Penn State football deserves death penalty for cover-up

The Fake Lonnie Finch · July 12, 2012

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/ncaa/pdfs/2012/ncaa+statement

NCAA's letter for Penn State. The NCAA doesn't seem to be worried that student athletes were not involved. They focus on the conduct and ethical behavior requirements for those in leadership positions.

Emmert lays out the Section of the NCAA bylaws possibly breached for Penn State's interim president to answer. We will now see how Penn State answers, and whether the Report and criminal investigations raise more possible breaches. Emmert also says they will use information from the Report and the criminal investigations.

Penn State, and I say this without laughing out loud, given the fascade they put up for so long, should do the "honorable" thing and voluntarily cancel its 2012 season. After all, it was Joe Pa and all the other silent goons who shoved the "Winning With Honor" baloney down everyone throat, constantly bragging about how much better they were ethically than everyone else.

What a bunch of frauds.

Mean Green 93-98 · July 12, 2012

That they would not have been able to recruit the same athletes in the late 90s and early 2000s if their current (at the time) defensive coordinator had been prosecuted for sexually assaulting children.

Sandusky retired in 1999.

UNT90 · July 12, 2012

Sandusky retired in 1999.

His arrest should have occurred on late 98 or early 99, when he would have still been the defensive coordinator for Pwnn St.

Would have been a big scandal that would have affected Penn St recruiting.

SilverEagle · July 12, 2012

I've decided that the Penn State Athletic department needs it's own song, separate from the University's alma mater and fight song.

And so (from one of my favorite movies "Paint Your Wagon").....here it is! Please substitute the words "Penn State City" for "No Name City"

Edited July 12, 2012 by SilverEagle

trussbussdad · July 12, 2012

I hate what has happened to such a GREAT football school and coach...but yes, if SMU got the death penalty for paying players, how much worse is this that PSU has done!!??

Mean Green 93-98 · July 12, 2012

His arrest should have occurred on late 98 or early 99, when he would have still been the defensive coordinator for Pwnn St.

Would have been a big scandal that would have affected Penn St recruiting.

Just pointing out that he was not on the staff when you said he was.

CMJ · July 12, 2012

His arrest should have occurred on late 98 or early 99, when he would have still been the defensive coordinator for Pwnn St.

Would have been a big scandal that would have affected Penn St recruiting.

If I recall, the DA at the time is now governor of PA. Wanna impeach him as well?

UNT90 · July 13, 2012

If I recall, the DA at the time is now governor of PA. Wanna impeach him as well?

Na, let the voters take care of him (or not).

UNTflyer · July 13, 2012

Yes.

greenminer · July 13, 2012

Penn State, and I say this without laughing out loud, given the fascade they put up for so long, should do the "honorable" thing and voluntarily cancel its 2012 season. After all, it was Joe Pa and all the other silent goons who shoved the "Winning With Honor" baloney down everyone throat, constantly bragging about how much better they were ethically than everyone else.

What a bunch of frauds.

I'm all about them doing the honorable thing, but how is forfeiting a season honorable? How is not playing football going to pay respects to the violated?

If I'm family of a victim, I say let all violators be cleaned out of the institution and prosecuted accordingly. Let Penn State move on and not punish the incredible number of fans/alumni that had nothing to do with this.

UNT90 · July 13, 2012

I'm all about them doing the honorable thing, but how is forfeiting a season honorable? How is not playing football going to pay respects to the violated?

If I'm family of a victim, I say let all violators be cleaned out of the institution and prosecuted accordingly. Let Penn State move on and not punish the incredible number of fans/alumni that had nothing to do with this.

But the football program WAS Penn St. That was the fault of the fans and the alumni, to a certain extent. That environment doesn't exist if JoePa wasn't treated like some demigod figure. Whenever your football coach has more power than you university president, you are asking for trouble. The entire Penn St. family allowed this to occur (JoePa status, not the abuse, of course), from the BOR down to the donors.

That is why Penn St should lose football.

Edited July 13, 2012 by UNT90

The Fake Lonnie Finch · July 13, 2012

I'm all about them doing the honorable thing, but how is forfeiting a season honorable? How is not playing football going to pay respects to the violated?

