Paterno's statue removed, Penn State sanctions announced

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WestCoastJoe
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Sad to say, it just looks like Paterno covered up the abuse by his assistant coach. And it looks like he influenced the school administration to protect the football program.

The Admin discussed going to the authorities, then talked to Paterno, and decided to "wait." Waiting then became forever.

It is amazing how the monster Sandusky was able to "hide" in plain sight within the school, protected by the football program. Well he destroyed lives, including that of Paterno, and including the football program itself.

Paterno's statue has been taken down. His legacy is in ashes. The football program has been gutted. The reputation of the school is in the mud. All because of a predator, who only cared about his own agenda.

My sympathies are with the victims. I would not be surprised if Sandusky is or becomes suicidal, except some predators never even reach the stage of self disgust.

Behind the statue, it says: Educator Coach Humanitarian ... Ouch, not so sure about that last part, since he looked away from the welfare of children in the orbit of his football program.
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notahomer
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WestCoastJoe wrote:Sad to say, it just looks like Paterno covered up the abuse by his assistant coach. And it looks like he influenced the school administration to protect the football program.

The Admin discussed going to the authorities, then talked to Paterno, and decided to "wait." Waiting then became forever.

It is amazing how the monster Sandusky was able to "hide" in plain sight within the school, protected by the football program. Well he destroyed lives, including that of Paterno, and including the football program itself.

Paterno's statue has been taken down. His legacy is in ashes. The football program has been gutted. The reputation of the school is in the mud. All because of a predator, who only cared about his own agenda.

My sympathies are with the victims. I would not be surprised if Sandusky is or becomes suicidal, except some predators never even reach the stage of self disgust.

Behind the statue, it says: Educator Coach Humanitarian ... Ouch, not so sure about that last part, since he looked away from the welfare of children in the orbit of his football program.
In some manners it seems a bit harsh but when I think about it, not so much. When I say harsh I mean current players (and lost scholarships) are going to pay for this. Then again, the players can transfer if they want to.

It makes sense to me because Paterno didn't want to bring disrespect to the program/PennState etc... So by not doing anything he did far more damage than had he just done the right thing and solved this as soon as he knew. I know its not the same thing but its like the NFL penalizing Sean Payton for stuff he either knew about or should have known. I really hope Sandusky is held accountable too. PennState was my favourite team growing up watching US college football. I hope a lot of effort and resources will go to supporting the victims of Sandusky. The NCAA has fined PennState millions of dollars that are earmarked to support/help these victims. Lets hope it doesn't happen again. I don't doubt next time people will realize regardless of the impact. By not saying anything Paterno made this worse for everybody.
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KnowItAll
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I wish the NCAA could be the ones to decide and enforce KMs punishment.
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Toppy Vann
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TheLionKing wrote:Harsh penalty but deserved
This had nothing to do with the players who were on the team from all I ever read so I felt loss of some scholarships was harsh. It is purely the HC who failed to act and the Ath. Dept officials who did what was right for Penn State versus acting in the best interests of youth and children.

If there was one college coach I respected above all based on his interviews and how he ran his team it was Joe Paterno. I was saddened to read how he failed to act quickly and decisively on what he knew. Very sad end to a life that for all other things I have heard was a life well lived and with many young college grads seemingly strongly influenced in the right way.

How adults can turn their back on that stuff is astounding. How it can be a conspiracy to cover up is even more astonishing.
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WestCoastJoe
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http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/foot ... story.html

Maurice Evans played at Penn State with Joe Paterno as coach. Sandusky was no longer a coach there.
Lions' Maurice Evans has good memories of Joe Paterno

By Mike Beamish, Vancouver Sun July 24, 2012 7:17 PM

VANCOUVER - The NCAA has wiped out Joe Paterno’s wins over the past 14 seasons in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky sex scandal, but Maurice Evans is not surrendering his warm memories of the man or his three rings as a member of the football team at Penn State.

Paterno, the once-revered head coach of the Nittany Lions, has been condemned for sacrificing justice for the victims by shielding Sandusky’s transgressions while he was an assistant coach there.

But Evans, a first-year player with the CFL’s B.C. Lions, still retains his admiration for JoePa, despite knowing that tangible symbol of that esteem-- Paterno’s statue -- was removed from Beaver Stadium earlier this week because of the divisiveness it represents.

“I totally understand the reason behind it,” Evans said after practice Tuesday. “But I have mixed feelings about it. Joe Paterno changed so many lives with that program. It doesn’t change the way I look at Joe Paterno. He was still a great man, a great coach. I’m sympathetic to the whole situation, but I had my own personal relationship with Joe. That’s not going to change.”

