Editing Bill James (section)

===Paterno controversy===
On November 4, 2011, [[Jerry Sandusky]] was indicted for committing sex crimes against young boys, which brought the [[Penn State child sex abuse scandal]] to national attention.  On December 11, 2011, James published an article called "The Trial of Penn State", depicting an imaginary trial in which Pennsylvania State University defended itself against charges of "acting rashly and irresponsibly in the matter of [[Joe Paterno]], in such a manner that [they] defamed, libeled and slandered Paterno, unfairly demolishing his reputation."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.billjamesonline.com/the_trial_of_penn_state/?AuthorId=3&Month=12&Year=2011|title=The Trial of Penn State}}</ref>

On July 12, 2012, the [[Freeh report]] was released, charging Paterno and three other University officials with covering up reports of sexual assaults and enabling the attacker to prey on other children for more than a decade, often in Pennsylvania State University facilities.  Soon afterwards, during an interview on ESPN radio, James claimed that the Freeh report's characterizations of Paterno as a powerful figure were wrong, and that it was not Paterno's responsibility to report allegations of child molestation to the police. "[Paterno] had very few allies. He was isolated and he was not nearly as powerful as people imagine him to have been."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/blog/boston/red-sox/post/_/id/20968/sox-advisor-bill-james-defends-paterno |publisher=[[ESPN]] |date=July 12, 2012 |title=Sox advisor Bill James defends Paterno}}</ref> When asked if he knew anyone who had showered with a boy they were not related to, James said it was a common practice when he was growing up.  "That was actually quite common in the town I grew up in. That was quite common in America 40 years ago."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/07/14/bill-james-doubles-down-on-the-joe-paterno-defense/ |publisher=[[NBC Sports]] |date=July 14, 2012 |title=Bill James doubles down on the Joe Paterno defense}}</ref>

The July 2012 interview comments were widely criticized.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://deadspin.com/5925694/someone-actually-thinks-the-freeh-report-exonerated-joe-paterno-and-its-bill-james |publisher=[[Deadspin]] |date=July 13, 2012 |title=Someone Actually Thinks The Freeh Report Exonerated Joe Paterno, And It's Bill James}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/kirk-minihane/2012/07/16/should-bill-james-be-fired |publisher=Sportsradio WEEI |date=July 16, 2012 |title=Should Bill James Be Fired?}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://lincolnmitchell.com/blog/2013/10/17/bill-james-gets-it-wrong-on-penn-state |publisher=The Faster Times |date=July 18, 2012 |title=Bill James Gets It Wrong on Penn State}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://deadspin.com/5926087/bill-james-showering-with-boys-was-quite-common-in-america-40-years-ago |publisher=[[Deadspin]] |date=July 15, 2012 |title=Bill James: Showering With Boys Was "Quite Common In America 40 Years Ago. |access-date=July 19, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120718034303/http://deadspin.com/5926087/bill-james-showering-with-boys-was-quite-common-in-america-40-years-ago |archive-date=July 18, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>  [[Rob Neyer]] wrote in defense of James.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/7/16/3161844/bill-james-joe-paterno-jerry-sandusky|title=Bill James and Joe Paterno|last=Neyer|first=Rob|date=July 16, 2012|publisher=sbnation.com|access-date=September 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120719090120/http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/7/16/3161844/bill-james-joe-paterno-jerry-sandusky|archive-date=July 19, 2012}}</ref>  James's employer, the Boston Red Sox, issued a statement disavowing the comments James made and saying that he had been asked not to make further public comments on the matter.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/blog/boston/red-sox/post/_/id/20987/james-asked-to-curb-paterno-talk |publisher=[[ESPN]] |date=July 16, 2012 |title=James asked to curb Paterno talk}}</ref>