The recently publicized “leaked” emails between Tim Curley, Gary Schultz, and Graham Spanier, first alluded to in an NBC News report and later released in greater detail by CNN are raising the hackles of the Paterno family.
“No one has claimed to have found—nor will they find—evidence in writing from Joe Paterno that suggests he was involved in a cover-up.” —TNT
One could infer from the emails that a conversation between Joe Paterno and Tim Curley caused a change in plans to report the Jerry Sandusky child molestations to outside authorities, essentially initiating a cover-up by sweeping details under the fine wool rug in Old Main.
However, the family claims through its attorney Wick Sollers, that sporadic emails taken out of context do not implicate the late Mr. Paterno. Furthermore, they have no idea who might be responsible for the leaks, which also suggest that Spanier, Curley, and Schultz violated their responsibility to report the incidents.
Spanier had previously said he knew nothing of it, which was a lie. He did not testify before the grand jury that investigated the Sandusky allegations at the time. Curley and Schultz did, and they’re under indictment for perjury. Their pre-trial hearing will take place on July 11 in Harrisburg.
The Paterno family issued the following statement about the emails:
From the moment the Jerry Sandusky crisis erupted, Joe Paterno patiently and persistently called for a thorough and professional investigation. He abhorred the rush to judgment that occurred last November and he spoke out forcefully for a comprehensive review that protected no one while preserving due process for everyone. Coach Paterno emphasized that the best way to serve the victims and protect the reputation of Penn State was by a total commitment to uncovering the full truth.
With the leaking of selective emails over the last few days, it is clear that someone in a position of authority is not interested in a fair or thorough investigation. To be clear, the Paterno family does not know the source or sources of these leaks. The question that needs to be asked is why this breach of confidentiality, which seeks to preempt the Freeh report and undermine the courts, is not being objected to or otherwise addressed by those in a position of authority. It should not be the responsibility of the Paterno family to call for an honest, independent investigation. Given the seriousness and complexity of this case, everyone should be demanding the full truth, not just carefully selected excerpts of certain emails.
Releasing these emails in this way is not intended to inform the discussion but to smear former Penn State officials, including Joe Paterno. The truth is Joe Paterno reported the 2001 incident promptly and fully. He was interviewed by the Grand Jury for a total of 8 minutes and told the truth to the best of his recollection. He was never interviewed by the University. He was not afforded due process and his story was never fully told. And he was never allowed to see the files and records that are now in question. In spite of these facts, however, numerous pundits and critics are exploiting these disconnected and distorted records to attack Joe Paterno.
Accordingly, the Paterno family today is calling on the Freeh Group and the Attorney General’s office to immediately release all emails and records they have related to this case. The public should not have to try and piece together a story from a few records that have been selected in a calculated way to manipulate public opinion. Joe Paterno didn’t fear the truth, he sought the truth. His guidance to his family and his advisors was to pursue the full truth. This is the course we have followed for 9 months. It is the course we will follow to the end.
We here at the Turkey have to once again question who leaked the emails and what was the motivation for doing so. One commenter made an interesting suggestion that the attention benefited CNN, whose ratings were down. It is highly doubtful that CNN invented the emails, though. A temporary increase in ratings would certainly eventually blow up in their faces, leaving the proverbial egg dripping from their nose and chin. Assuming they’re not that stupid over there in Atlanta, we’re still left with the question: Who leaked them, and why? The “why” could be simply money, but the “who” is anybody’s guess at the moment.
Assuming that the Freeh panel had them in its possession, anyone on that investigative body could be culpable. Moreover, someone at Penn State had to supply the emails to the investigation. Finally, Curley and Schultz could have kept archival copies of their own emails. What could their motivation be? Perhaps to deflect blame from them to Spanier. They could claim that they were operating under Spanier’s orders when they initiated the cover-up and when they lied about what they knew before the grand jury.