Besides football, they shared a common background -- Brooklyn. N.Y. Paterno attended Brooklyn Prep, a Jesuit-run high school where the curriculum was Old World. The Brooklyn-born Evans went to Christ the King in the borough of Queens.

“We used to always joke with each other about being Brooklyn guys,” Evans said.

A defensive end, he played three seasons at Penn State, from 2006-2008, and started 35 games before declaring for the NFL draft in 2009, following his junior year. Evans’ time at State College, Pa., came long after Sandusky had retired as the team’s defensive coordinator, however.

Evans notes with some sadness that the especially harsh and punitive measures taken by the National Collegiate Athletic Association against the school directly affect students and athletes who had nothing whatsoever to do with the scandal, which was covered up by Paterno and a small cadre of college administrators.

“I had a wonderful college experience there,” Evans said. “They’re [NCAA] going to have to come after me for my rings. If they want ‘em back, they’re going to have to come get ‘em. My mom’s got ‘em locked away in a safe.”

In 2007, Evans led college football’s most sack-happy defence with 12.5 sacks, 21.5 tackles for a loss and five forced fumbles, winning him national recognition. He also won three rings -- for his participation in a couple of bowl games and for winning the Big 10 championship.

It was an outstanding season by any measure, yet Evans wonders if the NCAA has the power to wipe it out and retroactively declare his college career null and void because of the terrible lack of judgment shown by his coach and the administrative cover-up.

Should the sins of a few be manifested on the many?

“They may take the wins away, but you remember what you did,” Evans said. “I just feel sorry for the kids and the coaches who are there now. They’re suffering because of the individuals that were there prior to them.”

Penn State used to have resonance whenever he mentioned his college background, Evans said. Now people look at him in a different way.

“They give you a funny look. It happens all the time now,” Evans admitted.
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notahomer
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Well the message certainly has been sent. You can not 'save' your school and/or your reputation by hiding/enabling a predator. I certainly get making the school and any enablers accountable. It is a shame, IMO, when people like Maurice Evans for e.g. are now going to have the same stigma attached to them based on this. Penn State was always my favourite team growing up and I am going to continue to support them. I'm guessing they will be leaders in this issue now that their school was attached to such a low point. The new coach and current players must have some tough choices ahead. I guess the coach will stay. I have to admit, if I was a player I don't know if I'd stay. You wait years for the chance to represent the school and then wham, no bowls etc... The punishment the school gets makes sense in the big picture scheme of things but as a player, I'd probably transfer A.S.A.P. I am glad the NCAA is not holding the fact I player wants to transfer against them due to the unique circumstances Penn State Players/Recruits are in.......
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As much as some may think that others who are not responsible are being punished out of hand, I'm afraid that I am inclined to disagree. The problem at Penn State runs deeper than the obvious 3 who conspired to keep this issue quiet. This is about a college culture which I am sure not only exists at Penn St. where the game of football and the people who benefit from it are elevated to a level of godhood. It is about a culture that thinks it is answerable to no one because they are backed by millions of dollars and a patronage network that would support them through any and all things. One has only to look at the way the student body of Penn. St. reacted when Paterno was dismissed. The unquestioning loyalty in the face of the most serious of allegations that led to a night of violent and destructive demonstrations. Football is a game, Coaches are not Gods and somewhere along the line, many fans seem to have forgotten this fact. These people didn't just fail to do what any decent and reasonable person would do, they elevated a game above the welfare and well being of children. University's have a bad habit of acting as though they are a community unto themselves. They dispense their own forms of justice, have their own security forces and eschew public scrutiny in the extreme. Well finally, an issue has come to light that could not be swept under the rug, be dealt with internally or treated as something separate from the rules and systems that the rest of us have to live by. That it finally took an example so egregious to finally expose what is an ideological fallacy is sad in the extreme. Such was the power of a belief that nothing is more important than the institution and it's prestige.

