Penn State Punishment Open Thread--UPDATE: NCAA Punshment--$60M Fine, Lots of Scholarships

Submitted by Zone Left on

This is your Penn State Open Thread. Keep the board open for other topics please. I know it's tempting, but lots of other, less disturbing topics are available to discuss. I'm not trying to censor anyone. Instead, this is an open place to discuss your thoughts. Keep it clean. I'll review the thread later and be very unkind to posters who decide to be jerks.

NCAA Punishment:

  • $60 million dollar fine payable to an endowment for sex abuse victims
  • 10 initial scholarships per year for 4 years
  • 65 total scholarships on the roster for four years
  • 4 year bowl ban
  • Free transfers at any point in an athlete's career

tricks574

July 23rd, 2012 at 2:21 AM ^

About a week ago I was of the mindset that the NCAA should leave this alone, that the people who were the problem were dealt with and there was no need to punish anyone else.

Sadly, seeing some of the comments on psu themed blogs has convinced me this isn't the case. There are still people who defend paterno and are outwardly hostile to the truth, that believe this whole thing is justa conspiracy to bring down st. Jopa. I know it isn'tall of them, but something needs to be done to change the culture. The hero worship and willingness to turn a blinds eye to the facts at hand in order to defend the program are still very much alive at psu, and if the only way to stomp that out is to destroy the program, so be it.

After all that has come out, the continued existence of fans who still support paterno is mystifying, and just reinforces the perception that football to some psu fans is more important than anything else. Those people deserve tobe punished for allowing a culture like that to grow so out of control and even partially survive such a horrifying scandal.

Sorry to all rational psu fans out there, it sucks, and no one is going to be happy about it, but the program needs to be hit hard, as hard as possible, to shake the last little bits of crazy off.

Coastal Elite

July 23rd, 2012 at 8:44 AM ^

If something like this had happened under Bo Schembechler, there would've been a not-insignificant portion of the fanbase that refused to ever accept his complicity. It's unfair to judge a group by its craziest parts.

(And to the obvious retort - "Bo never would've let this happen" - the same has been said repeatedly of JoePa. Hero worship is hero worship, and it's hard to suddenly 180 your opinion of someone you've deified for a generation.)

Wolverman

July 23rd, 2012 at 9:27 AM ^

 The main thing is folks who wheren't even Penn state fans had a lot of respect for coach Paterno. I remember a few years back when Penn State was playing florida in a bowl game. Paterno decided to sit a few of his top offensive players for the bowl ( Curtis Enis and a few others). it wasn't because the NCAA told him to, it was because he felt it was the right thing to do. Penn State lost a very close game that day even with 80% or more of their offense missing. That's how i remembered Joe Paterno until this Sandusky stuff.

 I remembered him as a win with class coach who cared about his community, university and his players above all else ( including winning football games). I was very wrong. He chose to endager not only children in his community but, also the university and their football program he said he loved so much.

 You can't really compare Joe and Bo tho as far as impact on their university go. Bo coached coached at Michigan for 21 years and not since 1989 , while Joe Paterno coached at Penn state for over 50 years and as recently as last year.

 We always talk about delusional fanbases (MSU, ND , Ohio State) but, clearly without a doubt the most delusional one of them all is Penn State. They deserve the death penalty more than any other program in college sports. The higher ups of bothe school and the athletic department chose to assist a child rapist to protect their football programs reputation. Atleast 10 kids lives could have been a lot less dreadful had only they put humanity above football. It's only fitting in my eyes to destroy what they tried to protect. The thing that was so important to them they chose to let a child molester rape young boys in their school.

jmblue

July 23rd, 2012 at 11:55 AM ^

I remember a few years back when Penn State was playing florida in a bowl game. Paterno decided to sit a few of his top offensive players for the bowl ( Curtis Enis and a few others). it wasn't because the NCAA told him to, it was because he felt it was the right thing to do. Penn State lost a very close game that day even with 80% or more of their offense missing.

