OT: All Penn State Sanctions Dropped

[Huskies Rule]

the NCAA is a total freaking joke...

All NCAA sanctions levied against Penn State in the horrific Jerry Sandusky/Joe (he knew) Paterno child-molestation scandal have been lifted. All forfeited PSU football victories restored. Previously, all scholarships and post-season prohibitions were lifted. What has not changed is the FACT that Paterno's buddy and long-time coach was convicted in a court of law of 45 counts of sexually abusing young boys and will spend the rest of his life in prison. The NCAA was apparently unmoved by the court's findings and decided that any punishment directed at PSU was harsh and unwarranted- even though many adults knew what was going on for years. Pennsylvania Senator Corman joyously declared, "Today is a victory for Penn State Nation. The NCAA has surrendered." Yes, to a university that knew about and protected a pedophile from prosecution.

I expect such NCAA cowardice to be repeated when and if they complete their investigation of the 18 year UNC cheating scandal. The penalties will be insignificant relative to the acts committed, just as Penn State has gotten off with a huge $$ fine and little else. Being an important P5 member school trumps doing the right thing; it means the NCAA looks the other way when unconscionable acts are perpetrated. BUT WAIT- I'M MISTAKEN-the NCAA still DOES have courage and integrity, they did manage to impose a secondary sanction on Geno Auriemma and UConn for a congratulatory phone call to 8th grader Mo'ne Davis.

How screwed up is the NCAA. They should disband, since they clearly are corrupt, contemptible and gutless.

 

[stamfordhusky]

the NCAA is a total freaking joke...

All NCAA sanctions levied against Penn State in the horrific Jerry Sandusky/Joe (he knew) Paterno child-molestation scandal have been lifted. All forfeited PSU football victories restored. Previously, all scholarships and post-season prohibitions were lifted. What has not changed is the FACT that Paterno's buddy and long-time coach was convicted in a court of law of 45 counts of s e xually abusing young boys and will spend the rest of his life in prison. The NCAA was apparently unmoved by the court's findings and decided that any punishment directed at PSU was harsh and unwarranted- even though many adults knew what was going on for years. Pennsylvania Senator Corman joyously declared, "Today is a victory for Penn State Nation. The NCAA has surrendered." Yes, to a university that knew about and protected a pedophile from prosecution.

I expect such NCAA cowardice to be repeated when and if they complete their investigation of the 18 year UNC cheating scandal. The penalties will be insignificant relative to the acts committed, just as Penn State has gotten off with a huge $$ fine and little else. Being an important P5 member school trumps doing the right thing; it means the NCAA looks the other way when unconscionable acts are perpetrated. BUT WAIT- I'M MISTAKEN-the NCAA still DOES have courage and integrity, they did manage to impose a secondary sanction on Geno Auriemma and UConn for a congratulatory phone call to 8th grader Mo'ne Davis.

How screwed up is the NCAA. They should disband, since they clearly are corrupt, contemptible and gutless.

I understand that what Sandusky did was horrible. BUT punishing the PSU program for it was not allowed under NCAA rules. They backtracked due to the fact that they had no right to impose the sanctions in the first place. However there are many criminal charges still being pursued against the responsible individuals at Penn State - and civil suits have cost the University tens of millions already. This is where actions should be taken - not by the NCAA. There is no way to compare this to UNC, where the NCAA clearly does have jurisdiction. Your whole argument is, at best, illogical.

 

[Icebear]

John Sandusky and Joe Paterno were never close. That was a media myth.

 

[HoopsFan21]

the NCAA is a total freaking joke...

All NCAA sanctions levied against Penn State in the horrific Jerry Sandusky/Joe (he knew) Paterno child-molestation scandal have been lifted. All forfeited PSU football victories restored. Previously, all scholarships and post-season prohibitions were lifted. What has not changed is the FACT that Paterno's buddy and long-time coach was convicted in a court of law of 45 counts of s e xually abusing young boys and will spend the rest of his life in prison. The NCAA was apparently unmoved by the court's findings and decided that any punishment directed at PSU was harsh and unwarranted- even though many adults knew what was going on for years. Pennsylvania Senator Corman joyously declared, "Today is a victory for Penn State Nation. The NCAA has surrendered." Yes, to a university that knew about and protected a pedophile from prosecution.

