Jerry Sandusky thread

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

And it makes me dislike alumnis of any schools even worse.

hmm?

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

And it makes me dislike alumnis of any schools even worse.

I'm always amazed at just how fanatical they are, and just how wrapped up their own senses of self-worth are with their schools and teams.

I mean, I root for pro teams, sure. I'll wear things with their logos even. But if they lose? Yeah, it'll make me grumpy for a bit, but after that big deal. They win? It's not like it's a personal reflection on me, it's not like I did anything. The practice of pouring money into these schools just to feel better about yourselves? Seems kinda sad.

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

I'm always amazed at just how fanatical they are, and just how wrapped up their own senses of self-worth are with their schools and teams.

I mean, I root for pro teams, sure. I'll wear things with their logos even. But if they lose? Yeah, it'll make me grumpy for a bit, but after that big deal. They win? It's not like it's a personal reflection on me, it's not like I did anything. The practice of pouring money into these schools just to feel better about yourselves? Seems kinda sad.

Being a sports fan is emotionally tying yourself to something that you have zero direct control over while claiming "We won," or "We lost." Giving money only increases the emotional tie with little to most likely no impact on your actual involvement.

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

I'm always amazed at just how fanatical they are, and just how wrapped up their own senses of self-worth are with their schools and teams.

I mean, I root for pro teams, sure. I'll wear things with their logos even. But if they lose? Yeah, it'll make me grumpy for a bit, but after that big deal. They win? It's not like it's a personal reflection on me, it's not like I did anything. The practice of pouring money into these schools just to feel better about yourselves? Seems kinda sad.

I would also add an immaturity angle to it: older guys trying relive their college years.

[lcjjdnh]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

I'm always amazed at just how fanatical they are, and just how wrapped up their own senses of self-worth are with their schools and teams.

I mean, I root for pro teams, sure. I'll wear things with their logos even. But if they lose? Yeah, it'll make me grumpy for a bit, but after that big deal. They win? It's not like it's a personal reflection on me, it's not like I did anything. The practice of pouring money into these schools just to feel better about yourselves? Seems kinda sad.

Isn't it representative of the base human instinct toward tribalism? Sports, religion, politics, nationality--people have a natural tendency to develop allegiances (for reasons good and bad, arbitrary and not), want their side to win, and often refuse to admit their side is wrong. Not surprisingly, sports often directly link with politics and religion in other parts of the world; it's actually somewhat unique, I think, they're almost entirely untethered in the U.S. (well, sports in general some times are tethered--think of the over-the-top patriotism of the NFL--but rarely does the team you root for really serve as a proxy for some other underlying belief you hold).

[LloydLungs]

Originally Posted by General Mike

‘We are Penn State’ evokes a range of emotions - Dan Le Batard - MiamiHerald.com

Definitely worth a read. John Amaechi brilliantly evaluates the mentality at play here.

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by SportsDino

Yes, Joe "AssRaper" Paterno, clearly knew what was going on and played along with a cover up for his own benefit. Part of his wealth the last few years was built through the exploitation of child victims since 2002.

Some people enjoy being willfully ignorant, that they would choose this as one of their battles just shows they are idiots.

Do you actually read what you type?

[EagleFan]

Sadly this is far more than Paterno. There are so many people inolved in this situation that didn't either connect the dots or come forward with what they know that it boggles the mind.

In my mind McQueary (sp?) has a chance to come out of this looking the worst of all the non-pedophile crowd in this. He does nothing, calls his father, again does nothing but go to Paterno, has a meeting with the university president and ad and still does nothing. Then he seems to continue on his career with the university and is the one that isn't fired in all of this (unless that has changed over the last day).

Did he turn what he saw into a chance to further his career? If that ends up being the case he deserves a special spot in hell.


The above is just speculation but that is what most of this thread is to be honest. There is so much that we don't know yet that it would be insane to even form a true opinion yet (other than the opinion that Sandufsky needs to have his balls cut off without anything to kill the pain). Then throw him in prison with the general population so he can experience what he put those boys through.

