Penn State Scandal Thread

[Muck]

Yesterday

http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2011/11/22/sanduskys_lawyer_says_new_charges_may_be_looming.aspx#comment-370416846

.../snip/...
Also in the interview, Amendola alluded to a potential defense strategy that he may use in trial in defense of Sandusky, saying there is no way Sandusky could have committed crimes against boys in his home because there was always many people in the home. Amendola said Sandusky had six adopted children and three foster children at the time the incidents at his home happened, according to the grand jury report.

“His house was like a hotel, particularly on football weekends,” Amendola said in the interview.

Today

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7274012/penn-state-nittany-lions-scandal-one-new-allegations-jerry-sandusky-came-family-member-attorney-says

One of the two new allegations of child sexual abuse against former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was made by a family member, Sandusky's attorney Joe Amendola said, according to The Patriot-News of Harrisburg.
.../snip/...

 

[knapplc]

This guy just needs to check himself into prison already. The odds of his exoneration are approximately 3,720 to 1.

 

[Alamo City Husker]

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/23/8981222-report-1-of-2-new-abuse-allegations-made-by-sandusky-family-member

Now family is involved, I guess water is thicker than blood.

 

[bushy]

Just reported on the wire services...Syracuse has fired longtime assistant hoops coach Bernie Fine amid child molestation charges.

 

[Excel]

Just reported on the wire services...Syracuse has fired longtime assistant hoops coach Bernie Fine amid child molestation charges.

Misery loves company I suppose.

 

[Muck]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/nov/30/penn-state-protester-wearied-of-lonely-fight-in-ba/

Almost three weeks ago, jeers and profanity and beer showered John Matko’s lonely protest of the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal outside Penn State's Beaver Stadium.

The 34-year-old father and Penn State graduate held two handwritten signs. One read: “Put abused kids first.”

Passers-by screamed expletives before the game against Nebraska, kicked and grabbed the signs, threw them to the ground, slapped Matko’s stomach and told him, “Not now, man, this is about the football players.” Matko didn’t respond.

Today, Matko’s signs are gone, left in a New York television studio after an appearance on Anderson Cooper’s daytime talk show. Matko’s hands hurt from holding them, and he tired of sideways looks while toting them through airports.

Matko said one of his two brothers, Robert, a steadfast supporter of Penn State’s football team, hasn’t spoken to him since the one-man protest.

One of the gentler posts on Penn State message boards called Matko“crazy.” Other comments Matko read talked of ending his life.

.../cont/...

This Is Penn State

 

[bushy]

This Is Penn State

Great post. Penn State, as a university, a community, heck, Pennsylvania itself as a state, has taken a serious hit on this, It's a depraved community and you have to seriously consider expelling Penn State from the Big 10.You gotta admit though. since you're an Ohio State fan, you're secretly loving this, yes? It certainly took the spotlight off OSU's corrupt program in a major way.

 

[Excel]

Ah Bushy no one's out to get Penn State quite like that. At least no rational person.

I for one want accountability, justice and reform but I'm not about to condemn every part of Penn State and anyone connected to it. Maybe the old leadership and certain staff members on the Athletic Department but I have nothing against the average Penn Stater, or Nittany Lion football player. You all had nothing to do with this and I feel bad for you.

 

[Muck]

Great post. Penn State, as a university, a community, heck, Pennsylvania itself as a state, has taken a serious hit on this, It's a depraved community and you have to seriously consider expelling Penn State from the Big 10.

Hey that's what many Penn State fans since everything is the big ole mean Big Ten's fault.

You gotta admit though. since you're an Ohio State fan, you're secretly loving this, yes?

Not in the least. Evil never brings me joy.

It certainly took the spotlight off OSU's corrupt program in a major way.

A corrupt program does not turn over all it's misdeeds to an investigating authority that has no subpoena power.

A corrupt program decides not to inform law enforcement when it is made aware of a crime.

That being said I'm ESPN tried their best to keep the focus where no doubt it belongs by referring to Penn State as Ohio State and calling Joe Paterno, Jim Tressel on multiple occasions.

 

[jacobeharding]

Watching the Penn State scandal has been sad and depressing really, and I think that the Syracuse incident is proof that every school is under the utmost scrutiny right now. That's where the Huskers will shine.

 

[redblooded]

Great post. Penn State, as a university, a community, heck, Pennsylvania itself as a state, has taken a serious hit on this, It's a depraved community and you have to seriously consider expelling Penn State from the Big 10.

Hey that's what many Penn State fans (want) since everything is the big ole mean Big Ten's fault.

I've seen this a lot on Penn State forums. Including recently regarding them feeling slighted by bowl selections. Being new to the big ten (and never really giving a crap about Penn State) it's completely new to me. What the hell fuels it? I see them trying to promote going to the ACC, saying the big east would be some sort of powerhouse if they were still in it and that no other teams would have ever left it.

I thought maybe their delusion was due to the shock of the magnitude of the allegations that came out, but they are pretty persistent with it. So I guess my question is: are Penn State fans really stupid enough to believe the grass is greener? or to not comprehend that sponsor money drives bowls and their program is completely toxic right now? or that somehow it was organized by Delany that the "better bowls" to snub them?

I thought maybe with the season winding down they'd maybe snap back into reality a bit and realize that things like firing JoePa had to be done for the good of the school, but it hasn't. They seem very strange and very disconnected from reality in general, but especially regarding the situation their athletic department staff put the school in.

 

[Muck]

What the hell fuels it?

Ultimately it comes down to...

7-12 vs Ohio State

6-10 vs TSUN

6-9 vs Iowa

6-7 vs Wisconsin

They're not bullying east coast marshmallows (Temple, Rutgers, Maryland) any longer and have had a hard time adjusting.

