Latest report finds Penn St. Officials concealed abuse

[Rondo2287]

A guy from SI was on WEEI this morning calling for the program to get the death penalty due to lack of institutional control.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf--freeh-report-penn-state-key-findings-joe-paterno-jerry-sandusky-.html

[Fafnir]

Very similar to the past abuse scandal with the Catholic Church, their primary concern was about their reputation and status as an institution not about children in their care. This reports lays it out in such awful detail, I hope the officials involved go to jail for failure to report and the purjury trials (those are still pending right?)

Sad, and I wouldn't be shocked if the NCAA sanctions them, though they wouldn't death penalty the program.

[Rondo2287]

Some tidbits from Dan Wetzels Twitter this morning

-Paterno denied to grand jury knowing about any other Sandusky act other than 2001. Freeh report says he knew about 1998

- Penn St failed to follow Cleary Act for reporting crime. This while Graham Spanier was head of NCAA Board of Directors

- You can almost feel the anger of the Freeh Group in the writing of this report.

- Paterno "showed no concern about (98) victim...failed to take any action...At the very least...could have alerted the entire football staff"

[Rondo2287]

And Faf, I agree that they won't issue the death penalty, but in the long run this is far worse than SMU. 

[AshyLarry]

After this new report, I can't imagine any sane person still defending Paterno.

[Eja117]

Death penalty for a time might make some sense, although it would be punishing the wrong people.

Definitely think criminal charges for people that failed to report should be a major possibility.

Not sure why the State College Police are getting a pass. Supposedly PSU was supposed to report to the same State College Police, who had already had their shot at this and said "All good". Then supposedly PSU was supposed to punish a guy already cleared by the police.

Also there has GOT to be some agreement and education to victims out there to please come forward when things happen and not decades later. One of these guys has had a charge or two dropped due to statute of limitations.

It was clear that the investigation got access to all sorts of stuff. PSU definitely didn't do anything crooked to ensure smooth findings. Although the trustees seemed to get off. Didn't the trustees pay for this?

[Rondo2287]

Death penalty for a time might make some sense, although it would be punishing the wrong people.

Definitely think criminal charges for people that failed to report should be a major possibility.

Not sure why the State College Police are getting a pass. Supposedly PSU was supposed to report to the same State College Police, who had already had their shot at this and said "All good". Then supposedly PSU was supposed to punish a guy already cleared by the police.

Also there has GOT to be some agreement and education to victims out there to please come forward when things happen and not decades later. One of these guys has had a charge or two dropped due to statute of limitations.

It was clear that the investigation got access to all sorts of stuff. PSU definitely didn't do anything crooked to ensure smooth findings. Although the trustees seemed to get off. Didn't the trustees pay for this?

I agree with everything you say here EJA, my only issue is that yes we wouldnt be punishing the right people but thats the nature with college sports, the people that commit the crime are never the ones to get punished.  (unless they catch it right away of course Terrelle Pryor for example)

But usually it is several years after the offenders have left the school

[Rondo2287]

Also Eja, very sorry that you as a PSU alum have to go through all this crap.  My roomate in college's dad is a teach at PSU, his mom is a tennis coach at a satelite campus, brother and sister both went there. 

He is devasted not only for the kids but about something that has always been so good for all of his life turned out to be so wrong.

[Rondo2287]

Penn St. changed all the channels in campus buildings off CNN before the news was reported.

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.
.....

Several students went to speak with a student working at the main desk at the student center. But the student said a university employee was in charge of what is broadcast. That person, the student said, was in a meeting and could not be reached.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20120712_TVs_at_PSU_student_center_suddenly_switch_to_public_access.html

[SHAQATTACK]

JUstice will never be served, the corruption is too deep and widespread.  

A couple people will go down,  actually the tip of the iceberg has just be touched.  So people are too powerful to go down.

A corupt support system for their sports is in place, one that can't be moved or thrown out.

Maybe the media hounds will get close to the bottom some day , but I doubt it.

[Eja117]

Also Eja, very sorry that you as a PSU alum have to go through all this crap.  My roomate in college's dad is a teach at PSU, his mom is a tennis coach at a satelite campus, brother and sister both went there. 

He is devasted not only for the kids but about something that has always been so good for all of his life turned out to be so wrong.

It's kinda hard. I was pretty sure that JoePa immediately handing this to his supervisors vindicated him, but instead he was actively involved in consciously choosing not to report this. I didn't enjoy taking down the poster of him in my kid's room. And it's definitely not just what he did, but also that he essentially lied to us, then died before answering any questions.

I figured he was maybe a wimp and just handed over the problem to his supervisors and got out of the way, stuck his head in the sand, focused on football, and didn’t tell his supervisors how to do their job and believed in them to do the right thing, but instead he’s probably burning in Hell.

I think there are more questions to be answered and I’m sure it will make things look even worse than they do now. Like why did Graham Spanier give a large payout to Sandusky when he retired? It makes me think he had dirt on others. Why on Earth didn’t Freeh interview Sandusky, McQueery, or Paterno? Are the Paternos in deep denial, trying to protect their family, or do they know something? Is there any way on Earth they can find out anything else about the DA who disappeared and they found a fried hard drive? Why were the State College Police so inept? Why did the trustees get off scot free in the report and why don’t a single one of them plan to resign?

I hope rather than focusing on PSU the law needs to become very very clear. If you see a crime committed you call the police or go to jail. If you have a crime reported to you by someone under you and you don’t call the police you go to jail even longer. If you punish the reporter you go to jail for a very very very long time. Make it very simple.  Right now it’s too easy to get punished for doing the right thing. Happens every day. Look at McQueery. Goes instantly to his supervisors. Gets fired and demonized. 

It makes me think of how we think of people. JoePa singlehandedly created an excellent sports culture and ideal of taking kids from poor farm and coal towns and educating them. He proved you can graduate nearly all your players. He proved you could have the big college experience mixed with an Ivy League educational flavor. He donated a million dollars to the library saying it was the most important building on campus. All down the drain.  He’s basically the Thomas Jefferson/Larry Bird of higher education. Very very very important influence but a total total total Edited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline. in real life.  A hypocrite and criminal. (Not saying Bird was a criminal, but I have no use for him.)

[Eja117]

I guess I can put up the pic of Tebow with a kid in a wheelchair I laminated today and maybe that can start the healing in the eja household anyway.

[arambone]

watch the documentary 'conspiracy of silence' on google video if you want an idea of what probably really went down. If it can reach the white house, pedo rings can happen at penn state.

[Eja117]

maybe a better solution than death penalty is that they are allowed to play so the kids and new coaches don't get punished and neither do the fans, but other that covering expenses of the program all football related revenue for two years goes to the victims and children's charities.  From PSU's perspective it's about as bad as the death penalty, but then PSU football can actually be used for something good.

[Amonkey]

I think after this report, I hope that we can use Penn State and Paterno as an example. As accomplishments go, there are fewer people that can surpass Paterno's success as a coach and the lives that he has positively affected. However, because of his truly lack of judgement dealing with this issue, his legacy will forever be tainted, and that's the way it SHOULD be. No matter how much good you've done, if you don't have the moral fibers to stop something like this from happening, then you deserve to have that bleep on your record.

I hope people use this as an example. Even if you are not doing the bad stuff, if you stand around and do nothing, then your own legacy will be affected. Just think about it, what if Tommy Heinsohn knew of something and never said anything. I would lose all my respect for him and again, that is how we as society should react to something like this abuse.