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Penn State football pedophilia thread (UPDATE: NCAA sanctions handed down)

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E

ElectricBlanketFire

Member
Nothing to see here.

TVs at PSU student center suddenly switched to public access just before report is released

The handful of students and alumni that gathered in Penn State's student center this morning to watch the release of the Freeh report live were stunned when the channel suddenly switched.

While most of campus was still sleepy, the small group was viewing CNN on a large screen, or one of several smaller screens nearby, in anticipation of the 9 a.m. release of the report on the sex abuse scandal that has gripped the school.

Most were hoping that the report, part of a seven-month probe by former FBI Director Louis Freeh, would exonerate legendary football coach Joe Paterno.

But, just as an anchor was ready to speak about the report, the television screens suddenly went blank. They then turned to a public access channel featuring a reporter from The Morning Call newspaper in Allentown about the state budget.
Click to expand...
 
V

vas_a_morir

Banned
Battlezone said:
Crazy spinning going on over at Black Shoe Diaries, including blaming the janitors for not reporting the rapes for fear of losing their jobs: http://www.blackshoediaries.com/2012/7/12/3154595/freeh-report-open-thread-part-two
Click to expand...

In all fairness, if this was Paterno, gaf would say "So, their jobs are more important than stopping CHILDREN. FROM. GETTING. R.A.P.E.D.?" It's a fair criticism. Like Penn State admins, if they knew something and didn't report it, they did it only to protect their jobs. And thus, if you are going to treat Paterno as a villain, this Korean War vet deserves it, too.
 
N

Neuromancer

Member
ElectricBlanketFire said:
Nothing to see here.
Click to expand...

Baghdad-Bob.jpg
 
L

Lonestar

I joined for Erin Brockovich discussion
Neuromancer said:
Well I agree the janitors should have reported it too. Anyone who knew about it should have gone to the police. Of course that doesn't take away any of the blame from the people at the top.
Click to expand...

Not like the prosecutors were much better (the 1998 version, the one that went missing in 2005).

Just a shit-ton of people not doing a damn thing for years.

Something that always bugged me, was that the grand jury was convened for this case back in 2009, and the general public heard NONE of this, until the week their judgement comes out, in November 2011? I've got no law knowledge besides Law & Order, but that seems odd to me.
 
Mengy

Mengy

wishes it were bannable to say mean things about Marvel
TVs at PSU student center suddenly switched to public access just before report is released

The handful of students and alumni that gathered in Penn State's student center this morning to watch the release of the Freeh report live were stunned when the channel suddenly switched.

While most of campus was still sleepy, the small group was viewing CNN on a large screen, or one of several smaller screens nearby, in anticipation of the 9 a.m. release of the report on the sex abuse scandal that has gripped the school.

Most were hoping that the report, part of a seven-month probe by former FBI Director Louis Freeh, would exonerate legendary football coach Joe Paterno.

But, just as an anchor was ready to speak about the report, the television screens suddenly went blank. They then turned to a public access channel featuring a reporter from The Morning Call newspaper in Allentown about the state budget.
Click to expand...


That's not cool. And yet, I just got this from the PSU Newswire over email:

A MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Today with the report released by Judge Louis Freeh, the Penn State Board of Trustees delivered on the commitment we made last November when we engaged Judge Freeh to conduct an independent investigation into the University's actions regarding former Penn State employee, Jerry Sandusky, and the handling of allegations of the child abuse crimes of which he has since been found guilty.

Judge Freeh and his team conducted a rigorous, eight-month investigation into all aspects of the University's actions to determine where breakdowns occurred and what changes should be made for the future. We like many others have eagerly anticipated Judge Freeh's Report of the findings of his investigation.

His report has just been released at http://thefreehreportonpsu.com/ and we currently are reviewing his findings and recommendations. We expect a comprehensive analysis of our policies, procedures and controls related to identifying and reporting crimes and misconduct, including failures or gaps that may have allowed alleged misconduct to go undetected or unreported. We will provide our initial response later today.

We want to ensure we are giving the report careful scrutiny and consideration before making any announcements or recommendations. We are convening an internal team comprising the Board of Trustees, University administration and our legal counsel to begin analyzing the report and digesting Judge Freeh's findings.

As we anticipate the review and approval process will take some time, our initial response and immediate next steps will be presented at 3:30 at the Dayton/Taylor Conference Room at the Hilton Scranton & Conference Center.

These top-line reactions will provide an overview of our process for developing and implementing a plan once we have studied the report and have a better understanding of what it means and how we can implement findings to strengthen Penn State's role as a leading academic institution and ensure that what occurred will never be allowed to happen again.
Click to expand...


Actions speak louder than words, how about having the University itself not try so hard to keep the student body in the dark? Utterly stupid.
 
