PSU about to get blasted again by SI investigative report

Submitted by Leaders And Best on

SI is publishing an investigative report into the medical care for athletics in a story titled "Do Athletics Still Have Too Much Power at Penn State." Still unclear what is in the report, but based on the spin coming from PSU already, it doesn't look good.

http://www.pennlive.com/pennstatefootball/index.ssf/2013/05/sports_illustrated_investigati.html

EDIT: SI has released a summary of their report and it is pretty damning of the AD David Joyner and head coach Bill O'Brien.

Link: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-football/news/20130515/penn-state-athletics-power/

Buck Killer

May 15th, 2013 at 8:10 AM ^

It is relevant to the story. Don't be such a baby. Fu&k, I am tired of all of the crying on here. We are Michigan fergodsakes!

HAIL-YEA

May 15th, 2013 at 3:25 AM ^

So some are saying this is all comeing from inside the program. People are upset that they replaced a sideline doctor with just trainers, they complained to the AD and nothing came of it.Then they went to the media.

Also im literally in tears from laughing so hard at the comment about leaving their dead on the field lol

NittanyFan

May 15th, 2013 at 9:25 AM ^

Per speculation, the core of the article seems to be that Dr. Sebastianelli was at every practice prior to November 2011, he was replaced and now a sideline doctor isn't at every practice.  That's an issue if PSU has become an outlier in this regard. Does most every of the 120 other FBS schools have a doctor at every practice?  I don't know, I hope SI would do due diligence and answer that question if this is the core issue of this article.

 

Now, for a more cynical take --- was Dr. Sebastianelli at every practice prior to November 2011 for the players, or for Joe Paterno, an 85-year-old man who wasn't able to coach from the sideline anymore and was in obvious failing health?  I tend to believe it was the latter.

gwkrlghl

May 15th, 2013 at 7:21 AM ^

If they keep getting beat down, eventually State College will just secede, built some walls, and become a hermit kingdom where Joe Paterno is deemed "Great Leader and President for all of Eternity"

Buck Killer

May 15th, 2013 at 8:07 AM ^

Most of their fans still support a man that allowed children to get raped, and you can spin it all you want. I hope that school ceases to exist. I will never hire a Pedo U grad ever, and I hire a lot of people. Yes, 20% don't support Joe Pa Pedo, but tell me which ones. Shame on that bastard for putting his program above everything always. This was not the first time he covered extremely bad things up.

the Glove

May 15th, 2013 at 9:07 AM ^

wow I don't think you can get any more ridiculous by saying that you won't hire any "pedo U grads." It's an AAU accredited university and you're basing your opinion on football. You seemingly have become what you hate, an individual who's putting football over academics. Who gives a shit about what someone's feelings about an old man who made one major mistake is. That would be like if any allegations came out about Bo, if you still respected the man for his accomplishments does that make you a horrible person? Yes he made a horrible decision, but that would be one in a lifetime. Then by your standards every Michigan fan in the world would be an idiot and wouldn't deserve to be hired.

DISCUSS Man

May 15th, 2013 at 8:46 AM ^

If anything else comes up that is really bad, is it not out of the question to vote them out of the B1G? 

Is this the kind of school that the B1G wants to associate with? That puts football before the safety of children and now medical care of football players? 

I still think the B1G made a huge ass mistake not taking louisville before the ACC grabbed them. Too late now. Now all they're left to do is pick the dead carcass of the AAC. 

the Glove

May 15th, 2013 at 8:56 AM ^

Louisville's academics are shit, you would be contradicting yourself if you wanted Louisville added. Adding them would completely be based off of football. The Big Ten is only interested in adding AAU schools because academics is a big priority.

DISCUSS Man

May 15th, 2013 at 10:44 AM ^

B1G got maryland and rutgers, who nobody cares about. Delany thinks it is the NY market cares about rutgers when they really don't care at all.

And the ACC got louisville. Who just destroyed an SEC team in a bowl game and won the national title in basketball and has a top-10 baseball team.

What exactly is maryland and rutgers good at again? 

Monocle Smile

May 15th, 2013 at 10:51 AM ^

When did I defend the Maryland and Rutgers decisions? Those were horrible decisions as well.

Louisville was good at football last year, but are not historically great and once Charlie Strong gets hired away somewhere, they'll probably be mediocre. In addition, Louisville won't expand the market, either...as there's just not much market where Louisville fans reside.

