What a crock. How do we know the "victims"are true. Who in their right mind would go back 100 times for something they considered abuse- oh yeah- he did it for the rewards.
The NCAA has punished all the people not involved in the sex abuse - if there was any.
The players had nothing to do with it but now 7-9 top players have left- no bowl games for four years- so players just coming in to Penn State are being punished for something that happened ten years before they got here. The players who remained should just forfeit this year's games and maybe the next three year's games- they will get killed in the Big Ten- and they had nothing to do with the dumbasses who let this pervert give them golf clubs, trips to games, admission to games and other gifts and then didn't tell anyone they didn't like it- of course not- the gifts would have stopped. Why wasn't Second Mile punished? Too many republicans were involved in that including Pa.s Gov. -a thief and a guy who could have prosecuted Sandusky but didn't. they had Social Workers- people supposedly trained to spot pedophiles- but no- the FBI jackass blamed the dead football coach- who better to blame than a dead guy- keeps all the wealthy repugnants from being involved.
topwop - 12 years ago
According to the self serving National Center for Missing & Exploited Children there are around 747,000 Registered Sex Offenders in the U. S. That number has just jumped to include every man, woman, child, teacher, student, administrator and every alumni of Penn State, past and future. That is how their now worthless registry works.
How? Once the Penn State “family” not just the individual had been reported the media demanded that as a society we have to save all of our children from abuse and arrest the abusers for punishment. After all they are all in it and all the same. However, you will not be told that we have also just created more victims through their Government Induced Victimization Effect.
In our society it has become taboo to question or “victim bash.” These victims have just been handed the prize they were promised, and if they were truly abused can now afford therapy for generations. But here is the challenge. They will sell the well-used rhetoric that once they or any child has had a sexual experience, they are forever less of a human being and that it is impossible to ever recover once they have been abused. This is simply not true. Therapy or counseling for young children just as it is for adults is highly effective if acted on early and confidentially. However they do not have a need to prove lifelong damage, or to produce these magical stats that we never see. Law enforcement drops victims like a hot potato after the conviction because the conviction is their only goal. It serves their NEED.
Socially there is character assassination for the entire Penn State program, community or family. This destruction of Penn State as a whole is necessary, tolerable and inevitable. It is necessary because our society has been told there must not be anyone feeling anything but disgust for them as a whole. Penn State will now and forever be under the public’s scrutiny as their punishment continues. Tolerable as it provides separation allowing all other programs in our society to feel that they are much better than them and that this does not happen to programs like theirs, when the reality is this could easily happen within their own family. Inevitable because once you journey down this road only the justice of a witch hunt will satisfy the accuser.
Our government believes that retribution driven strategies after or in this case before the fact are a better deterrent than a proposal for rehabilitation; this drives the financial and punitive needs of those few in control and outweighs the moral and emotional needs of the many that would willingly seek change.
Education is the key to unlock our minds. Penn State is a community of higher learning, they teach people HOW to think not WHAT to think. Our government on the other hand uses hype, hysteria and fear to control WHAT people think.
GOD help the Penn State FAMILY, GOD help the Paterno FAMILY and GOD help us.
Brian - 12 years ago
Why is the NCAA even involved in what is a criminal and legal matter and has nothing to do with sports other than a coach/s and administrators commited the crimes.
They have just destroyed the careers of countless athletes who had nothing to do with the crimes commited by the coach and administrators.
Sports organizations have no authority over criminal or legal matters and should stay out of them. To punish athletes for the failures of their leaders is the absolute worst way to try and solve a situation they, the athletes, had no control over.
The NCAA should stick to what it is best at and stay out of legal and criminal situations. They have just usurped the power of the courts and laws of Pennsylvania and Federal Government.
WV Mountaineer - 12 years ago
As a lifetime WVU Mountaineer, I certainly have no great fondness for Penn St (they used to be a major rival, before they gave up playing for National Championships in order to get the BUCKS from the Big 10!!)
But, I DO believe in the principals of our country and "due process." NOT dictatorships... which IS what this action by the NCAA, OR its "President," is an example!! It would almost seem as if the Prez of the NCAA is trying to establish himself as strong a "fiefdom" and the Prez of the NFL is doing....
Despite the horrific nature of Jerry Sandusky's conduct (for which he was CONVICTED according to LAW, after DUE PROCESS, and will serve the remainder of his life where he belongs... IF the inmates are unable to solve that issue!!), there has been NO FAIR determination of WHO did WHAT with regard to Joe Paterno and the college's administration.
With all due respect to a former U.S. District Judge and Former Director of the FBI... he did NOT involve due process in his one-sided "investigation," which it has been widely reported did NOT even involve questioning of all the major "players" in the scenario (and I am not referring to Joe Pa, who was a bit "indisposed" at the time.) By the way... in the world of "investigations," since when does the investigator's conclusions get to be unchallenged by the accused, instead of being taken as "Gospel?!?"
While the grossly opinionated media and "pundits" have a great time making their MONEY by writing inflamatory stories, which are eagerly sucked up by a, justifiably distraught public... single entity "prosecution-judge-executioner" actions are WHOLLY UNACCEPTABLE in our society... whether it is the NCAA or the NFL.
And, my fellow Americans... it MAY feel justified and wonderful to "foam at the mouth" for the head of another who is CHARGED with misconduct... but PLEASE REMEMBER, but for the Grace of God and the focus of "inspired public opinion," it COULD be YOU or someone you love who is being targeted by UNPROVEN allegations!! IF you think that the NCAA, the NFL, the police, the Federal Government, OR even the Honorable Judge Frieh ALWAYS gets it RIGHT when they reach an UNCHALLENGED conclusion of misconduct from their ONE-SIDED "investigations..." then, my friends, you are VERY sadly mistaken as to the fairness of the process of prosecutions... even in the USA!
IF Penn State does NOT file suit against the NCAA AND its Dictator... it will only be because they are so SHELL-SHOCKED by the explosion of negative publicity heaped on a FINE institution of higher learning... and a "storied" football program (that was NEVER under the direction of a SAINT... just a dedicated man who was, generally "GOOD" but who may have made some mistakes of judgment when faced with unimaginable suspicion of a long time friend and concern for the potentially horrible impact upon a university to which he had dedicated and given his life.... and for which it appears he wsa EXACTLY RIGHT as to the consequences! It is easy to judge, when we do NOT KNOW all the facts. BUT, a RUSH to judgment is ALWAYS a SAD event in our society... and, unfortunately, something for which we have long held a deep propensity for doing!!!
J - 12 years ago
Wa wa wa...they had MULTIPLE emails showing many highups knew about the MULTIPLE abuse!!!! And as a University, they held their heritage, football, and how they look to the community/nation HIGHER than doing the RIGHT and LEGAL thing and report MULTIPLE KNOWN child sexual abuse?!?! As a child sex abuse (attempted) survivor myself, it just makes me SICK!!!! How could ANYONE hold football, etc HIGHER and more important than the safety of CHILDREN?!?!
Jegar48 - 12 years ago
All of you PSU apologists can suck it up. This was a 14 year failure at the institutional level that ruined the lives of a lot of young men, some of which we may never know about. Why? So the football program and Paterno could avoid an embarrassing investigation? You have to be kidding me. I disagree about the death penalty being the answer, these actions will cripple the football program for a longer time than one year of no football, as it should be. I personally hope it takes the 14 years that the University let this go on before PSU fields a team that can competitively play at the FBS level, then justice will be done.
HOWARD GARNETT - 12 years ago
TOUGH TITTIE!
Scott - 12 years ago
For twelve years Penn State put its own selfish desires above the welfare of children and committed/condoned illegal acts pursuit in of their dreams, mainly the almighty dollar. Wonder how many other illegal acts they committed that we don't know about?
PSU's arrogance offends me - they destroyed the childhoods of a lot of innocent people who will live with the molestation nightmares for the rest of their lives. PSU, you can keep all your records 'cause the rest of us just don't care about you and your whining right now. We care about the children.
It's not just PSU, it's not just football, it's not just the NCAA - its our society that tolerates the perpetratation of such heinous crimes on defenseless victims. PSU serves as just one more reflection of a selfish society that has lost its moral compass.
If PSU has any sense of honor, it would voluntarily rid itself of the cancer of arrogance and kill it's football program. Go ahead PSU, show the world you truly care about our children.
katie mentor - 12 years ago
NCAA penalties fair? Partially.
WHAT? Penn State isn't going after the $168,000 lump sum given to Sandusky in '99?
WHY? Those $$ can go to help healing a school - those ill-treated boys, and students, alum and employees cheated of pride.
It's time for our voices to be heard - request 'Punishment' for the remaining 3 'guilty parties' as talked of in the Freeh Report - Spanier, Schultz & Curley.
An albatross should dangle from their necks tarnishing their future job prospects and reputations.
Why throw the book only at Paterno & the football program?
These other 3 men should shoulder equal punishment - loss of job benefits- past and future, the inability to land future good jobs and their individual dignity. Their families should not be allowed Penn State privileges either - this includes Mrs. Spanier... too bad she has proven herself - time to leave State College.
If the NCAA can quickly slam big penalties to Penn State - Penn State can act quickly as well. DO IT & wipe the slate clean!
McQuery should also be moving on to another job - his administrative leave is done!
DO IT! Assign extreme punishments before the Fall Season starts. It's only fair to us all. DO IT!Let us all get to healing.
Dan - 12 years ago
$60 million from a school that took in $208 million in donations last year. The money is nothing to them. The football program dominated the school and Paterno secured preferential treatment for football players. Paterno was a tyrant. Not the grandpa fans thought. I wish he was still around so he could be formally charged. Everything the NCAA did was to take the athletic dept and more specifically the football program off the pedestal. I lost most respect for Paterno when he let players beat up other students without any penalties. JoePa no more. JoeFraud from now on.
When all the lawsuits are done the dollar amount might be significant. Not likely though since donations from the blinder wearing we are Penn staters will pour in even stronger. The athletes are being allowed to transfer so the penalties won't hurt them. Heck if they decide to they get to stay on scholarship without having to play.
Maria Hall - 12 years ago
They gave SMU the death penalty and what they did wasn't even against the law so PSU should be given it also.
hal - 12 years ago
I agree with JustMe comment below......closing the school is the only way to go.....
John - 12 years ago
In light of yet another massacre of all those people in Aurora, CO; when will the "death penalty" be administered to the NRA and Gun Lobby ?
These people are no different than Charles Manson urging his minions to take up weapons to murder others. They object to any regulation whatsoever. There is sometlhing terribly wrong when powerful corporate interests dictate public policy to elected government representatives.
EMacKie - 12 years ago
The NCAA relied totally on the report of Freeh. He thus becomes judge and jury which is totally against our system of justice. At this point the trials of Curly, etc. have not occurred. Their testimony was not considered because they were not interviewed. They are probably the among the few alive that have a clue what happened. Also, we do need to remember that Freeh is the one that was in charge of the FBI at the time of 9/11. He is not infallible.
mina - 12 years ago
What about mcqueary. He saw what happened and calls daddy. Why isn't he being crucified?
Michael Wentworth - 12 years ago
This country punishes friends, family and the community of those found guilty rather than focus on punishing those responsible. The NCAA has killed a community economically, damaged the innocent athletes, and damaged the current study body of Penn State...all innocent bystanders. One bad apple, and we don't just cut down the tree, we burn the orchard. This is justice? Punish those responsible. All those responsible. Period. Then allow those left in the wake to rebuild. Truly, the NCAA doles out penalties in a scorched earth approach. I believe this happens because the punishing body demands visible pain so they attack those who are most visible rather than digging out the rats who really are responsible. It's just easier to nuke-em. Maybe they should start using drones.
Bobby Knight - 12 years ago
The wrong people are being punished.
Margaret - 12 years ago
I think they did the right thing, I just feel sorry for the student athletes there right now.
