OT: Penn State's vacated wins returned

Submitted by mgoblue0970 on

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/12179571/joe-paterno-111-wins-were-vacated-restored

I don't know about the forum but I'm absolutely disgusted by this.  Pedophile U created a culture of abuse over many years and their "punishment" has hardly been just that.  There's been zero accountability at that institution for the top down failures of leadership in the president's office, the athletic department, and the surrounding community.

You just know students will be celebrating this tonite in State College.  I'm sick and tired of that fan base's worship of JoePa and their claims that it wasn't his fault.

My heart aches for the victims who got bullshit justice in the first place -- bowl bans and vacated wins?  That were lifted early?

Penn State should have got the death penalty!

 

 

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west2

January 16th, 2015 at 3:54 PM ^

Penn state was fined 60 million by the NCAA and another 13 million by the big ten plus legal fees have doubled that figure as well as individual lawsuits adding unknown millions more that the university will pay out. Estimates to date peg costs to the university near 200 million. The University president, AD, HC and a member of the board of reagents were all summarily fired and have been ordered to stand trial for violation of federal board of education reporting regulations including criminal charges that have not been specified yet that I know of.  This in addition to being named in individual lawsuits by the victims. No one wants justice more than the PSU community and to see those responsible punished accordingly. I am not sure that the statement that there has been no punishment or zero accountability is accurate really. 

The thinking behind removing sanctions and restoring the football vacated records is that those punishments unfairly punished players and student athletes that had no part in the abuse scandal.  Whether this is the right thing to do is certainly debatable. 

Joined: 01/23/2011

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NittanyFan

January 16th, 2015 at 4:21 PM ^

First off, anyone saying PSU received NO punishment/penalties is simply wrong.  There were certainly penalties enforced.  

 

$60MM, 2 years without a bowl, players being able to "free transfer", the B1G's monetary penalty (PSU receives $0 in Bowl Distrubitions from the B1G from 2012 through 2015), 25 signees, playing the last 2 seasons w/ scholarship numbers in the 60s (given the numbers and math, it will probably take til 2016 to really approach 85 again), plus the hard-to-exactly-quantify but definitely real "permanent stain on the school's reputation."  

 

Anyway, what happened today is PSU received (for lack of a better word) "parole".  It was also "parole" when the Bowl Ban and scholarship restrictions were gradually rescinded back in September 2013 and September 2014.

 

For those people who think PSU should have never been eligible for parole, fair enough, I understand your viewpoint.  

 

But "parole", as it is, is used often in our criminal justice system.  Admittedly, this is the first time it has been used by the NCAA.

Joined: 12/04/2012

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mgoblue0970

January 16th, 2015 at 4:38 PM ^

The "permanent stain on the school's reputation" exists becuase of posts like this.  I do beleive the general public would ease up if your community even showed an once of contrition regarding this situation.  They generally prefer to preserve the JoePa cult of personality instead.

5 paragrahs.  All justifying the NCAA's action.

0 sentences about what went down.

smh

Joined: 11/22/2008

MGoPoints: 18648

NittanyFan

January 16th, 2015 at 4:54 PM ^

I know that I am a visitor here and as such will act respectfully.  

 

But let's be honest: when you made your post, you had NO idea on my personal opinion regarding JoePa or the whole damn situation.  

 

I'm VERY damn hard on them --- I think they all, at an absolute minimum, failed to act w/ human decency.  I think they covered things up too, though I believe that as of the moment the clarity on this is a lot less "black and white."  Curley/Schultz/Spanier DO deserve their day in court and until that day comes, I understand those who see the cover-up question in "shades of gray."

 

Anyway, it may be hard to believe, but many PSU folk believe similarly.  No doubt PSU has their loudmouths on both sides.  The Penn State community is VERY fragmented these days, and there are people with opinions all over the spectrum on this issue.  I don't think it's fair for you to say "your community" (implying 100% or a majority of us) generally prefers to preserve the JoePa cult of personality instead. 

 

Rant over.  Neg away, I've said my piece and I'll leave this thread now.

Joined: 12/04/2012

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julesh

January 16th, 2015 at 4:06 PM ^

I just want to say that I'm glad the MGoCommunity seems to be on the same page as I am, here. It seems like everywhere I look people are claiming that PSU was too severely punished. When the punishments came down, it was only PSU fans who were saying that. Now it's everybody. It's like they all forgot just how terrible the crime was, and how complicit the whole university was due to the fucked up culture there.

Joined: 11/28/2011

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xtramelanin

January 16th, 2015 at 4:32 PM ^

 talk about building confidence in higher learning institutions and their alleged governing authorities.  

unreal

 

 

Joined: 12/09/2014

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Mr. Yost

January 16th, 2015 at 4:53 PM ^

Sad.

I joke a ton on this site, I refuse to joke about this. This is disgusting. Not because of the wins, but because of the message that it sends.

Should've made their decision and left it at that. I under the bowl thing, reversing that was fine because it had nothing to do with the scandal and only to do with allowing these players and coaches to go play a game.

But if you penalized the PROGRAM for something, don't reverse course unless Sandusky was found innocent on ALL charges.

Joined: 07/25/2011

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BlueCube

January 16th, 2015 at 5:03 PM ^

I agree with you but the NCAA punishments have always punished those who follow. There's little they can do to the people who have left. That's historically been the method so it should be no different in this case.

Joined: 12/12/2013

MGoPoints: 45965

rockediny

January 16th, 2015 at 5:20 PM ^

We still have vacated wins because some players took money from a booster. OSU is in the same situation because of tattoos and other gifts. 

NCAA......what. the. fuck?

Joined: 08/14/2010

MGoPoints: 7566

M-GoGirl

January 16th, 2015 at 5:37 PM ^

What Sandusky did was beyond disgusting. He should have been castrated and fed his own Rocky Mountain oysters. Joe Paterno turning a blind eye to what was going on is just about as sick.  I feel for the players who suffered the consequences of the slime they played for, but then again, they could have left and many stayed. Their problem.

The crappy thing about this decision is that JoePa gets his wins back and pretty soon his statue will be back up and all things Paterno will spring up around campus again. People will be free to worship him and channel their prayers via his high priest, son, and overall tool Jay Paterno. It'll be like he never had a thing to do with it.

And here I was upset that Tressel got in the HOF. 

Joined: 10/28/2014

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ca_prophet

January 16th, 2015 at 5:39 PM ^

The people who committed the crimes or took direct action in covering them up are either dead, in jail, or awaiting trial. The victims are being cared for as best we can at this late date. The proposed settlement helps them and potential future victims far more than numbers in a record book. The football program was the motive for the coverup, but I don't care very much about that. Killing it won't bring justice to the victims or stop a future coverup, so what good do NCAA sanctions do? If anything, the NCAA should have found every staffer above a certain level employed during the years of alleged abuse and hit them with lifetime bans - those people have shown that they cannot be trusted with student-athlete welfare. But telling current players they can't go to a bowl because of things that no current coach, staffer, player, or administrator had anything to do with? Where's the justice in that? Punishing the program is like saying we should have disbanded the Whigs because Aaron Burr shot Alexander Hamilton over politics. I do find it distasteful that PSU is negotiating for those numbers back. If they want their reputation back or to put it behind them, then they should be distancing themselves from these acts, not fighting tooth and nail to say that they weren't as bad as all that.

Joined: 09/07/2010

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PrimeChronic

January 16th, 2015 at 5:41 PM ^

I would like the NCAA and Penn State to just answer ONE question.

How does restoring the wins help the victims?

At this point that should be all that matters in this situation.

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