Lawrence O'Donnell, Michael Moore Weigh In On Penn State Scandal

Michael Moore appeared on Lawrence O'Donnell's show Wednesday night when the news broke that Penn State's Board of Trustees announced the firing of university president Graham Spanier and head football coach Joe Paterno.

A former assistant coach of the Penn State football team has been charged with 40 counts of sexually assaulting minors. Some of the incidents in question allegedly occurred on Penn State's campus, specifically in the football team's locker room. Paterno was made aware of at least once incident and reported it to the athletic department.

After cutting to the live press conference at Penn State, O'Donnell returned to his program and asked Moore to weigh in on the scandal that has rocked the university.

Moore said that it was an example of "the institution coming before a human being." Moore was referring to the fact that a victim's mother had filed a report with the university claiming that her son had been sexually assaulted by assistant coach Jerry Sandusky years ago. Moore said that university officials had known "something was up" for over a decade, and are now "offering up" Paterno "to somehow clear [them] of [their] failure to do their job..."

O'Donnell said that there seems to be an "American denial of responsibility when you get to very large institutions," and likened this to Occupy Wall Street.

"Greed operates on many levels," Moore said. "It's blinding."

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Comments

[Binea]

11:27 AM on 11/15/2011

Dear Lawarence and Michale..DO NOT make this about "government will protect children from sexual abuse) BS

O'Donnell said that there seems to be an "American denial of responsibility when you get to very large institutions," and likened this to Occupy Wall Street.

"Greed operates on many levels," Moore said. "It's blinding."

Moore said that it was an example of "the institution coming before a human being."

ever heard of FOSTER CARE ? This has NOTHING to do with "greed" it has to do with human"spit" Nature. Why else would so many children be raped or molested in foster care ? Why would Social workers "pretend" nothing is happening ? why else would Mothers and step mothers pretend they don't know daddy likes his little girls a little too much ?

your using this child rape for political philo Pisses me off to no end.STOW it before you lose every last shred of credibility.
BTW ..The torture of children in Afghanistan ( probably rape as well) has been going on for years,U.N did an investigation..so WHY don't you REPORT on it huh ?
YOU are no better than coach Paterno.

http://wireupdate.com/news/un-report-finds-evidence-of-children-being-tortured-in-afghan-detention-facilities.html

[David Hundley]

01:26 AM on 11/15/2011

Things are so bad that Mike needs to make "SICKO TOO".

[hpblue5011]

05:37 PM on 11/14/2011

How come Larry didn't ask Mike about his 2 million dollar lake front home in Michigan?

[dahlia97]

05:57 PM on 11/16/2011

??
I'm not sure I get your point.
Large institutions committing fraud or ignoring their moral duty is equal to someone creating wealth thru. their labors?

Is that the point?

[Shikamaru]

01:42 PM on 11/14/2011

I'm sure its already been done... but ... boy those nittanies were sure a lion.

[cpsummer2457]

12:07 PM on 11/14/2011

The only thing wrong with this whole mess is they said Joe Paterno reported what he saw and the school chose not to pursue it. So when it came to light the administration needed an escape goat, they offered this man up as a sacrificial lamb. Even if this man didn’t say anything, to which he did, he should not be crucified, many people don’t report a crime for one reason or another, Joe wasn’t involved in the sexual act and should not be made to feel as he did. The school should be held accountable for their participation in ignoring the reports that were clearly brought to their attention a long time ago.

[david fugitt]

07:23 PM on 11/15/2011

IN other words it is to see a murder and pretend that you did not. IS that the right thing to do.How would you feel if it was your SON ? Joe still needed to report his knowledge of the situation.to the people not penn. people.So sad for him i have a great amount of respect

[cpsummer2457]

07:47 PM on 11/15/2011

Joe followed protocol, when you are hired on by a college they have procedures they have to follow or they risk losing their job anyway, so you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t, they should not have held him solely accountable, he went to his superiors, this man didn’t even witness anything, his associate did. So you’re saying it’s ok to shoot the messenger. Now if it were me, they would have been firing and arresting me because I would have beaten him within an inch of his life. My son would have not stood for it; he was in that situation and broke his attackers arm. But again everything depends on the individual, no two people react the same. I’m glad that the parents on the other hand are going after the school; they knew for years and did nothing, kind of like the priests. Cover ups don’t you just love it.

[Assumed Name]

10:25 PM on 11/13/2011

PSU students joking about being sanduskied (from another commenter):

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31751_162-57322400-10391697/victims-sister-penn-state-students-joke-about-being-sanduskied/

[Booklust]

01:26 PM on 11/13/2011

WHO exactly cares what Michael Moore has to say about anything?

