"JoeBots" "Paternopoligists" "Kool-Aid Kultists" "Paterno People"
"Child Rape Enablers"
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
For over two years, Penn Staters have made one simple demand: Find the full truth in the Sandusky scandal. The Freeh Report had a chance to do so, but it failed…it failed miserably.
The Freeh Report was an utter debacle in nearly all ways: not just its unfounded, distorted conclusions about Penn State's culture, its values and the four principals in question, but in the way it was delivered via a grandstanding press conference beamed nationwide from a ballroom in Philadelphia.
Its methodology and conclusions have been discredited - by the facts, by reports from leading experts in their fields and MOST SUPRISINGLY by prosecution witnesses in subsequent legal proceedings.
To those of us watching closely from the beginning, it seems this false narrative was the very outcome the Executive Committee sought, and it enabled the NCAA to impose unprecedented sanctions. To this day, Mark Emmert struggles under the misperception that Freeh had subpoena power.
You promised transparency, yet you are spending tens of thousands of dollars attempting to keep emails generated by the Frazier Task Force from the public domain, hiding behind attorney/client privilege.
Someone waived that privilege to enable former General Counsel Baldwin to testify before the Grand Jury, who has that power and did the Board vote on it?
It is in Mr. Freeh's contract to appear before the University to discuss his findings. In addition, Jim Clemente and Dick Thornburgh are at the ready to answer any questions the Board & the Community might have.
The truth should scare no one, yet barriers are continually raised, denying a community of people unfairly smeared by Freeh's unsupported conclusions the answers to which they are entitled.
The Freeh report also missed a critical opportunity to educate the public on the identification of child sexual victimization, and instead used the platform created by this scandal to sensationalize the blaming of Joe Paterno. This was a terrible disservice not only to Penn Staters, but also to all parents, grandparents and children in our state.
The Third Annual Conference on Child Protection and Well-Being is scheduled this May at the Nittany Lion Inn; it is sponsored by Penn State's Network on Child Protection and Well Being.
As The Network's mission is to educate on child maltreatment through teaching, research, and service, this May conference would be a phenomenal venue to incorporate a Community Panel Discussion with Drs. Frasier & Noll, Messrs. Freeh & Clemente & Gov. Thornburgh.
Trustee Frazier tells me there "are no do-overs in life". However, there are public apologies, retractions and setting the record straight.
I am confident that I speak for tens of thousands of Penn Staters to demand that the Board marginalize the Freeh Report, publicly refute its key findings about Penn State's values and culture, and apologize to the Paterno Family, the Lettermen and the University Community at large.
Lastly, the Media has probably been the most vocal about shouting these buzzwords of "culture" "secrecy" "actively conspire to conceal" and yet, when it comes to investigating, researching or asking the questions of The Second Mile, Children & Youth Services and our State agencies?
We get silence from you.
These are licensed entities, staffed with trained professionals that accepted and approved, embraced and encouraged, lauded and applauded a Preferential Child Sexual Offender……and they did so for decades.
Stop sweeping this under the rug. Stop turning a blind eye. Stop your silence.
I agree 100% to all that you have written but I feel the BoT will continue to hide behind their actions and comments. As long as they continue to avoid the truth they can not and will not agree to any high profile meeting to clear the air as to who and what was the main reasons for their unpresidented agreement to the NCAA sanctions. As to the NCAA they had no clue as to what went on etc.. They just rubber stamped what was presented and never even review the total story. I will continue to fight for reform in the BoT and if that means voting off the previous B memebers, so be it.
ReplyDeleteWendy, this is so well laid out and stated. Best wishes for positive responses.
ReplyDeleteYour last remarks directed toward the media are particularly sharp. Regarding TSM, CYS, & DPW as "licensed entities, staffed with trained professionals that accepted and approved, embraced and encouraged, lauded and applauded a Preferential Child Sexual Offender……and they did so for decades."
Perhaps rather than looking to the media to ask these questions, or waiting for the various legal proceedings to play out, the PA Network could specifically ask specialists from TSM, CYS, & DPW to present scenarios under which child victimizers are able to operate. Hypothetical cases where the predator may successfully hide her/his damaging behavior.
Perhaps the May conference could be the venue through which we learn how things can go wrong such that a child victimizer is approved as a foster parent, for example. Not an accusatory or legally threatening venue, but an EDUCATIONAL event.
The child protection entities surely can be asked to explain this. Hypothetically... what all can go wrong?
With admiration,
Becky
Wendy did a great job. The part I like the best is when she was through, Keith Masser thanked her for her "opinion". He should have said, "thank you for your "facts".
ReplyDeleteI think the level of Masser's integrity can be evaluated by this response. An unbiased approach to both Louis Freeh and Wendy Silverwood would have resulted in thanking them both in the same way. This is another prime example of the BOT member's seeking "cover" rather than truth.
