Penn State Scandal

pjhawks

I used to think Eagles fans were the dumbest fans in sports, Penn State fans and their response to Paterno being fired and Bradley not being hired have taken stupidity to a new level. i can't fathom how anyone can say that paterno shouldn't have been fired for overseeing this debacle. it's like they're brainwashed by the cult.

The Juggler

pjhawks wrote:

I used to think Eagles fans were the dumbest fans in sports, Penn State fans and their response to Paterno being fired and Bradley not being hired have taken stupidity to a new level. i can't fathom how anyone can say that paterno shouldn't have been fired for overseeing this debacle. it's like they're brainwashed by the cult.

the only dumb eagles fans are the ones that think throwing the ball 80% of the time is being conservative.


i agree about psu fans not understandig the paterno/bradley thing though.

The Juggler

about the townhall in kop last night:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20120 ... =124488429

norm

sally jenkins interview with jopa

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/co ... story.html

norm

Joepa not doing good

http://eye-on-collegefootball.blogs.cbs ... a_txt_0001

igotid88

Joe Pa has died

igotid88

and now he's not dead

norm

been an interesting last hour on twitter

CBS report is wrong - Dad is alive but in serious condition. We continue to ask for your prayers and privacy during this time.

https://twitter.com/#!/ScottPaterno/sta ... 1814824960

To OS followers: Our 8:45 pm tweet about Joe Paterno's death appears to be inaccurate, according to @JayPaterno, who says he's alive. We were confident when we ran with it, and are still trying to figure out where our process failed. We apologize sincerely for error.

https://twitter.com/#!/OnwardState/stat ... 5915876352
https://twitter.com/#!/OnwardState/stat ... 0139552769

The Juggler

hang in there joe...

norm

A letter from the Managing Editor of Onward State:

Earlier this evening, Onward State reported that Joe Paterno had passed away. However, the mountain of evidence stacked opposite that report is too much to ignore. At this time, I would like to issue a retraction of our earlier tweets.

I never, in a million years, would have thought that Onward State would be cited by the national media, and today, I sincerely wish it never had been. To all those who read and passed along our reports, I sincerely apologize for misleading you. To the Penn State community and to the Paterno family most of all, I could not be more sorry for the emotional anguish I am sure we caused. There are no excuses for what we did. We all make mistakes, but it’s impossible to brush off one of this magnitude. Right now, we deserve all of the criticism headed our way.

In this day and age, getting it first often conflicts with getting it right, but our intention was never to fall into that chasm. All I can do now is promise that in the future, we will exercise caution, restraint, and humility.

I can only hope and pray that the outstanding work our writers and photographers do on a day-to-day basis is not overshadowed by the events of tonight. I understand that our reputation is in serious question, but I hope you will continue to stand by us as we do everything in our power to make amends.

To begin that process, I will be stepping down from my post as Managing Editor, effective immediately. I take full responsibility for the events that transpired tonight, and for the black mark upon the organization that I have caused.

I ask not for your forgiveness, but for your understanding. I am so very, very, sorry, and we at Onward State continue to pray for Coach Paterno.

Sincerely,

Devon Edwards

https://www.facebook.com/OnwardState/po ... 9666855663

norm

joepa has died

It is with great sadness that we announce that Joe Paterno passed away earlier today. His loss leaves a void in our lives that will never be filled.

He died as he lived. He fought hard until the end, stayed positive, thought only of others and constantly reminded everyone of how blessed his life had been. His ambitions were far reaching, but he never believed he had to leave this Happy Valley to achieve them. He was a man devoted to his family, his university, his players and his community.

He has been many things in his life – a soldier, scholar, mentor, coach, friend and father. To my mother he was and is her soul mate, and the last several weeks have shown the strength of their love. To his children and grandchildren he is a shining example of how to live a good, decent and honest life, a standard to which we aspire.

When he decided to forego a career in law and make coaching his vocation, his father Angelo had but one command: Make an impact.

As the last 61 years have shown, Joe made an incredible impact. That impact has been felt and appreciated by our family in the form of thousands of letters and well wishes along with countless acts of kindness from people whose lives he touched. It is evident also in the thousands of successful student athletes who have gone on to multiply that impact as they spread out across the country.

And so he leaves us with a peaceful mind, comforted by his “living legacy” of five kids, 17 grandchildren, and hundreds of young men whose lives he changed in more ways than can begin to be counted.

In lieu of flowers or gifts, the family requests that donations be made to the Special Olympics of Pennsylvania or the Penn State-THON, The Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon.

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.co ... ife-death/

chadwick

well he aint goin to court or whatever

davidtrios

rot in hell paterno

The Juggler

Davidtrios wrote:

rot in hell paterno

real nice

musicismylife78

this guy is going to have a very conflicted legacy. and while i think its sad when anyone dies, i think its wise to understand this guy is as complex, and has right now as diverse and varied opinions of him and about him as anyone probably ever has had about anyone, ever. Some view him as some sort of saint and others view him as culpable in one of the worst scandals in collegiate history, a scandal that took out a head coach, a university president, an assistant coach, and an athletic director among others. Ultimately i think its wise to understand winning football games really in the grand scheme of things, does it really matter? does it make someone a good person if you are a talented althlete or coach? can someone be good and bad? just because someone wins football games can they also be considered bad? lots of questions.

