Penn State Fans Say The Darndest Things

Last November 900 year old Joe Paterno, head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions was fired. He was fired for his lack of leadership which allowed former PSU defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky to roam freely and abuse children, over and over and over. Shortly after this news was made public there was a massive outpouring of emotion from fans. No…not for the outrage over what Sandusky had done and what top leadership failed to do at PSU…but because Joe Paterno was fired. Students did this:

And they went to Paterno’s home to show their undying support for the wrinkled, diaper wearing false idol:

Oddly enough I don’t remember them showing the same support for the victims in the Sandusky situation. Football, football and more football. It reins supreme at Penn State. It trumps all. From top to bottom it created a culture where even child rape was swept under the rug and forgotten about. Why you ask? To protect the football team. Football in State College spiraled out of control. The current powers that be knew they had to do something. So they hired the former director of the FBI (Louis Freeh) to investigate what happened at Penn State and this is what he found:

Excerpts

● “Four of the most powerful people at The Pennsylvania State University — President Graham B. Spanier, Senior Vice President-Finance and Business Gary C. Schultz, Athletic Director Timothy M. Curley and Head Football Coach Joseph V. Paterno — failed to protect against a child sexual predator harming children for over a decade. These men concealed Sandusky’s activities from the Board of Trustees, the University community and authorities.”

● “The Board (of Trustees) did not create a `Tone at the Top’ environment wherein Sandusky and other senior University officials believed they were accountable to it.”

● “Before May 1998, several staff members and football coaches regularly observed Sandusky showering with young boys in the Lasch Building (now the East Area Locker Building or `Old Lasch’). None of the individuals interviewed notified their superiors of this behavior.”

● “Janitor B explained to the Special Investigative Counsel that reporting the incident (a 2000 encounter during which a colleague saw Sandusky molesting a boy in a school shower) `would have been like going against the President of the United States in my eyes.’ `I know Paterno has so much power, if he wanted to get rid of someone, I would have been gone.’ He explained `football runs this University,’ and said the University would have closed ranks to protect the football program at all costs.”

● “The special investigative counsel found no evidence to indicate that Sandusky’s retirement was related to the police investigation of him in 1998.”

● Handwritten note, apparently from Paterno to Sandusky: “If there were no (Second) Mile, then I believe you … probably could be the next Penn State FB coach. But you wanted the best of two worlds and I probably should have sat down with you six or seven years and said look Jerry, if you want to be head coach at Penn State, give up your association with the (Second) Mile and concentrate on nothing but your family and Penn State. … You are too deeply involved in both.”

● “A reasonable conclusion from Spanier’s email statement (in 2001after a graduate assistant reported seeing Sandusky with a boy in a shower) that `(t)he only downside for us is if the message isn’t `heard’ and acted upon, and we then become vulnerable for not having reported it,’ is that Spanier, Schultz and Curley were agreeing not to report Sandusky’s activity.”

● “Neither Spanier nor the University’s General Counsel, Cynthia Baldwin, briefed the Board of Trustees about the Grand Jury investigation of Sandusky or the potential risk to the University until the Board’s meeting on May 11, 2011 and, then, only at the request of a Trustee who read the March 31, 2011 article” published by The Patriot-News of Harrisburg.

● “Spanier and (university lawyer Cynthia) Baldwin opposed an independent investigation of the Sandusky issue, with Baldwin stating that `(i)f we do this, we will never get rid of this (outside investigative) group in some shape or form. The Board will think that they should have such a group.’ Spanier agreed.”

● “The Board was unprepared to handle the crisis that occurred when Sandusky, Curley and Schultz were charged. This contributed significantly to its poor handling of the firing of Paterno, and the subsequent severe reaction by the Penn State community and the public to the Board’s oversight of the University and Paterno’s firing.”

Findings
● Penn State officials including coach Joe Paterno and university President Graham Spanier concealed information of Sandusky’s activities from authorities and the public to avoid bad publicity.

● Paterno, Spanier, Vice President Gary Schultz and athletic director Tim Curley “empowered Sandusky to attract potential victims” by failing to restrict his access to the university despite receiving two reports of illicit sexual contact involving him and children.

● Spanier failed in his duties as president by not informing the board of trustees about the allegations against Sandusky and the subsequent grand jury investigation.

● Once aware of the grand jury investigation, the trustees failed in their duty to the university by not pressing Spanier for details about Sandusky’s situation.

