Gary Pinkel, Missouri Coach: “You Can’t Take Away the Greatness of [Joe Paterno].”

All, College Football, Penn State Scandal Jason McIntyre July 18th. 2012, 10:04am

Gary Pinkel, the Missouri football coach, had this to say at SEC media days about Joe Paterno:

“Joe Paterno’s a friend that I got to know professionally, and you can’t take away the greatness of this man. He was a great man. However you analyze this, you can’t erase all that this guy’s done. You can’t do that. Nobody can do that. I think when you come out of such a tragic situation, certainly involving children and the magnitude of this in our country from a media standpoint, I anticipated really what happened. I anticipated that they would do this. You’re not going to sit back there and say, ‘Well, just things happen.’ You’re not going to do that. They’re going to be firing, and people, they’re going to make statements and they’re going to point fingers, and that’s what I anticipated a little bit. But he was a great man, a good man. I’m sure he would, maybe if he” could “do it over again he would have followed up a few things. But don’t take away all this guy did, and to sit there and blame him for all this, I think is wrong.”

Hey Gary Pinkel, maybe you’ve been drinking again, but are you aware of something called the Freeh Report? Anyone dimly aware with the document and its findings would be reluctant to call Joe Paterno a “great man.” These are not the actions of a great man. Quit hanging out with Bill James and get a clue, Gary. [Columbia Tribune]

Previously: Gary Pinkel’s DWI Arrest Video

aroundtheweb

62 Responses to “Gary Pinkel, Missouri Coach: “You Can’t Take Away the Greatness of [Joe Paterno].””

1
KC Resident Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:06 AM
Stupid Slavers.
2
Liquor Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:08 AM
Someones opinion is different from mine!!! Get him!!! Pitchforks!!!
3
ButtersBC Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:11 AM
Hey Gary Pinkel, maybe you’ve been drinking again
Quit hanging out with Bill James
True art is finding ways to cram self-links in new posts and make it seem necessary
4
KC Resident Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:11 AM
Someones opinion is different from mine!!! Get him!!! Pitchforks!!!
We use guns.
/Shoots TBL’s server.
/Border War Joke.
5
JayhawkerJ Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:13 AM
Strong words from a man who won’t do great things in the SEC.
6
sousedbergin Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:14 AM
True art is finding ways to cram self-links in new posts and make it seem necessary
Objectivity reached as everyone is in agreement!
7
Dawgfather Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:15 AM
Apparently they were friends. You can’t really expect JoePa’s friends or family to be rational about this issue.
8
rittyrich Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:16 AM
Clicked on one of the links to recall what exactly Paterno knew. Found this sentence in an old Duffy piece –
Paterno and Spanier knowingly let a child rapist run amok for a decade to protect his football program.
Is that what the Freeh Report determined? That a) these men knew he was a rapist and that b) they didn’t say anything for the sole reason of protecting the football program? Or is it more likely, or perhaps just as likely that they didn’t say anything because they a) didn’t believe the accusations or b) had no idea to handle the situation or c) some combination of hundreds of other reasons, though none of them excusable given the severity of the crime?
All of the above probably went into Pinkel’s determination that Paterno is a great man along with Paterno’s other great acts, none of which would lead anyone to believe he would knowingly protect a child rapist. That determination is a personal one made by a man who coaches Missouri while in Birmingham to discuss SEC football. I’m ready for the media to once again do the same.
9
Caribou Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:17 AM
Friends, football fans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury JoePa, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones;
So let it be with JoePa. The noble Freeh
Hath told you JoePa was ambitious:
If it were so, it was a grievous fault;
And grievously hath JoePa answer’d it.
Here, under leave of Freeh and the rest, —
For Freeh is an honorable man;
So are they all, all honorable men, —
Come I to speak in JoePa’s funeral.
He was my friend, faithful and just to me:
But Freeh says he was ambitious;
And Freeh is an honorable man.
Gary Pinkle
/Anthony’d
10
ohheelyeah Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:19 AM
True art is finding ways to cram self-links in new posts and make it seem necessary
+1. No one gives a shit about what you said back in November. This excessive self-linking is no better than a Bleacher Report slideshow. Also, Pinkel probably has the moral high ground over Freeh, so you will receive zero points for trying to marginalize Pinkel by calling him a drunkard.
