Penn State protects child rapist that was former famous D-Coordinator

[surfsatwerk]

I think I kind of agree that it's not actually about football. To me, this could have happened to a powerful CEO, a respected professor, a high ranking politician, a TV personality, a famous musician. The fact of the matter is people can gain celebrity through just about anything, and like it or not people treat celebrities differently and often give them undue respect and power. I think Paterno's power was a result of his celebrity, football was just the vehicle he obtained celebrity through.

"College football fanaticism" is a red herring imo, and I think the emphasis put on it is just going to result in further punish innocents and kind of cloud what I feel like the underlying cause is.

I mean, if Stephen Hawking was able to protect a pedophile rapist at some school he's associated with, does that mean we care too much about Science? Personally, no. I think what it points to is people getting sucked into a cult of celebrity and giving that person privilege and lenience because of it.

I'm sorry, but trying to apply critical thinking to this pedo state situation clearly means you are a pedophile and support the rape of children.

 

[lupi]

In Dallas, former Stanford athletic director and new Big 12 Conference commissioner Bob Bowlsby also wondered about whether the college sports governing body should be stepping into a criminal matter.

"I don't know that it is absolutely clear on what basis this becomes an NCAA issue," he said at football media days.

 

[momeNt]

"education first", lol

They are practically required to go to college to enter the NBA or NFL and the athletic programs help fund the schools.

At some schools, athletics are MORE important than education. (just not on paper)
There's nothing wrong with that. It's just the world we live in today.
Who's to say being well educated is more valuable than being an elite athlete?
Not everyone CAN be well educated. They were given physical gifts, not intellectual ones.

You can argue that certain degrees are actually a drain on society.

I think you are confusing the importance the entire school places on athletics, versus the importance the athletic department and the student athletes place on athletics. The culture at Penn State allowed Paterno complete control over the entire football program, that is wrong, because there should be people at the school, who have oversight of the program and place the school's interest ahead of the football program. It's perfectly fine if the head football coach only cares about football, but somebody needs to have control over him.

It's very difficult to actually do that though because of how much the college coaches make, they make sometimes 10-20x as much as presidents and athletic directors, and as the AD of OSU said in that press conference a year ago, paraphrase "I'm worried Jim Tressel might fire me". The NCAA ruling may encourage presidents and ADs to take back their school.

 

[momeNt]

I think I kind of agree that it's not actually about football. To me, this could have happened to a powerful CEO, a respected professor, a high ranking politician, a TV personality, a famous musician. The fact of the matter is people can gain celebrity through just about anything, and like it or not people treat celebrities differently and often give them undue respect and power. I think Paterno's power was a result of his celebrity, football was just the vehicle he obtained celebrity through.

"College football fanaticism" is a red herring imo, and I think the emphasis put on it is just going to result in further punish innocents and kind of cloud what I feel like the underlying cause is.

I mean, if Stephen Hawking was able to protect a pedophile rapist at some school he's associated with, does that mean we care too much about Science? Personally, no. I think what it points to is people getting sucked into a cult of celebrity and giving that person privilege and lenience because of it.

The result of the celebrity status, and in Paterno's case it seems nearly demigod-like status is that universities relinquish control and give all the power to those celebrities. The NCAA sanctioned Penn State because of the fact that they relinquished control of the university to the football program.

As for your Stephen Hawking example, the failure by the university would be in succumbing to Hawking's celebrity status and relinquishing control over their university. In order for them to do that there probably needs to be an unhealthy culture in their science department. So the problem is like you say, with celebrity status, but it also takes an unhealthy culture in order for things to go awry. They probably coincide.

 

[Anonemous]

Man that's creepy what they tweet... you got the recruiters and you got your PSU fans...

http://www.awfulannouncing.com/2012-articles/july/the-twitter-recruitment-of-silas-redd.html

 

[waggy]

I think I kind of agree that it's not actually about football. To me, this could have happened to a powerful CEO, a respected professor, a high ranking politician, a TV personality, a famous musician. The fact of the matter is people can gain celebrity through just about anything, and like it or not people treat celebrities differently and often give them undue respect and power. I think Paterno's power was a result of his celebrity, football was just the vehicle he obtained celebrity through.

"College football fanaticism" is a red herring imo, and I think the emphasis put on it is just going to result in further punish innocents and kind of cloud what I feel like the underlying cause is.

I mean, if Stephen Hawking was able to protect a pedophile rapist at some school he's associated with, does that mean we care too much about Science? Personally, no. I think what it points to is people getting sucked into a cult of celebrity and giving that person privilege and lenience because of it.

great post. i agree with you also.

 

[Icepick]

Who in their right mind would want to carry around a degree from a University that is associated with institutionalized pedophilia? When I see "Penn State" listed on someone's resume or linked in profile this pedophilia scandal is the first thing that comes to mind. The school's alumni are the ones who are really going to be hurting from this scandal for years to come since they already have 10's of thousands of dollars invested in the brand name.