Pete - 12 years ago
There is no way to equivocate on this matter, given the scope, clarity, and conclusions of the Freeh report. The NCAA (though not a paragon of virtue itself) intends itself to represent the standards of conduct for members' athletics programs. As such, to do any less would send a message that there was room for excuses for what happened. That innocent people - especially students, both new and old - will suffer various degrees of "hurt" is one consequence of the accountability that the NCAA actions make real. The REAL potential of this outcome that would be terrible is that what happened over almost three decades will be forgotten - and repeated.
Pat - 12 years ago
What a rush to judgment about Paterno. Talk about piling on! Sandusky was not a coach when he was discovered raping that boy. Paterno had no control over him and he turned the whole mess over to Curley, his boss to handle. Until the trials begin and people testify, especially Curley, about how or if Joe Paterno was involved in the coverup, we do not know the truth. If he had told Curley to cover it up and not report it, I would think that Curley would have mentioned that in the only email in existence that mentions Paterno. If I was telling someone we should not report something after I had talked to someone else and thought it over, I'm quite sure I would mention that I agreed with what that person said or I would mention what it was that the person recommended. That's why I don't think we should assume yet that Paterno was involved in the coverup. No, he did not report it to the police. The person who should have done that and who seems to be getting a free pass from everyone is McQueary who was the actual witness and who did absolutely nothing to stop the rape and who did not call police. HE IS THE ONE who should have reported it to the police AFTER HE STOPPED IT. No need to call Paterno or anyone else. Stop the rape. Call the police. Then call Paterno and Curley. I'm not saying Paterno should not have followed up after he reported it to his boss. But there's a big difference between leaving it to your boss to handle and actually participating in a coverup. A BIG difference. I'm not defending anyone. Just saying that we should wait for the evidence in a court room before we judge. And I do not think the team, the new coach and the fans should be punished for what 4 people (out of 45,000) did.
FFChuck - 12 years ago
I think the NCAA has the right to impose sanctions/fines, though I disagree with the manor in which it was carried out. The only real part of the NCAA's punishment that's truly unfair is erasing the record PSU earned since 1998. What a crock!
eric - 12 years ago
I AGREE WITH EVERYONE....CLOSE THE SCHOOL.......those poor boys..their lives are emotionally ruined......Penn States Sucks! literally....
Lioness - 12 years ago
I agree with the fine; the school as a whole SHOULD be punished. The coverup was far reaching and too many people who have yet to be penalized are still part of the system there.
But to effectively destroy a program so many present and future athletes relied upon for THEIR future and to punish an ENTIRE University for the morally corrupt actions of a select few is disappointing beyond words.
Has anyone stopped to think about the kids who had their future dreams shattered this morning for something they had NOTHING to do with? And what about the faculty? Less students means less professors. Cutting the football program back means cutting coaching staff too.
Way to destroy the academic and athletic future of the youth and the financial future of the staff, NCAA.
JustMe - 12 years ago
@Kim Thornhill... close the school? I hope you take a deep breath and realize how disgustingly idiotic that statement is. Though undoubtedly you won't... because you're an idiot. I sure hope you didn't pass that genetic mutation down to your spawn.
Susan - 12 years ago
Firing the guilty along with criminal charges, sentences, and fines is appropriate. Victims should also have the right to file civil lawsuits against the guilty. I would imagine civil lawsuits will also be filed against the university.
However, I don't think the NCAA is the appropriate body to deal with the issue. The behavior was criminal and should be handled as a criminal matter. I could see establishing a supervisory body for the Penn State program to ensure that the culture changes, but I don't like the idea of punishing the players and coaches who were not involved, which is what the NCAA penalties essentially do. Nothing in what they handed down deals with the guilty..
NMB - 12 years ago
The death penalty would have punished everyone else on Penn State's schedule for years to come, not to mention all the vendors and hoteliers that depend on football games. Remove PSU from the schedule and the 11-team B1G no longer has a playoff game. Other teams have one less shot at six wins to earn their own bowl bid. And what if the hole in the schedule is next to a bye week? It's unfair to pull kids off the field for 21 days in a row mid-season. Plugging the hole this late in the year is next to impossible and at best would result in a match up that would not really net the other team any points for the win. The sanctions as they are, are probably worse than the death penalty, as PSU football must now soldier on without fanfare, without spirit and without competitive talent. My only regret is for the Penn Staters past and future who had nothing to do with any of it and will now suffer the tarnish.
Sarah A. Victory - 12 years ago
If one has knowledge of sexual abuse of a dependent child and does nothing, the law says they are guilty of failing to protect (our) children which is a crime. I COMMEND THE NCAA!
TOO BAD THE CATHOLIC CHURCH DID NOT DO EQUILIVENT TO THEIR PEDOPHILE PRIESTS, ETC! I AM STILL APPALLED AT THAT TRAVESTY.
RETIRED DHS CASEWORKER
As far as I'm concerned, the NCAA didn't go far enough! The lives of the victims have been ruined and heaven only knows in what ways what happened to them will impact their lives in the long run. They can close the school, sell off the land etc. to pay for settlements that will have to be paid out. I don't care. Too bad!
Phil - 12 years ago
You fine the school and hold back their ball team and in the end who is hurt the most, your countries future. Maybe you guys need a little more education.
mary coles - 12 years ago
I wonder if one of those boys were the brother.son, or relative of those against the sanctions would they still fell the same nikli you need some help to place a sport over a childs welfare is just ridiculous I hope you have a better out look morally and ethically in the job career you are seeking if not another joe and sandusky outcome I HOPE YOU DO NOT COVER UP OR HAVE COVERED UP A SEX CRIME
dennis - 12 years ago
Im so very impressed by the NCAA and Mr. Emmettt. Its like the witchhunt of old. All you've done is penalize the living crap out of a whole lot of innocent young adults and parents and alumni. Im so terribly impressed Mr. Emmett, but then again I've thought for years that sports in the USA and colleges are far too out of control. Arrogance and rule/policy -breaking abound. Ive seen it and witnesssed it first hand. It is time for the scholar and academic to take priority over all the athletes involved with crime and sexual abuse,etc. As it should be. In conclusion I think all collegiate football players that played between 1998 -2011 should be punished for being part of a sport that allowed Jerry Sandusky ( i think thats who this is all about ) to do the things he did. Mr Emmett, you and the NCAA are a total farce and have no right to say squat on this subject. You are a joke and have made a joke out of the NCAA by proving that even you will harm a young woman/man's reputation and well being.
glen - 12 years ago
Make Joepa's family pay the 60 mill. That Egotist spent years gettin rich and famous off the suffering of children and he didn't care. Why isn't he liable. Sue his family. They continue to publically disgrace the victims. I want some consequences for this dude. He is just as guilty as Sandusky in my book.
byron - 12 years ago
I don't get the $60M part of it... that's just a tab for PA taxpayers to pay since its a PSU is a public institution. How does that make any sense? Who gets the $60M of PA tax payer money -- certianly none of the Sandusky victims!!!!!!!!!!!!
As far as the fottball program, disband it totally. If that's your reason for continue to put kids at risk, disband it.
belga - 12 years ago
'He did great thing for the University?' I am so sick of hearing that. Look around, what are we here dicussing. Joe Paterno brought the entire PSU down by covering this up. Had he done the right thing and instructed his minions to take sandusky down when he knew what was going on, Penn State/PSU football wouldn't have really been affected. It would have been a small scandel and the blame would have soley been put on Sandusky.
But no Despicable Joe pa covered it up and his minions followed to protect the 'football program' and Paterno's 'legacy. This Ahole destroyed your University. You guys are finished, it's over. And you have Joepa to thank for that.
Clif - 12 years ago
To those who question these actions taken before the criminal and civil case are resolved, recall the phrase, "Justice deferred is justice denied". The victims in this have been unprotected since 1989. How long does anyone thnk they should continue to wait?
Steve - 12 years ago
Criminal and civil penalities for those responsable are defintely warrented, destruction of a program and massive fines only penalize those students, players and families not at all invovled in these horrendous crimes. Target those responsible don't destroy the lives of those not connected to the crime in any way other than by attending a University with a few scum bags in charge. The NCAA ruling takes a shot gun approach to justice where a scaple is needed. Hang the bastards but protect those not invovled don't make them victims too of these losers with puntative damages gone beserk.
Curt - 12 years ago
I am amazed and saddened by the nuber of people that consider PSU and innocent bystander by saying "current and future" students and athletes will suffer therefore there shoudl be no or liitle if any sanctions against the football program. The board of trustees, President of the University, head of the University Police Department and the "cleanest football coach in the country all by paractice, statements (mostin the past no that they are called on it) and actions consider their football program bigger than the academic programs at the University and definitely more important than the abused children that suffered due to protecting a football program.
The NCAA has ensured no athlete will lose their current scholarships, as well as assisting them with transfering is in their better interest than staying. Yes Happy Valley you lost your top 20 football Team but if it's all "We are Penn State" that shouldn't stop you from showing up at the games that stll will be played. Seems like some football fans are not going to support their athletes by not coming to he games or dropping their season tickets.
As for JoePa what he didn't do is unforgivable but he wasn't alone and lets not forget he had partners in this crime who are still alive and need to be punished. In addition i do not believe we should wipe away the name Paterno from PSU he did great things for the University, it seems to me his priorities where his football program, PSU, his players, his family then himself these enabled him to do some great things as well as put PSU into the situation it is in now. I firmly believe the NCAA got it right, however i would like to see the Statue put where it belongs in Joe Paterno's greatest achievment the library lobby, it will increase traffic in the library and put the emphasis where it belonged academics.
troy - 12 years ago
Why not just close down the school? That might make some of the people happy!
The Pope - 12 years ago
Joe PA is DEAD and so is PSU. WE WERE! na na na na, na na na na hey, hey good bye.
PSU will never rebound. Nittany liars.
belga - 12 years ago
I blame 'Joepa' for all of this. The cover-up and giving Sandusky the green light to continue his sexual crimes. As far as I am concerned he basically aided Sandusky and if he were alive should be facing harsh prison time. Let's face it folks, the former Penn State President and others facing 'mild' criminal charges were all just Joe Paterno's minions.
Joe Paterno was an egomaniac who cared about nothing but the legacy of his reputation and 'his' football team. Even at the expense and sacrifice of children's innocence. As long as they are not his kids, right Joe? What a 'god complex' this man had. As far as I am concerned the punishments for Penn State could go on and on. It will never be enough.
Joe Paterno pulled the wool over all you Penn State people's eyes, now it's time to wake up people!! Bravo to take down that horrible statue of Paterno, bravo to the NCAA and bravo again to the victims for exposing not only Sandusky, but all the other despicable characters in this tragedy.
materialman - 12 years ago
Joe Pa not stepping up and stopping his pervert buddy has hurt Penn State football and the University in a huge way. But lets remember it's not just Joe, there is plenty of blame to throw around here. Penn State will recover, it will take years and years, but they will recover. Some of the victims may never recover.
BELGA - 12 years ago
Hey John, did you look up at the poll? 80% of the population do not agree with you. Penn State is finished. That means you, the joepa lovin pedophile acceptance PSU football fanatics and everyone else who is still trying to defend the University. Get over it. Props to the NCAA
John A Claro - 12 years ago
The NCAA should have left the matter solely to the Criminal Justice System, and hopefully everyone who was involved on any level would be facing jail time appropriate for their degree of participation. The NCAA's decision to punish innocent football players who had not anything at all to do with the incidents, as well as punishing the fans, etc., using an apparently ExPostFacto Regulation passed AFTER the incidents were uncovered is shameful itself.
Chauncey Jones Jr - 12 years ago
It is all about money. The School and Athletic Department took the risk of not doing the right thing to these victims of the abuse because of the potential loss of revenue and prestige at Penn State. Unfortunately Penn State lost big time and the victims will never recover.
joepathetic - 12 years ago
@Mina those students should be smart enough to go to another school. This way when they graduate they wont have to put PSU on thier resume. As a business owner I would to have to pass on anyone who pumped money into such an institution. Its like sending money to a pedophile support group. PSU = rape. Sorry but thats the facts.
joepa is in hell sitting in the cowards section. What a dirtbag!