11
Liquor Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:19 AM
made by a man who coaches Missouri while in Birmingham to discuss SEC football. I’m ready for the media to once again do the same.
College football is pure evil, and this is the best straw man yet to make my arguments to shut it down.
/media’d
12
kaiserwilhelmreems is commenting too quickly Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:21 AM
Hey Gary Pinkel, maybe you’ve been drinking again, but are you aware of something called the Freeh Report?
outside of trolling to add another TBL link in the article, what does drinking have to do with this?
If Pinkle was a friend of JoePa, how do you expect he would react?
13
Grizz Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:21 AM
Bleacher Report slideshow
These are coming
14
Jason McIntyre Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:25 AM
Paterno and Spanier knowingly let a child rapist run amok for a decade to protect his football program.
Is that what the Freeh Report determined?
Yes, it is what the Free Report determined.
15
rittyrich Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:26 AM
College football is pure evil, and this is the best straw man yet to make my arguments to shut it down.
/media’d
No kidding. So the media can pat itself on the back like some of them did with the college football “playoff.” I think sportswriters love taking the moral high ground on issues because they’ve realized the accumulation of their life has led them to writing about 20 year olds chucking a football around and they have to inject trumped up charges of severity to increase the perception of their self worth.
/smiles and nods at comment
/ realizes this is a comment 24 people will read on a sports blog, finds comment applicable to self?
/ hits submit comment anyway
16
ohheelyeah Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:27 AM
outside of trolling to add another TBL link in the article, what does drinking have to do with this?
nothing. zilch. dick. nada.
If Pinkle was a friend of JoePa, how do you expect he would react?
you are seeking a reasoned, objective answer from a man who is clearly devoid of those traits when it comes to this topic. In this TBL fantasy land where everything is black and white, the Penn State Scandal would represent the TBL EIC and anyone who disagreed with the EIC would represent a commenter who was about to “say goodbye”. The fact that there are nuanced opinions on the matter trouble him to the point where he picks character flaws in other people to discredit their feelings on the matter. If only they would believe what they were supposed to believe, which is what I believe, we wouldn’t have this problem!!!!
17
TimmyTheEnchanter Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:28 AM
I think this post is goofy, as if every person who doesn’t hate Joe Paterno with every fiber of their being needs to be pointed out… but maybe the commenters can stop with the complaining about the backlinks? Guys, it’s really not easy to make money with a blog. One of the ways to help is to obsessively backlink to your work. It’s really not a big deal. If your life is massively disrupted because of this it may be a good idea to buy a Pepsi and chill for a few minutes.
18
rittyrich Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:29 AM
Yes, it is what the Free Report determined.
Really? So there were emails or mea culpas about the perpetrators mens rea related to the acts of covering up child rape for the specific purpose of protecting the football program? Even though any sane person could’ve predicted how much harm said cover up would do to the football program? Guess I need to read the Freeh Report.
/ Latin
19
Coach Mike Woodson, Atlanta Hawks Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:29 AM
I think sportswriters love taking the moral high ground on issues because they’ve realized the accumulation of their life has led them to writing about 20 year olds chucking a football around and they have to inject trumped up charges of severity to increase the perception of their self worth.
Generally speaking, it’ll be the sportswriters who hate sports (majority of them) that will be the most vocal on this.
What does GP’s DUI have to do with Joe Paterno?
20
SpongeHarris Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:30 AM
Wasn’t Paterno one of the first coaches to talk about the need for a playoff? You should at least give him some credit for that victory, no?
21
cleet Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:31 AM
Anyone dimly aware with the document and its findings would be reluctant to call Joe Paterno a “great man.”
JoePa was a good man that made a horrible decision. The decision will define him.
22
St. Bear Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:32 AM
Generally speaking, it’ll be the sportswriters who hate sports (majority of them) that will be the most vocal on this.
/combs through the past week’s posts
//yup
23
mizerle06 is sarah phillips Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:33 AM
What does GP’s DUI have to do with Joe Paterno?
GAWD DIDN’T YOU READ THE FREEH REPORT??
/TBL
24
Badger Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:34 AM
Guys, it’s really not easy to make money with a blog. One of the ways to help is to obsessively backlink to your work. It’s really not a big deal.