You're thinking of the 1998 Citrus Bowl, but you're romanticizing it a lot. Enis had accepted gifts from an agent and was going to be ruled ineligible, so Paterno suspended him as a pre-emptive measure. That was a no-brainer of a decision, not really anything remarkable.  BTW, it wasn't a close game; PSU lost 21-6. 

 

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

July 23rd, 2012 at 1:05 PM ^

True, but what were the real repercussions?  Schools like OSU and Alabama know that if they win, their fans won't care about how they got there and the money will flow in regardless.  OSU has a bowl ban, so what?  Urbz and their fans get to act like it was all just meanness and unfairness on the NCAA's part, and life goes on.  It really was the right thing to do, holding Enis out, but unfortunately it's the exception to the way things are usually handled, not the rule.

snarling wolverine

July 23rd, 2012 at 11:00 AM ^

If something like this had happened under Bo Schembechler, there would've been a not-insignificant portion of the fanbase that refused to ever accept his complicity. It's unfair to judge a group by its craziest parts.

I agree, but what I can't believe is that in every PSU site - be it Black Shoe Diaries, Blue White Illustrated, the PSU Scout site, whatever - a large majority feels this way. I can't find much evidence of non-crazy PSU fans.

Bluestreak

July 23rd, 2012 at 3:10 AM ^

I believe Penn State will avoid the Death Penalty - perhaps rightly so.

However the following must be required -

1) Huge fines (football revenues from the past 10 years to be donated towards a charity dedicated to welfare of sexually abused victims) - $100 million

2) Ban from bowl games and post season for the next 3-5 years

3) Mandatory installation of a third party audit committee on an institution wide basis to report any exploitation of kids

4) Exclusion from the B10 - I know this is extreme but I really do this they should dissociate themselves from the B10

rosedani

July 23rd, 2012 at 9:05 AM ^

I mean im not sure exactly what is included with the "Death Penalty"  in college football so I could be wrong but I feel like just stopping play for one season and moving on would be better for PSU than these penalties put together. I guess my mentality would be rip the Bandaid off instead of slowly pull it.

hart20

July 23rd, 2012 at 3:14 AM ^

Yes, I get that giving the death penalty is rather extreme, but these people covered up, and enabled, children getting raped. Nothing excuses those evil behaviors that were done in the name of the football program. This is worse than SMU, Alabama, Auburn, MSU, OSU, Miami, or any other program than you can name. These acts go beyond football and the people, and the program, behind it should burn a slow, painful death. That is all.

triangle_M

July 23rd, 2012 at 8:00 AM ^

Local talk radio out of Harrisburg (yes I'm in the area today) is claiming that Penn State is going to self-institute two years of the death penalty.  These are just radio yokels, mind you, but they may have a line inside the administration, I don't know.  File it under rumor for now, but a rumor close to State College.

wolverine1987

July 23rd, 2012 at 8:51 AM ^

The criminal courts, and the civil courts, are perfectly capable of handling this situation. The NCAA, in meting out this punishment, is actually going outside its authority, outside its own process, and allowing it's chairman to act as judge, jury and executioner. The NCAA does not have, nor has ever, nor has even ever claimed, that it has the authority to mete out punishments for moral transgressions at member institutions. Emmert is going outside every aspect of due process and acting alone, based on his horror at the Freeh report--which has NOTHING to do with either legal due process, or the NCAA's own due process. This is my opinion, but it is also the opinion of a former NCAA chairman of the infractions committe, quoted here:

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8188629/penn-state-nitta…

 

"The former chair, who has been involved with the NCAA for nearly three decades, said he couldn't use his name on the record since the case could come before him and the committee he still serves on in an appeals process...

"This is unique and this kind of power has never been tested or tried," the former chair said. "It's unprecedented to have this extensive power. This has nothing to do with the purpose of the infractions process. Nevertheless, somehow (the NCAA president and executive board) have taken it on themselves to be a commissioner and to penalize a school for improper conduct."

