News Post

Sound off: What should be Penn State's fate?

11:16 AM - July 12, 2012 by RaychelSnr

Sickening. Disgusting. Stomach churning.

The Freeh report on Penn State was released today and revealed a concerted effort not to reveal but to enable child molestation in the Penn State football program. The question now becomes: is getting free tattoos or enabling child rape a more dangerous threat to the NCAA and all it stands for? The NCAA, for it's part, has announced an investigation into Penn State's football program.

So what do you all think? What should be the Penn State football program's fate?

Sound off!

Member Comments

# 161 rangerrick012 @ 07/13/12 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pokes


	This isn't a football issue; it's a criminal issue, just because football personnel were involved does not make it a football issue. People are reacting to this too emotionally on both sides, and it seems like rationality has gone out the window. Sandusky is going to prison as he deserves, Paterno is dead and frankly his memory can be damned, Spanier, Curley, and Schultz are most likely facing jail time, as they should. PSU has already been tried and convicted in a court of public opinion, a verdict they will not likely shake off for quite some time. The bottom line if this was just a football issue there would have been no victims and no criminal prosecutions, nor people facing time in prison. So let's stop calling this a football issue and begin seeing it for what it really is, a criminal matter.

That's exactly my point. Maybe I didn't express it as clearly as you did, but this whole thing is bigger than some NCAA ruling. Why should it matter if the football program now is punished, it won't undo the administration's inaction in the past when crimes were committed. There's court and jail for that, and people are being prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

To get rid of the culture of football ruling? That's bunk. 90% of FBS/DI schools are ruled by either football or basketball. Just look at the salaries coaches are making, some more than the presidents of the schools, and tell me what's going on. If that's the problem, the culture, then a whole lot more needs to change then making Penn State football an 'example'.

You can bet your *** that Paterno isn't the first coach to cover something up and won't be the last. This is likely the most egregious example, but like I said it's arrogance and shows the extreme power that coaches have at most college institutions and how they can (and often do) abuse it.

# 162 Perfect Zero @ 07/13/12 10:50 PM

It's amazing that people can't get that this is an administrative problem and not a football problem. It's equally amazing that people can't get that this is a criminal preceding and not an issue where the NCAA has original jurisdiction. There is a lot of wishful thinking in these two regards.

What does giving the death penalty to Penn State do anyways? It punishes the people who did no wrong in the first place. If Sandusky and Paterno were still part of the team it would be a different matter. Sandusky however is in prison and Paterno is dead. Most of the staff (granted, it should be all of the former staff) is gone, a large number of higher ups at the university that were involved in this are gone... there's nothing left to punish. You can only squeeze so much blood from a turnip.

And if you do this to the university, who hurts the most? Is the the players that did absolutely nothing wrong? The same players that made a commitment to play for a university and potentially start there? The same students that have already had to make major adjustments in life and would have to make just as many adjustments? The same students that have played hard for a team to get where they are, and would have to start from square one in their senior, their junior, their sophomore seasons?

How about the student body that has done absolutely nothing wrong? Should we punish them because they simply root for the Nittany Lions? The same students that have supported their team through thick and now thin? The same students that have condoned the university for not taking appropriate action and who have supported the due process of the law?

How about the student athletes in other sports? Should we punish them for wearing navy and white? By getting rid of the football team for a season and perhaps having them play on the road for future years, we could simply shut down the basketball teams. Perhaps because of this we can take down their renowned volleyball team for what a member of administration did. How do you want to tell the other athletic teams that because of mob opinion that their sports can't run on the same athletic budget?

How about the community that has supported Penn State through all of these years and have become a part of the Penn State family? What about the businesses that depend upon the business of 107,000+ fans that come in during autumn Saturdays? Perhaps the money will come from elsewhere; surely the dependance on so many patrons is not that much for a mom and pop shop to write off. Perhaps the people who will find unemployment due to a lack of sales will find another job elsewhere in this terrible economy.

Who will the death penalty punish? It's an easy question to answer when you look at the big picture. Sandusky doesn't care now that the football program has a tarnished reputation; all he has to worry about is living though his jail time. Paterno can't care now; his judgement is in higher hands whatever that judgement may be. To many on this board it's ok to repeat the Treaty of Versailles. All the people who did absolutely nothing wrong have been painted as target practice by many members of this board. And what will it acomplish? Will the rapes be erased? Will Sandusky have never existed?

Penn State already has a mountain to climb. There will be a good number of suits on their hands and the money is going to flow faster than liqueur after the repeal of the 21st amendment. Their reputation is tarnished and it's going to be a long time before any of the painful memories can be eased. Penn State is only starting the healing process.

