E-Mails Suggest Paterno Role in Silence on Sandusky

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

Exactly. And arguments being made on both sides of the fence are quite ridiculous...

Trying to eliminate the football program won't help. Attempting to defend the football program won't either.

This isn't about football.. or Penn State.. or whatever else people seem to associate it with. This is about someone abusing his power, and in turn, abusing kids. And other people in positions of power decided not to act appropriately. It's sad. And disgusting. As a Penn Stater, I wanted so badly to believe that no one attempted to cover it up. However, reality eventually sets in, people are fired or resign, and trials take place. The school will eventually get past this and things will return to normal. Unfortunately, for some of those kids, they may never again know what "normal" is.

I HOPE the investigation continues, and I hope that every detail about what happened and who was involved comes to the surface. No one should get away with ANYTHING in this case. Paterno passing away doesn't change that.

The sad thing is, this could have happened anywhere in any sports program. It's not unique to Penn State. It's not unique to sports. It happens anytime people in power sacrifice the weak for the benefit of those who are strong. We see it all the time. It will never change. Sadly, otherwise good people justify covering up these heinous actions. We've seen it now with the church and with officials at Penn State. God only knows where else this ugliness breeds.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

Exactly. And arguments being made on both sides of the fence are quite ridiculous...

Trying to eliminate the football program won't help. Attempting to defend the football program won't either.

This isn't about football.. or Penn State.. or whatever else people seem to associate it with. This is about someone abusing his power, and in turn, abusing kids. And other people in positions of power decided not to act appropriately. It's sad. And disgusting. As a Penn Stater, I wanted so badly to believe that no one attempted to cover it up. However, reality eventually sets in, people are fired or resign, and trials take place. The school will eventually get past this and things will return to normal. Unfortunately, for some of those kids, they may never again know what "normal" is.

I HOPE the investigation continues, and I hope that every detail about what happened and who was involved comes to the surface. No one should get away with ANYTHING in this case. Paterno passing away doesn't change that.

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

The sad thing is, this could have happened anywhere in any sports program. It's not unique to Penn State. It's not unique to sports. It happens anytime people in power sacrifice the weak for the benefit of those who are strong. We see it all the time. It will never change. Sadly, otherwise good people justify covering up these heinous actions. We've seen it now with the church and with officials at Penn State. God only knows where else this ugliness breeds.

This is where we keep saying the same thing over and over again. Yes, this can happen at any institution. Yes, this is about power dynamics. No, this is not just about college athletics. No, this is not just about Penn State.

Now that we have appeased some of the Penn Staters and anti-Penn Staters who needed this redundancy (they know who they are--I do not think they are in this thread):

Jerry Sandusky Case: Paterno family urges release of all Penn State memos in scandal

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

This is where we keep saying the same thing over and over again. Yes, this can happen at any institution. Yes, this is about power dynamics. No, this is not just about college athletics. No, this is not just about Penn State.

Now that we have appeased some of the Penn Staters and anti-Penn Staters who needed this redundancy (they know who they are--I do not think they are in this thread):

Jerry Sandusky Case: Paterno family urges release of all Penn State memos in scandal

BTW...don't know where the smiley face came from. It popped up on my post and when you're on an iPad, it's too big of a pain in the ass to get rid of it.

Now that we're done petting the Penn Staters, I'm sick of hearing people jump to Paterno's defense to the detriment of the entire case. Being a good coach with a great reputation, dying of cancer before the end of the investigation and being an institution in the State of Pennsylvania do not earn you a pass. He may come out fine in the end, but IF he was involved in a cover up, all his good work deserves a nice thick coat of tarnish.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

They keep dropping Joe Pa's name because it gets headlines, but that's not what this is really about. It is about the institutional power that would allow something like this to happen without anyone speaking up, and that deserves an investigation. From a very-big-picture standpoint, it's not even about Penn State, as we will likely see changes at schools across the country.

That said, I don't think there is any reason to let sleeping dogs lie. When this is all said and done, there should be no stone unturned, IMO.

[Senusret I]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

They keep dropping Joe Pa's name because it gets headlines, but that's not what this is really about. It is about the institutional power that would allow something like this to happen without anyone speaking up, and that deserves an investigation. From a very-big-picture standpoint, it's not even about Penn State, as we will likely see changes at schools across the country.

