The Penn State Aftermath Thread *Penalty Post #403*

[RoyTheHammer]

Penn State is in crisis... regardless of what you believe, public perception is at an all-time low...

They HAVE to take down the statue in order to save face...

Their negative public persona is going to be off the charts if they adhere to JoePa...

They are easily the most hated program in college right now...

It doesn't matter what you think, it matters what the rest of the world thinks... and right now... PSU football is not getting good reviews...

I think most of these statements are fairly obvious right now trick. However, i don't agree that they HAVE to take down the statue and bow to public perception and national pressure. I don't think it should matter much either way to be completely honest.. its a freakin statue. I think there are many other ways that they can positively begin to contribute back to the community that have nothing to do with a simple statue that people shouldn't be so fixated on to begin with.

 

[joseephuss]

Trying to be anonymous tough guys.. lame. You can't voice an opinion without actually putting your voice or your name to it.. and furthermore, its not even an opinion.

Everyone is so eager to pick fights over the pettiest things in this country, yet the things that truely matter go largely ignored.

Newsflash.. how about instead of making threats against a statue, you go volunteer at a child abuse center? Do something that actually matters. Like they actually think they'll get away with whatever they are planning anyway. That statue will be guarded around the clock by campus security. Just some fake tough punks trying to get their 15 minutes instead of worrying about things that actually matter.

You are assuming that they don't volunteer at a child abuse center or work in a similar field or also do something that matters.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

Not going to get deep into the conversation on this topic but just a point or two.

Roy is right...they don't have to bow down to the pressure of those wanting the statue removed...but honestly they should not look at it as bowing down, they should look at it as the right thing to do for obvious PR moves.

I think they have done a HORRIBLE job at PR through this whole mess and now are seemingly going about things out of a reactive and maybe slightly combative manner that only makes them look worse. Not only that but at some times they looked like they are completely out of the loop and not remotely sensitive to the issues at all (the memos worrying about Sandusky and not the kids).

I don't want to turn this into another argument or topic but when I hear or read some of this stuff (how they have handled things or are handling them from a PR perspective) I can't help but compare it to how bad BP was doing after the gulf situation some time back. Just seemed to be tone deaf to the whole thing. I am sure Penn State hopes that eventually it will all get out of the news cycle but until that time I would think they need to hire some new people to handle this situation for them as they seem to be a group of people with not much of a clue how to handle things from a PR standpoint...just like the way BP started out after the gulf situation...hope that makes sense.

 

[WV Cowboy]

That statue will be guarded around the clock by campus security.

Its obviously a piece of PSU culture that's very valued so to think they are going to let it defaced or destroyed by some idiots and risk the backlash from their entire community is something that's just not going to happen.

I don't think it should matter much either way to be completely honest.. its a freakin statue. I think there are many other ways that they can positively begin to contribute back to the community that have nothing to do with a simple statue that people shouldn't be so fixated on to begin with.

Dude, you are spinning out of control.

Penn State people defending all of this need to just give it up, .. you are making PSU look even worse in all of this.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

It’s a symbol that insults the victims and their families.

Again, I would imagine that if you were in the situation of the victims or their families, you would look at that statue with great disdain. Furthermore, if it’s just a ‘freaking statue’, then there should be no problem tearing it down either.

I don't care if the tear it down simply because it would be an empty gesture on Penn State's part. I would rather them tear it down when the Freeh Report came out because they should have had the common decency and understanding that Paterno, from what we know, covered up for a child rapist for 13 years (may have been even longer than that given some of Sandusky's victims are claiming they were raped before 1998).

If they have to wait until the public outrage becomes too much for them, then tearing it down doesn't say much about them for me. Keep the statue up and it tells me that Penn State and its supporters clearly believe in supporting an accomplice to child rape if that coward and liar has success on the football field. And we can always point to that statue and talk about what a pile of garbage Paterno really was.



YR

 

[RoyTheHammer]

Dude, you are spinning out of control.

Penn State people defending all of this need to just give it up, .. you are making PSU look even worse in all of this.

How am i spinning? I think its a comprehension issue on your part.

I was saying that to most people in the PSU community, the statue is a big part of the culture there and will obviously be guarded around the clock if there are threats to it because its a very expensive piece.

To me.. its a statue, it doesn't mean much at all. Leave it up, take it down, to me personally, it holds little meaning.

Hope that helps you figure things out bud.

 

[Bman32x]

Look, I'm not going to claim to be a moral scholar or expert on all things righteous and sports. I opened my Internet, saw something ridiculous and wanted to speak to my community about what I saw.

Students are rallying to protect Joe Paterno's statue from being taken down. Why? Seriously, I hope it's not because of what he stood for KR the morals and values and lessons of character he brought to the university. Those were all lies. Ironically, it's like all things that come out of state college are a sick parody of the truth. Joe Paterno turning boys into men, Sandusky's memoir entitled touched, even a recent issue of American Journal of Psychology features an empirical study by State College where the victims and/or witnesses of abuse defend the abuses.

Is this what you want to be remembered for? A pedophile who brutally assaulted children for 20 years using a charity foundation to lure them in? His evil forever immortalized in the likeness of a selfish coward who cared more about his own football legacy then a child's welfare. I'm a parent of a one year old and my son will never not have one of his parents by his side.

Speaking to Penn St students. Not those who have decency and a moral compass who cast Joe Paterno out of their lives when he convicted himself. I'm speaking to a small pocketof students who still think Paterno is innocent. Who right now are picketing and sleeping around the statue. Who rioted when he was rightfully fired. Who in 2007, just 6 months after 32 students were murdered at my beloved university, one girl decided it would be funny to be a "Virginia Tech Victim" for Halloween. Use your imagination, the Facebook picture made me sick to my stomach.