 

The chair said that the NCAA is choosing to deal with a case that is outside the traditional rules or violations. He said this case does not fall within the basic fundamental purpose of NCAA regulations."

And in substituting his own judgement for the due process of courts or the NCAA's own process, he is hurting people that had nothing to do with the horror and punishing no one who actually was at fault.
 

 

triangle_M

July 23rd, 2012 at 9:00 AM ^

Unprecidented, sure.  But Penn State is saying, "Thank you Sir, may I have another."  So whether its outside of the NCAA's scope or not is immaterial at this point.  This decision was not made by, but facilitated by Emmert.  This action comes out of  the 22 members of the NCAA board (university administrators).

MGoBender

July 23rd, 2012 at 9:45 AM ^

Lack of institutional control.  Has there ever been a case the more aptly defines that phrase?  The NCAA has every right to issue punishment.

Also, the criminal justice system will punish specific people responsible.  The NCAA has the right to reprimand one of its member institutions.

ryebreadboy

July 23rd, 2012 at 9:06 AM ^

I agree with that somewhat.  Where the NCAA has authority is the complicity of the football program in covering up the offenses.  It's not a stretch to assume that had these crimes been revealed in 1998 Penn State's reputation would've been tanked, and likely their football program would've been harmed.  I think it's fair to say they derived a competitive advantage from complicity in the coverup.  So at least some sort of athletic penalty is absolutely justified.  The NCAA should not, however, be punishing the university president for his complicity, and I think that they're going to attempt to do so with their punishment.  He is not under their bailiwick.

jblaze

July 23rd, 2012 at 9:17 AM ^

the only issue that the NCAA should deal with is any assumption of and unfair advantage that they gained from ~1998 to ~2012. JoePa may have been forced out in 2004, they may have lost a few recruits in 98/99...

The legal system is in place to deal with this. The men responsible will pay the price and the victims will be compensated through civil suits.

Banning PSU from a bowl doesn't help anyone.

allezbleu

July 23rd, 2012 at 3:14 AM ^

that the current players, coaches, students don't deserve punishment for what happened a decade ago.

Institutions are always punished after the perpetrators are gone. USC after Reggie Bush left, many innocent OSU players after Tressel, Memphis after Calipari left, Miami pre-Al Golden, etc etc.

This is necessary. Else schools can hire crooks, and when wrongdoings are found they can fire them and escape punishment. Schools needs to be held accountable for the people they hire and the culture they allow on their watch.

I feel bad for the current players, Bill O'Brien, and co. They are innocent. But PSU is not. I believe they should sit out a year or two of football. 

Also the attitude of most PSU people - they just don't get it. For example this:

http://www.blackshoediaries.com/2012/7/16/3159823/sally-jenkins-rick-reilly-joe-paterno-penn-state

Still denying, still deflecting, still making excuses. And this doesn't seem limited to internet message boards but to the vast majority of PSU supporters. Very pathetic. Very disappointing.

ijohnb

July 23rd, 2012 at 7:14 AM ^

of punishing current players and coaches for the transgressions of those before this is just that, a problem.  It is one of the problems that this Penn State scandal, truly the perfect storm of college athletics, is bringing to light.  College sports, football in particular, has become so big that it is collapsing under its own weight, it is truly too big to fail, but also too big to support itself.  In some ways, this, a scandal "that has nothing to do with sports" has everything to do with the culture that college football has created.  By deciding to proceed against Penn State with a debilitating measure, if that is indeed the case, Emmert is essentially declaring that there is something intrinsicly cancerous about big time college athletics, so cancerous in fact that it lead directly to actions that the individuals involved would not have taken in its absence. 