Penn State fans will deny that of course and say there has been a Big Ten conspiracy against them from the very beginning. "Big Ten" media members kept them from winning the national title in 94. The refs are plotting against them. The list goes on and on.

. So I guess my question is: are Penn State fans really stupid enough to believe the grass is greener?

In a nutshell, yes.

 

[Excel]

For me it started with all the big talk coming out of their fanbase when they joined. Oh yea they definately are running through the conference...

 

[redblooded]

What the hell fuels it?

Ultimately it comes down to...

7-12 vs Ohio State

6-10 vs TSUN

6-9 vs Iowa

6-7 vs Wisconsin

They're not bullying east coast marshmallows (Temple, Rutgers, Maryland) any longer and have had a hard time adjusting.

Penn State fans will deny that of course and say there has been a Big Ten conspiracy against them from the very beginning. "Big Ten" media members kept them from winning the national title in 94. The refs are plotting against them. The list goes on and on.

. So I guess my question is: are Penn State fans really stupid enough to believe the grass is greener?

In a nutshell, yes.

For me it started with all the big talk coming out of their fanbase when they joined. Oh yea they definately are running through the conference...

Thanks for the explanations, I think both of you were hitting on the same Idea, they just aren't winning as much as they think they should.

Seriously my head hurt the other day trying to decipher their nonsense through a somewhat rational person's P.O.V. It just seemed cult like and not A&M cult like delusional where they are a little bit off but pretty cool and rational people 99% of the time, but believe that they have one of the best programs in cfb. Instead it was cult like where they're sleeping in bunk-beds in nike cross trainers waiting for a spaceship behind a comet to take them to the promised land after JoePa distributes the cyanide laced kool-aid... delusional.

 

[Muck]

Since it is an open letter I've C&P the text in full. Enjoy.

Dear Commissioner Delany and the respected Presidents of the Big Ten Institutions,

We as Penn State students, fans and alumni want to thank you for jumping on the pile yesterday and openly threatening sanctions against Penn State athletics in wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Any comments or actions from such an upstanding and chivalrous governing body like yourselves need the respect of an immediate response.

Here is our response……kick us out of this conference……please.

No, I mean pretty please. Do us all a favor and end our misery and association with this godforsaken organization.

The fact of the matter is from day one, Penn State has been treated by this conference as a second class citizen, especially in terms of athletics. Of course that applies to every institution in the B1G not named Michigan or Ohio State, but the others seem content to just roll over and take it.

Scandal or no scandal, Penn State isn’t a second class anything.

Granted, in being kicked out of the B1G, we would certainly miss the “exciting” brand of football played every Saturday in the fall. Nevermind the fact the last nineteen years have brought some of the worst and most boring brands of football Pennsylvania has ever seen; I’m sure with Commissioner Delany’s leadership in tow, the B1G is ready to surpass the SEC as the best conference in the country any time now.

In terms of academics, yes, we will miss some of the research and development funding the B1G is privy to. However, Penn State was a great academic institution before we joined the B1G, and we will be a great academic institution no matter whether we go back to being an independent or join a conference such as the ACC. As an example, while the media jackals were camped outside Joe Paterno’s house, or setting up in downtown State College and giving students money to “do something crazy on camera,” Penn State researchers, led by Dr. Craig Meyers, actually developed a cure for cancer. I know that doesn’t compare to Joe Paterno’s real estate transactions, but we thought it was a pretty nice accomplishment.

Our favorite part of the release was this passage:

“While it is premature to reach any conclusions regarding civil or criminal liability arising out of these events, there does appear to be sufficient information to raise significant concerns as to whether a concentration of power in a single individual or program may have threatened or eroded institutional control of intercollegiate athletics at Penn State.”

We would like to take the time to address this obvious shot at Joe Paterno:

1. Joe Paterno and the athletic department officials were the only ones who did the right thing in this case by reporting the issue through the proper channels. The people at Penn State who orchestrated the coverup have offices in Old Main, not in the Lasch Building.

2. What has happened has nothing to do with ‘intercollegiate athletics’ at Penn State. The fact that two coaches and an administrator at the time were allegedly privy in some form or other to a criminal offense having taken place is an issue for the university at large and not program specific.

3. This is a criminal matter that needs to be taken care of in the legal system. The B1G, and the NCAA for that matter, has no business intervening as the incidents that happened at Penn State have nothing whatsoever to do with anything in their by-laws.

Furthermore, we would also like to point out how Jim Delany and the conference have handled scandals in the past.

When the rule breaking at Ohio State became public in December 2010, rather than writing a letter to E. Gordon Gee and making sure it was published nationally, Jim Delany instead helped broker a deal with the NCAA in order to get Terrell Pryor and the other Buckeyes that broke rules cleared to play in the Sugar Bowl. And where was Jim Delany when E. Gordon Gee stood at a podium in Columbus and announced he was just happy Jim Tressel wasn’t firing him? Where was the concern with one man having too much power in that case? Finally, where was Jim Delany when Jim Tressel was caught lying directly to the NCAA, and several Buckeye players were caught accepting gifts from boosters? See Jim, these are actually violations that you have control over and are supposed to act on.

Now, let us make one thing clear, in no way, shape or form are we comparing the severity of what happened at Ohio State to what happened at Penn State. The Penn State situation is infinitely more serious and severe. The point is that Jim Delany consistently looks the other way when it comes to protecting his meal ticket in Columbus, yet acts completely different when it comes to Penn State, or any other institution not named Michigan.

So yes B1G and Commissioner Delany, please do the right thing and act swiftly in removing us from this conference immediately.

And if you really want to do it in grand style, have Dave Witvoet come out to make the public announcement.

That final act would be fitting.

Sincerely,

Your friends at Laschout.org