OT: All Penn State Sanctions Dropped

[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.