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| Workers remove Joe Paterno statue. |
The N.C.A.A. announced significant penalties against Penn State and its football program Monday, including a $60 million fine and a four-year postseason ban, in the wake of the child sexual abuse scandal involving the former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.
The punishment also included the loss of some scholarships and the vacating of all of the team’s victories from 1998 to 2011, but stopped short of forcing the university to shut down the football team for a season or more, the so-called death penalty. Still, the penalties are serious enough that it is expected to take Penn State’s football program, one of the most successful in the country, years before it will be able to return to the sport’s top echelon.
The postseason ban and the scholarship restrictions essentially prevent the program from fielding a team that can be competitive in the Big Ten. The N.C.A.A. will also allow Penn State players to transfer to another university where they could play immediately, inviting the possibility of a mass exodus.
The N.C.A.A.'s penalty, announced by the organization’s president, Mark Emmert, is the latest action to stem from the scandal involving Sandusky, who was convicted last month of being a serial pedophile. The release of a grand jury report detailing Sandusky’s actions last November led to the firing of the legendary coach Joe Paterno; the removal of the university’s president, Graham B. Spanier; and charges against two other top university officials.
I have to say that there is no lack of victims here.
My heart of course goes out to the young victims of Jerry Sandusky's predation, but I also feel badly for the athletes who played for the Penn State football team, as well as the students that attended classes there, as they will now have to look back on their time in that school with a sense of remorse, if not shame.
Personally I think the NCAA did the right thing, perhaps they could have implemented their version of a "death penalty" but I am not sure if that was a necessary step considering how much damage this scandal, and the penalties already handed down, have already done to Penn State's reputation, and ability to conduct a successful football program.
So what do you think? Was this adequate or should the program have been completely dismantled?
WTF
ReplyDeletehttp://www.patheos.com/blogs/bristolpalin/2012/07/setting-the-record-straight/
As I’ve said before, I sometimes struggle to raise Tripp. However, he does NOT use slurs. On the most recent episode of Life’s a Tripp, the Huffington Post is reporting that my son said the word “f-gg-t.”
This is not true.
Let me be clear. I’m not proud of what he did say. Sadly, he used a different “f word.”
BUT WHAT DID SHE DO GIGGLE!!!!!!
So he said "I hate you, fucker"? Yeah that's marginally better.
DeleteSo Mom and the Aunt are the ones who use homophobic slurs, and the kid is the one with the potty-mouth. Like it matters. It's still evident how poorly this child is being raised.
DeleteI can't imagine any parent I know thinking "Hey, my kid didn't say f-gg-t, he said f-ck!" somehow exonerates their poor parenting skills.
Tripp needs a real mother-figure in his life not an immature, ignorant liar to reinforce any and all unacceptable behavior by her child. Tripp only mimics what he sees and hears from his maternal moron of a "mother" and his auntie Willow. Haha and a snicker, snicker here and there...but no actual parenting.
DeleteBristol is a slug and too lazy to learn at least SOME parenting skills. She thinks...well, she really doesn't do much of that at all. Poor Tripp is caught up in so much drama. He is not taught anything of value...and forget about good manners or respect by mommy dearest.
It's all foreign territory to the "adults" and that doesn't help Tripp at all. Calling Child Protective Services, there is a child who needs help and a mother in name only that needs your attention!
GOOD! I hope all the Palin enablers pay up the ya zoo or get years at a hard core private work prison.
ReplyDeleteNCAA is hoping to make it look like Penn State was an isolated case. Trying to keep the lid on the scandals in the rest of the college sports world.
ReplyDeleteIf Joe were still alive and coaching,I would say give the college program the "Death Penalty".If there is ANYONE left in their organization that was even remotely involved in the cover-up,fire their asses pronto(with no severance,etc). And,blacklist them from college/pro football for life.I feel bad for the young guys on the team,but,they have the option to transfer to other colleges to continue their college sports quest.The children who were molested don't have the chance for a re-do.What was done to them could have,should have,been prevented-if those assholes had not covered up for that bastard Sandusky.