S

Salaadin

Member
Lonestar said:
Something that always bugged me, was that the grand jury was convened for this case back in 2009, and the general public heard NONE of this, until the week their judgement comes out, in November 2011? I've got no law knowledge besides Law & Order, but that seems odd to me.
Click to expand...

I think there was a report in March 2011 by Sara Ganim but your point still stands.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl...n-a-pulitzer-for-breaking-sandusky-story.html
Shes actually heard of it in 2009 but couldnt gather enough info until March 2011 and even that went ignored.
 
Hari Seldon

Hari Seldon

Member
twinturbo2 said:
I don't know, tbh. But the punishment will be interesting, at the very least.
Click to expand...

If anything, the death sentence makes the most sense even though I don't agree with it. (Personally I think the criminal proceedings are enough to punish the exact people responsible). Losing accreditation, or losing federal loan subsidies, is unnecessary blood lust and I doubt it would happen.
 
G

ggnoobIGN

Banned
Lonestar said:
Not like the prosecutors were much better (the 1998 version, the one that went missing in 2005).

Just a shit-ton of people not doing a damn thing for years.

Something that always bugged me, was that the grand jury was convened for this case back in 2009, and the general public heard NONE of this, until the week their judgement comes out, in November 2011? I've got no law knowledge besides Law & Order, but that seems odd to me.
Click to expand...
It was public news back in 2009. Just at the time no one knew what to make of it. The news then breaks before Paternity is supposed to break the wins record, which he does in very controversial fashion with the refs. It still took days after that to realize what a huge story this was.
 
B

Brendonia

"Edge stole Big Ben's helmet"
Hari Seldon said:
If anything, the death sentence makes the most sense even though I don't agree with it. (Personally I think the criminal proceedings are enough to punish the exact people responsible). Losing accreditation, or losing federal loan subsidies, is unnecessary blood lust and I doubt it would happen.
Click to expand...

Giving football the death penalty essentially gives every sport at the school the death penalty. Football funds the entire varsity sports system at Penn State which includes something like 25 male and female sports. That is definitely a problem that contributed to this mess and I understand the "blood lust" here but punishing everyone for the actions of a few seems unreasonable considering the guilty parties are all gone (though not yet punished, which they should be).

Do you all realize the impact closing a school like PSU would have on the state and elsewhere? Over 100K students go to school there when you include the branch campuses and there is a huge reliance on the school to be the provider of quasi-public (i.e. somewhat affordable) quality education in Pennsylvania. Not to mention the thousands of professors, administrators, etc that would lose their jobs. I don't think closing the school is really an option, whatever happens athletically is a whole other story.
 
E

eznark

Banned
If this doesn't get the Death Penalty they should just abolish it as a penalty.

Giving football the death penalty essentially gives every sport at the school the death penalty.
Click to expand...
Well, it's not like the AD was faultless, so it seems warranted.
 
K

kirblar

Member
Brendonia said:
Giving football the death penalty essentially gives every sport at the school the death penalty. Football funds the entire varsity sports system at Penn State which includes something like 25 male and female sports. That is definitely a problem that contributed to this mess and I understand the "blood lust" here but punishing everyone for the actions of a few seems unreasonable considering the guilty parties are all gone (though not yet punished, which they should be).

Do you all realize the impact closing a school like PSU would have on the state and elsewhere? Over 100K students go to school there when you include the branch campuses and there is a huge reliance on the school to be the provider of quasi-public (i.e. somewhat affordable) quality education in Pennsylvania. Not to mention the thousands of professors, administrators, etc that would lose their jobs. I don't think closing the school is really an option, whatever happens athletically is a whole other story.
Click to expand...
Most football programs are money-losers. (I understand PSU may be one of the exceptions.) College football is essentially now acting as a minor league program, allowing the NFL, broadcasters, and apparel makers to profit at the expense of schools nationwide.
 
B

Brendonia

"Edge stole Big Ben's helmet"
kirblar said:
Most football programs are money-losers. (I understand PSU may be one of the exceptions.) College football is essentially now acting as a minor league program, allowing the NFL, broadcasters, and apparel makers to profit at the expense of schools nationwide.
Click to expand...

According to Forbes, Penn State is the 3rd most valuable college football program in the country. Value is estimated at $100M and the program returned a profit of $53M in 2010.

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/emdm...tate-university-nittany-lions/#gallerycontent

I'd say killing that off would be a pretty big message, and it also may be a big reason why the death penalty doesn't get pulled here.
 
G

gutshot

Member
Lonestar said:
Not like the prosecutors were much better (the 1998 version, the one that went missing in 2005).

Just a shit-ton of people not doing a damn thing for years.