Belga - 12 years ago
So, don't go to Penn State then, Duah. Why would you even want to be a part of such a despicable institution that facillited, covered - up, and allowed child rape to go on for years?
Get over it, your football worshiping University is finished. And it's the right thing!! No one cares about you or the football players. Most of the American society are focused on the victims and making sure this never happens again at another University. GO NCAA, a slow demise is better than the death penalty. WE R PENN STATE.... NOT!!!!
Mina - 12 years ago
What a crock. Punishing the wrong people!
War Eagle - 12 years ago
Dear NCAA
Thank you. Not only did these cowards make PSU look bad but they made the USA look bad. jerry joe and crew made the world drop its jaw. Joe is in hell....
Glen - 12 years ago
Like I said, the Pediphile State football fanatics don't get it and never will. Oh, unless it happens to their kid. 'Off the field criminal actions' Julie? Wow, that is the biggest state of denial I have ever heard. Do you know nothing about what went on? Where you to busy praying to a statue of Joe P (the PSU God) to even learn the facts? Wow, crazy PSU fanatics!
FRANKIE - 12 years ago
THE YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN GOING TO PENN STATE ARE THE ONES THAT WILL PAY THE PRICE FOR WHAT THE PRESDIENT OF PENN STATE AND HIS MEN THAT WERE INVOLVED IN THE COVERUP. THEY ARE THE PEOPLE WHO SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE!
Lori - 12 years ago
It is awesome! They should shut down the whole program but that would punish those who want to play now. I hope that money goes to those who need it most for therapy and such.
A Fan - 12 years ago
The NCAA has no right getting involved. This has nothing to do with sports, to punish the Football program and take away the victorys is wrong. The school will end up paying the civil suits.
If the NCAA is going to start handing down punishments because of off the field criminal actions, they are going to be very busy, lets take a look at Mimai, Florida State, Oklahoma, Texas etc.... Just like congress getting involved in things they have no business in.
Glen - 12 years ago
That is the problem with the PSU football groupies. They are all like Joepa and the others. They don't care cause it is not their kid! You guys got what you deserve. You should be thanking the NCAA for not giving your precious football program the death penalty, which is what it deserved.
Start thinking of the victims will ya.
Jesus - 12 years ago
Good news is that massive civil suits will follow, only idiots will consider going to Pedophile State and the student body #'s will fall off a cliff- football program- what football program? And Joe Pathetic is now know world wide as a MF-ing coward. Mark my word one day we will find out joe was holding on to jerry becuz he likes little boys also.
Julie - 12 years ago
Go to your bathroom...look in the mirror...ask yourself "What would I do if my son or daughter was abused by a predator and others knew about it?" So tell me, what would you do? Remember, it's YOUR son or grandson, YOUR daughter or granddaughter. What would YOU DO?
TCK - 12 years ago
The punishment doesn't fit the crime. NCAA has no legal rights to punish a school or a student body if the crime is committed by an individual and the school administration failed to act on the crime. The most they can do is bringing to the court. Only the court can hand down the punishment.
God - 12 years ago
Joe PAthetic is in hell.
Belga - 12 years ago
And it wasn't fair for the children being raped in the shower. Life is not fair. But the University must be punished and sanctioned. This is the only way to hold PSU accountable.
When are the PSU fanatics going to finally STOP thinking of the football players and football team and start thinking of the victims? Don't you even care?
Encinogirl - 12 years ago
It's not fair the football players are penalized...they had no horse in this race!
Belga - 12 years ago
Lorrie stirling, no disrespect but....
People like you and other PSU football fan fanatics must also share some responibility in all this. You glorified a Football team and it's coach to such an extreme level, that you all facillitated the PSU football culture that gave Joe Paterno and the others the power to cover this up.
Please wake up sweetie. Are you really still denying the evidence? All the evidence? This mentally of the Joepa fanatics helped all this to occure. Denial ain't just a river in Egypt!
Barry C Harbaugh - 12 years ago
It's nice to see the NCAA picking up where Sandusky left off, screwing students. The players who earned the wins from '98-'11 had nothing to do with this issue, yet they are being denied their legacy. The students who rely on scholarships are being penalized. Yet nowhere is the NCAA holding the administration, Board of Trustees, or anyone else who is directly responsible for the cover-up accountable. As is typical of an all poverful governing organization, they bully the students and a dead man. Way to go NCAA, you showed 'em.
Belga - 12 years ago
I blame 'Joepa' for all of this. The cover-up and giving Sandusky the green light to continue his sexual crimes. As far as I am concerned he basically aided Sandusky and if he were alive should be facing harsh prison time. Let's face it folks, the former Penn State President and others facing 'mild' criminal charges were all just Joe Paterno's minions.
Joe Paterno was an egomaniac who cared about nothing but the legacy of his reputation and 'his' football team. Even at the expense and sacrifice of children's innocence. As long as they are not his kids, right Joe? What a 'god complex' this man had. As far as I am concerned the punishments for Penn State could go on and on. It will never be enough.
Joe Paterno pulled the wool over all you Penn State people's eyes, now it's time to wake up people!! Bravo to take down that horrible statue of Paterno, bravo to the NCAA and bravo again to the victims for exposing not only Sandusky, but all the other despicable characters in this tragedy.
MDP - 12 years ago
What happened at Penn State to trigger NCAA penalties was exponential orders of magnitude worse than what happened at USC to trigger NCAA penalties. With that said, the penalties handed down to Penn State are not that much harsher than those handed to USC. In terms of the punishment fitting the crime and consistency in the sanction process, the NCAA blew it. Either the USC sanctions were far too harsh or the Penn State sanctions weren't harsh enough; either say, there should be some element of consistency across these two and other cases.
Bubba - 12 years ago
I think that the NCAA didn’t do enough.
By imposing sanctions that amount to less than the death penalty on the Penn State football program, the NCAA has implied that covering up instances of child sex abuse for the protection of the football program (PSU) isn’t as bad as bribing potential recruits (SMU). And that's a pretty tragic implication.
In using the NCAA's response to SMU as a basis for comparison, my opinion is that 2 or 3 years of the death penalty plus all of the other sanctions mentioned is a more suitable punishment than what was delivered. If the PSU administration's judgement slipped to a point where they felt that the protection of their football program was more important than appropriately responding to the rape of little boys, then they shouldn't have a program for a while.
I think the NCAA let the Penn State football program off pretty easy. And by their quick and uncontested acceptance of the sanctions, I think the current Penn State University leadership knows it.
twinmom - 12 years ago
According to the investigation, Paterno and the administration knew what was going on and turned a blind eye. I find it hard to believe that the athletes and other coaches didn't also know or have high suspicions. NO ONE spoke up! And that is why ALL of them, current and former players, will have their glory reduced to ashes. It is a fitting punishment. The only part that bothers me is that Paterno didn't get to experience the brunt of it, but then again, he is probably paying for all his crimes in the afterlife.
Paterno's family is disgusting, with their failure to accept Paterno for the flawed character that he was, and for trying to maintain his superhero image. Sandusky may have been the perpetrator, but Paterno was definitely one of the enablers of this predator.
Lorrie stirling - 12 years ago
What has happened to innocent till proven guilty? Sandusky has had his day in court, he's guilty. To penalize the innocent is unforgivable, PSU did not break any NCAA rules. Instead of waiting for all the evidence they took the Freah report as gospel. All who read the Freah report from start to finish, raise your hands! Just as I thought, all you people out there who can't form an opinion on your own, let's see how much egg will be on your face when all the evidence is logged in, it's far from over. What part of all this is going to help the victims heal!
Russ - 12 years ago
The NCAA had no business in this situation what so ever. But now that they put their noses in it they better go after the Syracuse Basketball program as well and Syracuse. I feel for the victums and money wont help emotionally and penalizing the people that werent even involved wont help. They should have a sense of closure that the asshole that did all this is finally put away. Still not sure what NCAA rule they broke did theyt get rid of all Catholic Churches off the college campuses to?
Patti Burnes - 12 years ago
Why are all the past and future football players being punished. Go to the sources of the bad behavior. It is bad when the majority is blamed and punished when it was a minority that did the bad deeds. If you take titles away, then again you are punishing the innocent.
Bob Mueller - 12 years ago
I agree with those who feel the answer choices are not adequate. Should Penn State be punished for it's role in what happened, absolutely. But should 1 man be able to dole out the punishment outside of the process set forth by the governing body he works for? No. Something just doesn't seem right by how this is going down.
On the surface it would appear that a lot of "innocent" people are going to be hurt by the reduction in scholarships and the bowl ban, but the university must feel the pain of losing something they value. If nothing else, this should give the university pause and bring what's important back in focus.
Lastly, the punishment that was handed out today will more than likely have far reaching effects on other schools as well. Anyone found of covering up a crime or concealing evidence best remember what happened at Penn State.
djk007 - 12 years ago
I don't think that this goes far enough. By comparison USC got a similar ban on scholarships and got a two-year ban on bowl games because of the actions of ONE PERSON (Reggie Bush). There was no evidence that the coaches, athletic director, president of the university, etc. at USC had any knowledge of this at all. At Penn State the assistant coach was responsible for the bad behavior and the coach and president conspired to cover it up. I don't see these two situations as similar yet the penalties are not that far apart. I don't feel that the NCAA is meeting out punishment fairly. In case you are curious I am not an alum of USC.
Michael Barnes - 12 years ago
It is refreshing to see the term "take responsibility for" actually have some meaning again.
The University cannot just utter that phrase at a press conference, then proceed to hold no one accountable, move only in the 11th hour ( before the NCAA decision) to take the Paterno statue down and then expect to roll on uninterrupted making $60 million a year from their football program. The NCAA protected the players....scholarships remain, they can transfer unencumbered, they can play or not. But the University and ALL others in the association are now on notice...this kind of immoral and illegal abdication of responsibility will not be tolerated. For real.
lawrence - 12 years ago
I always despised Paterno's holyer than thou attitude. Let's not forget he may have been able
to distance himself from this had he retired when everyone knew he should. Just my opinion
but always thought he was over-rated as a coach . The punishment (as usual with ncaa) is
mis-directed ; but it also is not severe enough. Keep in mind that present players will not
lose scholarships ; only future scholarships will be reduced. The fine should have been at
least 100 million. Hopefully criminal charges will be brought against every person involved
in a cover up . The statement made in the meeting of PSU officials ; "this would be bad
publicity for the university" is a smoking gun for criminal charges !
TY - 12 years ago
Penn State covered up this just like the Roman Catholic Church. Forget about the students and remember the victims. The death penalty should have been imposed.
wyatt forak - 12 years ago
The penalites were not strong enough. Complete destruction of the football program is in order just like the complete destructions of the young lives these people were responsible for.
PHarris - 12 years ago
I believe it is very important for the NCAA to make an example of Penn State as a warning to other colleges' staff, faculties, and adminstrators to not allow such heinous crimes. They need to learn to always put the welfare 0f the students ahead of their success and fame.
The only sanctions I would not agree with are those affecting the current athletes who had nothing to do with the scandals, and those in the past who might have been the victims. It would not be fair for them to get a double-whammy by (1) being victimized by the criminals and then (2) sharing in their punishments as well. More discernment is needed in assigning the sanctions. Throw the full book at the criminals, without hurting the innocents.
Ray Walker - 12 years ago
I cannot believe that anyone associated with the NCAA thought that this action was justified or makes any sense. No one has ever accused Joe Paterno of malesting children!! How can you assert that reversing 14 years of team victories makes anything resembling common sense? In addition, what will be accomplished by further penalizing Penn State for the next 4 years? Why don't they dig up Joe's body and feed it to the buzzards? That would make as much sense to me as any of this other crap that the NCAA is levying. Where are the violations of NCAA rules?
