The anti-Paterno argument is that he should not have looked the other way, if that is indeed what happened, when other human beings ? in this case, young children ? could have been in danger.
What could Paterno have prevented?
To a different degree ? maybe not more, maybe not less ? a question about ?lack of responsibility? could be asked of anyone who has been around the Antonio Margarito situation in recent years.
Who knew he was loading up his gloves, and if anybody was around who could have prevented it, should that not have been done?
After all, there is an expectation that is harbored on the part of a fighter about what kind of hurt he could be in for when he steps into the ring. He knows that any punch could hurt him, but he when he signed on the dotted line, he didn?t sign up to get hit with bricks, or anything like it.
You could literally kill a guy in there. At the very least, you can scar them up to the point where there is no recovery. The psychological scarring could be just as bad as the emotional scars incurred. You could have asked Billy Collins about it, but that?s not possible anymore.
It?s assault with an even deadlier weapon than usual, and for that reason, everyone who knew about it and didn?t step in should be held responsible, as a general rule.
Of course, just as John Sandusky is the MOST responsible party in the whole Penn State situation, the MOST responsible party here is the guy who has thrown punches with loaded gloves.
That?s why, regardless of eye problems or anything else, I would take a long hard look at licensing Antonio Margarito, under any and all circumstances.
I cannot be definite about whether Margarito loaded up the gloves for his first fight with Miguel Cotto. I figure he could have won anyway, but maybe I?m wrong. That ?secret weapon? is one of the most powerful one can have inside the ring, and the only case where it would be immaterial is if you couldn?t catch up to the opponent to hit him, as was the case after they headed him off at the pass before Shane Mosley.
The point is that it is kind of ridiculous, when you think about it, to let someone fight again, and beyond that to even reward them, after having done something like that, whether you caught him before the act or not. Not only was the guy cheating, but he was doing it to the extent that he showed reckless disregard for the well-being of anyone else. Do you really think that having him sit out a year was punishment enough? What happened to the jail term?