I expect such NCAA cowardice to be repeated when and if they complete their investigation of the 18 year UNC cheating scandal. The penalties will be insignificant relative to the acts committed, just as Penn State has gotten off with a huge $$ fine and little else. Being an important P5 member school trumps doing the right thing; it means the NCAA looks the other way when unconscionable acts are perpetrated. BUT WAIT- I'M MISTAKEN-the NCAA still DOES have courage and integrity, they did manage to impose a secondary sanction on Geno Auriemma and UConn for a congratulatory phone call to 8th grader Mo'ne Davis.

How screwed up is the NCAA. They should disband, since they clearly are corrupt, contemptible and gutless.

No offense, but this is a typical emotion driven response full of ridiculous hyperbole. Your response is why the NCAA is in the position it is today with respect to Penn State. From what I've read, Paterno and Sandusky weren't exactly friends or buddies as you put it. What Paterno knew was that his graduate assistant reported something suspicious and what he presumed to be sexual in nature in the showers in the football locker room. I'm not sure what else you think he knew, but that's a pretty vague report in and of itself (McQueary himself admitted that he didn't use explicit language out of respect for his coach), and even still Paterno put the witness (McQueary) in touch with his superiors who could do something about it. I would be on board with burning Paterno if he had actually witnessed Sandusky raping that boy in the shower and then buried it, but that's not what happened. McQueary's version of the events were so unbelievable that the jury acquitted Sandusky of any rape charges in that particular case. If a jury didn't believe McQueary, what exactly did you expect Paterno without all of, or very little of, the facts to do? Fire Sandusky? Sandusky wasn't an employee at the time and hadn't been for several years. If you read the Freeh Report, Paterno was against even allowing Sandusky to bring kids into the football facility, but was overruled. Guess he wasn't king of Pennsylvania that knew of every single broken street light after all. Furthermore, Paterno supposedly asked McQueary if he was OK with how everything turned out, and he said he was, and then McQueary was later seen golfing with Sandusky and using him as a resource for recruiting later on. In Paterno's 70-something year old mind, at that point it was a closed case and everything had worked itself out. He was a football coach, not a SVU detective. If you saw someone raping a kid in the shower, would you go golfing with that person or maintain a friendship? I think what McQueary saw was the equivalent of what you might see at your local YMCA with respect to some older dudes showering with kids. So, for that one dubious case, you are OK with the NCAA nuking a member institution like that?

 

[Icebear]

John Sandusky and Joe Paterno were never close. That was a media myth. There was no "university" that knew. It is very possible those who knew may be limited to Curley, Schultz and Spanier. Receiving little media coverage is the fact that the one situation that involved the university resulted in a charge that Sandusky was not convicted of. Why? Because the victim gave testimony that he had not been abused/assaulted on the campus the evening McQueary was to have heard not seen the events. He was indeed a victim of Sandusky but not that night in the showers on campus. There has been so much disinformation in the original media coverage that many people have no clue about the details that eventually came out. No information has ever emerged giving evidence of a university wide conspiracy to cover up any actions by Sandusky. The fact is the NCAA blackmailed the Board of Trustees who just wanted it all to go away.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Ah yes, blaming the media for all the furor, a time-honored tactic. And sure, there are times when "justice" gets perverted by reporters of all stripes, but the fact is that Sandusky had been running his molestation system at PSU and environs for years and each report had been swept away by PSU officials who were happy to say that the "legal system" (if you want to call it that there) had taken no action. And you can say that it's reasonable that JoePA who knew everything about everything that happened at PSU knew nothing, nothing, about the Sandusky behavior. JoePA was not a young boy so of course the two weren't close, but Sandusky was the brains behind the defensive matters for PSU in many of its glory years and was the heir apparent to JoePA, and he suddenly just disappeared from the coaching staff early on in the molestation era of charges but still stuck around at PSU to continue his attacks. Naturally when molestation crimes are exposed the best friends of the perpetrators say they had no idea what was going on, but there is a belief here that because Sandusky and JoePa were reportedly "not close" that it somehow show that JoePA had absolutely no inkling about anything. What, you expect that if they were close that Sandusky might have fessed up "Gee Joe, I've got there pedophile tendencies. What should I do about them?" Weird logic in all this.