Penn State needs to be punished, but I have to say that in the scope of things, this is a sad day for me personally because I enjoy the product that is put of the football field on Saturdays.  I think this is the start of major reform that will eventually lead to college football looking a lot different than it does right now.  In the wake of what took place inside Penn State, I cannot and would not argue with it, but it is still a sombering prospect.

wolverine1987

July 23rd, 2012 at 9:00 AM ^

In all the other scandals, players on that team were taking illegal benefits.  An argument can be made that players that knew about it had a responsibility to report the violations and didn't. therefore the team is responsible along with the coaches. PSU is different because no one, no at at all, outside Paterno even new a thing about this, nor had any role in it at all.

jtown8378

July 23rd, 2012 at 3:19 AM ^

The entire university needs to be sanctioned...yes it was the football coaches involved but also the schools administration that also was involved. While I do hope that the punishment is severe, I hope the current athletes will be allowed to leave with no penalty. Again, the school administration is to blame...not just Joe Pa and the program, not the students. I say sanction more than just the football...make a real statement for what the school administration allowed to happen.

Coastal Elite

July 23rd, 2012 at 8:58 AM ^

Sorry but how does sanctioning "the entire university" avoid harming the students? And what powers do you imagine the NCAA has that it can sanction "the entire university"? Or do you just mean other parts of the athletic department in addition to football? In which case, shouldn't we distinguish between Penn State athletics and Penn State as an academic institution (since the blurring of those lines is part of the problem here in the first place)?

AnthonyThomas

July 23rd, 2012 at 3:31 AM ^

They interviewed some students today on ESPN. One said, "How is this honoring Joe Pa?" when referring to the statue being brought down. And that's almost a direct quote. A huge portion of PSU students, alumni and fans are completely brainwashed. They're like the proletariat praising Stalin, without the excuses of fear and ignorance. It's disturbing.

evenyoubrutus

July 23rd, 2012 at 7:27 AM ^

I just hope that the majority of fans and alum are actually sane on this matter, and it is just the psychotic fringe that keeps getting the press. I mean, if this had happened at Michigan, I'm sure the vast majority of us would be as appalled as ever, but would there be a small, select group who would act the same way as these outspoken PSU people? With literally millions of fans, I would imagine some crazies would emerge (we have seen this before, obviously).

ijohnb

July 23rd, 2012 at 7:34 AM ^

tjetuje 

the Kubler-Ross model.  Yesterday the Penn State fan base was ask to quickly move through Denial, their Anger was only allowed to last for about 12 hours, and now they are trying to get their last few hours of Bargaining in before Depression.  Give the fans a break this morning.  As I strong as I feel about Michigan football, I can imagine what it would mean to me to have the whole damn  thing come down in flames.

 

evenyoubrutus

July 23rd, 2012 at 7:45 AM ^

I agree. I talked a lot with my dad about this yesterday. He's been a devout fan since the 60's. I know a lot of innocent people suffered in this but one group that has been forgotten are those "normal" fans like you and me who have always loved PSU football and have always looked up to JoPa the way we always looked up to Bo. Their world (as far as college football is concerned) is over. What they loved for their whole lives is probably gone forever.

bluebyyou

July 23rd, 2012 at 8:02 AM ^

Penn State and Michigan are first and foremost universities, places where people attend to gat an education.  Football, hoops, hockey, etc. are very secondary to the primary theme upon which universities exist.  I say this as someone who lives and dies by Michigan sports.  In the case of Penn State, football became so big that it supplanted everything else, and did so heinously. The balance that needed to be there was lost. Unfortunately, I think that could have happened almost anywhere.

I think that sometimes perspective is lost. In an instance where children's well being is concerned, that is unthinkable.  To me, there is nothing that can be done to Penn State, short of closing down the university, that would be too severe.

As a dad with two sons who are recent Michigan alums, I can't wrap my head around the thought that someone could have abused my sons as happened at Penn State and people stood by and let that happen.

ijohnb

July 23rd, 2012 at 8:13 AM ^

place where I can disagree with you (and I gues when I say "only" I mean "very fundamentally") is that football is secondary to the primary theme upon which the Universities exist.  I could believe it 20 years ago, but not now.  I don't believe that the University of Florida is bigger than Florida football.  I don't believe that the University of Texas is bigger than Texas football. 