What happened at Penn State is horrible; I'm not excusing Paterno or his staff and administration for what happened. What I am saying however is that any sort of penalty against the student athletes is going to hurt many innocent people and will not affect the perpetrators nor the true victims. If you're ready to nuke central Pennsylvania, remember that you are about to ruin the lives of innocent students, employees, residents and the economy. If you can live with the destruction of an entire community that is still trying to recover from the horror of what happen, then perhaps the death penalty is for you. However, if you listen to reason and if you judge without bias, you will realize that too many innocent people have already been hurt. I appeal to your reason, and I ask that you think before you judge a reeling university before you hand down your own judgement.

# 163 letsgopens66 @ 07/13/12 10:55 PM

Excellent, excellent post PZ. Couldn't have said it better myself.

# 164 OSUFan_88 @ 07/13/12 10:56 PM

The death penalty would not hurt the student athletes in the least. For those that would choose to stay with a free ride, they get free education without the distraction of football. Those who choose to leave can do so freely and with the help of the university.

In any case, it doesn't matter to me who knew and who didn't. That's not a good excuse. The problem is that a former football coach managed to rape children in the football building with the head football coach in the same building, covering it up. The fact that absolutely NO ONE knew about it just speaks to the failure to monitor the program close enough. And the NCAA has shown time and again that it doesn't matter if the people responsible are at the school or not, the school deserves to be punished.

Am I correct that when the Baylor basketball murder scandal came up, the NCAA sanctioned them? So what's the difference here?

# 165 Jr. @ 07/13/12 11:00 PM

This will likely be my final comment on this because it seems we're all talking in circles.

However, I want to commend everyone on both sides of this debate. This is why OS has such a great membership. We can talk about something as divisive as this and keep it cordial. Well done, everyone involved.

It seems to me as one's judgment on what should happen to the program stems from one's view as to why this was covered up. Either you think it was to protect the entire university, or to protect the football program specifically. Maybe we'll never know the exact reason as to why 4 of the highest profile men at Penn State chose not to pursue Sandusky to the extent, I think, we all agree they should have.

I just hope that this is a wake up call to every university where the athletic department is king. There needs to be a check and balance system to ensure that there isn't a feeling on the university that the program is untouchable.

# 166 ImTellinTim @ 07/13/12 11:02 PM

When the NCAA started sniffing around Baylor after the disappearance of the player, they found multiple violations. They included drug use, lying directly to investigators about the source of paid tuition, and numerous recruiting violations. Completely different situation.

# 167 letsgopens66 @ 07/13/12 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OSUFan_88


	The death penalty would not hurt the student athletes in the least. For those that would choose to stay with a free ride, they get free education without the distraction of football. Those who choose to leave can do so freely and with the help of the university. In any case, it doesn't matter to me who knew and who didn't. That's not a good excuse. The problem is that a former football coach managed to rape children in the football building with the head football coach in the same building, covering it up. The fact that absolutely NO ONE knew about it just speaks to the failure to monitor the program close enough. And the NCAA has shown time and again that it doesn't matter if the people responsible are at the school or not, the school deserves to be punished. Am I correct that when the Baylor basketball murder scandal came up, the NCAA sanctioned them? So what's the difference here?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baylor_...ctions_imposed
Sanctions imposed are in the article.

# 168 OSUFan_88 @ 07/13/12 11:06 PM

Hmmm, interesting. Thank you.

# 169 ImTellinTim @ 07/13/12 11:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baughn3


	Maybe we'll never know the exact reason as to why 4 of the highest profile men at Penn State chose not to pursue Sandusky to the extent, I think, we all agree they should have.

The only rational, human conclusion I can come to is that they simply didn't want to believe that someone they knew for so long was such a monster. And they also didn't know the full extent of the psychosis of their long-time colleague. But at the same time, they didn't even try to find out who Victim #2 was (the one McQueary saw in the shower)? That right there is pretty ****ed up. Just ridiculous on every level.

# 170 rangerrick012 @ 07/13/12 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OSUFan_88


	The death penalty would not hurt the student athletes in the least. For those that would choose to stay with a free ride, they get free education without the distraction of football. Those who choose to leave can do so freely and with the help of the university. In any case, it doesn't matter to me who knew and who didn't. That's not a good excuse. The problem is that a former football coach managed to rape children in the football building with the head football coach in the same building, covering it up. The fact that absolutely NO ONE knew about it just speaks to the failure to monitor the program close enough. And the NCAA has shown time and again that it doesn't matter if the people responsible are at the school or not, the school deserves to be punished.

You're wrong when you say no one knew. People knew, but just chose to turn their heads. That's less about LIC and more about arrogance of people in power. Either way it's not an NCAA issue.

Quote:


	Am I correct that when the Baylor basketball murder scandal came up, the NCAA sanctioned them? So what's the difference here?

NCAA sanctioned them for paying players, not for all the other scummy things involved.

