A Question for Penn State football fans...and others.

[Chrism86354]

As a Penn State football fan, does this child abuse case against Sandusky and the school change your allegiance at all? Is this a line that can't be crossed by a team you support or is your love for the team unconditional?

Same goes for fans of other teams...if the roles were reversed and YOUR school were involved in all this, could you remain a fan?

 

[lurkingdirk]

An interesting question. It will be interesting to see what happens this year in many ways. Television coverage - I think fewer people will be looking to watch Penn State on TV this year. Now, whether that's because of the abuse scandal, or the loss of Joe Paterno, is hard to say. Ticket sales - I think this is the empirical way of answering your question. If people are angry enough with the institution, they won't fill their stadium this year. If they do fill it, I might be disappointed. Away games - I know the players are not at fault, but I worry about booing (possibly worse) when the team runs on to the field at away games.

Only time will tell. I find it hard to believe that this whole scandal will have zero impact on the team's popularity.

 

[Straight Shooter]

Take down Paterno's statue and melt it

 

[Chrism86354]

Take down Paterno's statue and melt it

It's really unfortunate but you have to.

 

[Mr. Hyde]

It wouldn't change allegiance to the school if that was where I went to college. The school is greater than the man.

It would, however, change my view on Paterno. He is a bad person and deserves to be seen as such. Lapse of judgment? He "missed" it? No. At the very least, he did nothing, and hoped it would all just go away. At worst, and probably likeliest, he covered up the actions of a child rapist to protect his and the football team's image.

The school should self-impose a 1-2 year death penalty on its football team, vacate all wins while Paterno was there, and erase his name from campus. Melt the statue, take his name out of the record books, and expunge his presence from the school.

 

[The Yak]

It wouldn't change allegiance to the school if that was where I went to college. The school is greater than the man.

It would, however, change my view on Paterno. He is a bad person and deserves to be seen as such. Lapse of judgment? He "missed" it? No. At the very least, he did nothing, and hoped it would all just go away. At worst, and probably likeliest, he covered up the actions of a child rapist to protect his and the football team's image.

The school should self-impose a 1-2 year death penalty on its football team, vacate all wins while Paterno was there, and erase his name from campus. Melt the statue, take his name out of the record books, and expunge his presence from the school.

I agree with much of what you said but this seems a tad unfair. The guys on the team now had nothing to do with this. I look at this situation as one where, unfortunately, the bad guys basically get away with it. Paterno is dead. Sandusky is almost 70 so I can't imagine he is as spry as years past. Some of the higher ups will be indicted. Ultimately, it is too late for the victims and punishing people (current players and staff) who, most, committed to PSU prior to all this coming out just because they are available strikes me as unfair.

 

[Mr. Hyde]

I agree with much of what you said but this seems a tad unfair. The guys on the team now had nothing to do with this. I look at this situation as one where, unfortunately, the bad guys basically get away with it. Paterno is dead. Sandusky is almost 70 so I can't imagine he is as spry as years past. Some of the higher ups will be indicted. Ultimately, it is too late for the victims and punishing people (current players and staff) who, most, committed to PSU prior to all this coming out just because they are available strikes me as unfair.

I definitely get what you're saying, and I can understand that POV. Let me give you my reasons for suggesting such a strong measure though...

What happened in this case is reprehensible. One of the ways that reprehensible things are allowed to happen is when institutions have no one to answer to, and the power that lies within those institutions becomes absolute (think of the Cathoic Church and its pedo issues). How did this power become absolute within the PSU athletic department? Because the football program was elevated, and Paterno was worshipped, by its fans. It is those people (the fans, and the people within the institution, that created a culture where a person like Sandusky could hide and be protected), and ones like them, that need to be taught a lesson.

And that lesson? That actions, or non-actions, have consequences.

Now, that is unfair to the current players, I agree. I would let all of the players transfer to other schools with NO restrictions, and even give all of them an extra year of eligibility as a sort of make-good. But Penn State football needs to be made an example of.

 

[Chrism86354]

Penn State absolutely needs to be made an example of. In my eyes, this is absolutely unacceptable, key people within the university covered up the abuse of children. Melt the statue? Hell, burn the whole fucking football stadium down.

 

[TheAdmiral]

 

[PlasmaTwa2]

The school should be kicked out of the NCAA until they make changes to the entire university. I think it's pathetic that they tried covering it up, and disappointed that someone like Paterno didn't have the courage to stop the crimes when he had the chance.

 

[John_8581]

This is an absolute abomination. Yes, I also believe that Penn State University should be sanctioned here. But let's get it correct, The Board of Trustees of the University did not know about this at all. If they had, then they would have acted by contacting law enforcement and the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office much, much sooner.

