Freeh Investigation Won't Be Kind to Joe Paterno

Reuters
Connor Simpson 3,788 Views Jul 7, 2012

Apparently when the Freeh Group unveils their long-awaited investigation into Penn State's handling of Jerry Sandusky next week, it won't be good for the legacy of Joe Paterno. ESPN's Don Van Natta Jr. spoke to a Penn State official briefed on the inquiry who said the emails won't be kind to Paterno's legacy.  

"Much of the focus will be on the culture of the football program, with findings that go back more than a decade," a source told Van Natta. "It's going to be very tough on Joe (Paterno)." Another source told Van Natta that the emails we have seen are taken out of context. Van Natta's source says the emails "are definitely out of context," and the one we've seen "was the worst one for everybody." At no point does Van Natta expand on how the investigation will be harder on Paterno when we've seen the worst emails already, but the investigation is expected to focus a lot on the culture of the football program and features research dating back over a decade. 

Emails leaked last week implied that Penn State officials had planned to report Sandusky after assistant coach Mike McQueary discovered him in the the shower with a boy in 2001, but they changed their mind after athletic director Tim Curley had a conversation with Paterno. 

Paterno's family spoke out against the reports and urged everyone to slow down with the cover-up accusations. They said he never used email, and family spokesman Dan McGinn even encouraged everyone to wait for the Freeh investigation to be released. 

But then a few days later emails leaked that showed Paterno may not have had his own email account, but he personally wrote and signed emails from his assistant's. 

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at connorbsimpson at gmail dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.

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