[dawgfan]

It's possible that McQueary is a major douchebag/loser for not doing more than he did. It's also possible that he's been covering things up under orders from his superiors.

If/when he spills his side of things (which his dad has said he'd like to do), things should get even more interesting in this investigation.

[jbergey22]

It certainly appears McQueary is being kept on for some reason. Really only seems like it could be 1 of 2 things.

1. The law protects him from being fired(whistleblower policy)
2. Penn St knows if they fire him he and his father have no reason to keep quiet anymore.

His recruiting days are over, he has no respect at Penn anymore, and his ties to the coaching staff are soon to be limited. Is there really a reason he should NOT be fired/let go?

I think Penn St should just realize they are screwed and get it all out there now. Atleast this way the can possibly rebuid their program back up. If things about this case are still coming out 10 years from now it is going to keep the program down.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

It certainly appears McQueary is being kept on for some reason. Really only seems like it could be 1 of 2 things.

1. The law protects him from being fired(whistleblower policy)
2. Penn St knows if they fire him he and his father have no reason to keep quiet anymore.

His recruiting days are over, he has no respect at Penn anymore, and his ties to the coaching staff are soon to be limited. Is there really a reason he should NOT be fired/let go?

I think Penn St should just realize they are screwed and get it all out there now. Atleast this way the can possibly rebuid their program back up. If things about this case are still coming out 10 years from now it is going to keep the program down.

I think it's option #1.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

And it makes me dislike alumnis of any schools even worse.

BUC HATES YOU IF YOU GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE!!!1

[Butter]

To be fair, Bucc hates about everything.

[Buccaneer]

I was specifically talking about those alumnis that would do anything, legal or illegal, to act like they are still in school and making sure their team is good - in the context of this discussion.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by rowech

I think it's option #1.

Agreed. The school is likely going to pay him a big settlement because he's damaged goods from a coaching perspective. But they can't just release him due to whistleblower status.

[molson]

Ya, McQueary is going to end up being a multi-millionaire out of this. As will the parents of the victims, some of whom, just according to the second mile mission statement, were likely so neglectful or otherwise unable to take of their kids, to the extend that the Second Mile had to get involved in the first place.

[Ben E Lou]

Second Mile CEO resigning?

[EagleFan]

I think McQueary is going to end up being just as dirty as the rest (except Sandufsky of course). If he agreed to keep quiet in order to further his career that is extremely bad in my opinion and at that point he is no longer covered under the title of "whistle blower".

I think this is goiing to get extremely ugly if it all comes out, not like it isn't already.

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by molson

Ya, McQueary is going to end up being a multi-millionaire out of this. As will the parents of the victims, some of whom, just according to the second mile mission statement, were likely so neglectful or otherwise unable to take of their kids, to the extend that the Second Mile had to get involved in the first place.

McQueary doesn't deserve a freaking dime out of this. If he gets anything that kid that he witnessed being raped should sue his ass for every last penny.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

It's possible that McQueary is a major douchebag/loser for not doing more than he did. It's also possible that he's been covering things up under orders from his superiors.

If/when he spills his side of things (which his dad has said he'd like to do), things should get even more interesting in this investigation.

While I ran on the treadmill Sunday morning, I watched a "48 Hours Mystery" show on ID about a guy who spent 25 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. The lead investigator basically made up a bunch of evidence that first kept him in jail and then lead to his conviction. When an investigator he hired filed a complaint on his behalf against the cop, the internal affairs guy at LAPD who handled it recognized what had happened and brought the info to his superiors. He was told to drop it. He ended up giving the info to the guy's investigator, and 10-15 years later, the guy was freed.

As I watched this story, I thought about the parallels to the PSU case. First, this guy was lucky enough that someone on the inside who knew the truth was willing to risk his career to do the right thing. Obviously, the PSU case was devoid of anyone so courageous. But you see why - the IA cop who went out on a limb for the truth had his career railroaded and was basically stuck in career purgatory and ostracized by his peers for being a snitch. Nevermind that he exposed a veteran cop for fabricating evidence and sending an innocent man to jail for 25 years.