I believe such a sentiment is a mission statement at this point.  It is a worthwhile mission, and I believe the NCAA believes it to be as well.  This morning may be the first step to making that an accurate statement again.

trueblueintexas

July 23rd, 2012 at 11:36 AM ^

ijohnb - I'm going to use your post as an example so please do not take this personally.

College sports has become a fishbowl persepctive issue.  Many fans of college football have the belief that college athletic programs are bigger than the colleges themselves.  The reality is there is a whole world outside of the one sports fans know.  Those who are fully devoted (which anyone who reads this blog is) are actually a minority in the broader persepective.

Losing this perspective is exactly what got PSU into this situation.  One thing to always remember, there are far more students who graduate from college every year who have absolutely nothing to do with athletics than who do. 

IPFW_Wolverines

July 23rd, 2012 at 3:45 AM ^

I think what should happen should not be football related such as a bowl ban. Instead I think they should be given massive fines to the school in general and that money used to raise awareness of all things invovling child predators, child sex abuse, etc.  When i say fines, I'm talking history making stuff, not a slap on the wrist. 

Everyone in the university should be forced to attend classes in regard  to these things and to who these things should be reported. This should not be a one time thing but rather a ongoing program. 

The school, not just the football program should be placed on probation for X number of years. Though I doubt anything like this happens again at the school for a very long time. 

Penn State should be responsible for annual classes to be given and monitored by the Big Ten to the rest of the schools in the conference at an annual meeting for administrators on the subject. The reason Penn State should be in charge of this is to show they are taking the lead and actually working to change the culture. It should be given to everyone else in the Big Ten because people are deluding themselves if they don't think something like this could happen anywhere. 

Those involved in any way with this scandal should be banned from the campus for X number of years determined by their level of involvement. (may have already happened, I don't know)

The key in this is to take money and educate. Ya take money becuase that is something they will understand and you educate so it doesn't happen again. By targeting only the football program with sanctions that is a very small message sent to the wrong people. The kids in the program now were not apart of this scandal. There is no reason to punish them for simply being a football player at this school. 

 

 

 

B-Nut-GoBlue

July 23rd, 2012 at 3:48 AM ^

I do not understand why some of you are so dissatisfied by other people/"fans" feelings and attitudes.  We cannot control what other people feel and think.  I agree, that if there are people out there acting like nothing happened and dismissing any wrong-doing by JoePa, they are wrong and have blinders on.  But I, nor any of you, cannot change their perception.  I understand wanting others to feel the same as you/us, it's comforting to know others are on the same page; we like agreement in all aspects of life, again it's comforting.  It's not reality though. 

So, this disgust with other fans/common people, is where I take issue.  The aforementioned fans and people have nothing to do with any of this and should not be the subjects to take the brunt of the rest of our frustrations.  The people who are responsible for this mess are the faulty ones; I would recommend keeping your attention on them (and thoughts with the victims).  Statements made by people on message boards, die-hard PSU alums/fans having less remorse than those outside of the University or having attitude's not being up to our standard, a "culture" the school possesses because of half-a-century's worth football has come under fire, etc. etc. are not the guilty.  Again, it's the leaders and whoever else had anything to do with this cover-up.  The court system will have their process with them.

I have an opinion on what a punishment shoud or should not entail but won't go into that quite yet.  It leans toward and agrees more with the ideas of the one that started/runs this Blog.  Not my point here.  I just wanted to comment on what I've seen happening lately.  In my humble opinion we should keep our evil eyes and blame on the ones that deserve it; not toward a culture that we have no control over and who's people probably still need much more time to cope with what's happening to their university and legendary "leader's" legacy.

harmon40

July 23rd, 2012 at 4:39 AM ^

While students and fans are of course not responsible for JS crimes, their astonishing capacity for denial is a relevant discussion point. It illustrates the main problem at PSU: the majority just do not seem to get that football being bigger than everything is what led to the cover-up.