Spanier tried to get his hands on his emails from 1998 through 2004, believing no doubt that they would be used by the Freeh committee in its investigation. He was told by the university that nothing existed before 2004. Later, he discovered that the earlier emails actually existed. In May, he filed a civil suit against Penn State asking for the emails to be given to him. The university has not taken any action.
It seems to this Turkey that where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Spanier must have been involved in email exchanges that implicated him in one or more phases of the scandal. Once the Freeh report is presented, Spanier will potentially have to defend himself against any charges that might result. It is interesting that he wanted to go back to 1998, which was the time of an earlier incident in which Sandusky actually confessed to a victim’s mother with the police listening in. McQueary reported the infamous shower incident three years later, in 2001.
Joe Paterno never left much of an audit trail behind him. He eschewed modern devices, so he used neither email nor cell phones. He once referred to Twitter as “Tweedle Dum Tweedle Dee.” No one has claimed to have found—nor will they find—evidence in writing from Joe Paterno that suggests he was involved in a cover-up.
We will need to be patient and wait another few weeks for the Freeh report. Until someone issues some kind of an official report, we’re still premature in judging the individuals involved. Except Sandusky, that is. He has been convicted of 45 counts, with little chance of ever being a free man again during his lifetime.
A few related stories:
Justice in Penn State case should come from courts, not NCAA
Paterno Family Wants Freeh, Attorney General’s Office to Release All Emails and Records
Former Penn State coach Joe Paterno’s family lashes out at email leaks in new statement
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BigAl says
If CNN’s reporting is correct, Curley and Schultz are going to be joining the Jer pretty soon and Spanier should too. It’s hard to imagine why Spanier hasn’t been charged yet.
The sad part is that things could get even worse. We don’t really know why Sandusky retired in 1999. The party line was that Sandusky “needed” to spend more time at the Second Mile. But what if there are emails proving that he was really “retired” because of the 1998 shower “incident”?
On the other hand, the 2001 emails could be evidence of misplaced loyalty to Sandusky rather than a coverup to protect Penn State’s image. The Jer was the Penn State equivalent of a Mafia “made man” and “made men” get special treatment. Like a chance to make things right before getting wacked.
The strange thing is that Schultz et al didn’t abide by their own revised plan. The didn’t notify child protective services after Sandusky failed to get “help.”
The Nittany Turkey says
That 1998 situation is a ticking time bomb. To compound it, we have the Ray Gricar disappearance. I am champing at the bit waiting the results of the Freeh group, hoping that there will be some clarification that quells the wild speculation to which we’ve been subjected on the Internet.
If the reason for Sandusky’s sudden retirement turns out to be as phony as it sounded back then when it was announced, then Paterno’s truthfulness is in question. We might have to accept that Joe didn’t always tell the truth.
—TNT
Joe says
If one was to look at this in a sort of backwards view, is it possible that the Freeh report is not that damning of Paterno and releasing the snippets from select emails was one persons way of refocusing the spotlight on his culpability? I’ve got to consider that if the Freeh report was going to implicate Paterno, there was really no need to release the emails prematurely as the report would have created enough “news” regarding his involvement, unless of course it was intended to get the fire good and hot before the report came out.
I also have a difficult time thinking that Curley, Spanier and Schultz were that dense that they did not realize that they had files in their possession at the time of their appearance before the GJ that could/would potentially implicate them in what will be perceived as a cover-up due to really poor decision making on their collective parts. One would think they would have headed straight for the shredder or passed the magnet over the hard drive, unless they felt that their actions were appropriate to the known facts at the time.
I also find it interesting that there are now reports of a 3 hour meeting with a law firm to discuss the issues/actions.
Yes you are correct-the Freeh report will be an extremely interesting read, but I also have to believe with two BoT members directly involved with the investigation, the report will still be “reviewed” before it’s public release.
Perhaps we will never know what went on even with the Freeh report contents-maybe a session in the water boarding room for Curley, Schultz, Spanier and the 2nd Mile President would get us closer to knowing what really transpired! Might be great Reality TV!!
