NCAA Sanctions: "DP" for Penn Football, or...?

Should the NCAA give Penn State the "death penalty"?


  • Total voters
    97
Here is the statement:

"The release of the Freeh report has triggered an avalanche of vitriol, condemnation and posthumous punishment on Joe Paterno. The NCAA has now become the latest party to accept the report as the final word on the Sandusky scandal. The sanctions announced by the NCAA today defame the legacy and contributions of a great coach and educator without any input from our family or those who knew him best.

"That the President, the Athletic Director and the Board of Trustees accepted this unprecedented action by the NCAA without requiring a full due process hearing before the Committee on Infractions is an abdication of their responsibilities and a breach of their fiduciary duties to the University and the 500,000 alumni. Punishing past, present and future students of the University because of Sandusky’s crimes does not serve justice. This is not a fair or thoughtful action; it is a panicked response to the public's understandable revulsion at what Sandusky did.

"The point of due process is to protect against this sort of reflexive action. Joe Paterno was never interviewed by the University or the Freeh Group. His counsel has not been able to interview key witnesses as they are represented by counsel related to ongoing litigation. We have had no access to the records reviewed by the Freeh group. The NCAA never contacted our family or our legal counsel. And the fact that several parties have pending trials that could produce evidence and testimony relevant to this matter has been totally discounted.

"Unfortunately all of these facts have been ignored by the NCAA, the Freeh Group and the University."


http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/in..._family_says_ncaa_s.html#incart_river_default

My comment:

The President and Board run PSU, not the Paterno family. It is PSU, and not the Paterno family or Joe Paterno, that is being punished. It is PSU that gets to accept or challenge the punishment, not the Paterno family. It is PSU who made the decision to investigate, not the Paterno family. Based on that conclusions in that report, it is PSU who makes the decision not to challenge.

If the Paterno family wants to have a thorough investigation, they a perfectly free to finance one. If it is well researched, unbiased, and reaches a different conclusion, they are free to send it to the board. They have had six months to begin that process and, so far, they have not.
 
I get the impression that Spanier, the Paterno family, et al are forgetting what seems to be the very pertinent fact that Penn State ordered this investigation, paid for this investigation and presumably did so in an attempt to move forward from this horrific decade (plus) of coverup and abuse.

Again, it becomes obvious that so much of this was about money, egos, prestige and, of course, legacy.

The Penn State trustees opened up the university's extensive database to investigation by Louis Freeh and his associates. This was obviously necessary due to the years of subterfuge orchestrated by an elite inner-circle who thought they were well-shielded from scrutiny. I just posted on another thread "Spanier wants to be heard." Of course he does. Now. But he didn't want anyone else to be heard for all those years. Oh, the irony. How it must burn.
 
Re: "a panicked response"

I would call what happened in 1998 and 2001 a set of panicked responses. The only difference being, at that time the first, second and third responders had the power to sweep it all under the rug. Now they don't. I simply cannot muster up even one nanoparticle of pity.
 
The Paterno family needs a public relations team stat! They put their foot in their mouth every time they open it!
 
I get the impression that Spanier, the Paterno family, et al are forgetting what seems to be the very pertinent fact that Penn State ordered this investigation, paid for this investigation and presumably did so in an attempt to move forward from this horrific decade (plus) of coverup and abuse.

Again, it becomes obvious that so much of this was about money, egos, prestige and, of course, legacy.

The Penn State trustees opened up the university's extensive database to investigation by Louis Freeh and his associates. This was obviously necessary due to the years of subterfuge orchestrated by an elite inner-circle who thought they were well-shielded from scrutiny. I just posted on another thread "Spanier wants to be heard." Of course he does. Now. But he didn't want anyone else to be heard for all those years. Oh, the irony. How it must burn.


I think he be heard at his hearing to remove his tenure and/or at his criminal trial.
 
