Jackson Jambalaya

Everything Paterno did was out of desparation ~ for his personal image. Covering up for Sandusky is the tip of an iceberg that will likely never be revealed.

Paterno now looks scary, and for good reason. But I'm only commenting on that mess as a chance to recommend "Bailout," the new book by Neil Barofsky. Another cold-blooded look at the world of bureaucrats (in this case the Treasury Dept.) whose main focus is ensuring that they can get a job with the companies they are regulating. And much more on Wall Street as a de facto self-regulating organization. As many have observed, if it were not for the fact that we now have debit cards for the hungry, there would be bread lines all over America. Barofsky is frank: there will be no change until there is mass rage. I may join the Tea Party.

I thought Paterno was a jerk then and certainly think so today. Wonder what Barry Switzer and Jackie Sherrill have to say about it?

We don't know that Switzer and Sherrill haven't done similar things. It's probably more prevalent than anyone realizes.

We don't know that ANY Div. I coaches haven't done similar things, not just Switzer and Sherrill. I don't see many candidates for sainthood among SEC coaches, for example.

Someone on the SI website wrote that if the NCAA had ever REALLY been concerned with ethics and morality, Bobby Petrino would never have been allowed in college towns, much less allowed to coach.

I know that anything's possible and Switzer and Sherrill aren't choirboys, but is anyone seriously suggesting that they've covered up for a child molester? I don't think so. Chasing women seems to be a common mistake that many popular coaches make, and recruiting violations are spread far and wide. Throw in misusing booster club money and applying pressure to get players through tough classes and you just about have all the normal situations wherein a college coach might step out of bounds. None of those offenses can be compared to what Paterno did. None.

For those of you who seemed to miss point of the Switzer/Sherrill comment, Paterno once said he couldn't retire and leave college football to the Barry Switzers and Jackie Sherrills of the world. Turns out they're the good guys when compared to him...

Cover up for a child molester? Maybe not. Cover up for a football player who rapes coeds? Or one who sells drugs to kids? Or one who is part of a gang/organized crime? I'd believe it in a heartbeat. The point is that covering up ANY crime to "protect the program" is the same thing that Paterno, et. al., did.

The heinousness of the crime really shouldn't make a difference. If it did, where is the line? It's bad to rape little boys, but it's OK if it's cheerleaders? It's bad to lie to a grand jury, but it's OK to lie to the local police? What athletic departments need to understand is that it's not their call how a criminal act should be dealt with, it's up to the authorities.

Sherrill and Switzer are mentioned ONLY because of what Paterno said, true. But they are also good examples because they coached big-name programs. It could just as easily be Saban or Stoops. Heck, I'd lay money it's been Kiffen. And I would be more surprised if those guys and the ones with similar prominent programs have NOT covered for some player's or staff member's crime than if they had.

Basically, I think there's a little bit of Paterno in all of them.

Penn State will be fortunate if enough players stay for them to be able to compete in a 7 on 7 intramural league.

When I was an undergrad, the "meatheads" ran rampant on campus and in town, and the coaches were able to keep it all quiet with few, if any, prosecutions. The meats ransacked a small fraternity house and its occupants for putting up a sign in their yard protesting some losing efforts. They had the same "you don't know who you're messing with" attitude because you really were messing with someone pretty much immune to the rule of law. I remember them roaming through the campus bookstore picking up several items and just walking out and no one did or said anything. That was the early 70's, so it was easier to contain back then, but the athlete's attitudes probably haven't changed too much, they just get caught and dealt with more these days.

2:36, you make some really good points. Any coach who covers up violent behavior should be sent to prison. Unfortunately they already knew that before Sandusky, and I'm not sure any of them ever believe they'll get caught. Maybe the maim penalty that Penn State got will make them think twice in the future. I still feel badly for the current players and coaches, though.

A rising star on the Ole Miss football team was suspended indefinitely today following his third arrest. Already the alums are chanting 'Let him slide'. And that would be the alumni chant no matter which team the boy played for. The puzzle piece in all this crap that we seem to be missing is US ~ the ones who demand more ticks in the 'W' column, REgardless.

What's a little 'shoot em up' at a Southern Miss nightclub? What's an arrest here and there in Starkville? Or a few televisions or radios stolen from motel rooms by Ole Miss players? Or the knotheads at Valley and Alcorn who can't spell on a fourth grade level? It's all about the 'W'.

There are still a few places where football is played by true student athletes. The Ivy League, where there are no athletic scholarships, and the service academies where everyone is on the same scholarship still do it the old way. I'll never forget being at the Air Force/Army game back in the late 1980's when they announced that of the 44 players starting on offense and defense for both teams, 21 had been their high school class valedictorian. That's a stat you'll never hear them mention at the BCS Championship. All schools would do well to follow their leads, but Shadowfax is right - the fans won't let them. In an indirect way, anyone who has ever supported big time college football can be blamed for the culture that allowed Sandusky and Paterno to do what they did at Penn State, so I guess it's fitting that all of us be punished.