The Nittany Turkey says
Such intrigue, damnit! Would you ever have thought that PSU was capable of generating this kind of notoriety? Sandusky is one thing—pedophiles can pop up anywhere—but for his continued activities to be enabled by the administration, whether you put Paterno at the top or Spanier, is antithetical to anything we alums ever believed about our alma mater during our callow youth.
Having worked in academe, I have grown cynical about its inner workings, as is in evidence throughout my posts on the subject. Institutions prefer to keep their secrets internal. At this point, nothing is beyond belief.
Your water boarding scenario isn’t even all that fantastic, given the extent to which administrators would have had to lie and dance for 15 years with knowledge of the sordid Sandusky affair in mind. Hell, people are out there blaming Paterno for Ray Gricar’s disappearance.
As an aside that isn’t worthy of a post, but I had to write somewhere, I recall an interaction between this Turkey and McQueary at a local alumni chapter talk several years ago. In the question and answer session following the event most of the questions involved recruiting and Morelli, but I chose to take a different tack. I wanted him to tell us about the home run ball he threw in a Rutgers game he came in late to run out the clock with a sizeable PSU lead. That pass pissed off then Rutgers coach Doug Graber, who expressed his displeasure to Paterno at midfield during the handshake. The mikes picked up Paterno’s response, which was “Aw, bullshit! Aw, bullshit!” Graber, while walking away, said, “Fuck you!” That pissed off Paterno.
See YouTube video.
I wanted to get the take on the thing straight from the horse’s mouth. So, I got up and intoned in a Howard Cosell voice, “Let’s turn back the clock. ” When I said that, I paused looking for a reaction from McQueary. What I expected was a look that tacitly nodded, “OK, here we go — another asshole who wants to rub my nose in that touchdown pass.” However, what I got was a look of nervousness and well, almost fear. It struck me at the time as odd, as I was sure I wasn’t hitting any very tender spots and what else in McQueary’s mundane PSU career could evoke such a response?
I was obviously unaware of any skeletons in PSU football closets at that time. However, this was only a few years after the shower incident. Now, unless I’m adding two and two to get five, I can understand why asking McQueary to turn back the clock might cause some anxiety.
Well, I asked the question and McQueary looked relieved. He explained that he had checked down through his primary receivers running short routes, who were covered, so he had to look to go vertical. He said that Joe was OK with it, although the TV camera had caught Paterno shaking his head in disapproval after the TD was scored.
As I said, the thing I found unusual was McQueary’s anxiety as I led into the question. Little did I know at the time what might be keeping the lad on edge.
—TNT
jd says
i still have yet to see the nexus between paterno and conspiracy for covering up this mess.
i don’t even know what stage of grief i am in right now. thanks for the great updates, Turk.
The Nittany Turkey says
I understand your grief. Betrayal of trust is an awful thing.
The only connection with Paterno was that Curley had a meeting with him and then told Spanier that he (Curley) had changed his mind about going to the authorities. That’s if you believe that the emails are authentic. Obviously, Curley could have made up his own mind without Paterno’s help. I rather doubt it, given that both Curley and Spanier are weak characters who, in my opinion, were cowed by Paterno.
Look no further than the 2004 attempted firing for an indication of the relationship among these three. How does one survive a meeting with one’s boss and one’s boss’ boss for the purpose of discharging one’s services without having a great amount of leverage? We all know that Joe ran that football program with an iron hand and wouldn’t allow anyone else to make any decisions, pigheaded old guy that he was. It is thus completely plausible that he told Curley to tell Spanier that they were going to handle it directly with Sandusky.
Some pretty wild rumors are flying around about Tom Corbett, Second Mile, and just about everyone but Sue and Dottie. I won’t repeat any of them until they are published by credible sources.
I am hoping that once the Freeh report comes out, we can take our lumps and move on.
—TNT