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Mon 23 Jul, 2012 09:27 am
The only thing I don't like about this is it punishes the university student players. They had nothing to do with the terrible mistakes by the university officials who failed to act. BBB
Penn State Fined $60M, Banned From Bowls, Wins From 1998 On Vacated
July 23, 2012
by Mark Memmott - NPR
Before its removal from outside the school's football stadium on Sunday, a statue of former football coach Joe Paterno was covered. An independent report concluded he was among top university officials who failed to act when they learned that Jerry Sandusky might be sexually abusing young boys.
Saying that the punishment is "warranted by the conspiracy of silence" among Penn State University's top leadership that turned a blind eye to former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky's sexual abuse of young boys, the NCAA just announced sanctions on the school that include:
— A $60 million fine. The money will go into an endowment fund to support programs around the nation that assist victims of sexual abuse, NCAA President Mark Emmert said.
— A ban on participation in post-season football bowl games for four years.
— A reduction in the number of football scholarships from 25 to 15 for four years.
— The vacating of all the football team's wins for the years 1998-2011. It was in 1998 that university officials first heard that Sandusky might be sexually abusing young boys.
The school, Emmert said, had allowed its athletic culture to go "horribly awry." And without naming former head coach Joe Paterno, Emmert said the school had allowed one person to become too powerful.
Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep and NPR's Tom Goldman talked about Penn State and the sanctions earlier today.
Update at 11 a.m. ET. Big Ten Says Penn State Can't Share In Bowl Revenue, Costing It About $13 Million:
"Because Penn State will be ineligible for bowl games for the next four years, it will therefore be ineligible to receive its share of Big Ten Conference bowl revenues over those same four years," the athletic conference just announced. "That money, estimated to be approximately $13 million, will be donated to established charitable organizations in Big Ten communities dedicated to the protection of children."
Update at 10:40 a.m. ET. Penn State Officials React.
University President Rodney Erickson: "Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the victims of Mr. Sandusky and all other victims of child abuse. ... Against this backdrop, Penn State accepts the penalties and corrective actions announced today by the NCAA. With today's announcement and the action it requires of us, the university takes a significant step forward."
Football coach Bill O'Brien (who was hired after last season): " I will do everything in my power to not only comply, but help guide the university forward to become a national leader in ethics, compliance and operational excellence."
Update at 10:30 a.m. ET. More Crippling Than A "Death Penalty?"
Though the university did not get the NCAA's so-called death penalty, which would have banned the football team from competing for at least one season, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the punishments are likely to have an even "more crippling effect" because of their length and severity. Barring Penn State from postseason play for four years, for example, may make it difficult to recruit top players. And current players will be allowed to transfer to other schools without having to wait to compete again.
Update at 10 a.m. ET. Big Ten To Announce Its Penalties.
"The Big Ten will also sanction Penn State," ESPN says. "The conference has called an 11 a.m. ET news conference to announce to league-related penalties."
Update at 9:35 a.m. ET. Paterno Is No Longer Division I Record Holder:
As USA Today points out, just before his firing last November, Paterno had set the record for most wins as a Division I football coach — with 409. Wiping away the wins from 1998-2011 removes 111 victories from his record, the newspaper says. So, "the loss of victories means Joe Paterno is no longer college football's winningest coach." (Note at 10:55 a.m. ET: USA Today has corrected its report to say the penalty erases 111 wins, not 112."
ESPN adds that:
"With the wins from 1998-2011 vacated, Paterno drops from 409 wins to 298, dropping him from first to 12th on the winningest NCAA football coach list. Penn State will also have six bowl wins and two conference championships erased."
Update at 9:25 a.m ET. Penn State Will Not Challenge Penalties, Emmert Says:
Asked if he expects the school will file an appeal, Emmert just told reporters that Penn State has signed an agreement accepting the punishments.
@BumbleBeeBoogie,
Your thing that you dont like is exactly the thing that needed to be done. HOW do you only punish "the program" without messing with the players.