This blog has made at least one million dollars and it wasn’t because of self linking.
25
kaiserwilhelmreems is commenting too quickly Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:34 AM
@Ohheelyeah: that’s what i was getting at. not holding my breath for a response from the EIC.
26
ohheelyeah Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:36 AM
but maybe the commenters can stop with the complaining about the backlinks? Guys, it’s really not easy to show everyone how awesome/right you are on every topic. One of the ways to help is to obsessively backlink to your work. It’s really not a big deal. If your life is massively disrupted because of this it may be a good idea to buy a Pepsi and chill for a few minutes.
FTFY. Also, I don’t come here to fatten TBL’s wallet. I come here because I enjoy the comment section, some of the original writings and interviews, and because it’s one of the best sports blogs around. Now, with that being said, I will hold TBL and his staff accountable when they overplay their hand and I will voice my agreement or disagreement when I deem it necessary. No one is saying that TBL can’t make money by backlinking, but you can’t say we can’t loathe the idea.
27
KC Resident Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:37 AM
TBL puts Halle Berry in the round-up and now she is in the ER. Coincidence?
28
kaiserwilhelmreems is commenting too quickly Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:37 AM
This blog has made at least one million dollars and it wasn’t because of self linking.
Tiger Woods banging Denny’s waitresses was as lucrative to TBL as it was to Elin Nordgren.
29
ButtersBC Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:38 AM
Guys, it’s really not easy to make money with a blog. One of the ways to help is to obsessively backlink to your work. It’s really not a big deal
I just wanted to make a callback to the Roundup…you didn’t have to be mean about it
Also, Pepsi is the worst
30
kaiserwilhelmreems is commenting too quickly Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:39 AM
No one is saying that TBL can’t make money by backlinking, but you can’t say we can’t loathe the idea.
sound of the banhammer being sharpened off in the distance.
/starts looking into the bannin’ odds for a wager.
31
St. Bear Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:40 AM
Guys, it’s really not easy to make money with a blog. One of the ways to help is to obsessively backlink to your work. It’s really not a big deal.
In general I agree with you, though I think it’s funny to give TBL a hard time about it most of the time.
However, in this particular case, it’s an unwarranted character assassination by TBL that has nothing to do with what GP said. It’s the equivalent of calling someone a name because you can’t come up with a coherent response to their argument.
32
Some Random Old Dude Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:41 AM
TBL puts Halle Berry in the round-up and now she is in the ER. Coincidence?
What say you, Wayne Fontes?
OBTW: Halle is amazing. Crazy? “I like ‘em crazy”.
/Miranda Lambert’d
33
scripty Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:42 AM
TBL puts Halle Berry in the round-up and now she is in the ER. Coincidence?
HEY! That’s Wane Fontes Safari’s schtick.
34
phillymantis915 Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:44 AM
/starts looking into the bannin’ odds for a wager.
Ohhellyeah has just dropped from 15:1 to 11:1.
35
TimmyTheEnchanter Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:44 AM
I just wanted to make a callback to the Roundup…you didn’t have to be mean about it
I’m still mad about your Giants tweet during the All-Star game.
36
BFFredo Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:45 AM
So far, it sounds as if JoePa was a “great coach” and a “so-so man.”
37
ohheelyeah Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:47 AM
Ohhellyeah has just dropped from 15:1 to 11:1.
It’s ohheElyeah to you, chief!
/spits
//hates calling people chief
///apologizes in private afterwards
38
sousedbergin Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:48 AM
it’s the equivalent of calling someone a name because you can’t come up with a coherent response to their argument.
I don’t think being a successful football coach for a long time absolves your of your moral responsibilities to prevent children from being raped for a decade. Which I mean really would have been really fucking simple to do.
you can’t erase all that this guy’s done
Yes you can and should.
39
Roethlishotdog Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:49 AM
But don’t take away all this guy did, and to sit there and blame him for all this, I think is wrong.”
There is absolutely nothing wrong with this statement. Joe’s massive failures related to Sandusky do not erase his previous laudatory acts, they counterbalance them. Also, Pinkel (I’m assuming) is pointing to the fact that Joe is essentially being tried as the sole “conspirator” in the court of public opinion in comparison to Curley, Schulz and Spanier and the actual pederast.
