Penn State football deserves death penalty for cover-up

Harry · July 12, 2012

If we make such a big deal about a college football program playing dumb when a recruit takes free shoes or tattoos, or his family lives in a house rent free, how can we ignore it when evidence screams that one of the nation’s most powerful universities enabled a pedophile?

How can we sit through something so sick and vile as the testimony in the Jerry Sandusky trial and conclude that this was a one-source scandal?

Penn State should not be allowed to play another football game. SMU, one of the nation’s top private universities, saw its football program given the death penalty in 1987 because it put athletic success and the fame and fortune that comes with it above what so obviously is morally acceptable.

Isn’t it now clear that Penn State did the exact same thing?

http://blogs.ajc.com/jeff-schultz-blog/2012/07/12/penn-state-football-deserves-death-penalty-for-

Harry · July 12, 2012

Interesting article on how the NCAA could respond:

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/13699791-419/ncaa-sanctions-could-be-next-for-penn-state.html

The Fake Lonnie Finch · July 12, 2012

http://www.scribd.com/doc/99901850/REPORT-FINAL-071212-1#download

Full report - 267 pages - on scribd. Don't have time to read it, but just skimming it I don't see how Penn State escape without major sanctions. Full sections of Penn State continuing to give Sandusky access to the footbal facilities and allowing to hold camps there even after the 1998 and 2001 investigations.

This was a cover up aided by the athletic department and by the many in the administration. It's shameful that so many grown men could allow it.

How could any of them even stand to be in the same room with a guy accused of child molestion, much less continue to alow him to have access to kids with their full blessing on their campus using their athletic facilities? It's gross. Joe Paterno is a fraud. Give me the payment-under-the-table scandals of the 80s over this stuff. This is just horrible.

I hope Penn State is given a Death Penalty equal to or greater than that given to SMU in the 80s. Raping kids is worse than giving cash and cars to Eric Dickerson and his pals.

SilverEagle · July 12, 2012

I think this guy would agree with that assessment.

http://www.reuters.c...E86B05D20120712

To me, one of the most damning statements from this article.

The report said Paterno and others also knew about a 1998 criminal investigation of Sandusky in which he was suspected of misconduct with a boy in a locker room shower.

"In short, nothing was done and Sandusky was allowed to continue with impunity," Freeh said.

Failure to alert authorities allowed Sandusky to continue preying on young boys for years, prosecutors said. At least half of Sandusky's 10 known victims were abused after 1998.

And, the really scary part of this is that experts in the field of sexual predators will tell you that Jerry Sandusky has probably been doing this since he was an adolescent.

Edited July 12, 2012 by SilverEagle

SilverEagle · July 12, 2012

...and then there's this.....

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/penn-st-donations-2nd-highest-180728556--ncaaf.html

THOR · July 12, 2012

the donations could be mainly to the school and not the athletic department....eff the athletic department with razor blades as much as possible and those four people that did nothing, but the school staff and students as a whole knew nothing and shouldn't be punished. people are showing their support for the school with the donations and not the athletic department*

*didn't read your whole link, so i don't know for a fact that the donations were mainly to the school and not the athletic department...

Edited July 13, 2012 by THOR

UNT90 · July 12, 2012

...and then there's this.....

http://sports.yahoo....556--ncaaf.html

Great. It's nice of them to donate to the eventual court ordered payment to the victims.

The Fake Lonnie Finch · July 12, 2012

Here's the KA-POW moment in the report, Batman:

"For the past several decades, the University's Athletic Department was permitted to become a closed community. There was little personnel turnover or hiring from outside the University and strong internal loyalty. The football program, in particular, opted out of most of the University's Clery Act [my emphasis, the Clery Act is a federal law that requires certain University offical - in this case it was Curley, Paterno, and McQueary - to report sexual misconduct against minors to University Police officials so that they would be included in federal statistics. Curley, Paterno, and McQueary, according to the report, all failed to do so], sexual abuse awareness and summer camp training. The Athletic Department was perceived by many in the Penn State community as "an island," where staff members lived by their own rules." - p.139 of the report

Harry · July 12, 2012

I thought this comment was so spot on in terms of not just Penn State but our entire society:

Success is now what you can get away with and how much money you can stash out of reach of the authorities before you get caught.

The Fake Lonnie Finch · July 12, 2012

Yeah, agree. I was thinking that many athletic directors are crapping their shorts this morning.

Look, there are many laws that Univerisities must follow. My guess is that the Clery Act is one that few take seriously because, "No one here would molest a kid, so training for it is a waste of time."

There is a ton of pressure on athletic departments, to be sure, in many different areas. But, in this case, Penn State officials and the athletic department were well aware of the problems with Sandusky.