They have options to immediately trnsfer (not sure about scholarship comity).
I think its very fair and I only wish Joe hdnt made his career move of dying. Id love to have seen his face as his "legacy" got wiped out as it did.
@farmerman,
I agree re the student players being protected. I'm sure the recruitment program was already well underway to bring in the top players.
I was thinking yesterday that JP probably got off easy by dying before watching the cult he built get bulldozed.
@BumbleBeeBoogie,
Seems pretty harsh to punish the students and to take the past and future from the school. Heck of a precedent they are setting. Wonder what the NCAA does with the monies collected from fines.
Somebody help me with this: was Sandusky THAT valuable? Why didn't they quietly fire him a long time ago - or, as the Catholic church did - just change or transfer to another school?
Did Paterno lead the pack to shushh up everyone and insist that no one expose this guy?
God - where are our values in this country?
@BumbleBeeBoogie,
BumbleBeeBoogie wrote:... the terrible mistakes by the university officials who failed to act.
They weren't "mistakes", they were deliberate acts or omissions.
@PUNKEY,
They did. He was asked to retire in 98, after Paterno quietly stated the he wanted Sanduky "out" and not to be considered as Paternos replacement upon retirement. This was after Paterno became a partner in the developing coverup.
Well, the way I look at it - it's only football. Yeah, I do feel bad for all the young men who played and gave their all, innocent of the knowledge of what was going on in the showers, but at the end of the day, they got an education and made a life for themselves (I assume). They know how well they played and that can't be taken away from them.
These new kids caught in the middle of this maelstrom - yeah- I feel bad for them, but maybe they can transfer if playing football in a bowl game is that important to their future.
But at least they didn't get raped.
These men, all of them who participated in this cover-up should be criminally prosecuted for 'failure to protect' those little boys.
all PSU student athletes have been granted the right to transfer to another university with no penalty...
@BumbleBeeBoogie,
I can see your point - it isn't "fair" that the players get impacted - however, I don't think it is going to be so bad for the players.
According to the article, the current players can transfer and play elsewhere. So if playing football is key, I'm sure any top player that currently had a scholarship at Penn will be able to get one elsewhere and play.
What is going to happen is for the next several and longer years - Penn will have a crappy football team. Who is going to what to play on that team - the combined bad rep now, and the fact they can't play post season.
@farmerman,
Quote:I only wish Joe hdnt made his career move of dying.
My thoughts too - he got out of that one. I feel for Joe's family though - must be tough for them to see everything he worked for fall - assuming of course they are completely innocent - they have to deal with the mess he left behind.
@BumbleBeeBoogie,
So THIS is what the mysterious references I have seen here and there have been about.
Wow.
I hope it is a lesson learned.
Is it clear that the people who failed to act had reasonable information that this guy was an abuser? How long did they leave him in place?
Here is a
Paterno quote from 1987 concerning SMU receiving the death penalty.
Quote:--SMU: "It's unbelievable to think that kind of corruption came right from the top of the power structure. The NCAA did what it had to do" in canceling SMU's 1988 football season.
This post is not directed to any particular A2K member. It is addressed to anyone who is reading through this topic.
There have been a lot of comments in this and other online forums regarding the NCAA sanctions. There is another issue that cannot be dealt with by the NCAA or the law. It is simply the issue of judgment regarding a pervasive culture. The following question needs to be asked: What has been the record of many of the Penn State football fans? For a moment, put aside the NCAA controversy. Let us look at the record of what many of the Penn State fans did before the NCAA announced their sanctions. Again, I am not raising any legal questions here. NCAA rules and civil legalities are irrelevant in this particular consideration.
So, what has been the record of many of the Penn State football fans?
First, there was the riot. Were the students rioting because a pedophile coach had been allowed to roam their beloved campus? Were they rioting because young boys had been raped by this sexual predator? No, they rioted simply because their little god JoePa had just been fired.