Less that two weeks after the Freeh report rocked Penn State and the rest of the country the NCAA stepped in and we all know how that turned out. 4 year bowl ban, huge scholarship reductions and a 60 million dollar fine among other things. Upon hearing this news the Penn State faithful once again showed their disgust:

Again, their disgust is solely football related. Here is another gem…and this time 9/11 is compared to NCAA sanctions on Penn State:

Lest anyone forget, here is a rundown of what Jerry Sandusky will be spending the rest of his life in prison for:

Cruising the blogosphere since the NCAA handed down arguably the harshest punishment in NCAA history to Penn State I’ve read some insane posts by Penn State fans. Here is a taste of what I’ve read from around the web:

From PSU’s Scout.com forum:

OP: “I propose that this year, in remembrance of the victims, Penn State wear all
black helmets with black face masks.

Thoughts?”

Reaction to OP:

“Dumb”

“When Saturday afternoons roll around I want to enjoy 3 hours of
football not remember victims.”

“Why black? They’re not dead. This isn’t Baylor.”

“NOOOOO!!! No more apologizing!”

“I propose putting “409” on the side of every helmet and
across the chest where some jerseys have the school name, in large letters
VACATE THIS.”

“The victims are not the players problem they have nothing to apologize for……
Erickson signed the papers it’s his problem!”

This is just a small, small sample of what I’ve read. The level of hatred these people have for Louis Freeh, Mark Emmert, Rodney Erickson and the NCAA are at a frenzied level. I will say that this isn’t every single PSU fan out there. Some of them are actually sane and accept people have done wrong and there are consequences to those actions. But most Penn Staters I’ve read up on, are living in a fantasy land and seem to be sheltered from reality in some way.

What they fail to understand, even with everything that has happened and come out against their false idol is that they failed to lead when it mattered most. Sure, it’s nice that Joe Paterno was able to fart his way up to the booth to “coach” games and all, but when his leadership was needed most…when innocent little boys needed protection from a monster…football was chosen, time and time again.

At the end of the day who cares what these Penn Staters thinks…they got blasted worse than any school in the history of college football. And did so because the highest ranking leaders protected a game over protecting children from a known serial rapist that once begged for death, because he could stop himself. They protected this:

I keep asking myself why they have so much hatred for the NCAA, Freeh, Emmert and Erickson, and not the same level of hatred for Sandusky, Paterno, Spanier and Curley? It’s because of what happened at the top for so long. It’s why the NCAA stepped in and did what they did. The fans in State College have been poisoned by these people. The culture from the top all the way down to the bottom is rotten at Penn State. Football trumped child rape for 2 decades at the highest levels of leadership…and today, after Paterno is disgraced and dead, Sandusky locked up for the rest of his life, Spanier and Curly waiting their fates in court Penn State fans still put football first.

If you look close enough…

…you can almost see the ghost of a liar and a coward.

We Are!

Comments

  1. Derek Ciapala says

    While I agree with the sentiments presented here, I think it’s a case of the pot calling the kettle “black” for an Ohio State website to be raining down judgment on Penn State. Weren’t we doing the same thing when Jim Tressel and the players got busted? Weren’t we part of the problem…i.e. the culture? Didn’t we steadfastly defend Tressel even though he lied? Again, I agree with everything you’re saying, but when are we going to look ourselves in the mirror and admit that we’re part of the culture problem too?

  2. Derek, I totally agree with you. I was guilty of that as well to some extent. But think about what is being compared here…the serial rape of children and the covering up of free tattoo’s.

    I don’t remember anyone rioting when Tressel got fired. I don’t remember this sense of rage after hearing the NCAA penalties. And that fact is, OSU leadership was ahead of this most of the way…right or wrong OSU compliance/leadership was self reporting these misdeeds.

    And yes….I honestly believe big time college football has gotten too big for it’s britches…but it’s a different animal at PSU.

  3. Derek Ciapala says

    Kade, I’m talking about the culture overall. Penn State’s misdeeds make OSU’s issues look small and petty. And yes, OSU did self-report. However, many OSU fans did mindlessly defend Tressel and even some of the players. If you don’t believe me, then go back and look at some of the message boards etc. It was the culture in Columbus that even enabled the players to do alot of what they did. Again, I was never equating what PSU did with OSU. I’m only speaking about the culture itself.

  4. Once again….I agree with you. But it still wasn’t to that level.

  5. The common mistake made by many sports fans is to think this is a sports problem.

    This is a societal issue. You think sports fans are fanatical you should find a 13 year old girl and tell her Justin Beiber sucks. Her and 10 if her best teenie bopper friend will shank you to death over that.

