I bet all those dumbfuck players asking for the statue to go back up feel pretty stupid right about now. Will this story ever go away???
Should have shut the program down for at minimum 4 yrs. The football culture became so big that it was more important than protecting children. The only way you change that culture, or at least send the message football isn't above abuse is shutting em down and a few yrs later making em start over from scratch. Football was so important that kids being abused didn't matter. Since it was that precious to them you needed to take it away to send a message. Instead they got a slap on the wrist with bowl probation and scholarship reduction, and then that penalty was REDUCED! I can only hope penn st football is never nationally relevant again.
Agreed. Should have gotten the death penalty for at least a year or 2 like what happened to SMU.
It just amazes me that these former players actually started a petition to put a stupid fucking statue back up. The whole thing makes me sick.
I bet all those dumbfuck players asking for the statue to go back up feel pretty stupid right about now. Will this story ever go away???
Should have shut the program down for at minimum 4 yrs. The football culture became so big that it was more important than protecting children. The only way you change that culture, or at least send the message football isn't above abuse is shutting em down and a few yrs later making em start over from scratch. Football was so important that kids being abused didn't matter. Since it was that precious to them you needed to take it away to send a message. Instead they got a slap on the wrist with bowl probation and scholarship reduction, and then that penalty was REDUCED! I can only hope penn st football is never nationally relevant again.
Agreed. Should have gotten the death penalty for at least a year or 2 like what happened to SMU.
It just amazes me that these former players actually started a petition to put a stupid fucking statue back up. The whole thing makes me sick.
Agreed!
Alpine Valley 6/26/98, Alpine Valley 10/8/00, Champaign 4/23/03, Chicago 6/18/03, Alpine Valley 6/21/03, Grand Rapids 10/3/04
Chicago 5/16/06, Chicago 5/17/06, Grand Rapids 5/19/06
Milwaukee 6/29/06, Milwaukee 6/30/06, Lollapalooza 8/5/07
Eddie Solo Milwaukee 8/19/08, Toronto 8/21/09, Chicago 8/23/09
Chicago 8/24/09, Indianapolis 5/7/10, Ed Chicago 6/29/11, Alpine Valley 9/3/11 and 9/4/11, Wrigley 7/19/13, Moline 10/18/14, Milwaukee 10/20/14
I agree that the program needed to be killed for a while. It was more than just the wrongdoers. It was the culture. I am not convinced that eliminating the wrong-doers can fix a broken culture; a semi-tangible "thing" that that made everyone believe that a winning program was really doing something great. It was still regarded, among national sports media, and certainly in Happy Valley, as something worth preserving. The culture put the program and its reputation above the safety and well-being of children. Several people woke up every day knowing not only what Sandusky had done but was still doing. The culture that led to the entire mess was seen as a good thing; or at least not a bad thing. Because the "bad" people had been eliminated. But how many were there? It shows you that while a person is smart, people are stupid. And people are still there; still part of that athletic department and football program. I don't think the culture can change.
Anyway, sports media all said "don't punish the players." And "they got rid of the people involved; what else are they supposed to do?" All, as far as I can tell, so a big-time football program still had a chance to be big time. And, of course, the JoePologists said things like "he did so much good; should 'one mistake' really tarnish his reputation?" For me, the final straw that told me that 1) PSU is never, ever going to get this and that 2) other groups are probably capable of the same warped response in order to defend a history that never really existed in it's perceived purity, was the hockey "409" stickers (the reinstated win total the hockey team put on its helmets). How did that not get flagged by a single person? How did not one person say "uh, this does not cast our school and athletic department in a good light" or even "all the crazy anti-PSUers are going to roast us for this." The NCAA backing off led them where they wanted to go: "See, Joe's the man." It was the most tone-deaf thing I have ever seen.
The hard-core PSU JoePologists legitimately make me feel worse about humanity.
1995 Milwaukee 1998 Alpine, Alpine 2003 Albany, Boston, Boston, Boston 2004 Boston, Boston 2006 Hartford, St. Paul (Petty), St. Paul (Petty) 2011 Alpine, Alpine 2013 Wrigley 2014 St. Paul 2016 Fenway, Fenway, Wrigley, Wrigley 2018 Missoula, Wrigley, Wrigley 2021 Asbury Park 2022 St Louis 2023 Austin, Austin
Fucking horrible humans both Paterno & the monster he shielded for yrs , for him to have known since the 70s he let him prowl for 30 plus yrs abusing boys I hope his rotting in his grave his just as bad as the monster fuck him glad his dead ...
How many people knew over the years and did nothing????? It is crazy.
That's the most frightening thing. It shows our ability to deny and dismiss. It shows how deep the fear of upsetting the ship can be; the fear of doing the hard thing, no matter how right. I've been pretty hard on PSU and the Valley but the fact is that there is probably nothing special about them. It could probably happen anywhere. I hate to think that I could spend years knowing that this was going on and just not worry about it. But group dynamics is a funny thing.
1995 Milwaukee 1998 Alpine, Alpine 2003 Albany, Boston, Boston, Boston 2004 Boston, Boston 2006 Hartford, St. Paul (Petty), St. Paul (Petty) 2011 Alpine, Alpine 2013 Wrigley 2014 St. Paul 2016 Fenway, Fenway, Wrigley, Wrigley 2018 Missoula, Wrigley, Wrigley 2021 Asbury Park 2022 St Louis 2023 Austin, Austin
Comments
It just amazes me that these former players actually started a petition to put a stupid fucking statue back up. The whole thing makes me sick.
Chicago 5/16/06, Chicago 5/17/06, Grand Rapids 5/19/06
Milwaukee 6/29/06, Milwaukee 6/30/06, Lollapalooza 8/5/07
Eddie Solo Milwaukee 8/19/08, Toronto 8/21/09, Chicago 8/23/09
Chicago 8/24/09, Indianapolis 5/7/10, Ed Chicago 6/29/11, Alpine Valley 9/3/11 and 9/4/11, Wrigley 7/19/13, Moline 10/18/14, Milwaukee 10/20/14
Anyway, sports media all said "don't punish the players." And "they got rid of the people involved; what else are they supposed to do?" All, as far as I can tell, so a big-time football program still had a chance to be big time. And, of course, the JoePologists said things like "he did so much good; should 'one mistake' really tarnish his reputation?" For me, the final straw that told me that 1) PSU is never, ever going to get this and that 2) other groups are probably capable of the same warped response in order to defend a history that never really existed in it's perceived purity, was the hockey "409" stickers (the reinstated win total the hockey team put on its helmets). How did that not get flagged by a single person? How did not one person say "uh, this does not cast our school and athletic department in a good light" or even "all the crazy anti-PSUers are going to roast us for this." The NCAA backing off led them where they wanted to go: "See, Joe's the man." It was the most tone-deaf thing I have ever seen.
The hard-core PSU JoePologists legitimately make me feel worse about humanity.
2013 Wrigley 2014 St. Paul 2016 Fenway, Fenway, Wrigley, Wrigley 2018 Missoula, Wrigley, Wrigley 2021 Asbury Park 2022 St Louis 2023 Austin, Austin
All that I once held as true
I stand alone without beliefs
The only truth I know is you.
2013 Wrigley 2014 St. Paul 2016 Fenway, Fenway, Wrigley, Wrigley 2018 Missoula, Wrigley, Wrigley 2021 Asbury Park 2022 St Louis 2023 Austin, Austin