Absolutely worse than a DP. This cripples the program for a long time, perhaps forever. The loss of scholarships is the major blow here. Operating with only 65 instead of 85 is really bad. Consider the fact that FCS schools (Div 1-A) only get 64 scholarships max.

I think the vacating of the wins is more of a footnote to JP's legacy. The vacating wins penalty seems to have more to do with JP than anything else.

I said before, there was never going to be a penalty that would be big enough to account for all that happened. But this at least sets things in the right direction. It ensures that for many years down the road, football will not be bigger than the university.
 
NCAA's Mark Emmert establishes with Penn State sanctions that he's in charge like no one else

INDIANAPOLIS – Mark Emmert kicked *advertiser censored* and took names Monday. He also took bowl games, scholarships, tens of millions of dollars, hundreds of victories and any last illusion of purity away from Penn State.

After atomizing a program that used to operate under the self-congratulatory motto of "Success With Honor," the man who had just swung the biggest hammer in NCAA presidential history sat down with Yahoo! Sports for an exclusive interview in the association's headquarters. He said Penn State could have been hit harder.

Emmert told Y! Sports that a multi-year suspension of the football program was "vigorously discussed" with members of the Division I Board of Directors. Ultimately, Penn State's willingness to take its medicine – commissioning, accepting and making public the damaging Freeh Commission report, and accepting massive NCAA penalties without due process – helped save the school from a complete shutdown of football for a season or longer, Emmert said.

"The resolve demonstrated by Penn State to get past this was very important in people's minds," he said.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf-...anctions-exclusive-interview-joe-paterno.html
 
Agreed, coastalpilot! I cannot imagine the shock of PSU fans and am glad the University is being proactive. (Not a PSU fan but shocked nonetheless)

Sorry if you found my link offensive.

not at all. i was very glad to see it. it was the fist thing I have seen since this has happened that gave me any faith that psu was really contrite and really uderstood how much they needed to change. sorry if i confused you. i responded in a flurry. quite a day.:)
 
The Paterno family needs to shut the heck up and play dead. I'm sick of their continuing drivel.

they are getting little publicity from THIS latest evidence of their incredible audAcity and stupidity.

noone much is buying theior sthick, except their own lawyers, who are gleefully stoking the fires. and why not. they are gonna be getting the paterno millions now.
 
not at all. i was very glad to see it. it was the fist thing I have seen since this has happened that gave me any faith that psu was really contrite and really uderstood how much they needed to change. sorry if i confused you. i responded in a flurry. quite a day.:)

Thanks for the reply coastalpilot! I am on information overload. Yes quite a day indeed!

I am sensitive to the emotions of our members must be going thru who are PSU fans, empolyees, students, alumnus, etc. I'm dunno if you are PSU or not but don't wish to type anything in haste that is hurtful.:blushing:

wm xo
 

I watched the press conference live this morning on ESPN. The NCAA spokesman said that the Freeh report was more in depth than any investigation that the NCAA has ever run.

I understand the Paterno's anger at this because it's their father, husband, uncle etc. and it's never easy to accept something like this about a close relative. Especially when that relative had been deified for forty years.

Obviously, IMO, the NCAA thinks JP had a big part in this cover up. The vacating of wins is a singular slap at Paterno and not much at all at Penn state. It takes 111 wins from JP's record and knocks him down from the winningest HC in NCAA history to the eighth winningest HC. IIRC, the Freeh report suggests that Paterno may have committed perjury in his GJ testimony last year.

The family has to put their emotions aside and look at the facts. It has to be extremely difficult to believe that your father facilitated the molestation of many kids, but apparently that's exactly what he did. JMO
 
Here is the statement:

"The release of the Freeh report has triggered an avalanche of vitriol, condemnation and posthumous punishment on Joe Paterno. The NCAA has now become the latest party to accept the report as the final word on the Sandusky scandal. The sanctions announced by the NCAA today defame the legacy and contributions of a great coach and educator without any input from our family or those who knew him best.