40
phillymantis915 Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:49 AM
It’s ohheElyeah to you, chief!
Sorry about that. Busy day at work…
/spits
//hates calling people chief
///apologizes in private afterwards
No need for all of that…still 11:1.
41
cleet Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:49 AM
Pinkel and Einhorn, Einhorn and Pinkel.
42
A.P. Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:50 AM
Cleet, he didnt make just one horrible decision. Thats just a bullshit spin loyalists continue to say. He made repeated decisions to not do the right thing. They all did.
43
St. Bear Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:51 AM
I don’t think being a successful football coach for a long time absolves your of your moral responsibilities to prevent children from being raped for a decade. Which I mean really would have been really fucking simple to do.
Then that’s what TBL should have written, instead of calling GP a drunk.
44
Jason McIntyre Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:52 AM
FTFY. Also, I don’t come here to fatten TBL’s wallet. I come here because I enjoy the comment section, some of the original writings and interviews, and because it’s one of the best sports blogs around. Now, with that being said, I will hold TBL and his staff accountable when they overplay their hand and I will voice my agreement or disagreement when I deem it necessary. No one is saying that TBL can’t make money by backlinking, but you can’t say we can’t loathe the idea.
well said. i agree with all of it.
everyone can voice their disagreement … until they cross the line (nobody knows what the line is, not even me! One of those ‘know it when you see it’) and get the boot.
Use good judgment, don’t get personal, you’ll be fine.
It’s most productive to stay on topic, but … well, you know
45
mizerle06 is sarah phillips Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:53 AM
It’s most productive to stay on topic, but … well, you know
fix your site, Jason.
46
St. Bear Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:54 AM
Jason, do you feel that Gary Pinkel’s drinking had any influence on his comments? Do you feel the fact that he got pinched for DUI 8 months ago diminishes his credibility?
47
Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez has the highest WAR evah! Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:55 AM
Pinkel is right. Long after TBL gets tired of trying to win some blogger Pulitzer on this story, long after commenters get tired of trying to out outrage the next commenter with unsubstantiated claims, the good works Paterno did will still be there.
48
cleet Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:56 AM
AP, just wrote a rally long and well thought out and articulate response to your commet, but I forgot to copy it. So I’ll just say I’m no a loyalist as my previous comments on these posts can attest, and I was talking about the decision regarding Sandusky as a whole and it’s just semantics.
49
sousedbergin Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:57 AM
good works Paterno did will still be there.
Did he cure fucking aids because his moral failures seem far, far, far greater than a fucking game.
50
BFFredo Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 10:59 AM
Pinkel is right. Long after TBL gets tired of trying to win some blogger Pulitzer on this story, long after commenters get tired of trying to out outrage the next commenter with unsubstantiated claims, the good works Paterno did will still be there.
As will the victims of Jerry Sandusky
51
Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez has the highest WAR evah! Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 11:13 AM
Did he cure fucking aids because his moral failures seem far, far, far greater than a fucking game.
The good he has done can be substantied much easier than the conclusions you’ve derived from a grand jury report and a school paid for investigation where none of the key witnesses were interviewed.
52
jmendoz2 Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 11:16 AM
Friends, football fans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury JoePa, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones;
So let it be with JoePa. The noble Freeh
Hath told you JoePa was ambitious:
If it were so, it was a grievous fault;
And grievously hath JoePa answer’d it.
Here, under leave of Freeh and the rest, —
For Freeh is an honorable man;
So are they all, all honorable men, —
Come I to speak in JoePa’s funeral.
He was my friend, faithful and just to me:
But Freeh says he was ambitious;
And Freeh is an honorable man.
Gary Pinkle
We quoting Shakespeare here now?