# 171 Jr. @ 07/13/12 11:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ImTellinTim


	The only rational, human conclusion I can come to is that they simply didn't want to believe that someone they knew for so long was such a monster. And they also didn't know the full extent of the psychosis of their long-time colleague. But at the same time, they didn't even try to find out who Victim #2 was (the one McQueary saw in the shower)? That right there is pretty ****ed up. Just ridiculous on every level.

That's a good point. People will convince themselves of anything if they put their mind to it. Maybe it really was a case of extreme denial and refusal to look into it further.

# 172 TDenverFan @ 07/13/12 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OSUFan_88


	The death penalty would not hurt the student athletes in the least. For those that would choose to stay with a free ride, they get free education without the distraction of football. Those who choose to leave can do so freely and with the help of the university. In any case, it doesn't matter to me who knew and who didn't. That's not a good excuse. The problem is that a former football coach managed to rape children in the football building with the head football coach in the same building, covering it up. The fact that absolutely NO ONE knew about it just speaks to the failure to monitor the program close enough. And the NCAA has shown time and again that it doesn't matter if the people responsible are at the school or not, the school deserves to be punished. Am I correct that when the Baylor basketball murder scandal came up, the NCAA sanctioned them? So what's the difference here?

The death penalty would certainly hurt those kids! they chose to play football at Penn State. They did not pick PSU out of a hat, they wanted to go there. If they stay, they no longer play football. If they transfer, they have to go to a whole new school, earn trust, and go somewhere with a much smaller program than PSU. The death penalty absolutely kills the students.

# 173 auburntigersfan @ 07/14/12 02:49 AM

While punishing the Penn State athletic program will hurt people not directly involved, it would also set quite a precedent and go even further to prevent any other such case in the future.

# 174 Foots @ 07/14/12 05:29 AM

This is a legal matter. The NCAA shouldn't get involved, and they won't have to. The public eye views Penn State in a negative light, and that alone will cost them recruits, funds, and boosters. Nobody will want to be associated with them. They've basically given themselves the death penalty. They will receive their punishment in the legal system.

# 175 Jasong7777 @ 07/14/12 05:54 AM

This crime was allowed to happen because Joe "football>kids safety" Paterno thought that blowing the whistle on the crime would hurt the football program at Penn St. It's not exclusively a football issue, but it played a huge role in it.

# 176 videlsports @ 07/14/12 08:23 AM

I don't even know where to begin, as a life long Fan, Touring the school after High school, and having tickets. I am ashamed of my program for covering this up.H aving said that the victims are the true heroes here having the courage to tell their story and convicting the wrong people. Punishing the program would be the right thing to do, from the NCAA. but not the dealth penelty like alot of OS is screaming. Take Joe's statue Down, 1 year Ban from bowl Games maybe 2 and maybe take some nationally teleivised games away. The people that covered this up are going to Jail so I don't want to punish the kids and current staff. Jerry's Gone PSU Moves ON

# 177 virgilmj12 @ 07/14/12 09:22 AM

If the NCAA does not step in, then they are sending the wrong message. The rules / regulations are not even close to transparent as it is. Consider what happened to Ohio State... By not taking action, the NCAA is essentially saying that covering up child-molestation is OK -- but don't even think about selling memorabilia or trophies for some extra cash...

# 178 jamie1981 @ 07/14/12 09:36 AM

This thread shouldn't even be what the NCAA SHOULD do but what they WILL do in everyone's opinion.

Sent from my 1983 Motorola DynaTAC mobile phone

# 179 ubernoob @ 07/14/12 09:59 AM

There is way too much hyperbole and what ifs in this thread. What if this, what if that...

Well, they didn't happen. What did happen was multiple young children got molested. The football coach being bigger than life down there not only turned a blind eye, but actually orchestrated a cover up BECAUSE of football. None of this would have gone down with any other team there, I'd put my life on it.

Nobody wants to punish the students now, they should be allowed to transfer if the program gets shut down.

People talking about it not being fair need to put their reality glasses on. Was it fair to the common workers of Enron? Was it fair to the people Madoff ripped off?

You should be even disgusted and outraged at Paterno, Sandusky, et al did to the current student athletes by costing them a chance to play there - not at the NCAA or people suggesting the death penalty (if that were to happen.)

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

# 180 rangerrick012 @ 07/14/12 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by auburntigersfan


	While punishing the Penn State athletic program will hurt people not directly involved, it would also set quite a precedent and go even further to prevent any other such case in the future.

And the bashing that Paterno and co and PSU's taken in public and the money's PSU already lost doesn't set that precedent already? Not to mention basic human decency, which should have come first anyways. I doubt any school will cover up for any pedophiles ever again. Just a hunch.

Killing PSU football program doesn't need to be done to send that message, the bashing PSU's taken publicly and of course the criminal prosecution of those involved should set that precedent already.

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