Glenn-Paul - 12 years ago
Getting rid of those scholarships only creates even more victims from this scandal. Punishments should have been limited to those who are culpable, instead of taking it out on kids who have worked hard to achieve their standings and had a social contract to benefit from it.
Dana - 12 years ago
Instead of asking if the sanctions imposed by the NCAA are appropriate, why isn't anyone asking what business the NCAA has in this matter in the first place? Penn State is not guilty of any NCAA infractions so where is their authority to impose sanctions at all. There is no connection with any wrong doing within athletics at all. Why should those athletes, past, present and future, pay for the criminal acts of others outside of the athletic realm. Must be a pretty powerful feeling to pass judgement in matters that aren't under your jurisdiction.
Jane - 12 years ago
The poll is poorly written missing a key question: were these sanctions appropriate? yes, the NCAA should have taken some serious action. No, they did not nail it. As usual, it is always the people who had nothing to do with a scandal that are penalized most. Meanwhile, the former president has NOT been indicted on perjury or aiding & abetting pedophilia. Taking down Paterno's statue is merely symbolic. He will always be a part of the PSU's history: for good or bad. I doubt PSU will tear down the buildings he raised money to build. If you found out your uncle covered up a heinous crime, would you erase him from all the family photos? Would he no longer be your uncle? No. You might be hugely disappointed and creeped out, but he is still family. Meanwhile, why hasn't Spanier been indicted? when is the perjury trial coming? All of these final decisions, while there are still on-going investigations, and no trial yet.
Joey B - 12 years ago
The actions taken by the NCAA are spot on for the cover-up committed at Penn State.
This should be a wake-up call to ALL large university administrators about their football programs where the program you support is on quicksand if you lose sight of what is important to the university as whole. Athletics at universities which grow into a cash cows for advertising and TV rights tarnishes the whole reason why we have higher education. The US is getting its butt kicked because we do not prepare students academically in high school for college but make sure they participate in every sport possible to pin their hopes and dreams on an athletic scholarship instead of a sound academics. As such, we have international students flocking to our elite schools to earn an education and use that knowledge to better their countries when they return home.
Where is the US in math and science compared to the rest of the world?? (U.S. students recently finished 25th in math and 17th in science in the ranking of 31 countries by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development )
All we want to do in the US is watch a college star go to the pros, buy all the crap they advertise, be glued to the TV when they are arrested and then end up on some reality show about rehab or their larger than life lifestyle.
What the NCAA did is a first step in which universities administrators need to wake up and take control of their academic institution from the athletics.
juco bound - 12 years ago
Punishing more innocent student athletes does not, or will not stop future molestors.
The message would have been more fines, yearly payments to the cause, but punishing students and coaches, and other sports that will surely suffer at PSU only means that the NCAA has a lot of old school thinkers on the board.
Will punishing current students really help the victims? Not one bit. IMO, NCAA could have done a much better job with penalizing PSU the correct way.
Scott - 12 years ago
You can argue whether the NCAA over reached in its role as recognizing ethical violations (I believe they did not), but their role in being able to punish member institutions for unfair competitive advantages I believe the NCAA was well within its right to execute this penalty. As the motivation to cover-up the abuse was done to protect the football program I do believe it becomes an issue regarding competitive advantage, which the NCAA does have full jurisdiction over. By hiding the crimes committed by a coach (whether emeritus or active status) that transpired in athletic facilities, PSU retained the gravitas of a historic program with (as we now see) an unwarranted reputation of honor and sportsmanship. This reputation was used as a recruiting tool, wielded against other universities that had to acknowledge and explain violations to athletes and parents as part of the recruiting process. Had PSU brought these heinous crimes to light the moment they were recognized they could have dealt with any fall out immediately. Instead they chose for 14 years to hide these crimes and continue to sell the school to prospective athletes as an institution of honor and integrity, a reputation it obviously did not deserve during this time period. As to the PSU fans who are lashing out at the NCAA for these penalties, I believe your rage should be directed at those members of the school's administration (including Joe Paterno) who chose to protect the football program's future and PSU over the abuse victims, especially those victims who suffered abuse after original allegations arose in 98. Again, PSU hid this to protect the University and the football program, the football program then benefited by using its false reputation as an honorable institution to recruit players who could have possibly chosen another school had these allegations come to light sooner, giving PSU an unfair competitive advantage therefore warranting NCAA intervention and penalties. Personally I feel the NCAA should have simply revoked PSU's membership, which as a private organization they had every right to do given the role of the university in the cover-up. I feel they showed leniency by directing penalties at the football program, which was centrally involved in the horrible crimes knowingly committed by a football staff member on football property.
As to the argument that the entire school and fan base is being punished by these penalties, I believe that is like saying a drunk driver should not be punished for that action because his/her parents, children or spouse would suffer as a result. PSU's actions resulted in these penalties and should accept those penalties for that very reason.
youdeservedallofit - 12 years ago
My guess is that the 28% that voted that the NCAA had no business in this matter are mostly PSU alumni or supporters.
Elizabeth - 12 years ago
I hope that these sanctions send a message that will never be forgotten. I am aware of a similar situation at another public university that was covered up by higher administration for years. The president of a university is paid a large salary and one of his/her primary responsibilities is to protect the students who attend that university. Unfortunately, many decisions seem to be driven not by that priority, but by dollars. Why do taxpayers fund public universities? Is it to provide a sports program or to educate young adults so that they can support themselves and, hopefully, make some kind of contribution to our society? As a resident of Pennsylvania I shudder to think of how many of my tax dollars will be spent on litigation and settlements. I don't mean to say that victims shouldn't be compensated, but that if higher administration had been doing their jobs properly, there wouldn't be so many victims. Shame on anyone involved in these situations who didn't do the right thing.
Steve - 12 years ago
Cowardice in the Face of Doing the RIGHT Thing!!!
While I fully appreciate how difficult it was to come to a decision about what should be done relating to how Penn State responded to Jerry Sandusky’s abuse of young boys and taking advantage of the trappings of being a coach at Penn State. That said I cannot believe the light handed penalty given to Penn State for what are essentially Human Rights violations especially when compared to the harsher “Death Penalty” the NCAA handed for infractions that pale in comparison to stealing the innocence of young boys and deliberately deciding to do NOTHING!!!
It appears that the NCAA looks at Penn State as too big to allow to fail when in reality Penn State failed humanity and should have been given the “Death Penalty”. It also appears that the NCAA shirked its responsibility skipping over an exceptional opportunity to tell the world that behavior such as that of Penn State’s cannot and will not be tolerated in any way!!!
ibj - 12 years ago
I guess I do not understand why the players have to suffer. They just want to get an education and play football. It was the coaches, administrators and board members who have screwed up. I think all of them should be fired and have "child abuse enabler" attached to their names for the rest of their lives. Those Board members are lying. They knew what was going on. I know people on Boards at universities and they get phone calls weekly on what is happening. They knew. They are lying. They need to be penalized as well. I do respect the NCAA for all they try to do. But who is actually getting punished for the USC sanctions? Certainly not Reggie Bush or Pete Carroll. They got a slap on the wrist and have making a hell of a lot of money away from USC. Who is getting punished at Penn State? The students who need those scholarships to get a quality education. The students who are getting critisized and have done nothing wrong. The students are getting punished because their "role models" failed them. Not only are the victims suffering, now a bunch of students are getting penalized. When are the kids going to stop being punished for the adults mistakes?!
B. Howe - 12 years ago
As an alumna of PSU and retiree, I am undecided really about whether the NCAA should of done this or that. At one time I was a real PSU fanatic but have ( since the initial shock last year of the Sandusky scandal) not pursued season tickets which I had since 1976, not renewed my Nittany Lion dues, distanced myself from institutional giving (as long as pensions are going to the accused), and have humbly prayed for the victims, the school and now the present leadership. That is about all I feel I can do. The newsworthy drama of hiding a pedophile is a heads up for all institutions to be vigilent in harrassment and abuse cases and to report incidents quickly through the legal channels and not just reporting it to a supervisor. Call the police or CPS immediately for crying out loud.
John - 12 years ago
I did not like any of the poll answers. What some people did there were unforgivable, but what they are doing is destroying many other people, collateral damage, if you will. Punish those who were responsible, but not the whole school. Seems like the only way we know how to react is by over-reacting. I am still not clear how much Paterno was involved, but hope it's a lot since they took an otherwise great man and have leveled his legacy.
Lou - 12 years ago
Hey Don and Satta, are you happy now. You got your pound of flesh. How about looking at the big picture. How much is the economy of State College and the vicinity going to lose? Hotels and motels, bars and resturants, mom and pop stores. Who is going to fund the lesser sports on campus? I agree with the fine and the loss of some scholarships and 2yrs., not 5. I am not a fan of Paternos but i think this is a little too much. Almost forgot. The victims will have access to counseling for as long as they need it and might get a decent settlement depending on how much their scum lawyers take. I hope the big 3 do jail time but you have to move forward. Who helps the victims that good old uncle elmer molests?You know, the local creep with no money.
Mandy - 12 years ago
For all those who feel the NCAA doesn't have a right to punish Penn State: Joe Paterno was in a position of power and had an ETHICAL obligation as the head football coach to insist that Sandusky was turned in to authorities --- Just like the Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church had an ethical responsibility to turn in pedophile priests. Not doing so, in both instances, led to more abuse. Because Paterno was the head football coach, the NCAA has every right to impose a penalty. When you are in a power position (and no doubt about it, the head coach of Penn State was a powerful man) YOU ARE THE FACE OF THE PROGRAM. What you do and/or say has consequences, both good and bad. In some states, not turning in someone who is endangering a child will get you prosecuted. And I don't mean just going to someone else so your conscience is clear.
alice - 12 years ago
Where is due process in this country??
Carolyn - 12 years ago
I think Mike McQuery should have been fired too. He reported to his father who let it drop; he then should have gone to the State Police with his lawyer in tow, but he didn't. If the State Police didn't do anything then it's on to the AG and maybe the US Attorney. If he was fired for doing the right thing he then could have sued everyone and everything.
Croftonguy100 - 12 years ago
Big time football caused this coverup in the first place, so remove Penn State from big time football - forever. Move them to Division 2 (or whatever they call it now) forever and they can play all the football they want, just not with scholarships or the big money that comes with them. You can still win a NAIA national championship.
Nikki, get a new football team to root for. When your football leadership is evil the football team pays for it and it directly effects the image or your entire school. Fair or not to the non-football folks at Penn State but that's just how it goes.
whatever - 12 years ago
In my opinion all the innocent students, faculty, and the small businesses in the area are who end up paying for this disgusting crime due to his NCAA ruling.
The people who should pay for this are the administration officials who covered it up, not everyone else. They should all go to jail.
I think it's ridiculous that many of the people and small business owners in that town who depend on business from the sporting programs and games, are going to pay for the crimes of a few...
The wrong people are being punished here.
Renee - 12 years ago
If all the adults in this football program had behaved responsibly, instead of covering up what they knew about Sandusky, they would have actually saved their football program. Imagine if the very first incident of child sexual abuse had been taken seriously, thoroughly investigated, and the result being Sandusky sitting behind bars for the last decade. Not only would a lot of kids have kept their innocence and dignity, but Penn State would've been heroic for doing the right thing and sacrificing one of its own. It would have been a momentary blip on their football legacy rather than this giant gaping wound they may never heal from. Lesson to all institutions that want to protect child molesters or other villains, instead of immediately denouncing their acts and cutting them off. You think they'd have learned something from how the churches handled priests.