Something that always bugged me, was that the grand jury was convened for this case back in 2009, and the general public heard NONE of this, until the week their judgement comes out, in November 2011? I've got no law knowledge besides Law & Order, but that seems odd to me.
Click to expand...

Grand juries are conducted in secret in Pennsylvania. http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/crime.aspx?id=207

Grand jury proceedings are conducted in secret. The start of a grand jury investigation is not publicly announced nor are names of persons subpoenaed to appear before the grand jury made public. The proceedings are not open to the public and both the grand jurors and the prosecutors who bring evidence before the grand jury swear not to disclose matters occurring before it. The secrecy of the proceedings protects both the integrity of the investigation and the privacy of persons called to testify before the grand jury.

With all this secrecy, how does information "leak" from the grand jury ?
The only legitimate means through which grand jury proceedings can be made public is through the persons who are subpoenaed to testify. They, alone, of all the people associated with the grand jury, have the right to disclose their testimony to whomever they choose, if they choose to do so.
Click to expand...
 
I

I H8 Memes

Member
NCAA is not going to give the Penn State football program the death penalty. At worst they will lose a some scholarships and not be able to compete in bowl games for 3 years. The days of the NCAA using a penalty like that, even for a case as serious as this, are long gone.
 
D

Draxal

Member
Brendonia said:
According to Forbes, Penn State is the 3rd most valuable college football program in the country. Value is estimated at $100M and the program returned a profit of $53M in 2010.

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/emdm...tate-university-nittany-lions/#gallerycontent

I'd say killing that off would be a pretty big message, and it also may be a big reason why the death penalty doesn't get pulled here.
Click to expand...

Emmert might do it just to fuck with Jim Delaney (Big 10 Commisioner). IF you follow college football, there's pretty much a well known secret that the power conferences (Pac 12/Big 10/12, Sec) want to split off from the NCAA. Jim Delaney is known as the most influential of the bunch.

I H8 Memes said:
NCAA is not going to give the Penn State football program the death penalty. At worst they will lose a some scholarships and not be able to compete in bowl games for 3 years. The days of the NCAA using a penalty like that, even for a case as serious as this, are long gone.
Click to expand...

College football is very fluid. Penn State might be just a pawn in the battle of big boys right now.
 
B

Brendonia

"Edge stole Big Ben's helmet"
Draxal said:
Emmert might do it just to fuck with Jim Delaney (Big 10 Commisioner). IF you follow college football, there's pretty much a well known secret that the power conferences (Pac 12/Big 10/12, Sec) want to split off from the NCAA. Jim Delaney is known as the most influential of the bunch.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't that give Delaney more ammo to leave the NCAA and take Penn State (and the rest of the B1G) with him? The NCAA can't impose sanctions on teams that aren't in it.
 
V

verbum

Member
eznark said:
If this doesn't get the Death Penalty they should just abolish it as a penalty.


Well, it's not like the AD was faultless, so it seems warranted.
Click to expand...

USC was crippled for, what, 3 years? Penn State should at least lose their football scholarships for 5 years, no TV broadcasts, and be on probation until they demonstrate concretely that the institution has changed ( sex abuse recognition and reporting training, HR policies, and a reporting system in place that goes to a third party).
 
D

Draxal

Member
Brendonia said:
Wouldn't that give Delaney more ammo to leave the NCAA and take Penn State (and the rest of the B1G) with him? The NCAA can't impose sanctions on teams that aren't in it.
Click to expand...

They have enough ammo already, just waiting on the time (the 64 teams to split). Delaney would like a complete douchebag if he reneged on the punishment on PSU.
 
F

Fenderputty

Banned
I can't believe anyone thought Paterno knew nothing. The man was the ruling god on campus. What's even more amazing is that someone might still think Paterno had nothing to do with it.

I was hoping the NCAA would do somethign when this broke, and I'm still hoping they do something now.

I don't like the argument that whole groups of athletes and students would be affected that had nothing to do with it either. It happens all the time. A couple stars get special treatment and money and bamb, the school loses games, gets banned from bowls, loses scholarships and it affects everyone.

A cover up of this magnitude warrents the death penalty IMO.

verbum said:
USC was crippled for, what, 3 years? Penn State should at least lose their football scholarships for 5 years, no TV broadcasts, and be on probation until they demonstrate concretely that the institution has changed ( sex abuse recognition and reporting training, HR policies, and a reporting system in place that goes to a third party).
Click to expand...

USC's whole program was punsihed for actions done from a previous coach, player and from a time in the past. It's amazing that anyone would say this school doesn't deserve some serious punishment.
 
N

Nelo Ice

Banned
Fenderputty said:
I can't believe anyone thought Paterno knew nothing. The man was the ruling god on campus. What's even more amazing is that someone might still think Paterno had nothing to do with it.

I was hoping the NCAA would do somethign when this broke, and I'm still hoping they do something now.