When the NCAA handed out the punishment that they did, the echoes did not only reverberate at Penn. St. but across the University system as a whole. The message being that doing the right thing isn't an option to be decided by a few, powerful and well connected individuals but by the laws of the land by which we are all governed. I'm sure that even with the NCAA ruling, there are going to be several more affirmations of this message as personal lawsuits and criminal actions continue to rumble their way through the legal system. I hope that all post secondary institutions are paying close attention. The events at Penn. St. have damaged the credibility of that school for a very long time to come. That it will never be the same is probably a good thing. Hopefully others University administrations will not be so prepared to abdicate their responsibilities to their communities as were those who walked the halls of power at Penn. St. Such a broad sweeping condemnation was not only fair but richly deserved and that many feel the sting will hopefully serve as a reminder that it took more than just 3 men to create the circumstances and atmosphere that led to this tragedy.
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TheLionKing
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Sir Purrcival wrote:As much as some may think that others who are not responsible are being punished out of hand, I'm afraid that I am inclined to disagree. The problem at Penn State runs deeper than the obvious 3 who conspired to keep this issue quiet. This is about a college culture which I am sure not only exists at Penn St. where the game of football and the people who benefit from it are elevated to a level of godhood. It is about a culture that thinks it is answerable to no one because they are backed by millions of dollars and a patronage network that would support them through any and all things. One has only to look at the way the student body of Penn. St. reacted when Paterno was dismissed. The unquestioning loyalty in the face of the most serious of allegations that led to a night of violent and destructive demonstrations. Football is a game, Coaches are not Gods and somewhere along the line, many fans seem to have forgotten this fact. These people didn't just fail to do what any decent and reasonable person would do, they elevated a game above the welfare and well being of children. University's have a bad habit of acting as though they are a community unto themselves. They dispense their own forms of justice, have their own security forces and eschew public scrutiny in the extreme. Well finally, an issue has come to light that could not be swept under the rug, be dealt with internally or treated as something separate from the rules and systems that the rest of us have to live by. That it finally took an example so egregious to finally expose what is an ideological fallacy is sad in the extreme. Such was the power of a belief that nothing is more important than the institution and it's prestige.

When the NCAA handed out the punishment that they did, the echoes did not only reverberate at Penn. St. but across the University system as a whole. The message being that doing the right thing isn't an option to be decided by a few, powerful and well connected individuals but by the laws of the land by which we are all governed. I'm sure that even with the NCAA ruling, there are going to be several more affirmations of this message as personal lawsuits and criminal actions continue to rumble their way through the legal system. I hope that all post secondary institutions are paying close attention. The events at Penn. St. have damaged the credibility of that school for a very long time to come. That it will never be the same is probably a good thing. Hopefully others University administrations will not be so prepared to abdicate their responsibilities to their communities as were those who walked the halls of power at Penn. St. Such a broad sweeping condemnation was not only fair but richly deserved and that many feel the sting will hopefully serve as a reminder that it took more than just 3 men to create the circumstances and atmosphere that led to this tragedy.
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notahomer
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TheLionKing wrote:
Sir Purrcival wrote:As much as some may think that others who are not responsible are being punished out of hand, I'm afraid that I am inclined to disagree. The problem at Penn State runs deeper than the obvious 3 who conspired to keep this issue quiet. This is about a college culture which I am sure not only exists at Penn St. where the game of football and the people who benefit from it are elevated to a level of godhood. It is about a culture that thinks it is answerable to no one because they are backed by millions of dollars and a patronage network that would support them through any and all things. One has only to look at the way the student body of Penn. St. reacted when Paterno was dismissed. The unquestioning loyalty in the face of the most serious of allegations that led to a night of violent and destructive demonstrations. Football is a game, Coaches are not Gods and somewhere along the line, many fans seem to have forgotten this fact. These people didn't just fail to do what any decent and reasonable person would do, they elevated a game above the welfare and well being of children. University's have a bad habit of acting as though they are a community unto themselves. They dispense their own forms of justice, have their own security forces and eschew public scrutiny in the extreme. Well finally, an issue has come to light that could not be swept under the rug, be dealt with internally or treated as something separate from the rules and systems that the rest of us have to live by. That it finally took an example so egregious to finally expose what is an ideological fallacy is sad in the extreme. Such was the power of a belief that nothing is more important than the institution and it's prestige.

When the NCAA handed out the punishment that they did, the echoes did not only reverberate at Penn. St. but across the University system as a whole. The message being that doing the right thing isn't an option to be decided by a few, powerful and well connected individuals but by the laws of the land by which we are all governed. I'm sure that even with the NCAA ruling, there are going to be several more affirmations of this message as personal lawsuits and criminal actions continue to rumble their way through the legal system. I hope that all post secondary institutions are paying close attention. The events at Penn. St. have damaged the credibility of that school for a very long time to come. That it will never be the same is probably a good thing. Hopefully others University administrations will not be so prepared to abdicate their responsibilities to their communities as were those who walked the halls of power at Penn. St. Such a broad sweeping condemnation was not only fair but richly deserved and that many feel the sting will hopefully serve as a reminder that it took more than just 3 men to create the circumstances and atmosphere that led to this tragedy.
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