Larry - 12 years ago
Oh, and another thing. The wrestling team should be given the death penalty too. Everybody who voted for the death penalty should calling for the end of the wrestling team, and the basketball team too. Hell, kill them all. Since some of the abuse acts took place on the wrestling mats, the wrestling team should be suspended indefinitly. And doesn't the athletic director oversee all the athletic teams. So all the teams should be killed. Right, "death penalty" voters?
ericsmith - 12 years ago
I have absolutely no interest in football. Mark Emmert was president of the university of which I am an alumni, University of Washington. I like to think he continues to put education above all else, and that his humanity dictated that we keep our eyes on the real issue...the victims. Who cares about anything except justice for the victims for now and for forever. If some kids are "robbed" of the ability to play at this university or "punished" for the acts of others by not getting to play a game, get over it, it actually is of no meaning at all. Its a sport to entertain and generate money and saps funds and energy that could be used to better that university and our country. I'm proud Mark had the guts to do this.
Mark - 12 years ago
I hope the people of Pennsylvania can afford the fine plus the law suits that are sure to come. Since the NCAA, Rodney Erickson, and The Board of Trustees have decided this is the best course of action, it won’t be long before the donation cash cow dies and my fellow statesmen are left with the tax bill and new students with higher tuition costs. It is a shame that so many people have been and will continue to be hurt.
M C - 12 years ago
As far as I am concerned, PSU should lose its accreditation as a university. The people that run the school willfully ignored the safety of those kids and the laws that are in place protect them. It is not the NCAA's fault that there will be additional fall out. It is the direct result of the people who run the school. If you want to blame somebody, blame them. This goes way beyond how the football program was run and directly into how the school was run.
Jeffrey - 12 years ago
This poll is like asking someone if they've stopped beating their wife yet. Having said that, I agree with the person who likened this collection of penalties to suspending the driver licenses of a whole family for one member caught driving drunk. As usual, the NCAA punishes the players who had nothing to do with this.
What a crock. How do we know the "victims"are true. Who in their right mind would go back 100 times for something they considered abuse- oh yeah- he did it for the rewards.
The NCAA has punished all the people not involved in the sex abuse - if there was any.
The players had nothing to do with it but now 7-9 top players have left- no bowl games for four years- so players just coming in to Penn State are being punished for something that happened ten years before they got here. The players who remained should just forfeit this year's games and maybe the next three year's games- they will get killed in the Big Ten- and they had nothing to do with the dumbasses who let this pervert give them golf clubs, trips to games, admission to games and other gifts and then didn't tell anyone they didn't like it- of course not- the gifts would have stopped. Why wasn't Second Mile punished? Too many republicans were involved in that including Pa.s Gov. -a thief and a guy who could have prosecuted Sandusky but didn't. they had Social Workers- people supposedly trained to spot pedophiles- but no- the FBI jackass blamed the dead football coach- who better to blame than a dead guy- keeps all the wealthy repugnants from being involved.
According to the self serving National Center for Missing & Exploited Children there are around 747,000 Registered Sex Offenders in the U. S. That number has just jumped to include every man, woman, child, teacher, student, administrator and every alumni of Penn State, past and future. That is how their now worthless registry works.
How? Once the Penn State “family” not just the individual had been reported the media demanded that as a society we have to save all of our children from abuse and arrest the abusers for punishment. After all they are all in it and all the same. However, you will not be told that we have also just created more victims through their Government Induced Victimization Effect.
In our society it has become taboo to question or “victim bash.” These victims have just been handed the prize they were promised, and if they were truly abused can now afford therapy for generations. But here is the challenge. They will sell the well-used rhetoric that once they or any child has had a sexual experience, they are forever less of a human being and that it is impossible to ever recover once they have been abused. This is simply not true. Therapy or counseling for young children just as it is for adults is highly effective if acted on early and confidentially. However they do not have a need to prove lifelong damage, or to produce these magical stats that we never see. Law enforcement drops victims like a hot potato after the conviction because the conviction is their only goal. It serves their NEED.
Socially there is character assassination for the entire Penn State program, community or family. This destruction of Penn State as a whole is necessary, tolerable and inevitable. It is necessary because our society has been told there must not be anyone feeling anything but disgust for them as a whole. Penn State will now and forever be under the public’s scrutiny as their punishment continues. Tolerable as it provides separation allowing all other programs in our society to feel that they are much better than them and that this does not happen to programs like theirs, when the reality is this could easily happen within their own family. Inevitable because once you journey down this road only the justice of a witch hunt will satisfy the accuser.
Our government believes that retribution driven strategies after or in this case before the fact are a better deterrent than a proposal for rehabilitation; this drives the financial and punitive needs of those few in control and outweighs the moral and emotional needs of the many that would willingly seek change.
Education is the key to unlock our minds. Penn State is a community of higher learning, they teach people HOW to think not WHAT to think. Our government on the other hand uses hype, hysteria and fear to control WHAT people think.
GOD help the Penn State FAMILY, GOD help the Paterno FAMILY and GOD help us.
Why is the NCAA even involved in what is a criminal and legal matter and has nothing to do with sports other than a coach/s and administrators commited the crimes.
They have just destroyed the careers of countless athletes who had nothing to do with the crimes commited by the coach and administrators.
Sports organizations have no authority over criminal or legal matters and should stay out of them. To punish athletes for the failures of their leaders is the absolute worst way to try and solve a situation they, the athletes, had no control over.
The NCAA should stick to what it is best at and stay out of legal and criminal situations. They have just usurped the power of the courts and laws of Pennsylvania and Federal Government.
As a lifetime WVU Mountaineer, I certainly have no great fondness for Penn St (they used to be a major rival, before they gave up playing for National Championships in order to get the BUCKS from the Big 10!!)
But, I DO believe in the principals of our country and "due process." NOT dictatorships... which IS what this action by the NCAA, OR its "President," is an example!! It would almost seem as if the Prez of the NCAA is trying to establish himself as strong a "fiefdom" and the Prez of the NFL is doing....
Despite the horrific nature of Jerry Sandusky's conduct (for which he was CONVICTED according to LAW, after DUE PROCESS, and will serve the remainder of his life where he belongs... IF the inmates are unable to solve that issue!!), there has been NO FAIR determination of WHO did WHAT with regard to Joe Paterno and the college's administration.
With all due respect to a former U.S. District Judge and Former Director of the FBI... he did NOT involve due process in his one-sided "investigation," which it has been widely reported did NOT even involve questioning of all the major "players" in the scenario (and I am not referring to Joe Pa, who was a bit "indisposed" at the time.) By the way... in the world of "investigations," since when does the investigator's conclusions get to be unchallenged by the accused, instead of being taken as "Gospel?!?"
While the grossly opinionated media and "pundits" have a great time making their MONEY by writing inflamatory stories, which are eagerly sucked up by a, justifiably distraught public... single entity "prosecution-judge-executioner" actions are WHOLLY UNACCEPTABLE in our society... whether it is the NCAA or the NFL.
And, my fellow Americans... it MAY feel justified and wonderful to "foam at the mouth" for the head of another who is CHARGED with misconduct... but PLEASE REMEMBER, but for the Grace of God and the focus of "inspired public opinion," it COULD be YOU or someone you love who is being targeted by UNPROVEN allegations!! IF you think that the NCAA, the NFL, the police, the Federal Government, OR even the Honorable Judge Frieh ALWAYS gets it RIGHT when they reach an UNCHALLENGED conclusion of misconduct from their ONE-SIDED "investigations..." then, my friends, you are VERY sadly mistaken as to the fairness of the process of prosecutions... even in the USA!
IF Penn State does NOT file suit against the NCAA AND its Dictator... it will only be because they are so SHELL-SHOCKED by the explosion of negative publicity heaped on a FINE institution of higher learning... and a "storied" football program (that was NEVER under the direction of a SAINT... just a dedicated man who was, generally "GOOD" but who may have made some mistakes of judgment when faced with unimaginable suspicion of a long time friend and concern for the potentially horrible impact upon a university to which he had dedicated and given his life.... and for which it appears he wsa EXACTLY RIGHT as to the consequences! It is easy to judge, when we do NOT KNOW all the facts. BUT, a RUSH to judgment is ALWAYS a SAD event in our society... and, unfortunately, something for which we have long held a deep propensity for doing!!!
Wa wa wa...they had MULTIPLE emails showing many highups knew about the MULTIPLE abuse!!!! And as a University, they held their heritage, football, and how they look to the community/nation HIGHER than doing the RIGHT and LEGAL thing and report MULTIPLE KNOWN child sexual abuse?!?! As a child sex abuse (attempted) survivor myself, it just makes me SICK!!!! How could ANYONE hold football, etc HIGHER and more important than the safety of CHILDREN?!?!
All of you PSU apologists can suck it up. This was a 14 year failure at the institutional level that ruined the lives of a lot of young men, some of which we may never know about. Why? So the football program and Paterno could avoid an embarrassing investigation? You have to be kidding me. I disagree about the death penalty being the answer, these actions will cripple the football program for a longer time than one year of no football, as it should be. I personally hope it takes the 14 years that the University let this go on before PSU fields a team that can competitively play at the FBS level, then justice will be done.
TOUGH TITTIE!
For twelve years Penn State put its own selfish desires above the welfare of children and committed/condoned illegal acts pursuit in of their dreams, mainly the almighty dollar. Wonder how many other illegal acts they committed that we don't know about?
PSU's arrogance offends me - they destroyed the childhoods of a lot of innocent people who will live with the molestation nightmares for the rest of their lives. PSU, you can keep all your records 'cause the rest of us just don't care about you and your whining right now. We care about the children.
It's not just PSU, it's not just football, it's not just the NCAA - its our society that tolerates the perpetratation of such heinous crimes on defenseless victims. PSU serves as just one more reflection of a selfish society that has lost its moral compass.
If PSU has any sense of honor, it would voluntarily rid itself of the cancer of arrogance and kill it's football program. Go ahead PSU, show the world you truly care about our children.
NCAA penalties fair? Partially.
WHAT? Penn State isn't going after the $168,000 lump sum given to Sandusky in '99?
WHY? Those $$ can go to help healing a school - those ill-treated boys, and students, alum and employees cheated of pride.
It's time for our voices to be heard - request 'Punishment' for the remaining 3 'guilty parties' as talked of in the Freeh Report - Spanier, Schultz & Curley.
An albatross should dangle from their necks tarnishing their future job prospects and reputations.
Why throw the book only at Paterno & the football program?
These other 3 men should shoulder equal punishment - loss of job benefits- past and future, the inability to land future good jobs and their individual dignity. Their families should not be allowed Penn State privileges either - this includes Mrs. Spanier... too bad she has proven herself - time to leave State College.
If the NCAA can quickly slam big penalties to Penn State - Penn State can act quickly as well. DO IT & wipe the slate clean!
McQuery should also be moving on to another job - his administrative leave is done!
DO IT! Assign extreme punishments before the Fall Season starts. It's only fair to us all. DO IT!Let us all get to healing.
$60 million from a school that took in $208 million in donations last year. The money is nothing to them. The football program dominated the school and Paterno secured preferential treatment for football players. Paterno was a tyrant. Not the grandpa fans thought. I wish he was still around so he could be formally charged. Everything the NCAA did was to take the athletic dept and more specifically the football program off the pedestal. I lost most respect for Paterno when he let players beat up other students without any penalties. JoePa no more. JoeFraud from now on.
When all the lawsuits are done the dollar amount might be significant. Not likely though since donations from the blinder wearing we are Penn staters will pour in even stronger. The athletes are being allowed to transfer so the penalties won't hurt them. Heck if they decide to they get to stay on scholarship without having to play.
They gave SMU the death penalty and what they did wasn't even against the law so PSU should be given it also.
I agree with JustMe comment below......closing the school is the only way to go.....
In light of yet another massacre of all those people in Aurora, CO; when will the "death penalty" be administered to the NRA and Gun Lobby ?
These people are no different than Charles Manson urging his minions to take up weapons to murder others. They object to any regulation whatsoever. There is sometlhing terribly wrong when powerful corporate interests dictate public policy to elected government representatives.
The NCAA relied totally on the report of Freeh. He thus becomes judge and jury which is totally against our system of justice. At this point the trials of Curly, etc. have not occurred. Their testimony was not considered because they were not interviewed. They are probably the among the few alive that have a clue what happened. Also, we do need to remember that Freeh is the one that was in charge of the FBI at the time of 9/11. He is not infallible.