I don't like the argument that whole groups of athletes and students would be affected that had nothing to do with it either. It happens all the time. A couple stars get special treatment and money and bamb, the school loses games, gets banned from bowls, loses scholarships and it affects everyone.

A cover up of this magnitude warrents the death penalty IMO.
Click to expand...

His son still thinks his dad knew nothing.
JVJ1R.png
 
E

effzee

Member
I know I have been out of the loop since the initial information was released back in Nov of last year...

BUT even if Paterno did not know the extent of abuse, if he knew of an incident in 98 and then again 2001, why in the world was Sandusky allowed anywhere near campus? Why were all of them in business with him in real estate deals and other business ventures?

It makes no fucking sense and I don't see how "WELL HE REPORTED IT IN 2001" is an excuse when Sandusky was still allowed to roam free. Hell if I knew some dude was a pedo and was allowed to walk around free even if I did all I could, I wouldn't allow them back on my premise.

EDIT: Also any link of Skip on First Take?
 
P

Plinko

Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
Brendonia said:
Giving football the death penalty essentially gives every sport at the school the death penalty. Football funds the entire varsity sports system at Penn State which includes something like 25 male and female sports. That is definitely a problem that contributed to this mess and I understand the "blood lust" here but punishing everyone for the actions of a few seems unreasonable considering the guilty parties are all gone (though not yet punished, which they should be).

Do you all realize the impact closing a school like PSU would have on the state and elsewhere? Over 100K students go to school there when you include the branch campuses and there is a huge reliance on the school to be the provider of quasi-public (i.e. somewhat affordable) quality education in Pennsylvania. Not to mention the thousands of professors, administrators, etc that would lose their jobs. I don't think closing the school is really an option, whatever happens athletically is a whole other story.
Click to expand...

Oh well. That's a shame.
 
P

Plinko

Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
NCAA expert attorney Michael Buckner read Freeh Report and said it does not show lack of institutional control as defined by NCAA Manual
Click to expand...

From Joe Schad's Twitter account.

If this doesn't show a lack of institutional control then they need to get rid of that term altogether. How absolutely ludicrous.
 
C

Cyan

Banned
Brendonia said:
Giving football the death penalty essentially gives every sport at the school the death penalty. Football funds the entire varsity sports system at Penn State which includes something like 25 male and female sports. That is definitely a problem that contributed to this mess and I understand the "blood lust" here but punishing everyone for the actions of a few seems unreasonable considering the guilty parties are all gone (though not yet punished, which they should be).
Click to expand...

Sorry, "the guilty parties are gone" doesn't cut it. There need to be actual consequences. All this was done to protect the football program; it only seems right that the football program should bear the brunt of punishment.

I just hope the NCAA can find a way to get them.
 
Y

yankeehater

Member
ggnoobIGN said:
I don't think any actually. Something about state law and reporting it to your superiors
Click to expand...

Curly and Shultz are both definitely facing charges and I have heard that Spainer will be charged. There is no doubt at all that JoePa would have been charged at some point even if it was only perjury that he was charged with.


Plinko said:
From Joe Schad's Twitter account.

If this doesn't show a lack of institutional control then they need to get rid of that term altogether. How absolutely ludicrous.
Click to expand...

If the NCAA really doesnt do anything in this case they will never be able to punish another school again.
 
P

Plinko

Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
Lack of institutional control must have nexus with underlying violations of NCAA rules.
Click to expand...

From that law firm's Twitter (mbucknerlaw).

Based on this, I see absolutely nothing happening to them.
 
C

Cyan

Banned
yankeehater said:
If the NCAA really doesnt do anything in this case they will never be able to punish another school again.
Click to expand...

Most of the stuff the NCAA deals with is related to amateurism and/or academics. It's possible that the NCAA simply doesn't have rules in place to deal with anything like this.

On the other hand, everything Penn St has done for years will be under the microscope, so if that is the case, they can still probably find something to get them with.
 
T

tapedeck

Do I win a prize for talking about my penis on the Internet???
Saw the First Take segment and it delivered. They both brought the hammer down hard, as they should have.
 
G

gutshot

Member
Plinko said:
From that law firm's Twitter (mbucknerlaw).

Based on this, I see absolutely nothing happening to them.
Click to expand...

So the few people who tried to argue that they NCAA won't do anything in this case because it falls outside of their jurisdiction and got pretty much laughed out of the thread were actually right.
 
D

Draxal

Member
gutshot said:
So the few people who tried to argue that they NCAA won't do anything in this case because it falls outside of their jurisdiction and got pretty much laughed out of the thread were actually right.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily, and that's ignoring the fact that PSU might get hammered by the DOE for Clery violations first. It's just if they do punish PSU it would be groundbreaking.
 
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