Either way, Coach Paterno would have been fired much sooner. There is no excuse for him not going to the authorities. How did he sleep at night without a guilty conscience?

You have four significant powerful persons at the University to place blame for this coverup. They are first and foremost Coach Joe Paterno for looking the other way. But also too, and maybe more importantly, former University President Graham Spanier, former Senior Vice President of the University, Gary Schultz, and Former Athletic Director, Timothy Curley. These three are also guilty by their admssion of those emails and telephone conversations. All four of them had the power to bring this out into the open but they all chose to keep silent.

If they take down the statue of Coach Paterno... they also have to take his name off the University Library, and the Paterno Foundation has been a huge benefactor of the school. They did a lot of good for the University and they still do. Now do you really need to clean the slate? You cannot take Paterno's overall winning NCAA record away. But you can kick his family off the campus, because they do live there.

This admission and report by the University, now opens the lawsuits of any young child (in and out of The Second Mile) who was savagly abused by Jerry Sandusky. It also stops the appeal process that anyone on Sandusky's legal team has in getting these convictions overturned.

Yes, a truly sad story for everyone involved.

 

[Rey C.]

I'm not into college football (or any other college level stick & ball sport). But to me, this is just another clear example of how Americans have allowed sports to become too important and too big a factor in our everyday lives. We gave the people at Penn State the power to turn a blind eye toward these things and then feel that it was acceptable to cover it up. All for the good of "the game".

“Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions — everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses.“

- Satire X of the Roman satirist and poet Juvenal (circa 100 AD ).

panem et circenses...

 

[Mr. Hyde]

You cannot take Paterno's overall winning NCAA record away.

Sure you can. Penn State can retroactively forfeit any and all games played since the first instance of Sandusky abusing a kid (1998).

Doing this would also make a statement about Paterno, so I would add this to the list of things that Penn State should do.

And if they don't do it, the NCAA should do it.

 

[bobjustbob]

Toss everything Paterno out of there. Wish he was alive to feel the scorn. Have reporters camped at his door and people cursing at him everywhere he went. Investigate and get all of those fuckers names that knew. There had to be more that knew. Flush them out, They all covered this up for the good of the program (their high paid up on their pedestal asses). Beat the athletic scholarships down to nothing. School administrators don't get a free pass either. They sucked the dicks of the athletic department for the money they drew. Same if it was my school. Looks like shit on my resume. Make them pay.

 

[zeeblofowl_1969]

The school should be kicked out of the NCAA until they make changes to the entire university. I think it's pathetic that they tried covering it up, and disappointed that someone like Paterno didn't have the courage to stop the crimes when he had the chance.

A horrific crime indeed, but what 'changes' are going to make any difference??? Penn State should be forced to pay the victims a gross sum of money but the people responsible are Dead, imprisoned, or without employment. What more could possibly be done to rectify the situation??? The students and faculty had absolutely zero to do with this and should not be persecuted for the crimes of others.

 

[Chrism86354]

A horrific crime indeed, but what 'changes' are going to make any difference??? Penn State should be forced to pay the victims a gross sum of money but the people responsible are Dead, imprisoned, or without employment. What more could possibly be done to rectify the situation??? The students and faculty had absolutely zero to do with this and should not be persecuted for the crimes of others.

Sure, the people there were not involved in this situation but an example has to be made....Just because nobody involved is there the NCAA should just sleep on it and let the school continue to earn money from the program that allowed this to happen?...The NCAA needs to come down HARD.

 

[Straight Shooter]

The dilemma here is that PSU didn't violate any NCAA rules. They broke criminal law so I'm not really sure what the NCAA can do here but I hope they do something

 

[bobjustbob]

The statue is coming down. I don't know who called this first but props to you.

 

[Chrism86354]

Surprised there is no chatter on the sanctions yet....I agree full heartedly with the penalties...your thoughts?

 

[lurkingdirk]

The penalties are interesting. I would have supported the full death toll, but really, that just punishes the current students and staff, and that's kind of shitty. However, the university as a whole needs to be bitch-slapped because of this. These sanctions are, I believe, a pretty good bitch-slap. It is going to force out the bulk of the talented players (without penalty). It is going to cause a huge amount of turnover in the staff. It is going to cause fans to think a bit harder (I hope) about what level of devotion is appropriate.

I feel for the current players. They're getting shafted. But the NCAA is right in these sanctions. This is, really, kind of a slap on the wrist. And I find the vacating of the wins very odd. It will surely destroy Paterno's legacy, however.