What about mcqueary. He saw what happened and calls daddy. Why isn't he being crucified?
This country punishes friends, family and the community of those found guilty rather than focus on punishing those responsible. The NCAA has killed a community economically, damaged the innocent athletes, and damaged the current study body of Penn State...all innocent bystanders. One bad apple, and we don't just cut down the tree, we burn the orchard. This is justice? Punish those responsible. All those responsible. Period. Then allow those left in the wake to rebuild. Truly, the NCAA doles out penalties in a scorched earth approach. I believe this happens because the punishing body demands visible pain so they attack those who are most visible rather than digging out the rats who really are responsible. It's just easier to nuke-em. Maybe they should start using drones.
The wrong people are being punished.
I think they did the right thing, I just feel sorry for the student athletes there right now.
There is no way to equivocate on this matter, given the scope, clarity, and conclusions of the Freeh report. The NCAA (though not a paragon of virtue itself) intends itself to represent the standards of conduct for members' athletics programs. As such, to do any less would send a message that there was room for excuses for what happened. That innocent people - especially students, both new and old - will suffer various degrees of "hurt" is one consequence of the accountability that the NCAA actions make real. The REAL potential of this outcome that would be terrible is that what happened over almost three decades will be forgotten - and repeated.
What a rush to judgment about Paterno. Talk about piling on! Sandusky was not a coach when he was discovered raping that boy. Paterno had no control over him and he turned the whole mess over to Curley, his boss to handle. Until the trials begin and people testify, especially Curley, about how or if Joe Paterno was involved in the coverup, we do not know the truth. If he had told Curley to cover it up and not report it, I would think that Curley would have mentioned that in the only email in existence that mentions Paterno. If I was telling someone we should not report something after I had talked to someone else and thought it over, I'm quite sure I would mention that I agreed with what that person said or I would mention what it was that the person recommended. That's why I don't think we should assume yet that Paterno was involved in the coverup. No, he did not report it to the police. The person who should have done that and who seems to be getting a free pass from everyone is McQueary who was the actual witness and who did absolutely nothing to stop the rape and who did not call police. HE IS THE ONE who should have reported it to the police AFTER HE STOPPED IT. No need to call Paterno or anyone else. Stop the rape. Call the police. Then call Paterno and Curley. I'm not saying Paterno should not have followed up after he reported it to his boss. But there's a big difference between leaving it to your boss to handle and actually participating in a coverup. A BIG difference. I'm not defending anyone. Just saying that we should wait for the evidence in a court room before we judge. And I do not think the team, the new coach and the fans should be punished for what 4 people (out of 45,000) did.
I think the NCAA has the right to impose sanctions/fines, though I disagree with the manor in which it was carried out. The only real part of the NCAA's punishment that's truly unfair is erasing the record PSU earned since 1998. What a crock!
I AGREE WITH EVERYONE....CLOSE THE SCHOOL.......those poor boys..their lives are emotionally ruined......Penn States Sucks! literally....
I agree with the fine; the school as a whole SHOULD be punished. The coverup was far reaching and too many people who have yet to be penalized are still part of the system there.
But to effectively destroy a program so many present and future athletes relied upon for THEIR future and to punish an ENTIRE University for the morally corrupt actions of a select few is disappointing beyond words.
Has anyone stopped to think about the kids who had their future dreams shattered this morning for something they had NOTHING to do with? And what about the faculty? Less students means less professors. Cutting the football program back means cutting coaching staff too.
Way to destroy the academic and athletic future of the youth and the financial future of the staff, NCAA.
@Kim Thornhill... close the school? I hope you take a deep breath and realize how disgustingly idiotic that statement is. Though undoubtedly you won't... because you're an idiot. I sure hope you didn't pass that genetic mutation down to your spawn.
Firing the guilty along with criminal charges, sentences, and fines is appropriate. Victims should also have the right to file civil lawsuits against the guilty. I would imagine civil lawsuits will also be filed against the university.
However, I don't think the NCAA is the appropriate body to deal with the issue. The behavior was criminal and should be handled as a criminal matter. I could see establishing a supervisory body for the Penn State program to ensure that the culture changes, but I don't like the idea of punishing the players and coaches who were not involved, which is what the NCAA penalties essentially do. Nothing in what they handed down deals with the guilty..
The death penalty would have punished everyone else on Penn State's schedule for years to come, not to mention all the vendors and hoteliers that depend on football games. Remove PSU from the schedule and the 11-team B1G no longer has a playoff game. Other teams have one less shot at six wins to earn their own bowl bid. And what if the hole in the schedule is next to a bye week? It's unfair to pull kids off the field for 21 days in a row mid-season. Plugging the hole this late in the year is next to impossible and at best would result in a match up that would not really net the other team any points for the win. The sanctions as they are, are probably worse than the death penalty, as PSU football must now soldier on without fanfare, without spirit and without competitive talent. My only regret is for the Penn Staters past and future who had nothing to do with any of it and will now suffer the tarnish.
If one has knowledge of sexual abuse of a dependent child and does nothing, the law says they are guilty of failing to protect (our) children which is a crime. I COMMEND THE NCAA!
TOO BAD THE CATHOLIC CHURCH DID NOT DO EQUILIVENT TO THEIR PEDOPHILE PRIESTS, ETC! I AM STILL APPALLED AT THAT TRAVESTY.
RETIRED DHS CASEWORKER
As far as I'm concerned, the NCAA didn't go far enough! The lives of the victims have been ruined and heaven only knows in what ways what happened to them will impact their lives in the long run. They can close the school, sell off the land etc. to pay for settlements that will have to be paid out. I don't care. Too bad!
You fine the school and hold back their ball team and in the end who is hurt the most, your countries future. Maybe you guys need a little more education.
I wonder if one of those boys were the brother.son, or relative of those against the sanctions would they still fell the same nikli you need some help to place a sport over a childs welfare is just ridiculous I hope you have a better out look morally and ethically in the job career you are seeking if not another joe and sandusky outcome I HOPE YOU DO NOT COVER UP OR HAVE COVERED UP A SEX CRIME
Im so very impressed by the NCAA and Mr. Emmettt. Its like the witchhunt of old. All you've done is penalize the living crap out of a whole lot of innocent young adults and parents and alumni. Im so terribly impressed Mr. Emmett, but then again I've thought for years that sports in the USA and colleges are far too out of control. Arrogance and rule/policy -breaking abound. Ive seen it and witnesssed it first hand. It is time for the scholar and academic to take priority over all the athletes involved with crime and sexual abuse,etc. As it should be. In conclusion I think all collegiate football players that played between 1998 -2011 should be punished for being part of a sport that allowed Jerry Sandusky ( i think thats who this is all about ) to do the things he did. Mr Emmett, you and the NCAA are a total farce and have no right to say squat on this subject. You are a joke and have made a joke out of the NCAA by proving that even you will harm a young woman/man's reputation and well being.
Make Joepa's family pay the 60 mill. That Egotist spent years gettin rich and famous off the suffering of children and he didn't care. Why isn't he liable. Sue his family. They continue to publically disgrace the victims. I want some consequences for this dude. He is just as guilty as Sandusky in my book.
I don't get the $60M part of it... that's just a tab for PA taxpayers to pay since its a PSU is a public institution. How does that make any sense? Who gets the $60M of PA tax payer money -- certianly none of the Sandusky victims!!!!!!!!!!!!
As far as the fottball program, disband it totally. If that's your reason for continue to put kids at risk, disband it.
'He did great thing for the University?' I am so sick of hearing that. Look around, what are we here dicussing. Joe Paterno brought the entire PSU down by covering this up. Had he done the right thing and instructed his minions to take sandusky down when he knew what was going on, Penn State/PSU football wouldn't have really been affected. It would have been a small scandel and the blame would have soley been put on Sandusky.
But no Despicable Joe pa covered it up and his minions followed to protect the 'football program' and Paterno's 'legacy. This Ahole destroyed your University. You guys are finished, it's over. And you have Joepa to thank for that.
To those who question these actions taken before the criminal and civil case are resolved, recall the phrase, "Justice deferred is justice denied". The victims in this have been unprotected since 1989. How long does anyone thnk they should continue to wait?
Criminal and civil penalities for those responsable are defintely warrented, destruction of a program and massive fines only penalize those students, players and families not at all invovled in these horrendous crimes. Target those responsible don't destroy the lives of those not connected to the crime in any way other than by attending a University with a few scum bags in charge. The NCAA ruling takes a shot gun approach to justice where a scaple is needed. Hang the bastards but protect those not invovled don't make them victims too of these losers with puntative damages gone beserk.
I am amazed and saddened by the nuber of people that consider PSU and innocent bystander by saying "current and future" students and athletes will suffer therefore there shoudl be no or liitle if any sanctions against the football program. The board of trustees, President of the University, head of the University Police Department and the "cleanest football coach in the country all by paractice, statements (mostin the past no that they are called on it) and actions consider their football program bigger than the academic programs at the University and definitely more important than the abused children that suffered due to protecting a football program.
The NCAA has ensured no athlete will lose their current scholarships, as well as assisting them with transfering is in their better interest than staying. Yes Happy Valley you lost your top 20 football Team but if it's all "We are Penn State" that shouldn't stop you from showing up at the games that stll will be played. Seems like some football fans are not going to support their athletes by not coming to he games or dropping their season tickets.
As for JoePa what he didn't do is unforgivable but he wasn't alone and lets not forget he had partners in this crime who are still alive and need to be punished. In addition i do not believe we should wipe away the name Paterno from PSU he did great things for the University, it seems to me his priorities where his football program, PSU, his players, his family then himself these enabled him to do some great things as well as put PSU into the situation it is in now. I firmly believe the NCAA got it right, however i would like to see the Statue put where it belongs in Joe Paterno's greatest achievment the library lobby, it will increase traffic in the library and put the emphasis where it belonged academics.
Why not just close down the school? That might make some of the people happy!
Joe PA is DEAD and so is PSU. WE WERE! na na na na, na na na na hey, hey good bye.
PSU will never rebound. Nittany liars.
I blame 'Joepa' for all of this. The cover-up and giving Sandusky the green light to continue his sexual crimes. As far as I am concerned he basically aided Sandusky and if he were alive should be facing harsh prison time. Let's face it folks, the former Penn State President and others facing 'mild' criminal charges were all just Joe Paterno's minions.
Joe Paterno was an egomaniac who cared about nothing but the legacy of his reputation and 'his' football team. Even at the expense and sacrifice of children's innocence. As long as they are not his kids, right Joe? What a 'god complex' this man had. As far as I am concerned the punishments for Penn State could go on and on. It will never be enough.
Joe Paterno pulled the wool over all you Penn State people's eyes, now it's time to wake up people!! Bravo to take down that horrible statue of Paterno, bravo to the NCAA and bravo again to the victims for exposing not only Sandusky, but all the other despicable characters in this tragedy.
Joe Pa not stepping up and stopping his pervert buddy has hurt Penn State football and the University in a huge way. But lets remember it's not just Joe, there is plenty of blame to throw around here. Penn State will recover, it will take years and years, but they will recover. Some of the victims may never recover.
Hey John, did you look up at the poll? 80% of the population do not agree with you. Penn State is finished. That means you, the joepa lovin pedophile acceptance PSU football fanatics and everyone else who is still trying to defend the University. Get over it. Props to the NCAA
The NCAA should have left the matter solely to the Criminal Justice System, and hopefully everyone who was involved on any level would be facing jail time appropriate for their degree of participation. The NCAA's decision to punish innocent football players who had not anything at all to do with the incidents, as well as punishing the fans, etc., using an apparently ExPostFacto Regulation passed AFTER the incidents were uncovered is shameful itself.
It is all about money. The School and Athletic Department took the risk of not doing the right thing to these victims of the abuse because of the potential loss of revenue and prestige at Penn State. Unfortunately Penn State lost big time and the victims will never recover.
