Boy this guy is a senior adviser for the Red Sox and James believes that Paterno did not have tremendous influence. Did Mr. James not notice the statue and murals and libraries honoring Joe Paterno? Not an astute observation Mr. James. Mr. James is an idiot. Kiley

'the media created this'? what planet are you living on James? the media helped to create the myth of 'joepa' the man who cared more about his university than his football team. what an absolute lie that was. he allowed a predator to freely roam around his precious campus while protecting what mattered most to him---his football empire. with any luck, his program will be shut down.

great at stats and he should remain on those. the media didnt hire Sandusky; Paterno was his boss. this creep is making up excuses just like 'she asked for it' OR 'she ran into a doorknob' OR 'geez, it was SO long ago' ... this "defense" of Paterno is nauseating and goes to prove that competence in a specific skill is no guarantee that a person is unable to be moronic in others. will someone at the Bosox shame him? dont hold your breath. creeps hang together. and the rest remain silent. and aint that the problem?

Absolutely unbelievable! For anyone to defend Paterno at this point is unconscionable. It was sickening enough to hear how the Paterno essentially extorted money and privilege from Penn State, but this too much. Maybe this savant can explain to us how Bernard Law was also an innocent bystander.

Like the people at the Kremlin on Yawkey Way who hired him, Bill James is totally divorced from reality and,hopefully, the Red Sox will issue a statement or maybe Carmine can do it, completelty divorcing themselves from this rather pathetic defender of Joe Paterno, who, according to the Freeh Reports and state evidence, allowed a sick man to continue to destroy the lives of children. If the Sox had any decency, he would be let go immediately. FAT CHANCE

Joe Paterno had an exemplary career as both a coach and a leader of young men. He stressed academics and proper conduct from his players. His players and their families loved and trusted him. This was to be his legacy. His fatal flaw was his unwillingness to admit unconscionable behavior from a man he trusted for years. I view this much in the context of parishioners who cannot accept that their priest had ever molested children. There is a massive denial caused by the cognitive dissonance that such an event creates. He was an 80 y.o. man who, I believe could not conceive of anyone abusing a child in that manner, not to mention is long time associate and friend. This is by no means meant as an excuse for his lack of aggressive action, it's meant to give some context to how and otherwise good man could let evil occur without facing it head on. In the end the real victim isn't Paterno, it was the children who he and especially the University who could not be said to suffer from Paterno's emotional conflict, who paid the price for the collective moral lapses of the adults.

His judgement of character is about as good as his ability to help the Red Sox.

Bill James should shut his mouth ...just incredible how out of touch some idiots are

Thank you Bill James.