And, instead of ridding themselves of Sandusky, these guy - as the documentation shows - bent over backwards to keep him happy. At one point, it is even mentioned that they feared being sued by him if they asked to take his keys from him that gave him access to damn near every athletic facility on the campus!

I'm simply amazed still, that no one, not one of these grown men would do anything to rid themselves of Sandusky. You have federal whistleblower laws to protect you. And, when the thing in 2001 was being investigated, you had Enron blow up. Then in 2002, WorldCom, which was, I believe right there in Pennsylvania!

Any of the people involved, had they been more interest in kids' well being instead of Penn State football's, could have reported the alleged abuses and gotten whistleblower protection. The truth is, Joe Paterno - like many other coaches in similar situations professionally - was treated as king of the hill, not to be questioned, and you did as he said and wished.

Joe Pa wanted to protect his old, child molesting buddy. It cost him his job. It cost him his long-built reputation. And, it should cost Penn State it's football program for a couple of seasons, of not longer.

Somewhere, Bobby Bowden, retired from "Free Shoes University," is chuckling to himself.

Edited July 12, 2012 by The Fake Lonnie Finch

TIgreen01 · July 12, 2012

Interesting article on how the NCAA could respond:

http://www.suntimes....penn-state.html

The crux of the issue on whether or not the NCAA can and will respond:

"Milstein believes the NCAA can and should punish Penn State University because he considers Sandusky’s actions and the alleged cover-up directly related to the prestige and profitability of Penn State football. Jackson refutes that possibility because — no matter the involvement of athletic department employees — an NCAA punishment is possible only if an NCAA violation occurs."

This will certainly be interesting to follow. Personally, I think the NCAA desperately needs to find a way to respond. The last year has produced one black-eye after another. The perception is exactly as Harry stated above (QFT), "Success is now what you can get away with and how much money you can stash out of reach of the authorities before you get caught."

UNT90 · July 12, 2012

Yeah, agree. I was thinking that many athletic directors are crapping their shorts this morning.

Look, there are many laws that Univerisities must follow. My guess is that the Clery Act is one that few take seriously because, "No one here would molest a kid, so training for it is a waste of time."

There is a ton of pressure on athletic departments, to be sure, in many different areas. But, in this case, Penn State officials and the athletic department were well aware of the problems with Sandusky.

And, instead of ridding themselves of them, these guy - as the documentation shows - bent over backwards to keep him happy. At one point, it is even mentioned that they feared being sued by him if they asked to take his keys from him that gave him access to damn near every athletic facility on the campus!

I'm simply amazed still, that no one, not one of these grown men would do anything to rid themselves of Sandusky. You have federal whistleblower laws to protect you. And, when the thing in 2001 was being investigated, you had Enron blow up. Then in 2002, WorldCom, which was, I believe right there in Pennsylvania!

Any of the people involved, had they been more interest in kids' well being instead of Penn State football's could have reported the alleged abuses and gotten whistleblower protection. The truth is, Joe Paterno - like many other coaches in similar situations professionally - was treated as king of the hill, not to be questioned, and you did as he said and wished.

Joe Pa wanted to protect his old, child molesting buddy. It cost him his job. It cost him his long-built reputation. And, it should cost Penn State it's football program for a couple of seasons, of not longer.

Somewhere, Bobby Bowden, retired from "Free Shoes University," is chuckling to himself.

Too bad Joe Pa didn't live long enough to see the inside of a prison cell.

Investigate 2nd mile. Follow the money.

UNT90 · July 12, 2012

The crux of the issue on whether or not the NCAA can and will respond:

"Milstein believes the NCAA can and should punish Penn State University because he considers Sandusky’s actions and the alleged cover-up directly related to the prestige and profitability of Penn State football. Jackson refutes that possibility because — no matter the involvement of athletic department employees — an NCAA punishment is possible only if an NCAA violation occurs."

This will certainly be interesting to follow. Personally, I think the NCAA desperately needs to find a way to respond. The last year has produced one black-eye after another. The perception is exactly as Harry stated above (QFT), "Success is now what you can get away with and how much money you can stash out of reach of the authorities before you get caught."

This is crap. Penn St. gained a competitive advantage by not reporting the sexual abuse of young males. Isn't it logical to assume young males would not come and play football at Penn St. if the then defensive coordinator was arrested for sexually assaulting young males?

Edited July 12, 2012 by UNT90

Harry · July 12, 2012

Should this go unpunished?

The 267-page report released Thursday on the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State reveals some disturbing details, and shows how a university can be taken over by its football program.