    Or Tell someone who is on Team Edward that Jacob is hotter. Public Hanging will be a happening.

    People in general find something to be fanatical about and eventually that leads that person to feel above reproach. Weather it be sports related or religious or pop culture or any other number of things.

    That is the “culture” of society. Saying sports fans helped to create a bad culture is prob true but sports fans arent the only group of people who do this.

  6. Justin Beiber…..does suck.

  7. Watch your back Kade!!!!!

  8. Derek Ciapala says

    But I also have to say….after reading some of the comments made here: http://www.blackshoediaries.com/2012/7/25/3183449/mission-impossible-the-ncaa-becoming-the-moral-authority#comments

    I’m a little sick to my stomach….Folks are losing sight of the big picture.

  9. SYR….why is that….is Sandusky lurking in the shadows?

  10. Derek – I think the key part you’re not considering here is that the leadership at Ohio State did the right thing once it became clear that Tressel violated NCAA rules. Despite Gordon Gee’s stupid joke, Jim Tressel did not run Ohio State. At Penn State, a janitor was afraid to report CHILD RAPE because he believed Paterno would have him fired. At Ohio State, a staffer (who almost certainly is low on the totem pole considering this job duty) who discovered the damning Cicero e-mails during an unrelated public records request had absolutely no problem turning them over to Compliance even though they were only related to FREE TATTOOS AND CASH FOR TRINKETS.

    This is why we’re different. This is why most schools are different. Joe Paterno was at Penn State FOREVER. His success on the field literally made Penn State the nationally prominent university that it is. Sure, it’s a great school academically, but it would be on Virginia’s level perception-wise if not for Paterno’s football success.

    No other coach has ever been in a position like that. Penn State exists in an isolated bubble, and Joe Paterno was the Bubble Master. Who is even close at other schools? Woody Hayes got fired for punching a kid. Lloyd Carr got fired for existing at the same time as Jim Tressel. Bobby Bowden “retired” because he was ineffective, despite being a legend. But Paterno could have continued coaching until he died, and almost did. He was worshipped in a way that I don’t think anyone outside of Penn State can even comprehend. He could have even covered up the most heinous of crimes and fans still would have defended him.

    Oh wait, that actually happened.

  11. Jason….you complete me.

    Jason….I see you.

    Jason….Enter 45 other cheesy movie lines here______________________________.

    The think PSU fans continue to fail to realize is that PSU was crushed because of the level the culture got to. I don’t think anyone will argue that the culture of college football is out of control, but at PSU…they made it into an art form…almost a religion.

  12. Derek Ciapala says

    For the love of all that is holy, I’m not talking about the administrations…I’m talking about the fanbases themselves. No…we didn’t riot, but we did camp outside of Tressel’s house. We flooded message boards and rallied around players and a coach that were clearly guilty. Penn State fans and the campus there are doing the same thing. That’s what I’m referring to…not the administrations. I never wrote about the OSU’s leadership at all. I was referring to the same culture that is making all of those crazy comments in the post that I made above. They are strangely reminiscent because OSU supporters were making similar comments when the NCAA punished the Buckeyes. That’s the culture that I’m referring to, and that’s why I’m apprehensive about judging them…because as fans and as supporters of Ohio State, many of us were doing the same thing PSU fans are right now.

    On a side note, the culture at Penn State is a reason why I don’t have a problem with the NCAA’s sanctions. While the people there didn’t break the law and weren’t involved with Sandusky, they have been part of the craziness for years. Their overall football first attitude helped keep Paterno in place for about 10 years longer than he should have been. The people in State College, whether it be the students or the business owners, all helped build him up to be a God. They aren’t innocents…they helped give him the power that he yielded.

  13. Jay Roubini says

    Derek~ some thesis about the culture of a fan base can be misleading, go back yourself and you’ll find plenty of growing dissent among fans starting years ago for how Tressel operated regarding issues with his offensive control and staff composition. You’ll find plenty of rants on how Tressel primarily chose or retained two types of assistants while at OSU, cronies like Heacock, Bollman & his brother Doc that were not in demand elsewhere or young guys with limited experience Fickell, Beckman, Siciliano, Beckman, Peterson, Hazell, Haynes and Tucker with the exception of a D’Antonio, Traver J. or Mark Snyder. A staff that never was going to challenge the play calling or managing of the kids. There was a large fan base around Ohio uncomfortable with his controlling nature and the direction the program was headed creating pressures that ultimately drove Tressel to his debacle, the very opposite of what your trying to suggest about a culture that enabled.