The Juggler

musicismylife78 wrote:

this guy is going to have a very conflicted legacy. and while i think its sad when anyone dies, i think its wise to understand this guy is as complex, and has right now as diverse and varied opinions of him and about him as anyone probably ever has had about anyone, ever. Some view him as some sort of saint and others view him as culpable in one of the worst scandals in collegiate history, a scandal that took out a head coach, a university president, an assistant coach, and an athletic director among others. Ultimately i think its wise to understand winning football games really in the grand scheme of things, does it really matter? does it make someone a good person if you are a talented althlete or coach? can someone be good and bad? just because someone wins football games can they also be considered bad? lots of questions.

he did a lot more than win football games for that university. he was far more than just a coach. he enriched hundreds/thousands of lives, in a way. he donated millions to penn state university. he essentially made the school what it is today.

i think he should have done more regarding the sandusky situation-no doubt. but you cannot just refer to joe paterno as just another football coach who is only good for winning football games. his life and his meaning to penn state and collegiate sports in general goes well beyond that. maybe you should google him.

davidtrios

he did a lot more than winning football game at penn st. he allowed child rape

The Juggler

Davidtrios wrote:

he did a lot more than winning football game at penn st. he allowed child rape

no he reported it and followed university procedure....should have done way more in my opinion though, agreed.

but that doesn't take away from all the other stuff i mentioned.

musicismylife78

he did a lot more than win football games for that university. he was far more than just a coach. he enriched hundreds/thousands of lives, in a way. he donated millions to penn state university. he essentially made the school what it is today.

i think he should have done more regarding the sandusky situation-no doubt. but you cannot just refer to joe paterno as just another football coach who is only good for winning football games. his life and his meaning to penn state and collegiate sports in general goes well beyond that. maybe you should google him.[/quote]

i think that depends on where your view point is. i'd argue right now, there are as many and as passionate paterno lovers as there are haters. as i said, its sad he died. thats paramount. but the idea that he is either a football god and saint, or a person who at best ignored abuse so his legacy and his universities legacy would be protected. that all is dependent on where you stand and view. Just as some are vehemently sticking to the paterno is a legend idea (the riots after he was fired for example), youve got many people who disagree.

and i think ultimately thats what will eb debated for years and decades to come. Did he do enough? Was he unfairly targeted?

ultimately, the thing that always troubled me about paterno, at least these past few months, was how he reacted to what sandusky did. Your assistant coach comes to you, and plainly says, "sandusky is abusing kids, i saw him do it". When someone says something like that, I assume Mcqueary was stone faced, serious, and matter of fact. What i dont get is, sure he worked with Sandusky for years, so maybe his first reaction was disbelief, or shock, or wondering whether this was some sick joke mcqueary was playing on him. But, then you wonder, how could anyone look at sandusky the same way again. How could paterno go about his life and work, and run into sandusky, see him, know his involvement with kids at a charity level, and his abuse, and smile cordially as they passed in the hall? I'd never be able to look at someone the same way again if they were acused of such an act, and with this case its not just whispers of abuse, its people saying they actually saw it occur.

I would assume the varying opinions of paterno can be felt if you talked to victims of abuse and talked to the kids who rioted when he was fired. Thats a polar opposite opinion of the guy.

Im not a sports guy. I admit my bias. If a football team wins or loses doesnt effect me at all. But i'd argue providing a safe, honest, program with integrity, one that protects and serves the community, students and everyone else, would be the ultimate goal, or should be the ultimate goal of every sports program in the world. I think there are serious questions as to if that was met even at a basic level. I dont think the behavior of paterno, or of ANYONE in the football program at penn state, even extending it to the college president, acted in the interest of the community.

I think thats where awards and prestige can harm you, or harm us. The idea of protecting this image of paterno's win legacy, and of penn states legacy as a legendary university and sports program, was behind the reason for alot of the secrecy, lies, omissions, falsities and nefarious behavior. and thats sad.

i;ll never win a single football game, let alone as many as paterno. Im a small italian kid. i'd get murdered on a football field. but i think when one meets the creator, god, what will be important will be how we conducted our lives, how we acted, how we hehaved, how we tried to make the world a better place.

and staying silent because you didnt want to tarnish your university, or bring shame and scrutiny and press coverage to a hallowed university, all the while kids are being abused, to me is pretty indefensible and egregious behavior. This goes for everyone involved. Really you did nothing to prevent abuse of kids, because you didnt want Penn State to be tarnished? really?

musicismylife78

i dont know specfically why few if any people did or said anything when they knew abuse was going on. but i do think its clear part of it, was because of paterno's legendary legacy and the universities status as a school and the football programs legacy as well.

I think groups and interests protect their own. Police do this all the time. the thin blue line. they keep scandals in the house, because they know if it gets out, they will have serious problems. And i think universities, and penn state are no different.

They knew if it was known that penn state hired and worked with a molestor of children, the media and press would be ALL OVER campus nonstop. The legacy of the program and of paterno would be tarnished, and it would interfere with the stated goal of any sports program, but especially one like Penn State, which is to WIN MORE GAMES and WIN MORE CHAMPIONSHIPS.

and because people stayed silent and covered it up, it went from abuse of children which is outrageous and indefensible in any manner, but then it became a conspiracy, involving nearly every high official in the university. So paterno knew about sandusky, but so did Mcqueary, and the AD, and the university president. Again, how exactly did they interact with one another as they passed in the hallways? How could anyone go about their day knowing an abuser was on campus, AND WORKING AND INTERACTING WITH CHILDREN!