DeleteVery powerfully written, and oh so true. I just can't understand why the top law enforcement official in Pennsylvania, Kathleen Kane, sits quietly by while all of us in the public have to show her what is happening under her nose in the form of continued cover-up by the state. She can begin guiding this process of recovery. She can also begin forcing an admission of guilt by the state under Tom Corbett. The question is, what is she afraid of?
ReplyDeleteI have never seen such an apparently lawless state such as Pennsylvania. Does the law mean nothing at all in Pennsylvania?
Fantastic job Wendy! Thank you for saying to the BOT what many of us would like to tell them, and doing so without the profanity many of us would use.
ReplyDeleteI don’t have much hope that we’ll see those trustees responsible for the “Sandusky” mess resign or be sent to prison, but it helps to know they’re hearing from us. I hope we can continue to reinforce the message with the upcoming alumni trustee election and get rid of the final three from 2011!
Very well written piece.
ReplyDeleteI'm disappointed in Kane too. I hate to see her wasting resources on the misguide prosecutions of Curley, Schultz and Spanier when the cases get weaker and weaker and some of the charges were after the statue of limitations or based on a law passed years after the alleged crimes.
I'm hoping that Moulton's report on the Sandusky investigation is not just another whitewash.
While I can understand people's frustrations with Kathleen Kane, I would ask them to show patience with her investigation and handling of this whole situation. She's only been in office for 1 year and her overall exposure in dealing with the PA justice system on a state level. prior to her election as AG, was not very significant. The legal unraveling of this very complicated situation is going to take time, especially with many powerful people within the state, including the current Governor, trying to stonewall her investigation. She needs to make sure every step she takes is thoroughly supportable with evidence. Unfortunately, I think it's going to take Corbett being out of office to really get any of this moving.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Media perception in this case is critical as it has driven most of the false narrative already out there. While it might make sense to just drop the charges against Curley, Schultz, and Spanier due to a lack of evidence, Kane would be blasted in the press and by Corbett for being "soft" on people that enable child molesters. And as we've seen, no one wants to even be accused by any one of not being as tough as possible when child abuse is involved. Most likely these charges will be dismissed due to procedural issues or technicalities, such a Cynthia Baldwin falsely representing them. This way neither Kane or Corbett loses face, but Corbett has already achieved his goal of keeping the PSU administrators quiet during the most intense periods of media coverage over the last two years.
"Enabled child molesters"
ReplyDeleteBased on what evidence?
Sorry for not being clear, I would never say they were a enabling child molester. I was trying to convey the way Corbett and the media would try to portray Kathleen Kane if she dropped the charges against Curley, Schultz, and Spanier. Unfortunately there is a prevailing sentiment in the public that these guys covered up Jerry Sundusky's actions.
DeleteI know exactly what you're saying Rums Du. The corrupt Corbett camp would try desperately to unleash a firestorm of corrupt media criticism against Kane in the form of "Kane let's pedophile enablers walk", or something to that effect. So, what Kane must do, is get the balls to show the public who the real pedophile enablers really were-- Attorney General Corbett and DPW. She must do this before she can recommend dismissal of charges against Curley, Schultz and Spanier. Now is the time to move in against Corbett.
DeleteI love the way the general public thinks there was only 3 years where Corbett dragged his feet investigating Sandusky. It's been totally whitewashed as "did Corbett play politics with the Sandusky case?". Corbett, as the PA Attorney General, had complaints beginning way back in 1995! And the complaints continued, and were ignored, through Corbett's 2 more full terms as the Attorney General, a total of 11 years! That's one hell of a lot of years to ignore a known threat to children and PSU! And then the absolute audacity to blame PSU for Corbett's law enforcement abandonment of duty is just pure insanity!
If Kane has any integrity at all, she must do the right thing and arrest those involved in this state government sham. Otherwise, she is part of the cover-up, and she continues to allow Pennsylvania to waste money, time and resources covering up crimes.
Ray B., You have made tremendous contributions to showing the public the truth in the Sandusky scandal. And you are truly a tireless pursuer of that truth. But something occurred to me the other evening. I know you have stated that you are handing over discrepancies in the case against PSU to Kane as you find them. This is good because you are also sharing those discrepancies with the public. However, knowing how corrupt agencies operate, It occurred to me you should keep a couple of "aces in the hole" so to speak. Hold back on some information until you see what Kane is actually doing with it. I say this because it's been my experience that corrupt agencies that have grievances filed against them meet with the one who files the grievance to "take notes" about the complaints against them. They make it appear as though they're on your side and interested in helping you with your complaints. When in fact, knowing full-well they are guilty, they are actually beginning to create a defense against your complaints. Just something to think about.
DeleteTruthseeker,
ReplyDeleteI provide the information to the independent investigator, Moulton -- not to Kane. I really don't think she is privy to the information, much like in other scandals where they assign a special prosecutor. I will take your advice,however, and keep a few things as insurance.