  14. Derek Ciapala says

    Tressel had his critics…there will always be critics, but that doesn’t change what actually happened when the junk hit the fan at OSU. Do you not remember how fans went to his house? Do you not remember how fans flooded the message boards? Most people got together and defended him and the players…they pleaded that the NCAA was being unfair….etc. I’m talking about an overall….there will always be people with enough of a brain to go the other direction. However, the majority was part of the flock.

  15. Derek – to my knowledge & recollection, there never was any pervasive “rallying around coaches and players that were clearly guilty,” at least nowhere near the level that’s going on at PSU.

    By and large, Buckeye nation was disappointed in Tressel, angry at Pryor & Co for being selfish, and embarrassed by Gee. When they (we?) rallied, it was in defense of the false parts of the accusations, like loaner cars, Dohrmann’s article and Mark May’s imaginative ranting.

    That is apples and oranges with what’s occurring en masse among PSU acolytes. Most of them have yet to even acknowledge that Paterno did anything wrong at all – saving their anger for the NCAA and the current board of trustees.

    When Tressel resigned because he didn’t forward an email, a group of fans showed up at his house to sing songs and say goodbye peacefully. But most understood it had to happen. When Paterno was fired for covering up child rape, fans rioted in the streets and flipped over news vans. Eight months later, they still refuse to be outraged at him.

    And that’s the difference.

  16. An event (cover-up of a heinous crime against children such as this) stirs emotion in everyone whether or not they are personally connect to the event. It brings out the best and worst in people for varying reasons — usually driven by the individuals’ own personal experiences and their ego. Passing judgement is easy and many do so using only their emotion to guide them.

    One thing I’ve taken away from this is just how powerful the media is…it can perpetuate lies with no consequence…if you’re interested in a good read from an objective writer about the media coverage check out this website… http://johnziegler.com/editorials_details.asp?editorial=220

    I hope one day ALL the FACTS are revealed, however, my belief that “the truth will set us free” might just be the eternal optimist in me. The court of public opinion seems to have spoken so even if the truth does become available will anyone report it?

  17. I dont remember seeing any “campers” outside Tressels home. I remember 200 fans walking to his house in the rain and Tressel saying thanks for the support.

    Unless you have ever spent any time at State College you just can’t understand how the culture there developed. It is a small town in the middle of no where where prob 90% of the population relies solely on the school for its lives depended on the the school. The nearest large newspaper or news station with investigative reporters is Pittsburgh 3 hours away. But they wouldnt have mattered anyhow since PSU got the state to make them exempt from the Freedom of Information act. These things made the culture what it is at PSU not sports fans. Sports fans just wanted to be apart of the team.

  18. Thanks for the post JJ….

    What is the truth? Do we really want to know what it is? I’m afraid this is just the tip of the iceberg…

    People I know “in the loop” have some devastating revelations about the program over the years.

    Please keep posting JJ…you are a bastion of light in a sea of blind rage. More Penn Staters like you should be heard.

  19. You are right. I may not like the truth, but how can anyone address a wrong when the truth isn’t known. We can fix symptoms, but if we make changes based on partial facts or even falsehoods, we will miss (most likely) the root of the problem.

    I believe the majority of Penn Staters do think like me, but they aren’t getting attention because the media can’t sensationalize this point of view.

    I was horrified (and still am) the moment the news broke back in Nov about Sundusky’s grand jury investigation. I hugged my son and told him about the evil that was going on in our hometown and how to protect himself against something like this. It can happen anywhere — sexual predators are everywhere.

    The faculty, staff, students, and alumni are all at different stages of acceptance. We are human. We love Penn State just like you and other Buckeyes love Ohio State. We are a tight knit community — how else could we have raised over half a million dollars for RAINN in less than a month?

    Yet, love is one of the most irrational things humans subject themselves to. We do crazy things for and out of love. It can be used for both good and bad.

    Hindsight is a great thing — 5-10 years from now I look forward to having it…

  20. For me and many around the nation and the current powers that be at PSU the problem was clear…

    The football first culture at PSU had spiraled out of control. The program came very close to being shutdown for 4 years, some on the PSU BOT wanted that.

  21. Derek – First, I want to say that I appreciate your doubtfulness. One of the first things I thought of when the discussion of “Football First Culture” started was our own fanbase. I went through the same kind of process you are going through now.

    Yes, there absolutely was some “rallying around” and “message board defense” going on during our scandal. It was a shocking thing, not entirely unlike the shock that I’m sure PSU fans felt. But there are some differences here that are very significant.

