Unhappy Valley: Joe Paterno’s Family Responds to Penn State Penalties and Sanctions over Sandusky Sexual Abuse Crimes … “defamed the legacy and contributions of a great coach and educator”

UNHAPPY VALLEY FOR AT LEAST A DECADE TO FOLLOW … NCAA PUNISHED PENN STATE PAST, [RESENT AND FUTURE.

The family of Joe Paterno responds to the harsh sanctions handed down today by the NCAA in the wake of the heinous and hideous sexual abuse crimes of former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. Among the penalties were $60 million sanction, four year ban on bowl games, loss of scholarships and most peculiar, Penn State vacating all wins from 1998 through 2011. What is a little trite about this punishment is the fact that I fail to see how this properly punishes PSU and makes it better in the future. Granted, the vacating of wins makes Paterno no longer the winniest division I coach in NCAA history and slots former Florida St coach as the new #1. What a way to become number one. That being said, the NCAA said it did not want to punish current players with their sanctions. Well, what about former ones? So all players that took part in Nittany Lion football from 1998 to 2011 didn’t exist?

I realize the crimes that Sandusky did were beyond comprehension, but there just seems to be a bit of vindictiveness in the vacating of games. I can understand the $60 million fine and the money to go to groups that deal with abused and exploited children. I can understand the bowl ban and the loss of scholarships. I more than understand the steps to create a compliance policy and an independent group to oversee PSU. However, if one is going to go out on a limb and make accusations against anyone, including JoePa, they best get all the information from all parties. Just because there was blood in the water and some one needed to take the fall, does not mean you bypass the process. The family of Joe Paterno released a statement.

“Sexual abuse is reprehensible, especially when it involves children, and no one starting with Joe Paterno condones or minimizes it. The horrific acts committed by Jerry Sandusky shock the conscience of every decent human being. How Sandusky was able to get away with his crimes for so long has yet to be fully understood, despite the claims and assertions of the Freeh Report.

“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.”

Rush Limbaugh stated it best as to the double-talk coming from NCAA President Emert. How can you sat that you did not want to punish the player that had nothing to do with this scandal when you take away current scholarships, tell them they cannot play in a bowl and forfeit all of Penn States wins from 1998 to 2011. How is this not punishing those that were not responsible?

But when you vacate all of the victories, and then you tell the existing team that they can’t go to a bowl game for four years, and there’s no championship for you, how are you not punishing the people that didn’t have anything to do with it? The $60 million fine is about what they say the Penn State football program generates every year. They’re gonna take that one year of revenue of $60 million and they’re gonna set up basically a charity for abused kids to deal with those who are and to prevent it from ever happening again.

NCAA Drops the Hammer on Penn State … $60 Million Fine, 4 Year Ban on Bowl Games, Vacate All Wins from 1998-2011 (Paterno No Longer Winniest Coach) … Current & Incoming Players Can Leave PSU and Play Immediately

TheNCAA has dropped the hammer on Penn State University and although it was not the death penalty, it might have well have been and might have been worse.

The penalties were severe and due to the unique nature of the Sandusky sexual abuse crimes and the cover up, the NCAA whacked PSU. The sanctions and penalties from NCAA president Mark Emmert are as follows. It was stated they were meant to be corrective and punitive. The sanctions and penalties affect Penn State in the past, present and future.

1. A $60 million sanction, the equivalent of one years revenue of the PSU football team. The funds are be paid into an endowment for external programs preventing child sexual abuse or assisting victims.
2. Four year football postseason ban.
3.  Penn State must vacate wins dating from 1998 to 2011. The career record of former head football coach Joe Paterno will reflect these vacated records. There goes the winniest college football coach record.
4. Penn State must also reduce 10 initial and 20 total scholarships each year for a four-year period.
5. NCAA reserves the right to impose additional sanctions on involved individuals at the conclusion of any criminal proceedings.

CNN had reported that PSU would see fines in excess of $30 million, I’ll say, how about double that.