@Mina those students should be smart enough to go to another school. This way when they graduate they wont have to put PSU on thier resume. As a business owner I would to have to pass on anyone who pumped money into such an institution. Its like sending money to a pedophile support group. PSU = rape. Sorry but thats the facts.
joepa is in hell sitting in the cowards section. What a dirtbag!
So, don't go to Penn State then, Duah. Why would you even want to be a part of such a despicable institution that facillited, covered - up, and allowed child rape to go on for years?
Get over it, your football worshiping University is finished. And it's the right thing!! No one cares about you or the football players. Most of the American society are focused on the victims and making sure this never happens again at another University. GO NCAA, a slow demise is better than the death penalty. WE R PENN STATE.... NOT!!!!
What a crock. Punishing the wrong people!
Dear NCAA
Thank you. Not only did these cowards make PSU look bad but they made the USA look bad. jerry joe and crew made the world drop its jaw. Joe is in hell....
Like I said, the Pediphile State football fanatics don't get it and never will. Oh, unless it happens to their kid. 'Off the field criminal actions' Julie? Wow, that is the biggest state of denial I have ever heard. Do you know nothing about what went on? Where you to busy praying to a statue of Joe P (the PSU God) to even learn the facts? Wow, crazy PSU fanatics!
THE YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN GOING TO PENN STATE ARE THE ONES THAT WILL PAY THE PRICE FOR WHAT THE PRESDIENT OF PENN STATE AND HIS MEN THAT WERE INVOLVED IN THE COVERUP. THEY ARE THE PEOPLE WHO SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE!
It is awesome! They should shut down the whole program but that would punish those who want to play now. I hope that money goes to those who need it most for therapy and such.
The NCAA has no right getting involved. This has nothing to do with sports, to punish the Football program and take away the victorys is wrong. The school will end up paying the civil suits.
If the NCAA is going to start handing down punishments because of off the field criminal actions, they are going to be very busy, lets take a look at Mimai, Florida State, Oklahoma, Texas etc.... Just like congress getting involved in things they have no business in.
That is the problem with the PSU football groupies. They are all like Joepa and the others. They don't care cause it is not their kid! You guys got what you deserve. You should be thanking the NCAA for not giving your precious football program the death penalty, which is what it deserved.
Start thinking of the victims will ya.
Good news is that massive civil suits will follow, only idiots will consider going to Pedophile State and the student body #'s will fall off a cliff- football program- what football program? And Joe Pathetic is now know world wide as a MF-ing coward. Mark my word one day we will find out joe was holding on to jerry becuz he likes little boys also.
Go to your bathroom...look in the mirror...ask yourself "What would I do if my son or daughter was abused by a predator and others knew about it?" So tell me, what would you do? Remember, it's YOUR son or grandson, YOUR daughter or granddaughter. What would YOU DO?
The punishment doesn't fit the crime. NCAA has no legal rights to punish a school or a student body if the crime is committed by an individual and the school administration failed to act on the crime. The most they can do is bringing to the court. Only the court can hand down the punishment.
Joe PAthetic is in hell.
And it wasn't fair for the children being raped in the shower. Life is not fair. But the University must be punished and sanctioned. This is the only way to hold PSU accountable.
When are the PSU fanatics going to finally STOP thinking of the football players and football team and start thinking of the victims? Don't you even care?
It's not fair the football players are penalized...they had no horse in this race!
Lorrie stirling, no disrespect but....
People like you and other PSU football fan fanatics must also share some responibility in all this. You glorified a Football team and it's coach to such an extreme level, that you all facillitated the PSU football culture that gave Joe Paterno and the others the power to cover this up.
Please wake up sweetie. Are you really still denying the evidence? All the evidence? This mentally of the Joepa fanatics helped all this to occure. Denial ain't just a river in Egypt!
It's nice to see the NCAA picking up where Sandusky left off, screwing students. The players who earned the wins from '98-'11 had nothing to do with this issue, yet they are being denied their legacy. The students who rely on scholarships are being penalized. Yet nowhere is the NCAA holding the administration, Board of Trustees, or anyone else who is directly responsible for the cover-up accountable. As is typical of an all poverful governing organization, they bully the students and a dead man. Way to go NCAA, you showed 'em.
I blame 'Joepa' for all of this. The cover-up and giving Sandusky the green light to continue his sexual crimes. As far as I am concerned he basically aided Sandusky and if he were alive should be facing harsh prison time. Let's face it folks, the former Penn State President and others facing 'mild' criminal charges were all just Joe Paterno's minions.
Joe Paterno was an egomaniac who cared about nothing but the legacy of his reputation and 'his' football team. Even at the expense and sacrifice of children's innocence. As long as they are not his kids, right Joe? What a 'god complex' this man had. As far as I am concerned the punishments for Penn State could go on and on. It will never be enough.
Joe Paterno pulled the wool over all you Penn State people's eyes, now it's time to wake up people!! Bravo to take down that horrible statue of Paterno, bravo to the NCAA and bravo again to the victims for exposing not only Sandusky, but all the other despicable characters in this tragedy.
What happened at Penn State to trigger NCAA penalties was exponential orders of magnitude worse than what happened at USC to trigger NCAA penalties. With that said, the penalties handed down to Penn State are not that much harsher than those handed to USC. In terms of the punishment fitting the crime and consistency in the sanction process, the NCAA blew it. Either the USC sanctions were far too harsh or the Penn State sanctions weren't harsh enough; either say, there should be some element of consistency across these two and other cases.
I think that the NCAA didn’t do enough.
By imposing sanctions that amount to less than the death penalty on the Penn State football program, the NCAA has implied that covering up instances of child sex abuse for the protection of the football program (PSU) isn’t as bad as bribing potential recruits (SMU). And that's a pretty tragic implication.
In using the NCAA's response to SMU as a basis for comparison, my opinion is that 2 or 3 years of the death penalty plus all of the other sanctions mentioned is a more suitable punishment than what was delivered. If the PSU administration's judgement slipped to a point where they felt that the protection of their football program was more important than appropriately responding to the rape of little boys, then they shouldn't have a program for a while.
I think the NCAA let the Penn State football program off pretty easy. And by their quick and uncontested acceptance of the sanctions, I think the current Penn State University leadership knows it.
According to the investigation, Paterno and the administration knew what was going on and turned a blind eye. I find it hard to believe that the athletes and other coaches didn't also know or have high suspicions. NO ONE spoke up! And that is why ALL of them, current and former players, will have their glory reduced to ashes. It is a fitting punishment. The only part that bothers me is that Paterno didn't get to experience the brunt of it, but then again, he is probably paying for all his crimes in the afterlife.
Paterno's family is disgusting, with their failure to accept Paterno for the flawed character that he was, and for trying to maintain his superhero image. Sandusky may have been the perpetrator, but Paterno was definitely one of the enablers of this predator.
What has happened to innocent till proven guilty? Sandusky has had his day in court, he's guilty. To penalize the innocent is unforgivable, PSU did not break any NCAA rules. Instead of waiting for all the evidence they took the Freah report as gospel. All who read the Freah report from start to finish, raise your hands! Just as I thought, all you people out there who can't form an opinion on your own, let's see how much egg will be on your face when all the evidence is logged in, it's far from over. What part of all this is going to help the victims heal!
The NCAA had no business in this situation what so ever. But now that they put their noses in it they better go after the Syracuse Basketball program as well and Syracuse. I feel for the victums and money wont help emotionally and penalizing the people that werent even involved wont help. They should have a sense of closure that the asshole that did all this is finally put away. Still not sure what NCAA rule they broke did theyt get rid of all Catholic Churches off the college campuses to?
Why are all the past and future football players being punished. Go to the sources of the bad behavior. It is bad when the majority is blamed and punished when it was a minority that did the bad deeds. If you take titles away, then again you are punishing the innocent.
I agree with those who feel the answer choices are not adequate. Should Penn State be punished for it's role in what happened, absolutely. But should 1 man be able to dole out the punishment outside of the process set forth by the governing body he works for? No. Something just doesn't seem right by how this is going down.
On the surface it would appear that a lot of "innocent" people are going to be hurt by the reduction in scholarships and the bowl ban, but the university must feel the pain of losing something they value. If nothing else, this should give the university pause and bring what's important back in focus.
Lastly, the punishment that was handed out today will more than likely have far reaching effects on other schools as well. Anyone found of covering up a crime or concealing evidence best remember what happened at Penn State.
I don't think that this goes far enough. By comparison USC got a similar ban on scholarships and got a two-year ban on bowl games because of the actions of ONE PERSON (Reggie Bush). There was no evidence that the coaches, athletic director, president of the university, etc. at USC had any knowledge of this at all. At Penn State the assistant coach was responsible for the bad behavior and the coach and president conspired to cover it up. I don't see these two situations as similar yet the penalties are not that far apart. I don't feel that the NCAA is meeting out punishment fairly. In case you are curious I am not an alum of USC.
It is refreshing to see the term "take responsibility for" actually have some meaning again.
The University cannot just utter that phrase at a press conference, then proceed to hold no one accountable, move only in the 11th hour ( before the NCAA decision) to take the Paterno statue down and then expect to roll on uninterrupted making $60 million a year from their football program. The NCAA protected the players....scholarships remain, they can transfer unencumbered, they can play or not. But the University and ALL others in the association are now on notice...this kind of immoral and illegal abdication of responsibility will not be tolerated. For real.
I always despised Paterno's holyer than thou attitude. Let's not forget he may have been able
to distance himself from this had he retired when everyone knew he should. Just my opinion
but always thought he was over-rated as a coach . The punishment (as usual with ncaa) is
mis-directed ; but it also is not severe enough. Keep in mind that present players will not
lose scholarships ; only future scholarships will be reduced. The fine should have been at
least 100 million. Hopefully criminal charges will be brought against every person involved
in a cover up . The statement made in the meeting of PSU officials ; "this would be bad
publicity for the university" is a smoking gun for criminal charges !
Penn State covered up this just like the Roman Catholic Church. Forget about the students and remember the victims. The death penalty should have been imposed.
The penalites were not strong enough. Complete destruction of the football program is in order just like the complete destructions of the young lives these people were responsible for.
I believe it is very important for the NCAA to make an example of Penn State as a warning to other colleges' staff, faculties, and adminstrators to not allow such heinous crimes. They need to learn to always put the welfare 0f the students ahead of their success and fame.
The only sanctions I would not agree with are those affecting the current athletes who had nothing to do with the scandals, and those in the past who might have been the victims. It would not be fair for them to get a double-whammy by (1) being victimized by the criminals and then (2) sharing in their punishments as well. More discernment is needed in assigning the sanctions. Throw the full book at the criminals, without hurting the innocents.
I cannot believe that anyone associated with the NCAA thought that this action was justified or makes any sense. No one has ever accused Joe Paterno of malesting children!! How can you assert that reversing 14 years of team victories makes anything resembling common sense? In addition, what will be accomplished by further penalizing Penn State for the next 4 years? Why don't they dig up Joe's body and feed it to the buzzards? That would make as much sense to me as any of this other crap that the NCAA is levying. Where are the violations of NCAA rules?
Getting rid of those scholarships only creates even more victims from this scandal. Punishments should have been limited to those who are culpable, instead of taking it out on kids who have worked hard to achieve their standings and had a social contract to benefit from it.
Instead of asking if the sanctions imposed by the NCAA are appropriate, why isn't anyone asking what business the NCAA has in this matter in the first place? Penn State is not guilty of any NCAA infractions so where is their authority to impose sanctions at all. There is no connection with any wrong doing within athletics at all. Why should those athletes, past, present and future, pay for the criminal acts of others outside of the athletic realm. Must be a pretty powerful feeling to pass judgement in matters that aren't under your jurisdiction.