If I'm in the market for a new college degree I, for one, will go well out of my way to avoid this institution.

 

[Drako]

Who in their right mind would want to carry around a degree from a University that is associated with institutionalized pedophilia? When I see "Penn State" listed on someone's resume or linked in profile this pedophilia scandal is the first thing that comes to mind. The school's alumni are the ones who are really going to be hurting from this scandal for years to come since they already have 10's of thousands of dollars invested in the brand name.

If I'm in the market for a new college degree I, for one, will go well out of my way to avoid this institution.

Most sane people would recognize the 99.99% of the people at Penn State had nothing to do with this.

 

[waggy]

Who in their right mind would want to carry around a degree from a University that is associated with institutionalized pedophilia? When I see "Penn State" listed on someone's resume or linked in profile this pedophilia scandal is the first thing that comes to mind. The school's alumni are the ones who are really going to be hurting from this scandal for years to come since they already have 10's of thousands of dollars invested in the brand name.

If I'm in the market for a new college degree I, for one, will go well out of my way to avoid this institution.

and that makes you a lunatic.

most will understand that this was covered by a very very number of people. 99% of the college has NOTHING to do with it. To tell a student "oh you got a degree from pen state. you must be a child molester" is just flat out dumb.

 

[Broheim]

Most sane people would recognize the 99.99% of the people at Penn State had nothing to do with this.

maybe not the pedophilia, but other things comes to mind.
riots
victim blaming
and the rest of the crazy shit the penn state students and alumni did
basically the ugly face of Penn State culture.

now, you have two applicants both have the same skills, degrees and experience, basically equal on every level, but one of them is from Penn State and the other guy is not. are you gonna pick the guy from Penn State?

 

[waggy]

maybe not the pedophilia, but other things comes to mind.
riots
victim blaming
and the rest of the crazy shit the penn state students and alumni did
basically the ugly face of Penn State culture.

now, you have two applicants both have the same skills, degrees and experience, basically equal on every level, but one of them is from Penn State and the other guy is not. are you gonna pick the guy from Penn State?

I'm going to pick whoever fits the job i need better. why? because i have enough common sense to know the number of people doing what you say was actually rather low and if they did they were caught up in the moment. also i am a greedy fuck and want to make the most money i can. so hireing the best guy and best fit is the best choice.

 

[pelov]

now, you have two applicants both have the same skills, degrees and experience, basically equal on every level, but one of them is from Penn State and the other guy is not. are you gonna pick the guy from Penn State?

That depends. Does the other guy's school have a good football team?

:biggrin:

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Who in their right mind would want to carry around a degree from a University that is associated with institutionalized pedophilia? When I see "Penn State" listed on someone's resume or linked in profile this pedophilia scandal is the first thing that comes to mind. The school's alumni are the ones who are really going to be hurting from this scandal for years to come since they already have 10's of thousands of dollars invested in the brand name.

If I'm in the market for a new college degree I, for one, will go well out of my way to avoid this institution.

And anyone who drives a Volkswagen supports the holocaust. You can't argue with facts!

 

[GrumpyMan]

maybe not the pedophilia, but other things comes to mind.
riots
victim blaming
and the rest of the crazy shit the penn state students and alumni did
basically the ugly face of Penn State culture.

now, you have two applicants both have the same skills, degrees and experience, basically equal on every level, but one of them is from Penn State and the other guy is not. are you gonna pick the guy from Penn State?

I would pick the guy from Penn, so I could fire him the next day, call him a child molester and have him arrested......j/k :hmm:

 

[momeNt]

And anyone who drives a Volkswagen supports the holocaust. You can't argue with facts!

Most do. Myself excluded though. I won't say to which.

 

[11thHour]

ncaa to psu: accept sanctions or face 4 year death penalty.

 

[K1052]

ncaa to psu: accept sanctions or face 4 year death penalty.

I can't believe the PSU trustees are monumentally stupid enough to try to piss backwards on the NCAA. If a large majority of the member schools were already in favor of a 4 year death penalty they could well decide to revoke PSU's NCAA membership if they put up a fight.

 

[Fern]

I can't believe the PSU trustees are monumentally stupid enough to try to piss backwards on the NCAA. If a large majority of the member schools were already in favor of a 4 year death penalty they could well decide to revoke PSU's NCAA membership if they put up a fight.

I agree.

The level of delusion among so many Penn Staters is astonishing.

Fern

 

[Fern]

Looks like the Penn State debacle isn't over. Excerpts from an open letter to the PA gov who was the AD originally investigating Sandusky

http://democratsforsale.blogspot.com/2012/07/why-didnt-former-pa-ag-and-now-governor.html

1) Based on a decade’s worth of evidence of Sandusky’s predatory activities, why did it take the Attorney General’s Office three years to arrest him? I fully understand that it takes time to conduct an investigation, but as numerous prosecutors have stated, you could have arrested him quickly and continued building the case.