ReplyDeleteI still prefer the death penalty, but these sanction will set PSU back at least 10-15 years. When Southern Methodist football got the death penalty back in the 80's it took about 20 years before they had a winning season again.
ReplyDeleteI hope the NCAA does donate that 60 million dollar fine to abuse charities.
Well, here is my opinion, and I would like to know if anyone shares it. It is not based on any allegiance to Penn State, or to Joe Paterno. Yes, I am a fan of football, how could I not be? Born and raised in Alabama ... and we had "the Bear", our own esteemed larger-than-life coach! But my opinion is just based on what seems right and just. And the actions of the NCAA are not right; they just aren't. I feel it in my gut. I think it was right to remove Paterno's statue. I think it was right (now that we know how complicit his role was) to ask Paterno to resign as well as the other administrators who were there during the time. But to punish, indeed, to shame the current football team, coaches, athletic directors for something they had no control over at all, and actions which were personal crimes against persons, I just feel the punishment does not fit the crime. This is unlike punishing a program following recruiting violations, or unethical fiscal transactions by a university or sports program, etc. I do know that for these crimes by Sandusky, and the coverup by those guilty of such, there is virtually NO punishment severe enough to erase what happened, to ever make it all right, or go away. I just feel to punish this team, this university is not right. It is just not right.
ReplyDeleteI live where for decades it has been the Catholic Church that hides pedophiles. It goes on and on. Who are always the victims? The innocent and good people. Just recently the local church had to pay some debts for their misdeeds. What do they do? Make the hardest working Nuns homeless and then ship them off. These women were very involved with helping the poor and doing so many good works. Never a show about it and not questionable behaviors. But they and the people who need them the most are punished.
DeleteWhen you return to earth, from your ethereal flight of fancy, we'll talk.
DeleteSorry, Daisydem, I disagree. I think a strong message needs to be sent, that this behavior will not be tolerated. Penn State football is rotten to the core, to have allowed this to continue for so many years. Even the janitors were afraid to speak out. This indicates a systemic problem at Penn State that is so deep it needs a strong response from the governing body. Furthermore, I believe we need to get some perspective in this country. I'm sick of the fanaticism towards sports. Good heavens, it's a bunch of guys throwing a ball around. As a female, I'm not even eligible to participate in male-dominated sports or earn the ridiculous salaries sports figures make. Why don't we get so worked up about academics, the real focus of a university? It seems education is secondary to the athletics, which is a big part of the problem. The fact that McQueary witnessed a child being molested, and did not physically intervene, says it all for me. Obviously the culture at Penn State was to protect the football program at all costs. How else could McQueary walk away from that poor boy while he was being molested? There is no punishment severe enough for an institution that would allow that to continue.
DeleteIt is right. Universities get sanctions all the time for what went before. Look what they did to Michigan's basketball program well after the Fab Five had done their damage. It has taken us years to claw our way back. If you do not punish the program that allowed this, why would it not happen again, or somewhere else?
DeleteLaprofesora,
DeleteI totally agree. I teach at a university that is having academic cuts in order to promote football. They just joined a new conference and are gutting programs that are not money-makers. WTF? What is the purpose of academia?
Football is entertaining, as are other sports. However, it is just a game. When we pour millions into entertainment, while cutting educational programs, we are doing a serious disservice to our communities. When we allow the "prestige" of football to overshadow crimes against children, and allow this to continue for years, then it becomes something more than criminal. It is an evil that must be dealt with.
I am glad that the players will be able to transfer. Hopefully they will be able to find scholarships. I also hope that this scandal doesn't affect other students as well. Could you imagine being an education/nursing/social work graduate doing interviews right now? You may have worked diligently in school, and you may have done great things, but that Penn State degree carries a certain taint, even though you had nothing to do with the scandal.
As a Penn State alum, I think these sanctions are both appropriate and wise. I hoped for the "death penalty" until I read James Carville's take yesterday--that the death penalty would hurt local businesses who rely on sports for their profits. In fact, on reflection, I think the death penalty would hurt them far more than it would hurt Penn State.