The poll is poorly written missing a key question: were these sanctions appropriate? yes, the NCAA should have taken some serious action. No, they did not nail it. As usual, it is always the people who had nothing to do with a scandal that are penalized most. Meanwhile, the former president has NOT been indicted on perjury or aiding & abetting pedophilia. Taking down Paterno's statue is merely symbolic. He will always be a part of the PSU's history: for good or bad. I doubt PSU will tear down the buildings he raised money to build. If you found out your uncle covered up a heinous crime, would you erase him from all the family photos? Would he no longer be your uncle? No. You might be hugely disappointed and creeped out, but he is still family. Meanwhile, why hasn't Spanier been indicted? when is the perjury trial coming? All of these final decisions, while there are still on-going investigations, and no trial yet.
The actions taken by the NCAA are spot on for the cover-up committed at Penn State.
This should be a wake-up call to ALL large university administrators about their football programs where the program you support is on quicksand if you lose sight of what is important to the university as whole. Athletics at universities which grow into a cash cows for advertising and TV rights tarnishes the whole reason why we have higher education. The US is getting its butt kicked because we do not prepare students academically in high school for college but make sure they participate in every sport possible to pin their hopes and dreams on an athletic scholarship instead of a sound academics. As such, we have international students flocking to our elite schools to earn an education and use that knowledge to better their countries when they return home.
Where is the US in math and science compared to the rest of the world?? (U.S. students recently finished 25th in math and 17th in science in the ranking of 31 countries by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development )
All we want to do in the US is watch a college star go to the pros, buy all the crap they advertise, be glued to the TV when they are arrested and then end up on some reality show about rehab or their larger than life lifestyle.
What the NCAA did is a first step in which universities administrators need to wake up and take control of their academic institution from the athletics.
Punishing more innocent student athletes does not, or will not stop future molestors.
The message would have been more fines, yearly payments to the cause, but punishing students and coaches, and other sports that will surely suffer at PSU only means that the NCAA has a lot of old school thinkers on the board.
Will punishing current students really help the victims? Not one bit. IMO, NCAA could have done a much better job with penalizing PSU the correct way.
You can argue whether the NCAA over reached in its role as recognizing ethical violations (I believe they did not), but their role in being able to punish member institutions for unfair competitive advantages I believe the NCAA was well within its right to execute this penalty. As the motivation to cover-up the abuse was done to protect the football program I do believe it becomes an issue regarding competitive advantage, which the NCAA does have full jurisdiction over. By hiding the crimes committed by a coach (whether emeritus or active status) that transpired in athletic facilities, PSU retained the gravitas of a historic program with (as we now see) an unwarranted reputation of honor and sportsmanship. This reputation was used as a recruiting tool, wielded against other universities that had to acknowledge and explain violations to athletes and parents as part of the recruiting process. Had PSU brought these heinous crimes to light the moment they were recognized they could have dealt with any fall out immediately. Instead they chose for 14 years to hide these crimes and continue to sell the school to prospective athletes as an institution of honor and integrity, a reputation it obviously did not deserve during this time period. As to the PSU fans who are lashing out at the NCAA for these penalties, I believe your rage should be directed at those members of the school's administration (including Joe Paterno) who chose to protect the football program's future and PSU over the abuse victims, especially those victims who suffered abuse after original allegations arose in 98. Again, PSU hid this to protect the University and the football program, the football program then benefited by using its false reputation as an honorable institution to recruit players who could have possibly chosen another school had these allegations come to light sooner, giving PSU an unfair competitive advantage therefore warranting NCAA intervention and penalties. Personally I feel the NCAA should have simply revoked PSU's membership, which as a private organization they had every right to do given the role of the university in the cover-up. I feel they showed leniency by directing penalties at the football program, which was centrally involved in the horrible crimes knowingly committed by a football staff member on football property.
As to the argument that the entire school and fan base is being punished by these penalties, I believe that is like saying a drunk driver should not be punished for that action because his/her parents, children or spouse would suffer as a result. PSU's actions resulted in these penalties and should accept those penalties for that very reason.
My guess is that the 28% that voted that the NCAA had no business in this matter are mostly PSU alumni or supporters.
I hope that these sanctions send a message that will never be forgotten. I am aware of a similar situation at another public university that was covered up by higher administration for years. The president of a university is paid a large salary and one of his/her primary responsibilities is to protect the students who attend that university. Unfortunately, many decisions seem to be driven not by that priority, but by dollars. Why do taxpayers fund public universities? Is it to provide a sports program or to educate young adults so that they can support themselves and, hopefully, make some kind of contribution to our society? As a resident of Pennsylvania I shudder to think of how many of my tax dollars will be spent on litigation and settlements. I don't mean to say that victims shouldn't be compensated, but that if higher administration had been doing their jobs properly, there wouldn't be so many victims. Shame on anyone involved in these situations who didn't do the right thing.
Cowardice in the Face of Doing the RIGHT Thing!!!
While I fully appreciate how difficult it was to come to a decision about what should be done relating to how Penn State responded to Jerry Sandusky’s abuse of young boys and taking advantage of the trappings of being a coach at Penn State. That said I cannot believe the light handed penalty given to Penn State for what are essentially Human Rights violations especially when compared to the harsher “Death Penalty” the NCAA handed for infractions that pale in comparison to stealing the innocence of young boys and deliberately deciding to do NOTHING!!!
It appears that the NCAA looks at Penn State as too big to allow to fail when in reality Penn State failed humanity and should have been given the “Death Penalty”. It also appears that the NCAA shirked its responsibility skipping over an exceptional opportunity to tell the world that behavior such as that of Penn State’s cannot and will not be tolerated in any way!!!
I guess I do not understand why the players have to suffer. They just want to get an education and play football. It was the coaches, administrators and board members who have screwed up. I think all of them should be fired and have "child abuse enabler" attached to their names for the rest of their lives. Those Board members are lying. They knew what was going on. I know people on Boards at universities and they get phone calls weekly on what is happening. They knew. They are lying. They need to be penalized as well. I do respect the NCAA for all they try to do. But who is actually getting punished for the USC sanctions? Certainly not Reggie Bush or Pete Carroll. They got a slap on the wrist and have making a hell of a lot of money away from USC. Who is getting punished at Penn State? The students who need those scholarships to get a quality education. The students who are getting critisized and have done nothing wrong. The students are getting punished because their "role models" failed them. Not only are the victims suffering, now a bunch of students are getting penalized. When are the kids going to stop being punished for the adults mistakes?!
As an alumna of PSU and retiree, I am undecided really about whether the NCAA should of done this or that. At one time I was a real PSU fanatic but have ( since the initial shock last year of the Sandusky scandal) not pursued season tickets which I had since 1976, not renewed my Nittany Lion dues, distanced myself from institutional giving (as long as pensions are going to the accused), and have humbly prayed for the victims, the school and now the present leadership. That is about all I feel I can do. The newsworthy drama of hiding a pedophile is a heads up for all institutions to be vigilent in harrassment and abuse cases and to report incidents quickly through the legal channels and not just reporting it to a supervisor. Call the police or CPS immediately for crying out loud.
I did not like any of the poll answers. What some people did there were unforgivable, but what they are doing is destroying many other people, collateral damage, if you will. Punish those who were responsible, but not the whole school. Seems like the only way we know how to react is by over-reacting. I am still not clear how much Paterno was involved, but hope it's a lot since they took an otherwise great man and have leveled his legacy.
Hey Don and Satta, are you happy now. You got your pound of flesh. How about looking at the big picture. How much is the economy of State College and the vicinity going to lose? Hotels and motels, bars and resturants, mom and pop stores. Who is going to fund the lesser sports on campus? I agree with the fine and the loss of some scholarships and 2yrs., not 5. I am not a fan of Paternos but i think this is a little too much. Almost forgot. The victims will have access to counseling for as long as they need it and might get a decent settlement depending on how much their scum lawyers take. I hope the big 3 do jail time but you have to move forward. Who helps the victims that good old uncle elmer molests?You know, the local creep with no money.
For all those who feel the NCAA doesn't have a right to punish Penn State: Joe Paterno was in a position of power and had an ETHICAL obligation as the head football coach to insist that Sandusky was turned in to authorities --- Just like the Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church had an ethical responsibility to turn in pedophile priests. Not doing so, in both instances, led to more abuse. Because Paterno was the head football coach, the NCAA has every right to impose a penalty. When you are in a power position (and no doubt about it, the head coach of Penn State was a powerful man) YOU ARE THE FACE OF THE PROGRAM. What you do and/or say has consequences, both good and bad. In some states, not turning in someone who is endangering a child will get you prosecuted. And I don't mean just going to someone else so your conscience is clear.
Where is due process in this country??
I think Mike McQuery should have been fired too. He reported to his father who let it drop; he then should have gone to the State Police with his lawyer in tow, but he didn't. If the State Police didn't do anything then it's on to the AG and maybe the US Attorney. If he was fired for doing the right thing he then could have sued everyone and everything.
Big time football caused this coverup in the first place, so remove Penn State from big time football - forever. Move them to Division 2 (or whatever they call it now) forever and they can play all the football they want, just not with scholarships or the big money that comes with them. You can still win a NAIA national championship.
Nikki, get a new football team to root for. When your football leadership is evil the football team pays for it and it directly effects the image or your entire school. Fair or not to the non-football folks at Penn State but that's just how it goes.
In my opinion all the innocent students, faculty, and the small businesses in the area are who end up paying for this disgusting crime due to his NCAA ruling.
The people who should pay for this are the administration officials who covered it up, not everyone else. They should all go to jail.
I think it's ridiculous that many of the people and small business owners in that town who depend on business from the sporting programs and games, are going to pay for the crimes of a few...
The wrong people are being punished here.
If all the adults in this football program had behaved responsibly, instead of covering up what they knew about Sandusky, they would have actually saved their football program. Imagine if the very first incident of child sexual abuse had been taken seriously, thoroughly investigated, and the result being Sandusky sitting behind bars for the last decade. Not only would a lot of kids have kept their innocence and dignity, but Penn State would've been heroic for doing the right thing and sacrificing one of its own. It would have been a momentary blip on their football legacy rather than this giant gaping wound they may never heal from. Lesson to all institutions that want to protect child molesters or other villains, instead of immediately denouncing their acts and cutting them off. You think they'd have learned something from how the churches handled priests.
Oh, and another thing. The wrestling team should be given the death penalty too. Everybody who voted for the death penalty should calling for the end of the wrestling team, and the basketball team too. Hell, kill them all. Since some of the abuse acts took place on the wrestling mats, the wrestling team should be suspended indefinitly. And doesn't the athletic director oversee all the athletic teams. So all the teams should be killed. Right, "death penalty" voters?
I have absolutely no interest in football. Mark Emmert was president of the university of which I am an alumni, University of Washington. I like to think he continues to put education above all else, and that his humanity dictated that we keep our eyes on the real issue...the victims. Who cares about anything except justice for the victims for now and for forever. If some kids are "robbed" of the ability to play at this university or "punished" for the acts of others by not getting to play a game, get over it, it actually is of no meaning at all. Its a sport to entertain and generate money and saps funds and energy that could be used to better that university and our country. I'm proud Mark had the guts to do this.
I hope the people of Pennsylvania can afford the fine plus the law suits that are sure to come. Since the NCAA, Rodney Erickson, and The Board of Trustees have decided this is the best course of action, it won’t be long before the donation cash cow dies and my fellow statesmen are left with the tax bill and new students with higher tuition costs. It is a shame that so many people have been and will continue to be hurt.
As far as I am concerned, PSU should lose its accreditation as a university. The people that run the school willfully ignored the safety of those kids and the laws that are in place protect them. It is not the NCAA's fault that there will be additional fall out. It is the direct result of the people who run the school. If you want to blame somebody, blame them. This goes way beyond how the football program was run and directly into how the school was run.
This poll is like asking someone if they've stopped beating their wife yet. Having said that, I agree with the person who likened this collection of penalties to suspending the driver licenses of a whole family for one member caught driving drunk. As usual, the NCAA punishes the players who had nothing to do with this.