Penn State Mess

[WX7P]

If someone else posted about this I apologize.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/08/sp...e-inquiry.html

I've been reading about this scandal and it's extremely disturbing.

It appears an aggressive child molester was tolerated by University officials to preserve JoePa's quest for all time win record. I find it extremely interesting this all comes out right after JoePa gets the record.

These people had evidence or at least a strong suspicion Jerry Sandusky was dirty as far back as 1999, yet did nothing. 1999! Even JoePa is not blame free here. While he did report what his graduate assistant witnessed (who, by the way, did NOTHING to stop the act in process) his mealy mouthed excuse about sending it up the chain doesn't resonate with me at all. This Sandusky creep was a long time employee of JoePa and it appears JoePa was protecting his long-term retired employee and the University by not going to the police. This coming from a man who has built a career on "character development".

This is more an indictment of the college sports system, rather than Penn State University. How many young men did this creep molest because some football crazy administrators and hangers on didn't want to embarrass the University?

I think they all should resign NOW, including Paterno. What a spectacle.

[KG4CGC]

Saw that earlier. Did not know how to present it to the group. It is seriously effed up.

[N8YX]

It's not disturbing - it's predictable.

Sports activities and figures are deified at the expense of everything and everyone else.

Nothing less that a radical overhaul of society is going to fix this.

[WX7P]

It's not disturbing - it's predictable.

Sports activities and figures are deified at the expense of everything and everyone else.

Nothing less that a radical overhaul of society is going to fix this.

I don't disagree, but you'd think the sports figures that babble on about "character" and developing character would actually show some.

Even with my well developed cynicism about college "amateurs", this story is completely off the scale for me. It's going to cost the University some serious dollars. Those clowns that protected Sandusky better have some deep pockets also.

[suddenseer]

There goes Penn State's squeaky clean image. The people falling on their swords to protect JoePa is disgusting.

[WØTKX]

At least this time it's not a Catholic thing. Just sayin'.

Leave the damn kids alone!

[W3MIV]

Nothing less that a radical overhaul of society is going to fix this.

I think that is true. We have come too far along this road to make an easy journey back. As with so many other facets of our "modern" society, money has trumped every and all senses of morality. Modern mass communications media are the engine that drives too much of what passes for socially acceptable behavior today; the media moguls and the corporate execs who use them for profit will sit around shaking their heads in disgust, clucking and sighing about the wretched nature of this sordid episode, but all the while they will be plotting ways and means to get past the worst of the public exposure so that they can get back to business as swiftly as they can.

The system is more screwed up than the perp's head.

[n2ize]

This of course does not represent the entire arena of college sports. This pertains to one particular school. Nothing in this world is perfect. Even in pure academia there are favorites played and things the could be deemed scandalous. However, we mustn't let such incidents cast a negative shadow over all sports, religion, etc.. there is still far more virtue than negativity in sports.

[W3MIV]

Sure there is.

[W3WN]

There goes Penn State's squeaky clean image. The people falling on their swords to protect JoePa is disgusting.

JoePa has gotten a lot of people looking out for him over the decades. And to be fair, for the most part, he has earned it.

Keep in mind somethings:

At the time of the alleged incident (which is not to say it didn't happen, but technically, at the moment, it is only an allegation), Sandusky was NOT on Paterno's staff. Read that again: Sandusky was no longer an employee of Penn State, let alone an underling of Paterno's.

The people that Paterno reported the allegations to included the man responsible for the campus police department... and believe me, they are a real police department. There are a lot of complaints that Paterno didn't call the police... but he went right to the guy ultimately in charge.

Now, should Penn State have banned Sandusky at the time of the report? Sure. I would have. I think this is where they failed. Who are "they"? The very people now under indictment for perjury.

It's very easy to blame Paterno. And I agree, he is not without some degree of fault... he did everything he was legally supposed to, but he should have done more, he should not have relied on his AD and the other administration people to take care of it. Maybe he just couldn't bring himself to believe that a long time, once trusted, now retired associate could have done anything close to these accusations; I don't know. Maybe he was lied to by those perpetuating the cover-up; again, I don't know.

My point is that we don't know everything, yet the media and those with their own agendas are screaming for the head of everyone involved to any degree. There is a more than a whiff of a rush to judgement... look, I don't want to defend Sandusky, it makes me ill to even have to write the following line, but the fact of the matter is, he has been charged with a serious and heinous crime, but he has NOT been tried in court, he has NOT been convicted in a court of law. Just in the media.

Of course, whether or not he is convicted (and based on what evidence that's leaked out, he's in deep, deep doo-do), his reputation is ruined, and he will never again be employed by any organization that has anything to do with youth.

Regarding Paterno... well, I don't want to draw a firm conclusion until we know more details about what he actually did about this, what he was told, and what other actions were taken. Without knowing the context, it is difficult to conclude that his apparant inactions in not doing more, in and of themselves, demand that he be forced out. That is not to say that there may not be consequences. His legacy is damaged, to say the least. I simply know that I don't know enough, just what's been reported... and I know that many of these reporters have been looking for reasons to get him fired retired for years, so I'm not so sure that they're all that unbiased.

Context matters.

Now: Don't be surprised if Penn State's President is forced out over the scandal as well. And if Spanier goes, I can almost guarantee that his successor will clean house... odds are also pretty good that even if he isn't, the new Athletic Director (and there almost certainly will be a new AD) will clean house. I strongly suspect that Paterno will not be on the sidelines next year. If not officially because of the scandal, then officially because of his health issues... but more likely, the new AD will take the "high road" and proclaim that anyone tainted by the scandal has to go. Including, if not especially, Paterno.

Woody Hayes couldn't survive punching an opposing player. Compared to what Sandusky is alleged to have done, that's peanuts. So I strongly suspect that Paterno will be gone after the bowl game... and it probably won't be a major bowl unless they win the Big 10+2 championship outright, because of the black cloud Sandusky has brought down on the program.

What a way to go.