DeleteWhile this penalty will still impact the local businesses, I think it's more serious for the university and will have a more long-term negative effect on the football program, which is necessary.
I was stunned to hear that the $60 million figure is based on the ANNUAL amount the football program raises. I think the fine should have been higher.
I also think it was appropriate to strip Paterno of his "winningest" title. i hate sports but I always had the impression that he was a genuinely good man. I respected him for what he did for the school and the community. Now it seems there is strong evidence that he betrayed the most helpless, voiceless people in that community.
Oh, and yeah, I do feel like I have to apologize for going to Penn State, even though I went on full scholarship and never paid them a cent.
I think the punishment was just. As you mentioned, there are many students who will be plagued by this scandal having done no wrong. Really sad that one nasty human being could cause so much grief because he wanted to have sex with little boys. I say neuter the bastard.
ReplyDeleteReally sad that one nasty human being could cause so much grief because he wanted to have sex with little boys.
Delete~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``
Ah yes, but do you see? The BIGGER problem was that ADULTS KNEW ABOUT THE CHILD RAPES and allowed it to continue,
all in the name of football (which I love).
This was not "a mistake" that Joe Paterno made; it was THOUSANDS of mistakes, made by each one of these men.
Every second, every minute that they knew about these child rapes and STILL ALLOWED IT TO HAPPEN - THAT is not "a mistake".
One more thing ... I agree that there are no lack of victims here, for instance my son, avid football fan who has grown up looking up to Paterno as a legendary coach ... he is hurt by this, I don't know how he will feel about the sanctions. I think he thinks something did need to be done and he knew they specified yesterday, it would be unparalleled sanctions.
ReplyDeleteMy husband played for PSU and Joe Paterno. He is beyond livid about this scandal - I've never seen him so angry. The fact that the school put football above the rape of children is indefensible. He feels that they should have shut down the program for at least a few years on top of the fines they got today. There is nothing that will ever make him look fondly upon his time at PSU now that this has been exposed.
ReplyDeleteI can only imagine the anger that he feels - probably a sense of betrayal as well. This whole situation is so incredibly disgusting!
DeleteYour husband sounds like an upstanding and compassionate man. Thank Goodness,because your husband is proof positive that not all people in the PSU/Paterno fold would have continued the vile abuse and cover up,had they known out about it.
DeleteI hope Sandusky is informed of the NCAA ruling. He has brought shame to the program that coddled him, and let him bring his victims to their campus showers.
ReplyDeleteI am sure there are a lot of people who will say that this ruling is too harsh, and punishes the players, who had nothing to do with the crimes. BUT this sports program was so "untouchable" to the school's administration, they knowingly let a child predator use their school to host his crimes.
OT .. from DailyKos
ReplyDeleteLife's a Tripp showrunner Matt Lutz wrote in to say that Tripp's bleeped expletive was "fuck" and not "faggot." Lutz says that he was in the room at the time, and that he has reviewed the raw footage several times.
If they are serious they need to turn the tape over to authentic unbiased experts. Otherwise they are full of it.
DeleteThey can simplify this whole matter. Otherwise why would a sane person believe a chronic liar? Sarah could have proved with the Trig birth certificate but she didn't want anyone to know she did not give birth.
Why would Bristol think the other word makes a difference? I doubt a 5 yr old pays attention to word differences like that. This is really not about Tripp, he is a victim like other victims. It is about the adults who lie and cover up.
Show us the tape to prove the correct word. I think both are as bad and show what Bristol and Willow teach.
Why didn't they edit it, no matter what the word was? Those Paylins love them some drama, even if they have to use a child to get it.
DeleteDoes that make it better? No one was picking on Tripp. We all know that he is echoing what he hears from Bristol and Willow. Bristol already wrote that she doesn't know how to discipline Tripp and she asked for suggestions from her blog readers.