Sandusky finally did get convicted following the furor, but there's no certainty that the PSU admin will ever be brought up to trial because of all the errors by PSU staff that may have jeopardized the case on legal grounds. So yes of course PSU wanted everything swept into the background, and they may get much of the dirt swept away in the future, but blame the school along with Sandusky for this horrible case, not the media. Playing that poor "PSU got blackmailed" card is just sad.

 

[Icebear]

Dobbs clearly you have not followed the facts as they emerged from the investigations and the testimony in Sandusky's trial. No involvement of PSU at all. If you want to hold the proper people accountable direct your ire towards the Centre County Youth and Family Services who never removed foster kids from Sandusky's care. Blame the DA, Gricar, who failed to bring the initial situation to court in the late 90s where at least the accusations would be public. Blame the professionals involved with Second Mile who never saw the predator in their midst on the board. PSU's involvement was trivial compared to these professionals and Joe followed the exact procedures dictated by the state law and which are now codified by the NCAA, as well. Read Posnanski's book, "Paterno," and understand the realities of campus and JoePA. The Joe knowing everything about everything in State College and on campus is part of the myth. Yes, the media painted a picture that none of us living locally would recognize as how life was day to day.

 

[sivad40]

A lot of Pitt fans were out in full force last night on the national sports talk radio shows voicing their anger over the wins being restored. Do Pitt fans have a inferiority complex when it comes to Penn State?

 

[stamfordhusky]

Playing that poor "PSU got blackmailed" card is just sad.

What Sandusky did was sad and horrendous. What the NCAA did was sad (not to the same degree) and not allowed under their charter. Not sure if blackmail is the right word - but it's close.

 

[stamfordhusky]

A lot of Pitt fans were out in full force last night on the national sports talk radio shows voicing their anger over the wins being restored. Do Pitt fans have a inferiority complex when it comes to Penn State?

yes

 

[DobbsRover2]

Dobbs clearly you have not followed the facts as they emerged from the investigations and the testimony in Sandusky's trial. No involvement of PSU at all. If you want to hold the proper people accountable direct your ire towards the Centre County Youth and Family Services who never removed foster kids from Sandusky's care. Blame the DA, Gricar, who failed to bring the initial situation to court in the late 90s where at least the accusations would be public. Blame the professionals involved with Second Mile who never saw the predator in their midst on the board. PSU's involvement was trivial compared to these professionals and Joe followed the exact procedures dictated by the state law and which are now codified by the NCAA, as well. Read Posnanski's book, "Paterno," and understand the realities of campus and JoePA. The Joe knowing everything about everything in State College and on campus is part of the myth. Yes, the media painted a picture that none of us living locally would recognize as how life was day to day.

Actually, IB, I have read through extensive accounts of how the evidence given to PSU officials was handled, and it was a shocking and upsetting account, and there is a reason why school officials are on trial. Their type of behavior was once accepted, nowadays hopefully not any more.

But as noted, no matter what stumbling about of the incompetent NCAA did amidst all the furor, dumping the blame on the media that dragged out the story from the dungeons of a school that from Renee Portland to Sandusky has shown itself to have a very low threshold for ethical behavior is just sad. Maybe the school did get blackmailed as some here want to trumpet, but it is also true that anyone who reads through the accounts of the actions revolving around Sandusky can see there was a huge moral chasm there that left them open for blackmail.

 

[Geno-ista]

I suspect there's a lot more stuff the NCAA doesn't want released which is why they've folded like a lawn chair. Penn State's board also seems pretty shady and not very transparent, so they've probably got some skeletons in the closet they want to keep hidden. The NCAA emails that were released a month ago put them in a pretty bad light, and there's apparently a whole treasure trove the NCAA is fighting to keep private. Two years ago the NCAA acted like the Gezpatcho. Now they're trying to make it go away before they are the ones in handcuffs. And there is still the matter of the Paterno Estate lawsuit which is separate from this settlement, so they may not be out of the woods just yet. As for Mark Emmert, I'm guessing the letters he received on U.S. Congress letterhead made him think long and hard about how much political capital he was willing to spend on the Penn State issue.

