Putting Paterno to bed

There's something about the 24-hour news cycle that makes you feel dumber the more you watch.

Unimportant things can become big news items on a slow news day. Events are immediately and breathlessly exaggerated with no regard for proportion or perspective.

Case in point: last night in State College. Students are using the Joe Paterno firing as an excuse to party on a Wednesday night, and it's immediately described in apocalyptic tones by the media vultures who descended on the college town.

At some point you have to turn off the TV to preserve your own sanity (if not brain cells). Learn the facts, get a vibe for the reaction, and then move on. Getting sucked in to the endless cycle of hyperbole, reaction and what passes for analysis is just not healthy no matter the news event. It's draining.

With that in mind, I've made a personal vow not to watch any of the mindless fallout today on television. The old man has been fired, and now all that's left is a bunch of people telling me what they think about it and what I should think about it.

No thanks. Most weeks, getting in some Wake Forest study would be a bit of a bore. It's actually refreshing this week.

You've all been beaten over the head enough with the Paterno stuff and have your own opinions, so my final opinion on it will be quick and simple:

Penn State had no choice.

You don't have to be a lawyer to recognize what was at work here. As a result of a convincing picture of negligence painted by the grand jury presentment, Penn State is colossally vulnerable to lawsuits from victims of this alleged sexual abuse by Jerry Sandusky.

Penn State exposes itself even more by continuing to support a coach whose inaction might have paved the way for further abuse, and a president who unconscionably put his "unconditional support" behind leadership that was tragically indifferent and impotent with a monster on the loose.

Before last night's firings, some people out there were saying Penn State couldn't can Paterno unless he broke the law. They were saying Penn State was opening itself up to a wrongful-termination lawsuit if it fired Paterno without evidence of lawbreaking.

Go take a look at a coach's contract, and you'll see there's a litany of fire-able offenses that have nothing to do with breaking the law. Coaches aren't bag boys at the local Wal-Mart. They are public figures at public universities and must conduct themselves accordingly.

If Paterno did file a wrongful-termination suit, the worst case for Penn State is a settlement of a couple-million bucks. And that's chump change compared to the avalanche of suits the school is facing from the victims.

Here's an informative piece from Philadelphia that explores Penn State's legal liability.

Matt Casey, name partner of the Center City plaintiffs firm of Ross Feller Casey L.L.P., said the university's primary exposure lies in the fact that it appears to have received multiple reports over the years that Sandusky had sexual contact with young boys. Sandusky, who retired in 1999 but held emeritus status, had wide access to university athletic facilities and other areas of the campus.

Casey says the legal issues are relatively simple. The university had known that a dangerous condition existed on its premises but did not take steps to correct it.

"My goodness, they had notice of particularly dangerous conduct as it relates to defenseless 10-year-old children and not only do they not take steps to remedy the condition but they provided him with the means to perpetrate these acts," Casey said.

Casey won an $85 million jury verdict in 2008 for a former University of Pennsylvania medical student who plunged through an open manhole cover on his way to classes, shattering his spine.

Casey says Penn State's financial exposure in the sex-abuse case could be in the tens of millions of dollars.

And in this story from the St. Petersburg Times, the attorney who represented former South Florida coach Jim Leavitt in his wrongful-termination suit says the situation at Penn State is startlingly similar to what the Catholic Church has faced in civil suits from the families of child victims of sexual abuse from priests and other church leaders.

Before last night's news, this is what the attorney had to say:

"I can't imagine any lawyers that are advising Penn State telling them anything other than 'These guys have to go,' " Florin said. "I would be shocked if that doesn't happen here."

In the wake of the horrifying revelations at Penn State, people kept saying there was an absence of facts. In reality, there was an abundance of facts -- or at least, enough for Penn State's Board of Trustees to do what they did last night.

It wasn't just the right thing for them to do. It was the only thing for them to do.

LW