DeleteThe problem is that Bristol became a mother when she was still a kid. She was unprepared for her new responsibility, and she hasn't done anything to go about learning to be a good mother. She had no role model to follow, and it doesn't look as if aunts or grandparents offered much guidance either. Bristol told Greta that it was her decision to keep her baby. That made Tripp her responsibility, too, a responsibility that Bristol cannot handle.
Bristol taught Tripp to stick is tongue out at the photographer, so, surprise, he stuck his tongue out at her and Gino. He seems to hate everybody because he says it so often. I blame Bristol for laughing and thinking that it was cute instead of acting like the adult and explaining that certain words are just not nice words. "But, Mommy, you say it all the time." Maybe it's time for Bristol to grow up and stop acting like a three year old.
The Paylins were so tickled that they had a nifty sound byte:"We chose life." But did Brystil understand the level of commitment involved in making that choice? Apparently not. That's what's so offensive about the Paylins. They chose to have another prop for publicity, with no thought whatsoever to the responsibility involved in caring for that life. Did Brystil choose to learn how to be a good parent to her child? Did she choose to put the needs of her child before her own needs? Did she choose to foster a healthy relationship with the father of her son? She may have chosen life, but she failed miserably with every decision after that.
DeleteReally OT but, come on, Gryphen. Read what Bristol's ghost writer has come up with as the latest excuse. No, it wasn't that homophobic word. I think it was the real F-bomb.
ReplyDeleteSince more people are coming forward and filing complaints, the Penn State thing is NOT over! They may yet end up with the "death penalty".
ReplyDeleteAnd as far as I know, the suits from the victims haven't started yet! I'm hoping they are waiting until after the rest of the guilty people are convicted before they tear that place apart! That way they school cannot even think about a serious, successful defense.
I would be surprised if the NCAA addressed this again. There may indeed be more victims and more crimes, and certainly there will be civil suites. (Hint to PS - SETTLE BIG NOW.) But all this was part of an ongoing pattern. I think this is the end of it as far as the NCAA is concerned.
DeleteSome are saying that the punishment was "too harsh." If it were not for the fact that Paterno and university officials knew about the abuse and did nothing about it - or deliberately covered it up, the punishment would be harsh. But, to me, it is not harsh enough. Not for the lives that were destroyed by a monster and his enablers.
ReplyDeleteI care not that football players will have to transfer in order to achieve their dream of the NFL. Big fucking deal. They will be treated well wherever they go. There a untold numbers of young men who had their dreams crushed and they can't "transfer" to another place and start over.
Exactly.
DeleteAnd I went to PSU.
I'm satisfied with what they did; they are not a law enforcement agency.
ReplyDeleteNow the law needs to lay the hammer down on the folks who endangered children by keeping their mouths shut.
As a proud Penn State graduate, I believe the NCAA did the right thing. It was simply unavoidable that some perfectly innocent people- like the players, the current coaching staff, the faculty, the students and the State College community would be badly hurt. But Penn State had to be severely punished for the complicity and heartlessness of a few powerful people. No, I am not ashamed to have gone to Penn State and neither should the current students. It remains a first rate school with an inspiring faculty. Sadly, the best known and revered person at Penn State- Joe Paterno- was not a big man on campus at all. His priorities and decisions were born of greed and ego, I'm afraid.
ReplyDeleteI feel terrible for the victims. I also feel for the students. I really think sports should be a separate entity from the schools, at that level of competitiveness anyway. It should have no bearing or influence on the educational part of schools.
ReplyDeleteWell said.
DeleteMy husband and I have been saying this for years. As students at universities we both saw how much time and effort went into the sports teams over the rest of the students. At the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the hockey players would all take the same elective science courses, and pass a filled-out lab book from year to year. Some of the team members would even try to turn in completed labs prior to any actual lab period that week. There was nothing the instructors could do but take the filled-out lab away and make them really do it during an actual lab period. There was no punishment for cheating. The athletics director at the university would also call and harrass instructors when they would not artificailly up the scores of atheletes. I think these sanctions are a great start (I was hoping for the death penalty) to send a message to the university that there are more important things in life than the athletics department.