If I'm family of a victim, I say let all violators be cleaned out of the institution and prosecuted accordingly. Let Penn State move on and not punish the incredible number of fans/alumni that had nothing to do with this.

How is playing the season with all of the firestorm that will surround it be honorable?

The very thing Paterno and his co-horts fought to save was Penn State football and his reputation. Abused kids with difficult circumstances in their lives who had been drawn into Sandusky's web with Penn State football was, at most, a secondary thought to them.

It's what they loved most and what they protected - so, take it away from them. None of these Penn State fans has done anything honorable. You'd think among their monied donors that someone would stand up and say, "Look, this was embarassing and wrong, and we need to admit it and work to get past it. The focus shouldn't be football right now, but on helping these victims."

Have any of Penn State's donors offered to start a fund for the abused kids? Has Penn State taken the step toward reconciliation and begun to offer some sort of recompense for these kids? How about something beyond money? How about offering to pay for the abused kids college or vocational education...at the college of their choice?

There are so many things that the "wheels" at Penn State could be doing to show that they give a damn about the victims. Yet, everyone there is still bent on saving the program and excusing deplorable behavior. I don't think reality will hit those people unless what they misguidedly cherish the most is taken from them.

NCAA president Emmert made clear in his letter last November that Penn State was being investigated for, among other things, "institutional control." The report yesterday shows that not only did the institution lack control, it refused to acknowledge it.

Money and cars for athletes and letting boosters run wild is one thing. Allowing an employee of your institution to use a football program and the power and draw of the Penn State name as a means to abuse disadvantage kids is another. Both should be, and will be, punished by the NCAA.

And, I'm sorry, but many people believe that only the most sever punishment will do. What is the price of beguiling a child and stealing his childhood, then covering it up? And, doing so to at least nine other children?

Edited July 13, 2012 by The Fake Lonnie Finch

Greenrex · July 13, 2012

"University of Toledo sports law professor Geoffrey Rapp said that until Saturday he didn’t think the crimes that resulted from the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal at Penn State fell under the purview of the NCAA.

But that changed with CNN reporting the discovery of an email chain from February 2001 where Penn State officials agreed to speak to Sandusky about “future appropriate use of the University facility” and then contact officials at The Second Mile, Sandusky’s charity, and the Department of Welfare about the case. A day later, after talking to Joe Paterno, they had changed their minds.

According to Rapp, if the football coach talked the athletic director — his direct superior — out of handling the situation a certain way, that presents a problem under NCAA regulations."

Read the full article: http://blog.pennlive.com/patriotnewssports/2012/06/new_evidence_of_cover-up_shows.html

The Fake Lonnie Finch · July 13, 2012

Again, if the NCAA didn't think there was an NCAA problem, this letter would not have been sent:

http://www.ncaa.com/content/ncaa-letter-penn-state

SilverEagle · July 13, 2012

You know, I was just struck by something. Somewhere up in heaven (if you believe that way) Dr. Matthews (and other previous and select UNT Presidents) must be looking down and shaking their heads and saying "See? we were right to keep athletics in it's proper place and not allow it to gain anymore power and influence than we did. Because this is what can happen when you do".

And just for the sake of being intellectually fair and balanced,..... they just might have a point.

meangreendork · July 13, 2012

You know, I was just struck by something. Somewhere up in heaven (if you believe that way) Dr. Matthews (and other previous and select UNT Presidents) must be looking down and shaking their heads and saying "See? we were right to keep athletics in it's proper place and not allow it to gain anymore power and influence than we did. Because this is what can happen when you do".

And just for the sake of being intellectually fair and balanced,..... they just might have a point.

That's not a bad point, either.

Look, I love the hell out football at this university. But at the end of the day, athletics should always be a secondary priority at an educational institution. Athletics should be a means by which people see the university, it should never be the means, and it should never be the end goal of a university. Penn State forgot that, and now the victim list includes both Sandusky's direct victims, but the average fan, student, alumni, professors, and staff of Penn State, to include those who knew nothing about any of this.

You can run a fine balance between the two and many universities do. Penn State is not one of them, and it also serves true the idea that the people who speak most about being clean are more than likely the dirtiest ones of all.

