the article from me, not Azrael or DD.

 

Maybe if it actually applied to this situation, but it does not. It's just another example of someone trying to pass off an inapplicable analogy as eloquence.

The local poison factory would be shut down because it would be a necessary measure to stop ongoing poisoning. But the molestation/cover up underlying this mess is not ongoing, shutting down would not stop one kid from being molested nor solve a single problem.

Whereas if the local factory underwent the identical scandal as happened at Penn St., it would NOT be shut down. Instead, all involved would be fired and criminally prosecuted, the company would get sued to hell and back, it'd sustain horrendously bad publicity. BUT the factory itself would keep running under new management.

And, yes, I do get the metaphorical "blindness" implied there. But it's a silly comparison to real blindness, factories aren't shut down for causing metaphorical blindness. Nor would they be shut down for the circumstances that exist here.

 

So the culture at Penn State, in which football comes before everything, is now fully transformed? Do you believe that? It may well be, but no one knows that right now. The nature of big-time college football is that it does, to varying degrees, poison and blind those invested in it. Assuming Penn State is somehow above that influence in the immediate wake of this sordid mess points directly to the arrogance at the heart of that culture.

 

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#PSU Nittany Lions (@PennStateFBall) HC Bill O'Brien: I spoke with Bill Belichick and he has been very supportive for me. #SXMSports

 

I hope Erickson didn't hurt his back tying himself in a knot like this. He's basically saying that if you harbor a pedophile Penn State will only erase part of your legacy, not all of it.

If you're keeping Paterno's name on the library then there is no reason to take down his statue.

 

Can't say I disagree with you but, purely playing devil's advocate here, what about the rationale that the two are based on different criteria?

The statue was based on his accomplishments as a football coach, whereas the library name is based on the fact that he damn near built the thing with the money he personally raised for it. Should that distinction make any difference?

 

Paterno stained the entire university, not just the football program.

It's the height of hypocrisy to keep his name on the library.

 

absolutely.

Paterno protected his image and his team at the expense of innocent children. His record and tenure meant more to him then calling out his Sandusky as soon as possible. Penn State felt JoePed was bigger than raped children

 

bingo.