Boston, MA (Sports Network) - The Red Sox issued a public statement Monday
afternoon in response to the ESPN Radio interview given by adviser Bill James
over the weekend in defense of Joe Paterno and the child sex abuse scandal
that has engulfed Penn State.
"Red Sox owner John Henry and Executive Vice President/General Manager Ben
Cherington spoke to Bill James regarding him making public his personal
opinions on Joe Paterno," the statement read. "In that call, Mr. James was
informed that his comments in no way reflect the opinions or positions of the
Red Sox. Because Mr. James is perceived as representative of Red Sox, he was
asked to refrain from further public comments on this matter."
Over the weekend, James said he read the Freeh report, the 267-page document
that concluded that Paterno, Penn State President Graham Spanier, athletic
director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz "failed to protect against
a child sexual predator harming children for over a decade."
James disagreed with the premise that Paterno should have done more to bring
Jerry Sandusky to justice and make sure he was held accountable. James argued
that Penn State assistant Mike McQueary should have gone directly to police
instead of his superiors after witnessing Sandusky sexually assaulting a young
boy in the shower.
"It's very hard, in fact it's impossible, to explain why Paterno should have
been the person to go to the police," James told ESPN Radio host Doug
Gottlieb. "Paterno didn't see anything. Paterno was not the reporting
authority. Sandusky did not work for Paterno. Paterno had no supervisory
authority over Sandusky. It's extremely difficult to explain why it was
Paterno's responsibility to go to the police. He knew less about it than
anyone else there."
Gottlieb countered that Paterno was in part responsible since he was the most
powerful man at Penn State, something James argued.
"Absolutely false," James said. "You're saying everything revolves around him.
It's total nonsense," James said. "(Paterno) had very few allies. He was
isolated and he was not nearly as powerful as people imagine him to have
been."
The Sports Network