    First, our scandal revolved around violations that many (including non-partisan media members) could not even understand why they were violations in the first place. Much of the initial debate centered around this. When it was discovered (by OSU) that Tressel had possibly lied (to the NCAA) about knowledge of the violations, we were skeptical, as I think most fanbases would be. There was also a ton of incorrect information clouding what was accurate. Once the story started to become more clear, I think most fans moved on to acceptance.

    But Penn State’s scandal revolves around something so horrifying, so basically and essentially wrong, that there is simply no gray area. When it was discovered that Paterno possibly lied (to a grand jury) about knowledge of the violations, they were skeptical, and honestly so was I. But now that the story (while not complete, because that’s impossible) has become more clear, there does not seem to be a large movement toward acceptance. This is troubling.

    Second, and related, our violations were all in a known realm. They were impermissible benefits and competitive advantage issues. These are things that I think most can forgive a fanbase for not getting indignant over.

    But Penn State’s violations were different. This was a cover-up of child rape. The fanbase does not seem to be grasping this, instead reveling in their undeserved invented role as victims of the unfair, boundary-breaching NCAA.

  22. Derek Ciapala says

    I hope that Penn State eventually comes to the same acceptance that Ohio State and other schools and their fan bases have.

  23. Acceptance for many can’t or won’t happen until “due process” runs its course. The media has sold a story. They claim to have dotted their “i’s” and crossed their “t’s” — when in reality they couldn’t.

    Once you start looking at the pieces logically — for example who can read a 267 page document, process it, and develop critical thoughts and self-conclusions in less than an hour? It took me over 3 hours to read it — maybe I’m a slow reader.

    I’m not out to convince all of you or the world but there are people even Buckeyes who realize this hasn’t been due process and the media has turned a difficult, horrific situation into a media circus and debacle.

    Check out the link posted above and here is another one. The 2nd comment to this story by THEOhioStateU http://www.theschoolphilly.com/the-joe-paterno-statue-is-gone-emotions-run-high/ I realize anyone could’ve written it…not necessarily an OSU graduate, but it is logical. If you can’t see the logic, then you just as blinded by your emotion as some Penn State fans.

    Acceptance has come that a community including local law enforcement, government prosecutors, teachers, employees of 2nd mile, Sundusky’s wife, and university leaders failed and FAILED miserably. However, we want due process to be executed — one man or the media can not be prosecutor, defender, judge, and jury — and we want the cowards to be punished. Two legal investigations are still on-going.

    The media forced the actions of PSU’s BOT, the NCAA, the B1G, and PSU’s current president — should the media be that powerful and override our legal system? The legal system is slow for the very reasons that crazy stuff like what the media has done doesn’t occur.

    One minor note — this is me being defensive…if there are more horrible truths to come out (which there might be because the whole truth has not been shared with the world), why would PSU accept the punishments by the NCAA? The NCAA isn’t guided by the judicial system and has no rules about double jeopardy.

  24. Derek Ciapala says

    J.J., what do you say to people like Mark Emmert who claim that the Freeh Report was more intensive than anything that the NCAA would have done? I read the article you posted, and I agree with some of it, but I dismiss the inclination by some PSU supporters that the Freeh Report is a load of crap. This guy is a former FBI Director not some run of the mill wannabe personal investigator. What would have happened without the Freeh Report? An NCAA investigation….right? The media may have forced the action, but it all comes down to the Freeh Report. Without it, nothing happens from the NCAA…at least not yet.

  25. PSU BOT did not want the NCAA continuing an investigation into PSU’s football program…for multiple reasons…

    1. They were afraid of what would come out.

    2. They wanted to start the process of putting this past them.

    Keep in mind…we are talking about football. A game…something most people take a few hours of enjoyment out of every Saturday.

    The game of football at the college level is out of control.

  26. The Freeh Report is the most thorough investigation publicly available of over 3 million correspondences and files that exist on the topic at PSU. I don’t believe the actual report is as “closed case” as Freeh summarized in his press conference and has been propagated by the media. There were significant assumptions made.

    Just as I’m human and biased, so is Freeh and the team he put together. They weren’t shielded from the media or their own personal experiences. They were here for months away from family/loved ones — over heard one talking to his partner wishing he was home — natural, right? I think I just convinced myself that the truth will never be known. DAMN IT!