[Ben E Lou]

Mike McQueary, Sandusky case witness, hires Harrisburg firm that specializes in employment law | PennLive.com

[JPhillips]

I saw this oddity on MMQB:

In April 2005, Centre County (Pa.) district attorney Ray Gricar, who decided not to bring child-assault charges against Jerry Sandusky after an incident with a young boy in 1998, disappeared without a trace in Pennsylvania and has never been heard from since. His car was found in Lewisburg, Pa., near the Susquehanna River, and his laptop computer was found in the river.

In May 1996, Gricar's brother Roy, who lived in southwest Ohio, disappeared not long after being fired from his job in Dayton. His body was found days later in the Great Miami River. His car was found parked near the Great Miami River, and authorities ruled his death a suicide.

[Ksyrup]

Yeah, saw that too. I hadn't see the brother part of the story until today. Definitely adds more ammo to the argument that the DA committed suicide. Apparently they found a google search on his home computer for "destroying hard drive." And his computer ended up washing ashore, separated from the hard drive and, of course, damaged beyond salvation.

[Ben E Lou]

And on and on it goes...

Big Ten takes Paterno's name off trophy - Big Ten Blog - ESPN

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

McQueary doesn't deserve a freaking dime out of this. If he gets anything that kid that he witnessed being raped should sue his ass for every last penny.

I'm hoping it goes down like this:
1. McQueary gets a fat settlement, enough, combined with his family money, that he doesn't have to worry about his coaching career.

2. Freed of concern of getting another job, he writes a tell-all book that blows the lid off the massive cover-up, detailing ugly stuff (making this up) like how after 2002 Paterno told all the coaches that if they saw Sandusky's car in the parking lot at night, they shouldn't go in the locker room, etc. Just sordid stuff that brings down the whole house of cards, forces a complete housecleaning of all coaches at PSU, and sells a gajillion copies.

And then...

3. Victim #2 comes forward and sues for every dime of McQueary's settlement and book sales, and even gets some of Papa McQueary's money, too.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

And on and on it goes...

Big Ten takes Paterno's name off trophy - Big Ten Blog - ESPN

I appreciate how ESPN feels the need to trash Ohio State at every turn, even in this wholly unrelated article.

I also enjoy how one of the commenters mentions how Penn State should leave the Big Ten for the ACC for being treated in such a fashion.

Ah, internet commenters. Is there nothing you won't say?

[Rizon]

Head of charity founded by Sandusky resigns - CNN.com

[Ksyrup]

I hope that organization has some good D&O coverage...

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

I appreciate how ESPN feels the need to trash Ohio State at every turn, even in this wholly unrelated article.

Me too.

[Butter]

Notice in the CNN article that Sandusky's home backs to the local elementary school playground.

*facepalm*

[dacman]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Notice in the CNN article that Sandusky's home backs to the local elementary school playground.

*facepalm*

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

I appreciate how ESPN feels the need to trash Ohio State at every turn, even in this wholly unrelated article.

I also enjoy how one of the commenters mentions how Penn State should leave the Big Ten for the ACC for being treated in such a fashion.

Ah, internet commenters. Is there nothing you won't say?

Well, it is a blog after all, not exactly the pinnacle of journalism.

[Bigsmooth]

Originally Posted by dacman

Jesus, the man was dedicated to his craft. What a goddamn freak.

[spleen1015]

I bet the school put up that fence.

[spleen1015]

At least I hope.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

I bet the school put up that fence.

That'll be the next thing. Even the school knew something was up...

[dacman]

Don't misunderstand -- I was only suggesting the school should invest in a privacy fence for the playground to keep the sub-human "Sandusky" from leering at the kids.

[spleen1015]

Originally Posted by dacman

Don't misunderstand -- I was only suggesting the school should invest in a privacy fence for the playground to keep the sub-human "Sandusky" from leering at the kids.

Gotcha. I thought that was his true backyard. ROFL.

[Marmel]

Interesting thread started on another board I lurk at...

The PSU scandal and me - Straight Dope Message Board

edited to add: I really have no opinion on whether this is true or not, but just wanted to share.