Whether or not we or any outsider can affect or influence the culture of another fan base is irrelevant to whether or not it is worthwhile to discuss it. The needed cautionary lessons to be learned from all have to do with the warped values and priorities that give the football coach enough de facto power to intimidate administrators out of reporting serious crimes to the proper authorities - and ultimately that comes from the fan base.

B-Nut-GoBlue

July 23rd, 2012 at 5:43 AM ^

Fair points.  Chalk this one up to an "agree-to-disagree" scenario regarding a few points.  I definitely respect the points you bring up, agreeing in ways up to a certain extent.

"..football being bigger than everything is what led to the cover-up.".  Yep.  This is so true and it's the nature of the beast it seems.  Sports rule.  Back to high school, the jocks rule over the other students skilled in other areas.  I'm amazed at how people do put sports on the pedestal they're on.  I'm a hell of a competiteve person (too much at times) and I love me the sports I'm interested in (football, baseball, NCAA basketball, track & field). 

But I know where to draw the line, differentiating that sports aren't a part of the bigger picture as we seem to think sometimes; lots more to life to really worry about and focus on.  Some fans aren't that way, which build to "whole fanbases" not being that way.  Fanbases and uber-fan types develop bad qualities, for sure.  But I'm not able to blame this particular fanbase for how the culture developed over there in PA (and to a lesser extent nationally) over the years.  Okay yea actually a fanbase is a big part of how a culture is developed, I should be able to agree to that.  What I think I'm trying to say is, that fanbase, to me, should have had no influence on what the higher-ups/board members/suits/governing officials/"people with large sums of responsibility", whatever we shall call these guilt stricken humans, do and how they function in governing that university.  Again, I do think they covered all of this up because of the football team and the program.  I do not think blame should be directed toward the fanbase for those-that-are-guilty's decision making issues, no matter how influential they would think the fans are.

This is not me saying those people (the fans/alums/etc.) are right.  I just again think the decision making people are to really blame, only them.  We would almost all need to blame ourselves if we think fanbases are inhibiting or altering the decision making capabilities of the chosen officials running these institutions (or major league team owners if something nasty were to happen in professional sports).  These fans had nothing to do with a cover up (yes, we've heard about rumors floating around for quite a few years).  So like, the German people knew what Hitler was doing to the Jews et.al.  They needed to be blamed for what occured in Germany during the late 30's and 40's and for supporting their D-bag leader and ignoring atrocities occuring.  The PSU fanbase knew nothing of this, only supporting a team and school they thought was flawless and a leading example of a university; I think they need not be blamed for their schools higher-ups botching this.  Yes, some are screwy for not acknowledging what occured or whatever they're mindsets are.  Again, time is needed for many of them to comprehend and overcome denial. 

So its 4:30am  Sorry for the novel.  I was trying to help convey some of my points, I probably failed at it and failed and delivering even my main point.  It's wait and find out time at this juncture, I suppose.  This later morning will be interesting to say the least.  Something possibly will happen that we've never seen before.

harmon40

July 23rd, 2012 at 6:02 AM ^

I agree that ultimately blame is on those who didn't act on knowledge they had.



Your point is well taken, to some degree at least. It's always tricky to evaluate just how indirectly responsible a faceless group of people can be for anything. Coming with anything concrete is impossible.



I do wonder about this at times, however, totally apart for PSU/JS scandal. I graduated from Michigan over 20 yrs ago and sometimes wonder why I care about this all so much (football generally). I wonder how indirectly responsible I am for CFB coaches working 80+ hour weeks, ie, "it's b/c of people like me and our sick attachment..." etc.



Wish I could conclude in a more coherent way but I have to catch my flight...