    This actually started out about child sexual abuse, became about football, and has grown into something way more than that…

  27. Derek Ciapala says

    Yeah, but isn’t that what happens within many NCAA investigations? How much of them are fact and how much are opinion? How much of them are drawn conclusions? It appears that the Freeh Report is being dismissed simply because it wasn’t an NCAA investigation. But that goes back to my original question…what do you say to people like Mark Emmert who claim that the Freeh Report was more intensive than anything that the NCAA would have done?

  28. JJ – The Freeh report is not SUPPOSED to be a case-closed, end-all judgment. It is exactly what Penn State asked it to be–an opinion based on all available evidence. But here’s the most important part: PENN STATE AGREED TO FREEH’S FINDINGS.

    There’s your case-closed. That’s why the NCAA was able to use it in lieu of its own, lesser investigation. That’s why the sanctions were able to come so quickly.

    Because that’s what Penn State wanted, at least in some part because of what Kade points out above.

  29. The Freeh report is probably more intensive than anything the NCAA could have done.

    Jason, I blame the media. Penn State did not have the opportunity to allow due process to occur because inaction would have been perceived by the media as trying to protect the guilty and would have added more fuel to the fire. Penn State wants to move on because the media has created a false image.

    When I’m outside of State College, do you know how many times I’ve been called a pedophile or pedophile protector? These people are only reacting on emotion and are ignorant. But why are they willing to say something so stupid? Because that is how Penn State and anyone associated with Penn State is being portrayed by the media.

    Nothing should have been decided until the two outstanding criminal investigations/trials were completed, BUT the media didn’t allow for logic and rationality to prevail.

    Now we stand where we are…trying to fix something that is broken without knowing all the pieces…seems futile…

  30. JJ….I get you, but the gist of my blog was to point out fan reaction and how that is closely associated to the culture at Penn State in regards to football. And honestly I believe this case is fragmented.

    1. Criminal element. Sandusky has been dealt with and the other two will be dealt with. They will have their day in court. And if still alive…Paterno would be brought up on charges as well.

    2. Civil element. Will be dealt with as PSU has already started to be litigated upon.

    3. NCAA element. Using the Freeh report PSU’s football program was investigated and ruled upon. Due process has no place in this element as it is not a legal question. The NCAA sanctions are completely separate from any legal considerations. The football program was proven to be corrupt….why wait?

    While some things I posted were indeed media driven and the media cherry picking irrational fans…(though it’s difficult to cherry pick from the riot as the was completely ridiculous).

    I actually edited what I could have posted in here…which would have been simply copy and pasted from various PSU fan forums.

    It is quite honestly the most ridiculous thing I’ve seen in regards to the world of college football. People still….STILL defend Paterno’s “actions.”

    How many kids were abused after he knew?

  31. Did you read the report? It did not provide indisputable proof or outline what Paterno knew or that anyone else in the football program knew about it [except we know that McQueary had knowledge — he reported it — did you know Freeh couldn’t even properly remember his name during the press conference? He called him McQuade.]. It made significant assumptions. There have been a litany or corrections published, but the media hasn’t discussed that. It is clear that some leaders knew it happened and there was a failure to report the incident to local authorities. IT was not their decision to decide whether or not the incident was criminal and they did make a decision — they should be punished.

    In 98, when the mother reported it, local, county, and state officials FAILED. Did you know that the 3 counts Sundusky did not get charged for were the ones associated with the incident at Penn State in 2001? Because the prosecution failed to provide beyond a reasonable doubt that something illegal occurred — albeit, mainly because the victim hadn’t been identified. Someone has recently come forward so that story will continue.

    Yes, I blame the media for their portrayal of Penn State’s culture. If we were really only about football, what does that say? When was the last time PSU football ended the season as #1 or in the top 5? If we were only about football, why are there so many other awards where we actually are #1 or in the upper rankings? These awards and rankings have to do with research and academics and the quality of our graduates. Ergo, Penn State must be more than football. Again, this is another reason that Penn Staters are so reactive and irrational…the media is propagating lies and misconceptions…

    I’m not out to convince, but maybe plant a seed of doubt in all the BS the media is selling…HINDSIGHT is something I look forward to, but that only comes with time…

    I’m done…feel free to go on pointing fingers and spreading misconceptions…when you look at the university and all the people who make it up…you are going to find a group of people…normal average people who make every university across this nation including Ohio State…

  32. Yes…PSU is more than just a football school.

    http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8240385/penn-state-nittany-lions-trustees-appeal-ncaa-vow-federal-lawsuit

    At this point, I hope the NCAA follows through with a full on investigation and gives Penn State a perma death penalty.

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