Don Draper · July 13, 2012

The NCAA will not do anything to Penn State. PSU will cash their BCS checks like nothing ever happened.

Harry · July 13, 2012

The NCAA will not do anything to Penn State. PSU will cash their BCS checks like nothing ever happened.

Don, as much as I hate to admit it -- you may be right.

UNTflyer · July 14, 2012

I'm all about them doing the honorable thing, but how is forfeiting a season honorable?

It's not. It's shameful and punitive. And it's the right thing to do.

How is not playing football going to pay respects to the violated?

A little late for that.

Cr1028 · July 16, 2012

I could care less what they do with a stupid statue.

At least you care.

Cr1028 · July 16, 2012

I understand that somebody should be punished for all of this but I don't quite understand how punishing current players and students (who were in elementary school at the time) with the death penalty accomplishes anything. It doesn't change what happened, it doesn't take away Paterno's wins. It doesn't put Spanier, Curley, or Schultz in prison. It doesn't relieve the pain of the victims or inflict any pain on Sandusky.

If schools like Ohio State were receiving harsher punishment for genuine athlete-related improper benefits and coverups, I could understand dropping the hammer on PSU. Currently, the NCAA is lax at best in enforcing its rules on larger programs and I don't see how Paterno covering up for Sandusky gave PSU a larger competitive athletic advantage than Terrell Pryor "borrowing" nice cars did for OSU.

yyz28 · July 16, 2012

You know, I'd like to see blood as much as the next guy, but what about the young men who are currently part of that program, have potential NFL opportunities or are getting an education based on their skills as a ball player? Do we pull the rug out from underneath the good coaches and innocent young men who are part of the program now to satisfy some political version of Justice? How does this improve the situation of the young men who Sandusky abused?

I'd hate to see a bunch of players get punished for the sins grown men who damn well should have known better committed in the past.

meangreendork · July 16, 2012

I don't see a player from Penn St not being picked up someplace else. Penn St recruits highly, so this is isn't an issue. But if this went down at someplace like the football equivalent of ITT-Tech, then I would imagine players not being given offers from other schools.

UNT90 · July 16, 2012

You know, I'd like to see blood as much as the next guy, but what about the young men who are currently part of that program, have potential NFL opportunities or are getting an education based on their skills as a ball player? Do we pull the rug out from underneath the good coaches and innocent young men who are part of the program now to satisfy some political version of Justice? How does this improve the situation of the young men who Sandusky abused?

I'd hate to see a bunch of players get punished for the sins grown men who damn well should have known better committed in the past.

Let the current players transfer without having to sit out a year.

The thing is, if you don't punish a program for a 14 year cover up of major felony crimes, then why punish them for anything? Just allow them to pay players and disband the NCAA enforcement arm.

What does it accomplish? Maybe it sends a much needed message to major programs that crap like this has to end. That cheating, in any form, will finally be punished. That lying to save a football program will be met with harsh consequences. That, although the NCAA has been an accomplice to the big programs as of late, it ends now. WIth this. For good.

Think about the message that will be sent by doing nothing. That message is cheat your ever loving rear off, because the NCAA won't even punish a program for covering up child sexual abuse for 14 years, much less paying players.

And, I expect the NCAA to do nothing.

Cr1028 · July 16, 2012

Let the current players transfer without having to sit out a year.

The thing is, if you don't punish a program for a 14 year cover up of major felony crimes, then why punish them for anything? Just allow them to pay players and disband the NCAA enforcement arm.

What does it accomplish? Maybe it sends a much needed message to major programs that crap like this has to end. That cheating, in any form, will finally be punished. That lying to save a football program will be met with harsh consequences. That, although the NCAA has been an accomplice to the big programs as of late, it ends now. WIth this. For good.

Think about the message that will be sent by doing nothing. That message is cheat your ever loving rear off, because the NCAA won't even punish a program for covering up child sexual abuse for 14 years, much less paying players.

And, I expect the NCAA to do nothing.

Let's say your employer did something wrong. The Feds come in and say your company is closing and everyone has to leave. You get several job offers around the country but with the stipulation you absolutely cannot work or live within 130 miles of your current employer. You must do this regardless of the fact that your family hsa been working for this employer for decades. It is doesn't upset your life at all, does it?