That said, I don't think there is any reason to let sleeping dogs lie. When this is all said and done, there should be no stone unturned, IMO.

From time to time, I notice that GC still has rational and reasonable people left on it. Thank you.

[AnchorAlum]

If any of you ever follow fan boards such as Rivals.com, you'd perhaps see the sort of "deniers" who are hell bent on what they see as their job to come to the defense of PSU, mainly the football program, and at the bottom line, the resultant blowback from fans and alums of other schools has made the University an object of scorn and ridicule.

Penn State is a fine University, one that will have to endure an enormous hit to its reputation for years to come. Sadly, part of that is the result of the reaction that some fans and alumni had when the news broke. I'm thinking it will change the culture in such a small town, and I hope it's for the better.

[knight_shadow]

The "Penn State goggles" statement is far from offensive LOL

No one is telling you how to feel, but if you can't enter a discussion without proclaiming "OMG WE ARE PENN STATE I CANNOT EAT OR BREATHE BECAUSE PENN STATE IS TARNISHED" then, yes, you need to take a step back.

Look at this as "a child abuse case" and not as "a child abuse case at Penn State involving Penn State students and alumni in the state of Pennsylvania"

[DrPhil]

And I am amused that someone who proclaims "Penn State is more than college to many of us Alumni. It represents so much more than just somewhere we earned a college degree" will be in denial about sometimes wearing Penn State Goggles that erode her reading comprehension.

Sure, als463 feels empathy and sympathy for these children. But after it is all said and done, als463 has typed more in all of these threads about her love for Penn State than she has about these children and the details of the actual trial.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

"Penn State is more than college to many of us Alumni. It represents so much more than just somewhere we earned a college degree"

It's also naive to think that this is unique to Penn State.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

It's also naive to think that this is unique to Penn State.

Part of group pride is the belief that your group invented the wheel.

Alas, this has become about Penn State again. Thanks, als463!!

[AOII Angel]

And here I thought we'd gotten past the PSU aspect of all of this. als463, go back and read my post in context with the three before it.

[DrPhil]

Report Finds Penn State President, Paterno Concealed Facts About Sex Sandusky Abuse


A Problem Far Greater Than Penn State

[33girl]

Re the second article - how many of the boys who were abused actually went on to play football for Penn State? Of those, how many were superstar players?

I mean I kind of understand what they're saying, but the crux of the situation is that Sandusky used his powerful position to gain greater access to these boys. It didn't DO anything for the school. It didn't give them a better football record (like the paid for players at SMU). It didn't put more money in PSU's pocket (like the paid for players at SMU).

He could have just as easily have been, say, the guy who runs the Creamery who made a point of employing underage girls with big breasts. I'm also sure there are superstar professors at every school who could get away with this.

Comparing PSU and SMU is just apples and oranges. If you want to say "this is what happens when college ball is too much of a big deal" you have to gut the whole system, not just Penn State. And really, what happened has nothing to do with football. It has to do w/ people in powerful positions abusing that power. PERIOD.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by 33girl

If you want to say "this is what happens when college ball is too much of a big deal" you have to gut the whole system, not just Penn State. It has to do w/ people in powerful positions abusing that power. PERIOD.

You agree with the article.

And it does have to do with football if football (college athletics) is the crux of what makes some institutions "larger than life." There are certain types of structures and institutions (i.e., religion; highly profitable entities) where such power is most likely to be unquestioned and unchallenged thus breeding such abuse.

Every school has power dynamics and problems whether based on academic rigor or athletic rigor. I know from firsthand experience that the power dynamics at schools celebrated more for athletics tends to be (not always but usually) different than the power dynamics for schools known more for academics. Power dynamics are power dynamics but how it is handled by the schools and the public does differ. People will be angry over an academically well-known school but people will damn near kill you and eat your first born child over an athletically well-known school. That is why it is not only about power but about the specifics of football (college athletics). That topic can be its own GC forum.

[33girl]

I do agree with that part. I'm just saying that since it's probably not going to happen, giving Penn State an SMU-style death penalty is pointless. I'm also saying PSU is more like the Catholic Church scandals than what happened at SMU.