Emert went on to say that the NCAA recognizes that student-athletes are not responsible for these events and worked to minimize the impact of its sanctions on current and incoming football student-athletes, … “Any entering or returning student-athlete will be allowed to immediately transfer and compete at another school. Further, any football student-athletes who remain at the university may retain their scholarships, regardless of whether they compete on the team.”

Statement from NCAA president Mark Emmert:

In the Penn State case, the results were perverse and unconscionable,” Emmert said.

“No price the NCAA can levy with repair the damage inflicted by Jerry Sandusky on his victims,” he said, reffering to the former Penn State defensive coordinator convicted of 45 counts of child sex abuse last month.

The NCAA’s announcement followed a day after Penn State removed Joe Paterno’s statue outside Beaver Stadium, a decision that came 10 days after a scathing report by former FBI director Louis J. Freeh found that Paterno, with three other top Penn State administrators, had concealed allegations of child sexual abuse made against Sandusky.

UPDATE I: What I find interesting is that the NCAA enacted some of the sanctions that SM referenced yesterday and that was the monetary fine and providing the funds to a non-profit for abused children. Also we mentioned that an independent individual would be placed in charge to monitor what was going on with PSU going forward. That was part of today’s sanctions where compliance officers and groups were put in place to review what Penn State will be doing from this point going forward.

What exactly could punishment through nontraditional methods mean?I am wondering if there will not only be the typical loss of scholarships and bowl appearance, but also revenue form the football program going to non-profit programs for sexually exploited children? Also, will there be a third-party individual be put in place to oversee practices at the university?

NCAA Will Announce “Unprecedented” Penalties Against both Penn State University Football and the University

CBS News is reporting that the hammer is about to fall on Penn State University, Maybe even a Sledgehammer!

The NCAA is about to announce Monday morning “unprecedented” penalties against both the Penn State football team and PennState University. One individual describes it as, “I’ve never seen anything like it.” The penalties are in response to the hideous Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse convictions and the more recent independent report by former FBI Director Louis Freeh that chronicled repeated efforts by four top Penn State officials, including Joe Paterno, to conceal allegations of serial child sex abuse by Jerry Sandusky over a 14 year period.

CBS News has learned that the NCAA will announce what a high-ranking association source called “unprecedented” penalties against both the Penn State University football team and the school.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” the source told correspondent Armen Keteyian.

NCAA President Mark Emmert will make the announcement Monday morning at 9 a.m. at the organization’s headquarters in Indianapolis.

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Penn State Removes Famed Joe Paterno Statue Outside the PSU Beaver Stadium in Wake of Sandusky Sex Abuse Convictions

The dominoes continue to fall in the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse convictions …

The statue of the iconic football coach, the late Joe Paterno, was taken down Sunday morning outside of Penn State Universities football stadium. The removal of Paterno’s statue was in response to the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse convictions where he was found guilty on 45 counts.  The Joe Paterno statue, weighing more than 900 pounds, was built in 2001 in honor of JoePa’s record setting 324th Division 1 coaching victory and his “contributions to the university.” All gone, a lifetime’s work to help students, Penn St. and the community thanks to a sexual predator and efforts not done to handle the Sandusky matter appropriately.

GONE … JOEPA STATUE REMOVED

The famed statue of Joe Paterno was taken down from outside the Penn State football stadium Sunday, eliminating a key piece of the iconography surrounding the once-sainted football coach accused of burying child sex abuse allegations against a retired assistant.

Workers lifted the 7-foot-tall statue off its base and used a forklift to move it into Beaver Stadium as the 100 to 150 students watching chanted, “We are Penn State.”

The removal of the Paterno statue comes as an aftershock of the Freeh Report following the school’s investigation into the child sex abuse scandal against former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. Joe Paterno statue removed; however, the library name to remain. Ok, let me see if I understand this, Joe Paterno’s sports contributions are bad, and his academic one’s are good. Hmm, I am not sure if I really agree with this. According to the university president it is all about “symbolism”. Sorry, but its hard to differentiate the two. Do I think it is heinous and incredible wrong for Paterno not to have done more against child predator Sandusky, YES! However, what if Joe Paterno’s name was on Beaver Stadium? Does that mean it get’s removed from the football field, but not the library? Sorry, that makes no sense. You can’t have it both ways. If as some say, Paterno is no hero, well then how is he one for academics?

