by talesin 33 Replies latest social current
Those who covered up this crime -- ie, the higher-ups, should have been punished to the full extent of the law.
They may still face criminal prosecution. I have not heard that this ends the matter. I believe civil lawsuits are in the works. They may bankrupt Penn State.
One of my brothers both played and coached college football and he had some interesting things to say about Joe Paterno and the abuses that took place on his watch at Penn State. My brother's view is that Paterno had actually lost control of the football program years ago. We have to remember he was 85 when he died in January, long past the retirement age of most people. He may very well no longer have had the full mental capacity to be the head football coach at a major university. That is a job which is mentally and emotionally demanding and takes a huge toll on a dedicated coach.
"Many coaches in different sports stay way too long in the job," my brother told me. "They get set in their ways and begin to think differently and strangely as they age. That happened to some of the coaches I played for. Paterno should have quit fifteen years ago, but his ego was the reason he wouldn't step aside. Meanwhile, he was losing his grip and may not have fully realized the seriousness of the Sandusky problem when he learned about the 2001 shower episode."
So there may be some credence in the idea that Paterno was himself being manipulated, but that doesn't excuse him. He still knew right from wrong. Would he have been so lax if one of the boys being assaulted was his grandson or great-grandson? I don't think so. But he's dead now and his reputation is in ruins, brought down by his own hubris. It's sad. I haven't read the Freeh report but plan to do so sometime. I'm sure it will be a strong cautionary tale with some powerful lessons.
Quendi
Today's events in State College, Pennsylvania must have been watched with worried fascination in Joe Paterno's hometown of Brooklyn, New York. They signal a sea change in the public's perception of pedophilia. A highly respected secular institution has been given severe penalties for its mishandling of a pedophile and his victims and the litigations aren't over yet. Meanwhile, WTS lawyers find that they must plan strategy to fight a two front war: in the courts of law and the courts of public opinion. They stand a very good chance of losing on both fronts. What will they do if matters turn out, not as they fear, but even worse?
Quendi
on the paterno front...there's a certain level where no matter what...wrong is wrong.
if he thought players being paid was not a big deal...fine. whatever.
like you said though, if that was his grandson or great grandson, no matter how manipulated he might have been, there's no way he'd be ok with his kin being raped. point blank. let's not sgar coat it.
i would have liked it if they removed every single one of those wins he held so dearly that he let some poor kids be hurt. maybe turn them into loses.
vacate the championship(s?)
just make sure his name is not forgotten in this manner. if sodom and gommorah can be a warning for angering jay hova...maybe the name paterno can be synonymous with not letting the need for wins over take the need to do right.
whatever his record is, it should be 0-whatever.
maybe that's why he donated so much to the school. because he knew they were gonna be royally f'ed when he left. the simple fact that he negotiated his retirement and all that before the shit hit the fan makes me think he had ALL of his faculties
Those who covered up this crime -- ie, the higher-ups, should have been punished to the full extent of the law.
They most likely will be. This article is only about sanctions from the NCAA, I think the criminal investigation is still ongoing. There will be more fallout from this...
No Apologies
How many hundreds of innocent young men played football without the knowledge that there was any wrongdoing by Sandusky or his gang of thieves? How many won championiships after playing their hearts out? How many of these young men would have turned in Sandusky had they known or any of these enablers for what they did? They didn't get a chance to do anything and yet they have been stripped of what they earned. Isn't there some sort of abuse there? Its the baby with the bathwater self righteous over kill happening here. Take the bastards to court but don't make more kids, albeit older ones, suffer for the sins of others.
Nobody is telling any past or present PSU players that they must surrender any rings, plaques, trophies or other memorabilia of their football seasons with the Nittany Lions. They are not being punished. Present players will be allowed to transfer to other schools and play without having to sit out a year. For those who played football and got their degrees from Penn State, those achievements won't be diminished or lessened in any way. They won't have to give back their diplomas, their earned degrees are not being nullified. So I don't see an issue with the NCAA's actions and how it would have a negative impact on those who played while Sandusky was involved with the university.
Something has to be done to make people in responsible positions understand that they are answerable for their crimes and violations of trust. These penalties are completely justified and I hope they will stand as a strong warning to others that there are more important things to safeguard than personal glory.
Quendi
Vacating wins was a shot at Paterno. The NCAA doesn't want their all time winning coach to be a person that sheilded pedophiles. It's a PR move for the NCAA. Paterno is dead, so it doesn't really matter to him.
From a PR stand-point, they had to do something. I've been reading twitter feeds from some former PSU players that don't really have an issue with the punishment. While the kids on the current football team will lose an opportunity to play in a bowl, they can transfer if they wish. Also, this is not the first time the NCAA has taken the opportunity to play bowl games away. USC, Ohio State, Georgia Tech have all been punished in the recent past and no one seemed to have an issue with that although kids that didn't do anything were impacted. When you are on a team, the actions of one impact the entire team.
There is no way the NCAA could punish the school for its lack of institutional control and it's callous disregard for the kids who Sandusky used the football program to entrap without impacting students. But, they're free to leave, it's not like anyone is forcing them to stay at the school. That's what I don't really understand about people's objection to the penalty. Playing college football is not a constitutional right. It's a privilege that the majority of high school football players never get a shot at. So, if some of the Penn St players are unable to find another school to play at, are they really going to be scarred for life? If they can't find another program to play in, odds are they were not going to have a professional football career anyway.
Concur with Doubting Bro, the students and players can go elsewhere and many of them will.
This has a huge impact on Penn State's future. Many kids who going to graduate from High School in 2013 are thinking about where they are going to go to college. A bet a lot of them just crossed Penn State off the list. "How much fun will I have at this place?" is a question high on the decision points those high school kids will be using to decide where to go. (I know, its not a good criterion but that's how high schoolers think). Right now, and for the next four years, Penn State doesn't sound like so much fun. Students with a choice will very likely exercise it.
Really?
“It definitely hurts,” former quarterback Michael Robinson told ESPN.
“We all worked hard, especially the time that we were there and I’m sure other football players that played under Joe during that time worked for those wins," Robinson said. "Joe worked hard for those wins. The coaching staff, the fans, the alumni who stayed supporting us definitely worked hard during that time to put a good product on the field, to really work hard at playing football.”
I guess Michael Robinson wouldn't agree with you.
Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2012/07/24/3270824/paterno-lions-vacate-wins.html#storylink=cpy