DeleteI am very happy that they took these steps including removing the statue of Joe Paterno. He was just as much as a diddler as Sandusky was. Covering all this up, whatever has happened serves him right
ReplyDeleteMaybe this can be a new beginning for Penn State, and they can focus on academics. While sympathy for students at Penn State is understandable, I seem to remember the same students rioting when the football program was criticized for the child abuse scandal.
ReplyDeleteO/T http://tinyurl.com/brancy-pants-on-fire
ReplyDeleteTripp does not use slurs? What is Nancy talking about? Tripp is slur free at his age, he just is so filled with anger and her repeats what he has been taught. They anger is clearly visible and often enough his behavior that they didn't have much film of him doing other things. Oh yeah, punching on Dino.
They are in total denial... 'he used a different f-word.' ? ? ? ? She never addresses the fact he has been shown as a brat for several shows. But the worst part is that she shows herself and Willow teaching him to be a brat and the bully tradition. She doesn't address the fact that she claims to have approved and been in control of the show. Constantly whining about Tripp being out of control while in a show that she is said to be in control. Why did she put that and the other scenes in for the Nation to witness? Does it matter much what f-word he uses? It isn't about Tripp, it is about how they exploit and abuse him and what they teach him.
The cameras caught a moment ? ? The child has continually said he hates and has an ugly attitude like a bully in making. Why would anyone put so many of a child's bad moments into a broadcast? Over a years time and all she could find for the show to air is the worst of Tripp? According to Brancy it is everyone, including Todd Palin's fault. Everyone except Willow and Bristol, not their fault. You all know that Sarah would never swear.
So what is new about blaming the left (like Huffington Post). Nothing. Someone tell Nancy that HP is hardly the left. What a feather in her crap that her 'I built this' video is going viral. I wouldn't know since I haven't checked it out and it is hard to believe a liar.
That was the most blatant lie of a blog post Nancy has written to date. Where is the Joe Paterno of the Palin World to tell us we don't know what we see or how wonderful the Palin family is in their own 'reality.'
Given that the Pres of PSU consented to the penalties, chances are that they were negotiated and Erickson was able to preserve the games because cancelling them would have damaged the area's economy which depends heavily on the half-ton of money that 100,000+ people can spend in 2 or 3 days for those 7 home games. And that doesn't count the number of sports bars and private gatherings throughout the state.
ReplyDeleteSo, what you're saying is that college sports have gotten "too big to fail". That's disgusting.
DeleteToo little, too late.
ReplyDeleteThis is far harsher than I expected from the NCAA, but entirely justified. This kind of behavior and its coverup for years cannot be tolerated. I think Happy Valley has been living in a bubble for too long now.
ReplyDeleteThe part that bothers me is the $60 million dollar fine. To whom is that money going? I'd rather have seen the money be allocated to pay for regular scholarships for non-athlete students and upgrades for staff and buildings. All to benefit the regular student body.
ReplyDeleteI heard it would be going to child-abuse prevention and victims. I hope that's true--I think it's the most appropriate use.
DeleteThe situation at Penn State is like the pedophile scandal that rocked the Catholic Church. Priests who molested children were not punished, nor were they removed form contact with kids. They were transferred to another church-- out of sight, out of mind. We have no idea how many thousands of kids were abused by we don't know how many priests. It was kept quiet by the higher-up officials. Eventually, some places have paid the price, millions of dollars in judgements against them.
ReplyDeleteAny time that the authorities are aware of a serious problem and cover it up, they guilty. And, they allow future abuse to take place, whether the abuse is done by a priest or a guy who just loved being around kids. The same thing happens when a company knows that financial abuse is going on and they cover it up. Now, it is catching up with those banks and lending institutions. The lesson that we learned from Nixon is that the coverup can be worse than the crime.
