[oman]

Paterno, by contrast, got a second-hand report a day or two after the incident. There was no right-this-second urgency to the situation. You can argue he should have done better, but his response was more far more appropriate than that of McQueary.

Second hand or no, this is the type of thing that is absolutlely all-hands-on-deck-nobody-sleeps-until-I-get-a-full-report-on-my-desk situation.  Period.  That included the head coach and his bosses.

If this was some peripheral position -- Field House Manager, VP of Facilities, okay.  But the head coach needs to deputize someone to follow up for him if he is not going to do so and to have that person call him and give him a full report immediately.

The fact that everyone is going to lose their shirts is precisely why Paterno should have been fired, not an argument against his firing.  If he had walked the walk of an ethical leader this would not have happened. 

If indeed someone above you in the chain of command tells you he is handling it, that is fine, but you still have a duty to follow up on something like this and make sure it is handled.

Paterno should have asked two questions when he was told of the incident, second hand or no -- why should this guy not be removed from all things Penn State and why should we not take it to the police?  And he should have bugged his minions or his superiors until he got a convincing answer to the questions.

[oman]

Paterno, by contrast, got a second-hand report a day or two after the incident. There was no right-this-second urgency to the situation. You can argue he should have done better, but his response was more far more appropriate than that of McQueary.

Second hand or no, this is the type of thing that is absolutlely all-hands-on-deck-nobody-sleeps-until-I-get-a-full-report-on-my-desk situation.  Period.  That included the head coach and his bosses.

If this was some peripheral position -- Field House Manager, VP of Facilities, okay.  But the head coach needs to deputize someone to follow up for him if he is not going to do so and to have that person call him and give him a full report immediately.

The fact that everyone is going to lose their shirts is precisely why Paterno should have been fired, not an argument against his firing.  If he had walked the walk of an ethical leader this would not have happened. 

If indeed someone above you in the chain of command tells you he is handling it, that is fine, but you still have a duty to follow up on something like this and make sure it is handled.

Paterno should have asked two questions when he was told of the incident, second hand or no -- why should this guy not be removed from all things Penn State and why should we not take it to the police?  And he should have bugged his minions or his superiors until he got a convincing answer to the questions.