Well said Hoops! Pokey Chapman, Head coach of LSU Women's B Ball has sex with her player. She gets rewarded with a WNBA head coaching job. Not to mention any sanctions that I'm aware of? If that were Geno, I'm not sure it would have gone the same way. North Carolina commits fraud for athletes for 20-30 yrs, and we don't hear a peep from the almighty NCAA. The NCAA is pathetic.

 

[CL82]

John Sandusky and Joe Paterno were never close. That was a media myth. There was no "university" that knew.

Just to be clear we are talking about:

Penn State President Graham Spanier,

Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley and

Penn State Vice President Gary Schultz

....but there was no university involvement.

 

[CL82]

For what it is worth, a cover up of the sexual abuse of children by high ranking university officials to protect the reputation of the sports department certainly seems to a lack of institutional control, albeit not in the traditional sense. As I've said previously, I do think that NCAA probably could not have forced the sanctions on the PSU, but they didn't have to that. Penn State agreed to them, no doubt due to the PR bloodbath they were getting daily. But now that the scandal has left public consciousness, Penn State saw fit to renege on its promise. No amount of arguments on how the agreement might be set aside changes that fact.

At the end of it all, PSU executives were in a position help prevent a suspected pedophile from having access to particularly vulnerable children. They did not. No amount of suggesting that the actions if university executives aren't in fact the actions of the university itself changes that fact.

 

[HoopsFan21]

For what it is worth, a cover up of the s e xual abuse of children by high ranking university officials to protect the reputation of the sports department certainly seems to a lack of institutional control, albeit not in the traditional sense. As I've said previously, I do think that NCAA probably could not have forced the sanctions on the PSU, but they didn't have to that. Penn State agreed to them, no doubt due to the PR bloodbath they were getting daily. But now that the scandal has left public consciousness, Penn State saw fit to renege on its promise. No amount of arguments on how the agreement might be set aside changes that fact.

At the end of it all, PSU executives were in a position help prevent a suspected pedophile from having access to particularly vulnerable children. They did not. No amount of suggesting that the actions if university executives aren't in fact the actions of the university itself changes that fact.

Penn State was not the one that sued.
Penn State agreed to and was in favor of following the consent decree.
Penn State along with the NCAA was being sued in the case that was settled.
Furthermore, do you honestly believe Penn State covered up child sex abuse to protect the sports department? I don't. There really wasn't as much incentive for them to do so as everyone seems to believe.

 

[Icebear]

Just to be clear we are talking about:

Penn State President Graham Spanier,

Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley and

Penn State Vice President Gary Schultz

....but there was no university involvement.

Yes, it was those three officials out of a hundred or so and there is some question about how much Spanier knew or whether he was largely kept in the dark.

 

[Icebear]

At the end of it all, PSU executives were in a position help prevent a suspected pedophile from having access to particularly vulnerable children. They did not. No amount of suggesting that the actions if university executives aren't in fact the actions of the university itself changes that fact.

Penn State did not renege they were named as partners to the NCAA in the complaint. The suit was brought by state officials including the local State Senator among others. Penn State had no part in providing Sandusky access to vulnerable children. Sandusky's hunting ground was the Second Mile Charity which was completely unaffiliated with the University. No one on campus was of the age group that he pursued.

 

[Icebear]

Actually, IB, I have read through extensive accounts of how the evidence given to PSU officials was handled, and it was a shocking and upsetting account, and there is a reason why school officials are on trial. Their type of behavior was once accepted, nowadays hopefully not any more.

But as noted, no matter what stumbling about of the incompetent NCAA did amidst all the furor, dumping the blame on the media that dragged out the story from the dungeons of a school that from Renee Portland to Sandusky has shown itself to have a very low threshold for ethical behavior is just sad. Maybe the school did get blackmailed as some here want to trumpet, but it is also true that anyone who reads through the accounts of the actions revolving around Sandusky can see there was a huge moral chasm there that left them open for blackmail.

I have always clearly stated that Curley and Schultz were properly charged and responsible for the mess. There is little to no evidence that it extended beyond them and Spanier and it is even unclear how much he knew. More properly I should have said extorted rather than blackmailed.

 

[CL82]

Furthermore, do you honestly believe Penn State covered up child s e x abuse to protect the sports department? I don't. There really wasn't as much incentive for them to do so as everyone seems to believe.

I do, at least as to Curley and Schultz. I'm not sure about some others.