It's a death panel at the very least, giving current players an option to quit halfway through and go play somewhere else immediately there. Maybe perhaps, they aren't quitting Penn State which is so sorry a state today, but advancing in a different direction. Boys will be boys but there should be consequences to bad behavior. But I'll be back to flip-flop on this issue as soon as you can say Mitt Rawmoney.
ReplyDeleteGryphen, and other commenters here, I have to share this with you: just spoke to my son (who by the way thinks the NCAA did just what they had to do) who told me about a tweet he read yesterday : (this is so heavy, but perfect) "for those of you who are upset that they are taking Paterno's statue down, just look the other way and pretend it is not happening." Wow.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I live in Pennsylvania, and they're showing "The Walking Wounded" fixated on that stupid statue, bringing flowers and walking aimlessly with card board photos of life size Joe Pat in front of Beaver Stadium, "a Sad day for Happy Valley".
DeleteThey should have taken down Paterno's statue last Spring. They knew how it all played out when they renegotiated his severance and gave him more than he'd previously been given just to get him out the door.
ReplyDeleteFor that, for all the pain they allowed to happen, I don't think it's harsh enough, but it will do. I just find it very hard to believe that knowledge of these crimes was limited to the 4 - 5 administrators and coaches that have already been mentioned. Who are we kidding here? This kind of rumor goes around like wildfire in a young people's environment.
Anyone who was not involved should hold their head up high. They had nothing to do with it, and I for one don't blame them. Current and upcoming players should be able to transfer. Staff is and should be tainted. This program and this school knew what was going on. They let it happen in their facilities. I'd burn it to the ground and be done with it.
Huckabee: Boy Scouts Did The Right Thing Because Gays Abuse Children
ReplyDelete...The ignorance and homophobia of a learned and accomplish man like Huckabee is incomprehensible. Mike Huckabee was thew Governor of Arkansas from 1996-2007, he is an ordained Southern Baptist minister, he’s written several books, run for president, hosts radio and TV talk shows, and graduated magna cum laude in two and a half years. The man is not stupid.
Yet, here he is, guided by his belief in God, ready to pronounce that gays are pedophiles, and supporting Chick-Fil-A by starting a nationwide event designed to get people to eat there.
http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2-huckabee-boy-scouts-did-the-right-thing-because-gays-are-pedophiles/discrimination/2012/07/23/44359
National Same-Sex Kiss Day To Protest Chick-Fil-A Announced
http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/national-same-sex-kiss-day-to-protest-chick-fil-a-announced/politics/2012/07/23/44348
Why The Palin ‘Faggot’ Comment Matters
ReplyDelete...What the Palins say matter only because millions of Americans are listening, and accepting, without thought, what they say.
American Royalty is trashy. The Palins are trashy. As John Aravosis notes, “if Sarah Palin, or her unwed mother daughter, are going to lecture gay people about the needs of children, maybe they should start actually parenting their own children. Laughing when your kid utters a bigoted slur is not parenting.”
And laughing when your kid utters a bigoted slur while on national television is paving the way for more anti-gay hatred, bigotry, and violence.
When the slur comes out of the mouth of a four-year old, you can pretty much assume who put it in there in the first place.
http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/why-the-palin-faggot-comment-matters/politics/2012/07/23/44337
They are denying a bigoted slur. That is why it is imperative they release the tape to be examined. No hesitation if they want any credibility to remain.
DeleteTripp is a reflection on the Palins. When not performing and sometimes when performing he is locked up at the Palins. THAT IS WHERE HE IS LEARNING.
This is so horrific!
ReplyDeleteThree masked men broke into a woman’s house in Lincoln, Nebraska early Sunday morning, bound her with zip ties, carved the word “dyke” into her stomach, cut her all over her body, and set her house on fire with gasoline in an apparent hate crime. They also stay painted epithets and slurs on the walls of her basement (image, top.) After her attackers left, the unidentified woman managed to escape and crawl to a neighbor’s house...
http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/hate-crime-dyke-carved-into-lesbian-by-masked-men-who-break-in-set-house-on-fire/news/2012/07/23/44302
http://www.omaha.com/article/20120722/NEWS/120729858/1685#gay-lincoln-woman-says-attackers-cut-slurs-into-her-skin
The monetary penalty most likely hurts only students and academics and those who will sue Penn State and puts money into the league's football coffers. Overall, it is a reward. It should have been a one year suspension from all college athletics and 2-3 years for football.
