Freeh Report: Joe Paterno and Top Administrators Knew Everything

Published Jul. 12, 2012 1:00 a.m. ET

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Today Joe Paterno's legacy came crumbling down.

His statue may follow. if he was still alive he'd likely die in prison. That's because Paterno lied to the grand jury and obstructed justice in a massive cover-up that went to the height of college athletics hypocrisy.

In a scathing report released just minutes ago -- the site immediately crashed -- but we already have the quick takeaways here: Freeh's report cited a "callous and shocking disregard for child victims" as well as a "total disregard for safety and welfare" on behalf of Penn State president Graham Spanier, athletic director Tim Curley, vice president Gary Schultz, and former head coach Paterno.

In particularly damning evidence the report uncovered that Paterno and other top officials were aware of the 1998 sexual assault allegations. All men have publicly lied about this fact before now. The Freeh report says that Paterno followed this 1998 investigation closely "but failed to take any action."

From a May 1998 email with the subject line "Jerry' athletic director Tim Curley wrote to Schultz: "Anything new in this department? Coach is anxious to know where it stands."

Penn State conducted its 1998 investigation, and I'm not making this up, while Sandusky sat on a weight bench in the facility. The interview was conducted in a comfortable setting "so as not to put Sandusky on the defensive."

The report also concludes that Paterno and Penn State allowed Sandusky to retire 'not as a suspected child predator but as a valued member of the Penn State football legacy."

In maybe the most shocking revelation of all, only Curley even spoke with Sandusky about the 2001 charges, they just notified his charity of the shower -- which determined it was a "non-incident" and took no action -- and took away his keys to the building.

Shockingly, on October 29, 2011 -- when Joe Paterno set the all-time coaching record Sandusky was sitting in the Nittany Lion club. Yep, he still had free season tickets.

From 2000 to 2008 Penn State even allowed Sandusky to continue his youth football camps on campus.

That completely boggles the mind.

This is the greatest sports scandal in American history.

Last week I wrote that if Joe Paterno was still alive it's likely he'd face felony charges, in light of this report that's 100% true.

I'll continue to update this page as I read more of the report, but rest assured of these facts:

1. There was a cover-up at Penn State.

2. Joe Paterno and others lied their asses off to protect themselves at the expense of children.

For those looking for an NCAA angle, consider this portion of the report that hints at NCAA violations for a failure to disassociate Sandusky from the program. In particular, the report notes that in 1997 an agent who bought $400 in clothing was quickly disassociated but nothing was done to Sandusky. Said president Graham Spanier "the agent fooled around with the integrity of the program and I won't allow it."

God forbid a kid get free clothes.

Last week I wrote that every Paterno win since 2001 should be stripped. After reading this report, I was too generous. If he was still alive, it's likely Joe Paterno would end his life in jail.

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You can read the final report here.