[RainMaker]

McQueary used to live with current head coach Tom Bradley.

[booradley]

The support shown by PSU faithful for JoePA is PRECISELY the same as that exhibited by Michael Jackson faithful during his trial for "indiscretion with a minor." Same mentality. So let's not limit the phenomenon to the scope of university loyalty. It's a much broader, human thing ...

[DaddyTorgo]

Nice article on Grantland by Charlie Pierce (who I know, and personally am not a huge fan of as a person, or really as a columnist, but he hit this one on the head.

Charles P. Pierce on the brutal truth about the crimes at Penn State - Grantland

The crimes at Penn State are about the raping of children. That is all they are about. The crimes at Penn State are about the raping of children by Jerry Sandusky, and the possibility that people lied to a grand jury about the raping of children by Jerry Sandusky, and the likelihood that most of the people who had the authority at Penn State to stop the raping of children by Jerry Sandusky proved themselves to have the moral backbone of ribbon worms.

It no longer matters if there continues to be a football program at Penn State. It no longer even matters if there continues to be a university there at all. All of these considerations are trivial by comparison to what went on in and around the Penn State football program.
(Those people who will pass this off as an overreaction would do well to remember that the Roman Catholic Church is reckoned to be a far more durable institution than even Penn State University is, and the Church has spent the past decade or so selling off its various franchise properties all over the world to pay off the tsunami of civil judgments resulting from the raping of children, a cascade that shows no signs of abating anytime soon.)

There will now be a decade or more of criminal trials, and perhaps a quarter-century or more of civil actions, as a result of what went on at Penn State. These things cannot be prayed away. Let us hear nothing about "closure" or about "moving on." And God help us, let us not hear a single mumbling word about how football can help the university "heal." (Lord, let the Alamo Bowl be an instrument of your peace.) This wound should be left open and gaping and raw until the very last of the children that Jerry Sandusky is accused of raping somehow gets whatever modicum of peace and retribution can possibly be granted to him. This wound should be left open and gaping and raw in the bright sunlight where everybody can see it, for years and years and years, until the raped children themselves decide that justice has been done. When they're done healing — if they're ever done healing — then they and their families can give Penn State permission to start.

If that blights Joe Paterno's declining years, that's too bad. If that takes a chunk out of the endowment, hold a damn bake sale. If that means that Penn State spends some time being known as the university where a child got raped, that's what happens when you're a university where a child got raped. Any sympathy for this institution went down the drain in the shower room in the Lasch Building. There's nothing that can happen to the university, or to the people sunk up to their eyeballs in this incredible moral quagmire, that's worse than what happened to the children who got raped at Penn State. Good Lord, people, get up off your knees and get over yourselves.

[Ben E Lou]

An interview??? REALLY?????????

Rock Center with Brian Williams - Jerry Sandusky to Bob Costas in exclusive 'Rock Center' interview: "I shouldn't have showered with those kids."

[Rizon]

WTF

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Let us hear nothing about "closure" or about "moving on." And God help us, let us not hear a single mumbling word about how football can help the university "heal." (Lord, let the Alamo Bowl be an instrument of your peace.)

Good article, the above is what really resonates with me.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

An interview??? REALLY?????????

Rock Center with Brian Williams - Jerry Sandusky to Bob Costas in exclusive 'Rock Center' interview: "I shouldn't have showered with those kids."

Why even give that douchebag a pedestal to fall off? Nobody wants to hear his fucking side. Nice job NBC.

[DaddyTorgo]

Losing my respect for NBC by the minute. Unless they absolutely tear him a new one as part of airing this interview.

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

An interview??? REALLY?????????

Rock Center with Brian Williams - Jerry Sandusky to Bob Costas in exclusive 'Rock Center' interview: "I shouldn't have showered with those kids."

Uh, Jerry, that's not a leg. This will be a classic case of admitting to everything except the money shot.

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Losing my respect for NBC by the minute. Unless they absolutely tear him a new one as part of airing this interview.

Mainstream media with a spine?

[tarcone]

And he denies it. Wow. This guy is insane.