What had been reported to him was a criminal offense. If someone who "answers" to you tells you of a criminal offense, are you simply going to push it up the food chain or are you going to make sure the people who are charged with responsibility to deal with this (THE POLICE) are actually aware of it and pursuing it? Maybe you support cover ups ....
No, I don't support "cover ups", but searching for "fly droppings" in a black pepper wharehouse seems a an excessive, perhaps obsessive effort to me. You are entitled to your opinion, but not your own facts. Let's get back to reality; McQuade told Paterno he saw what he considered improper, admitting he left out a lot of details, so what he said exactly, we don't know. That "report" was obviously troubling enough, although uncorroborated, admittedly lacking detail that Paterno IMMEDIATELY reported it to his superior, who subsequently met with McQuade to get the report 1st hand.
Coach Paterno had no business, no place nor any reason to attend that meeting as he had NO DIRECT information to add to it. I won't speak for you, TXMike, but I've learned, and expect, those who work for me, to bring problems involving our work environment TO ME, rather than decide when to go over my head, at which point I decide how to address the problem further. My superiors would expect me to follow a chain of command sequence as well, especially on a sensitive matter that HAD YET TO BE CORROBORATED.
This was not a work team situation, as Mr. Sandusky was retired and no longer part of this work group, or in any way Coach Paterno's responsibility. Aside from a long, inactive, former work relationship there was no connection. I'm willing to accept that Coach Paterno understood the "chain of command" at PSU a lot better than you, or I, and referred the matter to the level he believed best able to deal with it. Without DIRECT knowledge of a crime being committed, it's better to KNOW what you're talking about prior to involving police. Why McQuade didn't go directly to police is a whole different matter.
You may have chosen to leap onto a white charger and ride off a cliff, BEFORE a serious allegation was substantiated, but Coach Paterno decided to handle it, far more appropriately and involve his superiors for investigation and verification before reporting it TO THEIR SUPERIORS, which in this instance should have included police if the allegation appeared credible.
Not to be forgotten, the subsequent police investigation, which included a lot of facts and details generally unknown to the public, concluded Coach Paterno's handling of the situation was APPROPRIATE. The fact a State Police representative, offered an opinion way beyond his grasp or authority, only served to needlessly inflame the situation with a really stupid and inappropriate personal assessment.
You, TXMike, clearly have a burr up under your saddle about something, and throwing stones at Joe Paterno isn't likely going to help clear it. None of us are perfect, including Coach Paterno, but considering the legacy he clearly leaves behind and the positive impact he left on a huge number of people, it just doesn't seem worth a lot of effort to focus on a circumstance, clearly outside his direct involvement or control, that in his own hindsight, he admits he would have liked to have handled differently.
Joe Paterno is gone, RIP.