[GiaMTL]

08:06 PM on 11/13/2011

I do.

[ydrittmann]

12:33 AM on 11/14/2011

Me.

[Maxx Webber]

11:38 AM on 11/13/2011

What did Michael weigh in at?

[Shikamaru]

01:36 PM on 11/14/2011

intellectual.... where as o'reiley, coulter and beck weighed in as: divisible by 0.

[the griff]

11:43 PM on 11/12/2011

This is a horrible story. I have two questions.
1- Why did an assistant coach witness the abuse in progress and not stop it?
2- Who received the complaint from the boys Mother in 1998?

[cpsummer2457]

11:50 AM on 11/14/2011

He did report it, the school chose to ignore it. Paterno was made aware of at least once incident and reported it to the athletic department.

[the griff]

04:53 PM on 11/16/2011

But why would a big 28 year old man not stop the act immediately?

[cpsummer2457]

06:48 PM on 11/16/2011

You are right, I'm talking about the Joe, the 28 year old couldn't took control, there was no excuse for that, so he should have lost his job but they only suspended him.

[asta1968]

07:55 PM on 11/12/2011

I still can't grasp a 28 year old man 6' 5" had to run home and call his dad. Hopefully he's living in shame.

Penn served children to a beast, when they could have stopped him (at multiple points) and come out looking like the Hero.

Although it was Children involved in this scandal, there are plenty of universities and colleges that treat adult rape on campus like it's the flu. It never gets reported to outside authorities. It's a mindset that they're little kingdom's unto themselves, especially when there's an athlete involved.

[the griff]

11:45 PM on 11/12/2011

I have the same question as you. Any normal human would have intervened. This guy still has his job. What's up with that?

[Peace Walker]

12:33 PM on 11/14/2011

Already a fan. Just so

[shankapotomus]

06:25 PM on 11/12/2011

They were probably involved.

[apt06]

01:19 PM on 11/12/2011

The rape of the black boys at PSU by the administration's cover-up is indictitive of the sodomization & victimization of the black male in the courts, institutions, & european cultures in general. Furthermore, it is alleged that Sandusky pimped these kids out to alumni of PSU. We have only seen the tip of the ice berg in these scandals.

[the griff]

11:46 PM on 11/12/2011

I agree with you. F&F!

[apt06]

01:11 PM on 11/12/2011

The rape of these black boys by the administration at PSU is eerily reminisicent of the rape of the black male by western civilization.

[ema123]

07:03 PM on 11/12/2011

Exactly where did you read that these boys were black?

[asta1968]

07:51 PM on 11/12/2011

Not all the children were black.

[GiaMTL]

08:13 PM on 11/13/2011

This isn't about black or white. Many boys were raped and it could have been stopped. This is tragic, period.

[Elrancho2]

08:47 PM on 11/15/2011

I read that eight of them were black.

[tidalwave4455]

12:56 PM on 11/12/2011

A lot of these kids come from broken and unstable homes. The parents have learned that the 'power structure' has no use for them. If the mother of the first kid molested by a coach at Penn State has reported it, the full weight of the University would have been brought against her. I am sure that they would have found plenty of reasons to say that she was lying ('all she wanted was money'). Look how the right castigated Ms Hill when she brought accusations against Clarence Thomas (and she was a lawyer and professor).

[ema123]

07:07 PM on 11/12/2011

The mother of the first kid did report it, and the prosecutor didnot prosecute sandusky claiming lack of evidence. A second mother also complained and nothing was done. A janitor witness abuse in 2000 in the locker rooms late at night and nothing was done. Now PSU looks far worse than if the simply addressed the problem in the very beginning despite tsome negativce press that would have resulted at the time. By not acting they have made themselves look far worse.

[the griff]

11:49 PM on 11/12/2011

I did not know abot the janitor. What would have been wrong with a mop handle up side of the head?

[staceyb74]

09:01 AM on 11/14/2011

Ok, I was totally on board with you until you brought politics into it. I am a registered Republican and it has nothing to do with the fact that innocent babies were raped under the guise of being mentored and a team of people covered it up to further their own agendas. This has nothing to do with right or left. This is about children and protecting them regardless of political affiliation.

[TheCoopScoop]

11:49 AM on 11/12/2011

It just proves that our University system does care more about money, power and its athletic's more than the kids.

[the griff]

11:50 PM on 11/12/2011

Its just typical of our new form of capitalism.

[Peace Walker]

12:35 PM on 11/14/2011

which is remarkably similar to our old form of capitalism

[hpblue5011]

05:40 PM on 11/14/2011

Took you this long to figure that out?