Then there was the Penn State coed whose brother was among Sandusky's victims. She had not let her classmates know. After Sandusky had been reported in the news and Paterno had been fired, she reported to the media that she had had to listen to classmates joke about the victims. The proper noun "Sandusky" had become a verb. How would you feel if you had been in her shoes, hearing the mockery of the victims?
Then there was the victim who was attending a high school elsewhere in the state. First of all, his coach betrayed his confidence and let others know that he would be testifying against Sandusky.
Secondly, soon afterward the mother of the victim soon announced in an anonymous interview that a grandmother of one of the Penn State players had walked up to her and said (I don't remember the exact words), "Now my grandson's football team is going to lose, and it's all your son's fault." (What the ...? Very interesting. Sandusky had nothing to do with it? I guess the mother's son must have seduced him.) Can you believe this complete lack of compassion? The high-school student had been raped by Sandusky, subjected to severe trauma; and all the grandmother cared about was her grandson's football team not having a winning season?! I'm a devoted father who is so proud of his two children. If it had been me instead of the victim's mother, I would have to exercise tremendous self-restraint to keep from spitting in the hag's face. How would you feel if you had been in the mother's shoes?
And, finally, classmates of the victim started bullying him. Why? Because they held him responsible for supposedly besmirching Paterno's image! (Yeah, I guess the victims should have kept their mouths shut.) He was driven out of school before he could graduate with the rest of his fellow seniors. So, the rape victim was victimized again! Did anyone express any outrage over this injustice? Did Franco Harris or any other prominent Penn State alumnus ever show up at the high school to defend this victim, who was in the process of receiving the message that the image of Penn State and the football program took precedence over him and the rest of the rape victims? I thing the bullies would have listened to Harris, but he was too busy objecting to the firing of JoePa.
And, finally, we have all the diehards rejecting the findings of the Freeh report and the current whining over the NCAA sanctions.
I wonder if any of the victims who testified in Sandusky's trial are now receiving hateful messages or even death threats from angry Penn State football fans who should know better. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised.
Yes, I know there are decent fans; but we aren't hearing from them. They're not making themselves heard.
The sorry record of many of the fans has been one of most sickening spectacles I've ever seen of people whose moral compass is undeniably broken.
Interestingly (and ironically) enough, the worst enemies of school sports are found among the fans and the boosters themselves.
To those who are unable or unwilling to see just how sick all of this is, I can only say the following: I give up.
Quote:Gov. Corbett said today he will file suit against the NCAA over what he called "illegal sanctions" it imposed on Penn State as a result of its handling of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.
Corbett said in a brief press release he will provide details of the federal lawsuit Wednesday in State College.
The NCAA fined Penn State $60 million, banned its football team from four years of bowl games and vacated years of team wins over its handling of the Sandusky case.
The sanctions came following a report released last summer by former FBI director Louis Freeh which concluded that university administrators had engaged in a cover-up to protect Sandusky.
Penn State board of trustees, of which Corbett is a member, gave its approval of the report shortly after its release.
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/harrisburg_politics/Corbett-says-he-will-sue-NCAA-over-Penn-State-sanctions.html
interesting....the move by the NCAA has been widely proclaimed by legal experts to be on a shaky legal foundation so this could be trouble.
@hawkeye10,
Corbett is "on the hook" and is trying to avert the courts view on his terms as the State AG during the entire SAndusky events in the 90's and early 2000's. He, as governor, sits on the BOT of Penn State.
So giving himself a political "Quick wash" by iling suit will garner lots of support from Paternovillers and the parking lot prty crowd
@farmerman,
Quote:So giving himself a political "Quick wash" by iling suit will garner lots of support from Paternovillers and the parking lot prty crowd
of course, but this kicker here is that this suit may have merit.
@hawkeye10,
ALL SUITS "have merit" when filed. You dont think that anyone filing a suit is going in with a purposeful loser?
The last time that happened was the Scopes Trial
@farmerman,
Is the NCAA a corporation?
@ehBeth,
NCAA is a private corporation.
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