ReplyDeleteWhile we are occupied with the Paterno statue and the fine and punishment, the larger possible crime goes unaddressed: it it true or false that Sandusky's actions were part of a pedophilia ring for VIP donors?
ReplyDeleteThat would sure be consistent with flying the abused boys to distant games. And with Paterno saying, early on, that there was more to this story and that he had a lot of "dirt" on Spanier. And with Spanier caving so quickly to the super-sweetened retirement package that Paterno negotiated as the scandal was emerging in the press. And the family's wish to have ALL the emails made public. And the early statement by Madden, who outed the scandal on radio early on, who said there would be another shoe to drop, later. And what about the disappeared Ray Gricar, who was investigating all of it years earlier?
I wish an investigation would put this to rest. It's just the sort of reason that explains why a cover-up was extended to Sandusky all along.
I wish someone cared to discuss, confirm, deny, or just address this very loose end that actually might dwarf the current scandal.
Well put, Anon 1:20pm. Jailing Sandusky and penalizing Penn State is the absolute minimum.
DeleteI would like to see every person associated with the Second Mile foundation questioned, every donor that had any access whatever to the children.
At Penn State, I would look at every person in authority associated with the football program.
My guess is that early on, earlier even than the first complaint, Paterno knew there was something "off" about Sandusky.
Paterno didn't attend Sandusky's "retirement" party, and even though Sandusky was supposed to be an excellent defensive coach, Sandusky was never offered a job at any other college.
I have a sick feeling that MANY in the college football network heard whispers of the abuse, but none of them was man enough to pick up the phone to call child protective services, and put a leash on that monster. These boys were 10 and 11 years old, for god's sake.
We are in general referring to the abused witnesses in the trial, but I understand there were 10 more abused witnesses ready to testify. We can only guess at how many others were abused over all these years. Perhaps some will speak up re whether they were passed around to VIP donors. Of course, if I were such a donor, I would be making very sure I have offered a large sum of cash plus some threat as well to my victim. And ditto to Penn State to keep that part of it covered up. If it is true, a pedophilia ring will be very hard to prove. The fact that no one in charge mentions this rumor, to deny it ON THE RECORD, makes me all the more suspicious.
DeleteCompletely dismantled
ReplyDeleteI attended undergrad at one of the Big 10 schools and experienced more than I ever wanted to with the football program. I lost all respect and to this day, can't really appreciate college sports. My housemates were part of a group of cute and social football groupies. There were refereed to as "Angels" and were instructed by the coaches to escort and entertain new recruits. One of my housemate actually had some academic smarts (most Angels were dumb as doorknobs) and she provided tutoring for some of the players. I remember a second string quarterback that couldn't put a sentence together to save his life. Our off-campus house was constantly overrun with players and staged parties every weekend for a while. I lived in the house for less than a full semester and moved out after the noise violation was put in my name to avoid hauling underage drinkers off to jail. I, of course, was at work at the time. We had players showing up in the middle of the night and threatening girls in the house. After I moved out things really escalated until someone was raped in one of the neighboring apartments. A number of times I tried to counter some of this activity, only to come up against forces far more powerful than I imagined and local enforcement less than helpful. This really needed to happen to Penn State. It wasn't just a few that turned their heads and allowed this exploitation to continue.
ReplyDeleteTripp Palin, Age 3, Uses Gay Slur on "Bristol Palin: Life's a Tripp"
ReplyDeletehttp://www.aol.com/video/tripp-palin-age-3-uses-gay-slur-on-bristol-palin-lifes-a-tripp/517424097/?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl13%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D182984
I think this is unfair.