53
JDiddy3000 Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 11:16 AM
I get sick of this “Paterno was a good man” bullshit. How do most of us know this? We don’t. We don’t know these people, all we know is their PR persona and second and third-hand accounts. We are fed information by reporters, people with either pro or con agendas. I fucking can’t stand when people say dumb shit like “John Doe is a great guy, I really like him”, no you don’t, you may like how John Doe plays a sport or acts in a movie, but you have no idea what the person is like, so get the fuck off his jock and don’t be shocked down the road when you find out he has a crazy kneecap fucking fetish and like to drink cum cocktails, or whatever. We do this all the time in Seattle. We kept a shitty Mariners team together for too long because we liked Boone, Edgar, and Wilson, even when they were old and shitty. We won’t ditch Ichiro because he’s a really nice dude. The Hawks went in the shitter because the old GM wanted “character guys” – fuck that shit, I want my football players to be fucking assholes, not Shuan Alexander and 5’7″ Kelly Jennings (who is swell because he had two degrees in college, woo-fucking-hoo!) Fuck Paterno, fuck anyone that plays up the good guy shit, just coach football and try to keep your clown staff from fucking little boys.
54
Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez has the highest WAR evah! Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 11:19 AM
Pinkel is right. Long after TBL gets tired of trying to win some blogger Pulitzer on this story, long after commenters get tired of trying to out outrage the next commenter with unsubstantiated claims, the good works Paterno did will still be there.
As will the victims of Jerry Sandusky
yeah, lets just remember they’re Sandusky’s victims. From all of the stories and headlines on here and other outlets, you would think they were Paterno’s. (yeah, I know the drill by now. whenever you guys reach that dip in the road, you’ll always have the “moral failure” bridge to fill the gap)
55
Walking Underwear Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 11:30 AM
can we get a little something on the NFL referee labor problem? might be an issue in a couple months
56
ButtersBC Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 11:36 AM
From all of the stories and headlines on here and other outlets, you would think they were Paterno’s
That’s a straw man, it’s possible to recognize both that Sandusky was a monster and that Paterno et al fucked up on a smaller scale and are deserving of appropriate judgment which includes no longer thinking of them as great human beings
57
Walking Underwear Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 11:41 AM
fucked up on a smaller scale
infinitesmally smaller tho. and i will raise that argument that sandusky was/is sick (likely) while the others’ decisions and inactions are not symptomatic of any sickness that my limited grasp of psychology is aware of
58
ButtersBC Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 11:53 AM
infinitesmally smaller tho. and i will raise that argument that sandusky was/is sick (likely) while the others’ decisions and inactions are not symptomatic of any sickness that my limited grasp of psychology is aware of
The second part would make the argument that the first is incorrect since because he couldn’t control himself it was on those who knew his sickness to put an end to it since he wasn’t about to do so himself
59
BFFredo Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 12:03 PM
yeah, lets just remember they’re Sandusky’s victims. From all of the stories and headlines on here and other outlets, you would think they were Paterno’s. (yeah, I know the drill by now. whenever you guys reach that dip in the road, you’ll always have the “moral failure” bridge to fill the gap)
There is a medium ground in this that places the blame squarely on Sandusky for his crimes while acknowledging that he might have been stopped sooner had the Penn State hierarchy responded better. Unfortunately, neither the crowds outside State College nor the groups inside of it care to reach for it. And they likely won’t for a long time.
60
Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez has the highest WAR evah! Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 12:25 PM
That’s a straw man, it’s possible to recognize both that Sandusky was a monster and that Paterno et al fucked up on a smaller scale and are deserving of appropriate judgment which includes no longer thinking of them as great human beings
It being possible to recognize both and it being practiced are two different animals altogether. In this case it has not been practiced. No one knows what Paterno knew. There isn’t anything out there that shows definitively that Paterno was part of some grand coverup. You have an email where one of the administrators says “I talked to Coach yesterday……”. What did Coach say? What did you say to Coach to illicit his response on which you decided that it was best not to notify the authorities? None of those questions were asked or answered.
61
Walking Underwear Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 12:36 PM
The second part would make the argument that the first is incorrect since because he couldn’t control himself it was on those who knew his sickness to put an end to it since he wasn’t about to do so himself
not sure what you;re saying. you said paterno et al was a smaller scale and i was agreeing but emphasizing i think it’s not much smaller because whereas he had control issues, their choices were cold (fucked up) logic
62
dikembemutomballs Says:
July 18th, 2012 at 4:12 PM
can we get a little something on the NFL referee labor problem? might be an issue in a couple months
Nah the media are too busy grinding the axes they’ve been sharpening for Paterno over the last few years (‘Fire him, he’s…he’s….he’s OLD!’) to focus on any relevant stories these days.