Good job avoiding the academic issues entirely, which is likely the very first filter applied to candidate expansion schools.

DISCUSS Man

May 15th, 2013 at 11:09 AM ^

Maybe it's just me but I think this is all about the money. If the chance was there, Alabama or Vanderbilt, who do you they'd take?

I'm thinking bama or I want out of this sinking ship.

M-Dog

May 15th, 2013 at 8:57 AM ^

More trouble for Penn State.

Yet they will inexplicably still be able to recruit 4-stars who will never be able to play in a bowl game.

 

 

LSAClassOf2000

May 15th, 2013 at 9:21 AM ^

I haven't seen that the SI story is out yet, but the Times-Tribune (Scranton's paper, I think) provides some information about what might possibly be in there (LINK). There is some discussion apparently of Tim Bream's actions:

"But the allegations against head athletic trainer Tim Bream were perhaps the most damning in the article. Several unnamed sources told SI that Bream administered several drugs to players -- the anti-inflammatory Voltaren -- without physician approval. Bream does not have a medical degree, according to the report. In addition, former walk-on receiver Garrett Lerner told SI that he suffered to burns on his right leg when Bream misused an electrical stimulation machine while treating him."

It also mentions that there have been investigations into the allegations against Bream for some time, but the conclusion of those interviews and inquiries reportedly did not find evidence or reports of overstepping the bounds of care. 

M-Wolverine

May 15th, 2013 at 12:49 PM ^

But really the rest just seems like employer-employee issues and office politics. Maybe not something you want to go public but not really anything bad. No one would care if it wasn't at Penn State that GASP guys who didn't like each other parted ways when one of them became the other's boss. 

The overstepping medical care bounds is maybe the (smaller) headline, but it's buried among all the other silly stuff.

bronxblue

May 15th, 2013 at 9:44 AM ^

The Sandusky issue was obviously a PSU-specific one, but based on the limited info available this feels like an issue with a particular doctor or medical staff which, I'm guessing, happens at other schools.  I mean, sometimes people change positions and that can lead to changes in procedures or protocols that may appear, at least to outsiders, as a drop or degradation in quality.  I have a hard time believing, though, that PSU's suddenly treating its athletes worse in terms of medical care.  This might be a bunch of secondary and anonymous sources, but I'll withhold judgment until the report comes out.

joeyb

May 15th, 2013 at 11:33 AM ^

This seems pretty much like a non-story. The only part that makes it potentially story-worthy is that they are doing this to save money, which is how every AD operates.

I was expecting him to have been fired because he wouldn't agree to put athletes back in games when they had concussions or something. MSM gets us again with sensational headlines.

patrickdolan

May 15th, 2013 at 12:05 PM ^

In other news, the sun came up in the East.



There is absolutely no reason for a surgeon to be at practice--they don't practice emergency medicine, and the family practice guy is just as capable. For safety, I imagine an EMT is actually better qualified to stabilize a spinal injury or handle a concussion.



People's insurance companies do this kind of thing to them all the time, and SI doesn't get its knickers in a knot about that.



We shouldn't either.

gwkrlghl

May 15th, 2013 at 12:20 PM ^

I feel bad for the Penn State students and alums who all realize there's a problem with the leadership and feel sick to their stomachs about it. I know a lot of morons were out defending everyone but Sandusky, but there's probably a heck of a lot more people who are like you and me and are humiliated by how poorly their school has been run. I know I'd feel miserable if Michigan had this much crap going on

MichiganAggie

May 15th, 2013 at 12:22 PM ^

Via PSU: "Contrary to the reporter's assertions, Dr. Sebastianelli remains the doctor in charge of the University's entire medical program for intercollegiate athletics, including football. Further, there has been no change in the support provided by State College-based Penn State orthopedic surgeons, including Dr. Sebastianelli."

ziggolfer

May 15th, 2013 at 2:36 PM ^

Just sayin it's all about do we feel bad for them. I'm torn how to approach the story. It would never make the newstand nationally if it wasn't about PSU. However, I know high schools who have Orthapedic surgeons on the sideline at all events, so I think PSU seems to be slighting something. It isn't like the school is broke, so why would they not be able to hire a new OS if the old one and AD were fighting. 

 

Heck I'm sure you could get one OS a week to volunteer at the games at the minimum. Seems like the idea about sports ruling the budget is winning, but I think the personal battle amongst egos is the largest issue here. 

But I'm biased

Hail to the Victors (and Pitt)