One more thing...

There is a factor in this PSU situation that I think some forget (not Ryan... just "some"):

The sacred trust that educators are held to.

Penn State University has a sacred trust. It's primary role is as an institution of higher learning, where young minds are molded and broadened into more capable men and women ready to lead the world in action, thoughts and words. This is true of any learning institution, from pre-school to the highest level of graduate study.

The staff and teachers of this University must lead by example, and they cannot be guided and directed solely by the "letter of the law" simply because no body of law is ever 100% complete. It is impossible. If they cannot be guided and directed by purely "legal" aspects of the society they function in, then a moral and ethical standard must also be maintained and followed, strictly and completely.

Perhaps Paterno was acting within the legal framework established by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (of which the University is an departmental organization)... but one cannot deny that if that legal framework fails to adequately protect and defend the most helpless among society (in this case, pre-teen children), then that society can expect those associated with the University to follow a greater, broader framework of responsibility based on general principles of moral and ethical standards.

If Paterno did suspect what Sandusky was, then he failed to make sure he was removed entirely from the football program, its staff and students, and the University in general. That might not be spelled out in the legal framework of his position at the University... but it should be understood in a moral and ethical sense by any right-thinking individual hold that position.

If Paterno did NOT suspect or know anything about Sandusky (patently impossible, according to the grand jury testimony)... then he damn well should have, given the level of control and authority he had over that program, and indeed, the entire PSU campus.

Perhaps this was Paterno's one and only "bad judgement call"... but it was "bad" enough to injure and put at risk at least 11 (and counting) children over the course of the last 16 years... and these are only the kids that are allegedly abused while ON PSU property by Sandusky.

I think the right call was made. Paterno had to go. Period.