ReplyDeleteTo vacate all of the wins blames all of the players for the guilt of the coach. Were they ALL in collusion? Did they ALL commit the crime? Did they all know and say nothing?
This goes beyond guilt by association. They are all being sentenced by association too. And retroactively since they're vacating 12 years of the team's record.
Fine the school. Give them a year or two's suspension. But I think this is way overkill and just punishes more innocent victims.
Waaaha, poor "victims"...under-educated spoiled athletes. Schools are for learning, not for making everyone else pay for a bunch of cry-baby grown men to wallow around.
DeleteVacating the wins is purely symbolic. No one will begrudge the former players for touting their real records. However, Penn State can no longer use its record to advertise, fundraise, or recruit.
Delete5:07: And Joe Paterno will no longer retain the title of the "winningest" coach in NCAA football history--a symbolic but significant loss to Penn State.
DeleteI think it should have been given the death penalty as well. Time to show that sports are not the be all and end all in the US. Make an example. This atrocity was allowed to go on forever to protect a stoopid game.
ReplyDeleteI do disagree with negating the wins for the past players. They were totally innocent and deserve the Bowl wins. Paterno does not though, and I am glad that he is no longer the winning-est coach in college football history. I wish there was a way to negate the wins for him but not the players.
I also think the monetary fine should be higher.
Why would Penn State as an institution even WANT to go on with a football program right now. It's over. It's disgraced. Why even try to rebuild? Focus on something else.
What are college sports? Just the professional teams (you know, the ones owned by millionaires) rooking the schools into paying for their farm teams. The poor fools who go to college to actually learn something end up footing the bill for a bunch of over-pampered, under-educated football players.
DeleteOn the flip side, I attended grad school at Penn State and taught classes there. I never had a football player in class, but I had students in other athletic programs, such as track. They had a love-hate relationship with the football team--resented the attention and the top priority the football players got, but also said football proceeds funded the rest of the sports teams too. PSU had very generous packages for grad students and TAs, which I suspect also came at least in part from football profits. So it was a mixed bag.
DeleteNone of that is to vindicate PSU. And I worked at another, smaller college where the hardworking students really were paying for a bunch of spoiled athletes to attend for free. But the Penn State football program raised huge amounts of money for the school, rather than draining the coffers. This is why I think the financial fine is very appropriate.
Penn State may be one of the rarest of the rare, a place where sports actually make money, but by far sports cost schools far more than they bring in, in income. Sports also brings in a lot of undesirable behavior from "students" who aren't academically prepared for college and are led to believe they're gods, accountable to nobody for their actions. Let the NFL run their own farm teams and stop making college students pay for it.
DeleteI say flood the stadium and turn it into a bass pond. Actually carp would be a better message.
ReplyDeleteGRAPHIC WARNING
ReplyDeleteThe administrators and coach at the school allowed more 10 year old boys to be fucked in the ass, until their rectums bled.
Penn State got off light .. I would have banned football for at least 25 years.
You're being much too magnanimous and generous. Penn State KNEW since last spring "the other foot" was about to come down. I'm sure if they took the first step themselves, took the statue down and imposed some kind of penalty on their own, the NCAA may not have come down so "hard" on them.
ReplyDeleteBut they didn't, and the NCAA should have tossed the "Death penalty" at them.
Instead, the school spoke of remodeling the locker areas "sometime next spring" and pouring over the indictment to "make changes so this never happens again"
Remember when they wanted to postpone the trial so they could play football? Money and a possible win meant more to them than getting the truth out.
They turned a blind eye, all of them, to the sexual and emotional abuse of kids so "Jo Pat" could make "Happy Valley" proud by being "The winningest coach in college football history". They turned a blind eye and allowed Sandusky access to the outer showers and the kids.
As a State College, I'd like an inquiry done on the board of trustees, where Ed Rendell once sat, and Governor Corbett now sits, on what they knew, when, and what, if anything, they did to "fix" the situation.
... wonder what they did with that statue of Joe Paterno?
ReplyDelete