In one part of the report, a janitor says he witnessed Sandusky performing oral sex on a young boy in the showers at Penn State, but eventually decided not to report it because "they'll get rid of all of us."

A second janitor also said he witnessed Sandusky and a young boy in the showers, but didn't say anything because reporting the incident "would have been like going against the president of the United States in my opinion. I know Paterno has so much power, if he wanted to get rid of someone, I would have been gone." He also said that "football runs the university," and that the school would have closed ranks to protect the football program at all costs.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-penn-state-20120712,0,7928778.story

Harry · July 12, 2012

I thought this article addressed the fact that this horrific story was ENTIRELY about the football program very well:

Think of all the moral differences between our world and the world of Penn State:

In the world of Penn State, the "humane" thing to do after receiving allegations that Sandusky raped a child was to go to Sandusky himself rather than calling the cops.

In the world of Penn State, it was more important to "avoid the consequences of bad publicity," (as the Freeh report puts it) than to report a potential felony.

In the world of Penn State, buying $400 worth of clothes for a player was a greater offense than molesting kids.

The primary aim was protecting the sanctity of the lucrative, successful football program JoePa built. The conventional morality and authority of the outside world was inconsequential within the program.

So the idea that this scandal has nothing to do with the program is a lie. It had absolutely everything to do with football, because the world that grew out of the football team turned out to be so horrific that it continued to host a sexual predator despite a litany of instances where the mechanisms of the real world would have brought him to justice.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/penn-state-football-death-penalty-2012-7#ixzz20QZCBmEb

UNTFan23 · July 12, 2012

This is crap. Penn St. gained a competitive advantage by not reporting the sexual abuse of young males. Isn't it logical to assume young males would not come and play football at Penn St. if the then defensive coordinator was arrested for sexually assaulting young males?

I don't buy that PSU would have lost any competitive advantage by reporting Sandusky back in 1998 or 2001 when allegations first starting popping up.

Here's how things might have gone down:

Allegations surface regarding Sandusky's sexual contact with minors. Case is turned over to police for criminal investigation.
Sandusky suspended (likely with pay) pending the results of the police investigation. Sandusky barred from stepping foot on campus and participating in any university events.
Assuming there is enough evidence, an arrest is made.
Sandusky fired with cause for conduct unbecoming of the university.
Press Release by the university outlining the results of the investigation and that Sandusky has been fired.

I don't see how doing the right thing back in 1998 or 2001 would have caused Penn State to lose a competitive advantage at all. If anything, it would have made the university come out smelling like a rose and absolving it of future liabilities since they reported the allegations to the proper authorities as soon as they became aware of them.

Today they have to defend why they covered up the whole mess. Despite this, North Texas still lost a recruit to PSU so I'd say they haven't lost much of a competitive advantage.

Harry · July 12, 2012

Today they have to defend why they covered up the whole mess. Despite this, North Texas still lost a recruit to PSU so I'd say they haven't lost much of a competitive advantage.

Whether we lost a recruit to PSU doesn't really bother me, it's that the recruit is stating that Penn State is his "dream school". That really bothers me. What occurred at Penn State should not allow young kids to view it as their dream. At least for the next 3-4 years perhaps forever. If Penn State is able to put all of the blame on the leaders (or fall guys) that THEY put in place then something is terribly wrong with our justice system.

The Fake Lonnie Finch · July 12, 2012

If they don't heavily sanction Miami for the Nevin guy's actions and Penn State for this, the fix is in.

I'm talking really far-fatched sceanrios here, but, what if Miami and Penn State escape with the equivalent of slaps on the wrist? Would it be time, then, for some universities to say, "Screw this. We're out of the NCAA, forming our own athletic association."

My guess is, it wouldn't come to that point because it's to scary to do the right thing; and, financially, you're starting from square one. And, unfortunately, I think there are many athletic directors, coaches, and administrators who are thinking this morning, "There, but for the grace of God, go I" and are just relieved that they haven't been caught in their misdeed yet.

Edited July 12, 2012 by The Fake Lonnie Finch

CMJ · July 12, 2012

If you think that the NCAA should and will shut down the Football Program because of this horrible thing that occurred.

You are wrong for two reasons:

1. The NCAA Stands for - National Collegiate Athletic Association. This means that it governs and penalizes on the basis of Collegiate ATHLETIC rules. The NCAA DOES NOT investigate or penalize CRIMINAL ACTS. What happened at PSU is a CRIMINAL ACT and is being handled as such by DA’s and Grand Juries etc.