He said Paterno’s name will remain on the campus library because it “symbolizes the substantial and lasting contributions to the academic life and educational excellence that the Paterno family has made to Penn State University.”

Penn State University president Rodney Erickson announced the decision Sunday morning in the following statement:

“Contrary to its original intention, Coach Paterno’s statue has become a source of division and an obstacle to healing in our university and beyond,” said Erickson in a statement. “For that reason, I have decided that it is in the best interest of our university and public safety to remove the statue and store it in a secure location. I believe that, were it to remain, the statue will be a recurring wound to the multitude of individuals across the nation and beyond who have been the victims of child abuse.”

Joe Paterno Banished to the desert

Trust me, no one is more disappointed in Joe Paterno and I am not a PSU alumni. However, I grew up in the Northeast and in many respects Penn St was our only large college football team, and had friend that attended PSU. I also understand why the statue was removed. That being said, if Paterno has gone from Saint to Satan then it seems like the university is sending a mixed message and splitting the issue. If PSU administrators really believed that Paterno was a distraction and divisive, they would have declared an edict like Ramesses in ‘The Ten Commandments’ to stricken Moses name from all the scrolls, tablets and buildings and banished him to the desert.

It just is mind blowing to me that Sandusky was allowed to have access to PSU facilities and have an office on campus after Paterno was made aware of what Sandusky had done. I just don’t get how Paterno could have been so clueless and jeopardize all the good that he did for Penn State U.

More Trouble for Penn State in Sandusky Child Sex Scandal … Disturbing Emails Show that PSU President Graham Spanier & Others Knew About Shower Incident and Decided to use “Humane” Approach Rather than Call Authorities … Referred to Child Victims as “Guests” (VIDEO)

PSU: Oh what tangled webs we weave, when we practice to deceive … this case is about to blow up on ‘Happy Valley’.

The Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse trial might be over as the convicted sex offender was found guilty on 45 of 48 counts facing 442 years in prison; however, the tip of this scandalous PSU cover-up iceberg has not even yet to be touched. Alleged emails have arisen that show that Penn State University was involved in a deep cover up on the sexual abuse conducted by Sandusky. This brings back the questions as to when did PSU officials know of Sandusky’s sexual abuse and what did they know? More to the fact, what did they do about it once they knew? The Penn State/Sandusky sex abuse just went from individual sex crimes act to a conspiracy to cover up the crime.

Unlike, the over-egregious prosecutor in the George Zimmerman bond hearing who looked to make a federal case out of Zimmerman and his wife misleading the court as regards to their funds, as if no one has ever perjured themselves on the witness stand … in the case of the PSU sex scandal and the cover up of Sandusky’s heinous and reprehensible acts, these facts go directly to the heart of the case and the crimes committed against the sexually abused children. The Zimmerman prosecutor talked about the code that Zimmerman and his wife used to discuss the Paypal funds. Take a look at the cryptic code that PSU officials were using to reference sexual abuse occurring on their college campus.  Good grief, ousted Penn St President Graham Spanier allegedly acknowledges Penn State could be “vulnerable” for not reporting the incident, “The only downside for us is if the message (to Sandusky) isn’t ‘heard’ and acted upon, and we then become vulnerable for not having reported it.” Oh dear God, they actually referred to the child sex victims as “GUESTS”.

The alleged e-mails among Spanier, Schultz, 62, and former Athletic Director Tim Curley, 57, never mention Sandusky by name, instead referring to him as “the subject” and “the person.” Children that Sandusky brought on campus –some of whom might have been victims — are referred to as “guests.”

From CNN:

With convicted serial child sex abuser Jerry Sandusky behind bars, new questions are surfacing about what Penn State officials knew about a 2001 incident involving the former assistant football coach’s encounter with a boy in the shower — and whether they covered up the incident.

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