Penn State Scandal Thread

[knapplc]

The Paterno family responds to the NCAA sanctions with the typical myopic response they've given throughout this saga:

 

Statement by the Paterno Family in response to the NCAA Sanctions:

 

Sexual abuse is reprehensible, especially when it involves children, and no one starting with Joe Paterno condones or minimizes it. The horrific acts committed by Jerry Sandusky shock the conscience of every decent human being. How Sandusky was able to get away with his crimes for so long has yet to be fully understood, despite the claims and assertions of the Freeh report.

 

The release of the Freeh report has triggered an avalanche of vitriol, condemnation and posthumous punishment on Joe Paterno. The NCAA has now become the latest party to accept the report as the final word on the Sandusky scandal. The sanctions announced by the NCAA today defame the legacy and contributions of a great coach and educator without any input from our family or those who knew him best.

 

That the President, the Athletic Director and the Board of Trustees accepted this unprecedented action by the NCAA without requiring a full due process hearing before the Committee on Infractions is an abdication of their responsibilities and a breach of their fiduciary duties to the University and the 500,000 alumni. Punishing past, present and future students of the University because of Sandusky’s crimes does not serve justice. This is not a fair or thoughtful action; it is a panicked response to the public's understandable revulsion at what Sandusky did.

 

The point of due process is to protect against this sort of reflexive action. Joe Paterno was never interviewed by the University or the Freeh Group. His counsel has not been able to interview key witnesses as they are represented by counsel related to ongoing litigation. We have had no access to the records reviewed by the Freeh group. The NCAA never contacted our family or our legal counsel. And the fact that several parties have pending trials that could produce evidence and testimony relevant to this matter has been totally discounted.

 

Unfortunately all of these facts have been ignored by the NCAA, the Freeh Group and the University.

 

Sadly, the only ones ignoring anything at this point are the Paternos. Following JoePa's example when he ignored Sandusky's activities for more than a decade. This family needs to shut up. Now.

[Muck]

This family needs to shut up. Now.

 

Have you heard Jay or Scott speak? We are not talking about a family of rocket scientists here.

[sd'sker]

This family needs to shut up. Now.

 

Have you heard Jay or Scott speak? We are not talking about a family of rocket scientists here.

it is gross, especially how they are trying to be made out as victims.

[Muck]

it is gross, especially how they are trying to be made out as victims.

 

Serious entitlement issues involved here. We're talking about a group of people that have spent their lives believing that their last name alone meant that they were special. They honestly believe that they deserve presidential level seating at Beaver Stadium for the next 25 years and personal use of the PSU jet.

 

BTW I wonder why none of the national commentators have yet dug into the fact that part of the severance package Paterno negotiated right around the time of the Sandusky indictment included completely waiving a $300K interest free personal loan from PSU. Why in the world was PSU giving Joe Paterno six digit loans with no expectation of interest being paid upon them?

 

On a lighter note...

 

[Muck]

Just proves that you don't put up statues of people that are still a part of this world.

 

[Comish]

Bit of a tangent here but Ohio U. (Frankie) opens the season Sept 1 at Penn St.

 

Given the difficulties of facing a new coach with new systems, etc vs. the scandal............does this whole sordid mess benefit Solich's chances or hurt them because of the "rally around" circumstances for O'Brien's opener......??

[huKSer]

Will a manatory retirement age come out of this? No more coaching past 65/62.

 

What a befuddling comment. You're saying people lose all sense of morality when they get old?

 

Also... 62 and 65 are weird ages to pick. I'm guessing you don't know many people in their 60s or 70s if you think people suck at decisions when they're that young.

What I was think about is a "term limit" on head coaches at one institution, say ten years or 1 national championship, which ever comes first. Keeps the coach from being "too powerful".

 

And while I'm at it maybe a top dollar amount on coaching compensation, say $2 million plus COLA

[WoodyHayes1951]

caps on salary?

 

are we in Soviet Russia?

[wax]

caps on salary?

 

are we in Soviet Russia?

 

 

sometimes i think so

[Fuzzy]

Holtz's comments were laughable. He was cited by the NCAA for learning about rules violations and not reporting them at Notre Dame. He also had violations at Minnesota and South Carolina. Having him comment on the NCAA sanctions shows really bad judgment by ESPN.

 

Amen. But then, ESPN long ago stopped caring about credibility.

 

Well they couldn't put Mark May on screen because he basically said Penn St. deserves everything the NCAA would give them. ESPN needed to be sympathetic towards Happy Valley to keep viewers tuning in.

[Muck]

[sd'sker]

would you consider this worse than a two year death penalty? harder to recover from?

[Lyons in the Sea of Red.]

would you consider this worse than a two year death penalty? harder to recover from?

There was an interesting take on rome today from a sportswriter that had a few reasons why this isn't close to the severity of the death penalty. I agree'd and disagree'd on a few different things. One of the things he mentioned is that he believes that PSU wont suffer as long from this as if they were going to receive the death penalty. They are still going to get revenue from home games, they will be able to sell early PT to recruits, and this gives fans of PSU to rally around the underdog type of story, and turn small successes into a "us against the world" mentality. Which he explained was a complete BS attitude, and I agree with him. That program, outside of the current coaches and players, deserves to sit in a hole for a long time.

[sd'sker]

would you consider this worse than a two year death penalty? harder to recover from?

There was an interesting take on rome today from a sportswriter that had a few reasons why this isn't close to the severity of the death penalty. I agree'd and disagree'd on a few different things. One of the things he mentioned is that he believes that PSU wont suffer as long from this as if they were going to receive the death penalty. They are still going to get revenue from home games, they will be able to sell early PT to recruits, and this gives fans of PSU to rally around the underdog type of story, and turn small successes into a "us against the world" mentality. Which he explained was a complete BS attitude, and I agree with him. That program, outside of the current coaches and players, deserves to sit in a hole for a long time.

to be fair, it is them against the world in that the world sees a cover-up of child rape as unforgivable and they disagree.

[NUance]

So when PSU vacates wins does that mean the win goes to the other team?? If so I wonder if tOSU passed NU on the total wins list? We were two ahead of them at the #5 spot. We lost to PSU once during the vacated period, in 2002.

 

 

 

Okay, before anyone says anything about this not mattering--I realize wins/losses pales in comparison to the crimes that were committed.