People say (here and elsewhere): “SMU's football program received the so-called death penalty decades ago for sports-related improprieties. This is worse. Far worse.” And yes, that is correct. They received the death penalty for SPORTS-RELATED-IMPROPRIETIES (multiple offenders at that...and like it or not this would be a first offense). This is WHY they received the death penalty. The NCAA can only hand out any penalty for SPORTS-RELATED-IMPROPRIETIES. Whether you, myself or anyone else likes it or not, they cannot hand out the death penalty for criminal activity.

Take for example Baylor and their basketball program a few years ago. The NCAA gave penalties for SPORTS-RELATED-IMPROPRIETIES that were found amongst the investigation of a murdered basketball player. They DID NOT give penalties for the MURDER (Criminal Act). In this case the NCAA could (if found...though I have seen nothing) give penalties for SPORTS-RELATED-IMPROPRIETIES that were found in amongst the investigation of CHILD ABUSE (Criminal Act). But they WON’T and CAN’T give penalties for CRIMINAL OFFENSES.

2. The second reason that they won’t and can’t give any penalties is their Statute of Limitations. “NCAA 32.6.3 Statute of Limitations: Allegations included in a notice of allegations shall be limited to possible violations occurring not earlier than four years before the date the notice of inquiry is forwarded to the institution or the date the institution notifies (or, if earlier, should have notified) the enforcement staff of its inquiries into the matter.”

Therefore, whatever investigation and violations that the NCAA finds would have to be from December of 2007 and forward. We're talking about stuff from well beyond that time frame right now.

greenminer · July 12, 2012

I agree with every notion that this does not fall under the umbrella of NCAA violations. This did not do anything to enhance the competitiveness of their football team.

I'm also agreeing with those that think the NCAA needs to find a way to punish them. While I can't find any violation under the NCAA criteria, it just seems wrong that an entity - an athletic entity - that falls under their umbrella would do this and not be punished.

UNT90 · July 12, 2012

I thought this article addressed the fact that this horrific story was ENTIRELY about the football program very well:

Think of all the moral differences between our world and the world of Penn State:

In the world of Penn State, the "humane" thing to do after receiving allegations that Sandusky raped a child was to go to Sandusky himself rather than calling the cops.

In the world of Penn State, it was more important to "avoid the consequences of bad publicity," (as the Freeh report puts it) than to report a potential felony.

In the world of Penn State, buying $400 worth of clothes for a player was a greater offense than molesting kids.

The primary aim was protecting the sanctity of the lucrative, successful football program JoePa built. The conventional morality and authority of the outside world was inconsequential within the program.

So the idea that this scandal has nothing to do with the program is a lie. It had absolutely everything to do with football, because the world that grew out of the football team turned out to be so horrific that it continued to host a sexual predator despite a litany of instances where the mechanisms of the real world would have brought him to justice.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/penn-state-football-death-penalty-2012-7#ixzz20QZCBmEb

People who think this has nothing to do with the football program are divorced from reality.

Edited July 12, 2012 by UNT90

meangreendork · July 12, 2012

People who think this has nothing to do with the football program are divorced from reality.

It was all to protect the football program. Every little bit of it was aimed at protecting the football program. When you talk about protecting the program, you really talk about protecting donor relations (money), sponsor relations (money), and protecting the image of the university for prospective players, the average fan (and again, money). When the image of any entity is tarnished enough, it affects the bottom line and no one wants that.

Give PennSt the death penalty and make the SMU death penalty look like detention hall by comparison. The corruption was systemic and it was used to manipulate a situation to the benefit of PennSt. Take the SMU death penalty and double it.

Edited July 12, 2012 by meangreendork

UNT90 · July 12, 2012

I agree with every notion that this does not fall under the umbrella of NCAA violations. This did not do anything to enhance the competitiveness of their football team.

I'm also agreeing with those that think the NCAA needs to find a way to punish them. While I can't find any violation under the NCAA criteria, it just seems wrong that an entity - an athletic entity - that falls under their umbrella would do this and not be punished.

Do you really believe that by not reporting sexual abuse of young men by the defensive coordinator, Penn St did not gain a competitive advantage in recruiting?

If so... Well... I'm speechless.

Wait and see the product Penn St puts on the field the next couple of years. You will see what they wanted so badly to avoid with the coverup.

UNT90 · July 12, 2012

With this report, I feel it can officially be said:

Burn in hell, Joe Paterno.

EDIT: friend emailed me this article after the above post. Funny:

http://www.theonion.com/articles/freeh-report-joe-paterno-burning-in-hell-right-now,28754/

Edited July 12, 2012 by UNT90

UNTFan23 · July 12, 2012

Give PennSt the death penalty and make the SMU death penalty look like detention hall by comparison. The corruption was systemic and it was used to manipulate a situation to the benefit of PennSt. Take the SMU death penalty and double it.