"That the President, the Athletic Director and the Board of Trustees accepted this unprecedented action by the NCAA without requiring a full due process hearing before the Committee on Infractions is an abdication of their responsibilities and a breach of their fiduciary duties to the University and the 500,000 alumni. Punishing past, present and future students of the University because of Sandusky’s crimes does not serve justice. This is not a fair or thoughtful action; it is a panicked response to the public's understandable revulsion at what Sandusky did.

"The point of due process is to protect against this sort of reflexive action. Joe Paterno was never interviewed by the University or the Freeh Group. His counsel has not been able to interview key witnesses as they are represented by counsel related to ongoing litigation. We have had no access to the records reviewed by the Freeh group. The NCAA never contacted our family or our legal counsel. And the fact that several parties have pending trials that could produce evidence and testimony relevant to this matter has been totally discounted.

"Unfortunately all of these facts have been ignored by the NCAA, the Freeh Group and the University."


http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/in..._family_says_ncaa_s.html#incart_river_default

My comment:

The President and Board run PSU, not the Paterno family. It is PSU, and not the Paterno family or Joe Paterno, that is being punished. It is PSU that gets to accept or challenge the punishment, not the Paterno family. It is PSU who made the decision to investigate, not the Paterno family. Based on that conclusions in that report, it is PSU who makes the decision not to challenge.

If the Paterno family wants to have a thorough investigation, they a perfectly free to finance one. If it is well researched, unbiased, and reaches a different conclusion, they are free to send it to the board. They have had six months to begin that process and, so far, they have not.

Thanks for the quote, J. J. and for the BBM, maybe the family doesn't want to admit it, but most of the public also has 'revulsion' for what Paterno did also in helping to cover up this abuse of children.

I just want to say I absolutely agree with your post. When will the family realize they do not run PSU anymore? The legacy is OVER folks so do us a favor and just quietly disappear please.

I wish there was some way the school could penalize them financially every time they issue one of these stupid comments since money seems to be the only thing they care about.
 
Good round up on what the sanctions mean...posting for Bowden's quote:

http://www.centurylink.net/news/rea...ws_id=19014094&src=most_popular_viewed&page=2

Excerpt:

By vacating 112 Penn State victories from 1998-2011, the sanctions cost Paterno 111 wins. Former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden will now hold the top spot in the NCAA record book with 377 major-college wins. Paterno, who was fired days after Sandusky was charged, will be credited with 298 wins. Vacated wins are not the same as forfeits — they don't count as losses or wins for either school.

"I didn't want it to happen like this," Bowden told the AP. "Wish I could have earned it, but that's the way it is."
 
What does a post-season football ban mean?

It means that Penn State cannot participate in any bowl games even if they qualify for one by record. This is a significant hit because bowl games can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and offer the university great publicity.

The scholarship loss isn't as bad as people think. I remember reading an article about how USC's scholarship loss through NCAA sanctions was meaningless. I looked for the article, but couldn't find it. I did find this article stating that seven new teams will be starting up in 2013 and they'll have 420 scholarships available. I seem to recall that USC also had 60 scholarships prior to their 20 lost. http://www.lindyssports.com/college...with-the-debut-of-five-more-teams-in-2012.php

When you consider that every team has 22 starters on their football teams it's not a big deal in the long run. They need to, IMO, take away all scholarships for a given time. (I'd suggest four years because that would be like a total reboot for the program.)
 
Oops! Here's another mistake I made. It's corrected by the same article as my post above; http://www.centurylink.net/news/rea...ws_id=19014094&src=most_popular_viewed&page=2

...The scholarship reductions mean Penn State's roster will be capped at 65 scholarship players beginning in 2014. The normal scholarship limit for major college football programs is 85. Playing with 20 less is devastating to a program that tries to compete at the highest level of the sport....

However, I still stick to my point that the loss of scholarships is meaningless. 65 scholarships when you have a 22 starter team is a drop in the bucket. JMO
 

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