B-Nut-GoBlue

July 23rd, 2012 at 9:14 AM ^

Definitely feel the same way.  Coming up with something concrete or some sort of conclusion out of all this, is pretty tough.  For me having an opinion usually seems like such an easy concept but in light of this event or events like this, trying to evaluate the circumstances, opine, and exclaim one's stance certainly is "tricky".

Gene

July 23rd, 2012 at 4:52 AM ^

I had a sense of unease regarding the talk of punishing fans' behavior, and you put your finger on it.

In any case it's not like any amount of punishment is going to turn those fans around; if anything they'll just double down on their persecution complex.

The school should be punished for what the school did (and failed to do.)

AnthonyThomas

July 23rd, 2012 at 5:00 AM ^

Brash immorality is one of the few things worth getting upset about. That is exactly what many of these PSU fans are perpetuating through their denial of facts.

 

That being said, punishing people through punishing the football program is arguably the wrong thing to do. But how do you punish the program or university without also punishing the fans and students, if only indirectly? Public universities and the football programs which reside within them are ultimately propped up by the thousands if not millions of students, alumni, and fans, along with the rest of the state's citizenry. In every NCAA sanction, the fans are the ones who are ultimately punished in some form or another.

CRex

July 23rd, 2012 at 8:25 AM ^

For me it all comes down to one basic point:

Victim 1 was forced into witness protection when he spoke out agaisnt Sandusky and by extension PSU football.  Throughout the trial (and possibly even now) a pair of State Troopers are kept on hand for quick response if someone locates Victim 1 and follows through on a threat.  

To step back for a moment.  Penn State has always been cultish, I grew up in the area and always looked down on them for that.  However prior to this scandal I was always live and let live.  In fact I enjoyed the tears their cult like nature produced when they lost to Michigan year after year.  

Then the scandal, the flipping new trucks and rallies on Paterno's lawn were bad but undergrads do dumb things.  However the whole community just seemed to get stupid.  Victim 1 ends up in witness protection, when Paterno dies they paint a halo over his head on that mural (painted out post Freeh Report) because to a large part of the communty he's still Saint Paterno.  People talk about honoring Paterno, not about helping the victims.  The Paterno family starts releasing statements in which they speak for the victims and no one ever tells Scott and Jay Paterno to try shutting the hell up.  Nothing is done to make the victims feel comfortable about coming forward since the adults in the community are busy doing things like portraying Paterno as a saint.  There are those adults who likely didn't agree with Saint Paterno, but they weren't very vocal.

Some people clear got it.  Someone in the University had ingerity and hired Freeh to do his report.  They did eventually pull the statue down.   The problem is no one ever confront the community above.  You don't see some high official coming out and telling people "You are making victims of rape afraid to come forward" or "All Paterno had to do was walk McQueary over to the police station and tell him to tell the officers what he saw".  the PSU community never shows a willingness to purge that cultish group whose mindset was really the one that make the entire coverup possible and results in a victim of child rape hiding a safe house somewhere because some PSU superfans are pissed at him.  A sizable section of the PSU fanbase is directing their rage at their victim and their support at someone who helped over up child rape.  PSU wouldn't confront those people and force them to demphasis football, so now the NCAA will.  I hope the NCAA does a good job.  

m1817

July 23rd, 2012 at 4:07 AM ^

Something to consider is that when Penn State is punished, the collerateral damage is not limited to the Penn State community, the rest of the B1G suffers too.  

Are you still as eager to punish Penn State, knowing that dimishing their brand will negatively impact the rest of the B1G as well?

ak47

July 23rd, 2012 at 4:29 AM ^

yes i do because it is that exact mentality that allowed what happened at penn st to occur. punishing the school is the right thing to do. if that means that ohio st gets a cake walk to the big title game every year and every big school loses 2m in revenue it is still the right thing to do. there are things bigger than football at play. so yes, i am still eager to punish penn st.