One of two things seems to be true, as there is no third option. Either A) you were an incompetent attorney general, which virtually no one believes, or B) the investigation was deliberately understaffed and drawn out because you did not wish to be the gubernatorial candidate who took down fabled Penn State - with its massive and intensely loyal alumni network - and the beloved Joe Paterno. Since doing so would have presented difficult campaign challenges, many are asking if politics was placed above children’s safety. Which leads to the next question.

2) Why was the investigation so understaffed? Yes, you just now claimed - after eight months - that media reports are wrong that only one investigator was assigned the case for the first 15 months. The real number, as you now state, was a whopping two. We know you were busy with Bonusgate, but political corruption never threatens anyone’s physical well-being, particularly defenseless children.

And the two investigators assigned were narcotics agents. While Sandusky’s heinous crimes were many, drug offenses were not among them.

Did their inexperience lengthen the investigation more than normal … say, past your election in November 2010?

3) Do you believe ethical and moral lines were crossed when, after investigating Penn State as Attorney General, you then participated as a member of the Board of Trustees upon becoming governor?

4) As governor, why did you personally approve a $3 million taxpayer-funded grant to Sandusky’s Second Mile charity, given your knowledge that Sandusky was under investigation for multiple child rapes?

So one has to ask if the $640,000 in campaign donations from board members of the Second Mile, along with their businesses and families, had anything to do with your actions?

I've heard calls for an investigation of the Second Mile charity too.

Fern

 

[zinfamous]

Who in their right mind would want to carry around a degree from a University that is associated with institutionalized pedophilia? When I see "Penn State" listed on someone's resume or linked in profile this pedophilia scandal is the first thing that comes to mind. The school's alumni are the ones who are really going to be hurting from this scandal for years to come since they already have 10's of thousands of dollars invested in the brand name.

If I'm in the market for a new college degree I, for one, will go well out of my way to avoid this institution.

Are you just copying and pasting this comment on every page? Not only is the notion idiotic, but the reposting paints you as a loony toon.

 

[zinfamous]

I agree.

The level of delusion among so many Penn Staters is astonishing.

Fern

And there you have it, as quoted by a trustee in the article linked by K1052:

"They've destroyed the school, as far as I'm concerned," this trustee said. "Think of the innocent players hurt by this. They had nothing to do with this and they have to pay the price."

PSU = Football. period. That's all he sees. And that looks to be the opinion of the trustees. Why haven't all these guys been shit-canned?

These sanctions were against football, not the school. The AD is punished--they are separate anyway. The admins outside of the AD are being punished, but this is football that the NCAA is going after.

The trustees going after the NCAA after the NCAA was ready to end football for good. What a bunch of dingbats. Hell, I hope they get that signature invalidated, so that the NCAA can then give them only one option.

 

[Gigantopithecus]

Looks like the Penn State debacle isn't over.
I've heard calls for an investigation of the Second Mile charity too.
Fern

Now this is interesting. There are likely enough diehard JoePa cultists to push an investigation into Corbett and Second Mile. It will be fascinating to read how far this whole sordid mess goes.

 

[Gigantopithecus]

PSU = Football. period. That's all he sees. And that looks to be the opinion of the trustees. Why haven't all these guys been shit-canned?

These sanctions were against football, not the school. The AD is punished--they are separate anyway. The admins outside of the AD are being punished, but this is football that the NCAA is going after.

That's exactly what I thought when I read that. Apparently their $60,000,000/yr football revenues mean more than the billions the actual school generates as one of the best universities in the world.

The trustees going after the NCAA after the NCAA was ready to end football for good. What a bunch of dingbats. Hell, I hope they get that signature invalidated, so that the NCAA can then give them only one option.

Apparently Emmert had support from the core of NCAA D1 presidents to kill PSU football for four years. I'd be surprised if that doesn't include Michigan and Wisconsin - maybe my letters didn't go before blind eyes. It'll be interesting to see if these trustees actually keep pushing the issue - like you allude, it could get even worse for PSU football.

 

[pelov]

Now this is interesting. There are likely enough diehard JoePa cultists to push an investigation into Corbett and Second Mile. It will be fascinating to read how far this whole sordid mess goes.

I was watching an ESPN special yesterday and one of their reporters was eluding to the fact that his charity had donated a couple hundred thousand dollars to his gubernatorial campaign. This was after he'd served his term as the Pennsylvania Attorney General and was in charge of (and almost certainly saw) the allegations put forth against Sandusky. I can't find his article but here's another.

As for the rest of you who seem to care more about football than the wicked shit that was going on behind the scenes, I'll translate:

football football sports sports. Sports sports, football. Football football sports football sports. Sports football, pedophile, football sports sports.

 

[lupi]

Was wonderful watching PTI today, Brent Musburger had a nice evisceration for the NCAA with some amazingly familiar sounding reasons; it was a criminal activity not a rule violation, pr stunt, no due process, horrendous decision, etc...etc...