So when it comes to the statue.... I say give them what they want. Let them keep the statue up for all I care. You want your university to be immortalized for idolizing a man who's foundations of character are based on personal contradictions and lies be my guess. I used to hate Penn St bc of their cupcake scheduling that the BCS' bias for Joe Paterno not only undeservingly gave them consistent top 10 national rankings. but a spot in a bowl game over a team that went through a gauntlet to finish 10-3. But now? Jerry Sandusky will forever be Joe Paternos legacy, not the 400 wins, whatever bowl games, I don't even care if my stats are wrong. Congrats Joe Pa. Hope being better than Bobby Bowden was worth it.
YOU ARE Penn St.

P.S: The AD and VP are going to jail. Paterno would be too if he was alive. RIP, God bless the dead, but Joe Pa got off easy.

 

[Bman32x]

Sorry that was wordy. Just a topic I feel very strongly about. No offense to guys like Sean Lee and Dan Connor. Football may have been the excuse, but by no means was it, nor Penn St players responsible for Paterno, Graham Spanier, Tim Curley, Gary Schultz, and Mike McQueary's not only failure to act, but conscious decision to cover up the truth. I don't know everything, but I know enough who not to blame.

 

[RoyTheHammer]

Sorry that was wordy. Just a topic I feel very strongly about. No offense to guys like Sean Lee and Dan Connor. Football may have been the excuse, but by no means was it, nor Penn St players responsible for Paterno, Graham Spanier, Tim Curley, Gary Schultz, and Mike McQueary's not only failure to act, but conscious decision to cover up the truth. I don't know everything, but I know enough who not to blame.

While i don't agree with some of the points you made, i appriciate your passion while still being able to approach the subject rationally.

Nice post. Its sad that we may never know the truth of what all went down, but hopefully people will learn from the mistakes that these men made, and take something positive from it to apply to their own lives. I pray for the victims and hope they can someday carry on happy, fulfilling lives.

 

[SkinsandTerps]

Only 2 people initially, and now...they have some major support...9 total people.

I don't think many or most are interested in keeping the statue there.

It's a done deal. Sad part is someone will buy that statue and it will be worth a small fortune at some point.

 

[cowboy_ron]

Sad ending for such a storied institution

 

[BoysFan4ever]

Sad ending for such a storied institution

Well put. It is very sad.

 

[WPBCowboysFan]

Sad ending for such a storied institution

Not nearly as sad as what happened to the victims.

Many of our heroes are people with major flaws. Often we are able to overlook the flaws and focus on the good. In this case, the flaws are really ugly. The good that Joe Pa did can never be ignored. Personally I have always hated Penn State. I am not saddened at all to see this institution go down. However, even though Paterno didnt do what he should have as it relates to Sandusky, he was in a sense a victim of his own reputation and success. Any outing would have been a major issue. It would have done tremendous damage to the whole Penn State "image." Joe knew this as did the others involved in the concealing of info. Not defending them in any way, but they were in a difficult situation.

Personally I could care less about anything Penn State or a statue. I do however, have a great sense of sympathy for the victims and their families. Let them decide the fate of the statue. Let them topple it like the Saddam statue if they so desire. Break it in many pieces. Or let it stand if they make that choice.

 

[Joe Realist]

One of the trustees bowed down to the pressure today and resigned.

Also there is this good article targeting the Gov. Corbett of PA, who is just as dirty.

http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/...500484c4eef82305964009.txt?viewmode=fullstory

 

[RoyTheHammer]

One of the trustees bowed down to the pressure today and resigned.

Also there is this good article targeting the Gov. Corbett of PA, who is just as dirty.

http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/...500484c4eef82305964009.txt?viewmode=fullstory

We can only hope the rest follow suit.

 

[Bman32x]

However, even though Paterno didnt do what he should have as it relates to Sandusky, he was in a sense a victim of his own reputation and success. Any outing would have been a major issue. It would have done tremendous damage to the whole Penn State "image." Joe knew this as did the others involved in the concealing of info. Not defending them in any way, but they were in a difficult situation.

I understand people's opinion with this, the problem is Paterno's reputation would have taken a hit at the time, but he ultimately would have recovered and seen as an even bigger legend than he was at the time of his fall from grace. Not only would he have eventually reached the status of a great football coach, but a champion of his community, putting the lives of innocent children before his reputation and team. Similarly to Boeheim, who will continue to coach at Syracuse until he retires. Forget football for a second, as a human being Paterno an his staff stood idly by for almost 20 years while Sandusky maliciously lured and raped children who had no parents to defend them. All of them knew, and their reputation and winning record was more important. Sandusky still had keys to the locker room when he was arrested. Anyone can do a lot of good, but when you're in a position to protect your community and you not only do nothing but continue to let it happen, your good becomes over shadowed.

 

[Bman32x]

I also think its wrong to punish the football program. Yes the conduct was horrific, but the NCAA really has no business here. People have suffered enough, innocent student athletes don't need to be punished for their superiors actions as well.

 

[RoyTheHammer]

I understand people's opinion with this, the problem is Paterno's reputation would have taken a hit at the time, but he ultimately would have recovered and seen as an even bigger legend than he was at the time of his fall from grace. Not only would he have eventually reached the status of a great football coach, but a champion of his community, putting the lives of innocent children before his reputation and team. Similarly to Boeheim, who will continue to coach at Syracuse until he retires. Forget football for a second, as a human being Paterno an his staff stood idly by for almost 20 years while Sandusky maliciously lured and raped children who had no parents to defend them. All of them knew, and their reputation and winning record was more important. Sandusky still had keys to the locker room when he was arrested. Anyone can do a lot of good, but when you're in a position to protect your community and you not only do nothing but continue to let it happen, your good becomes over shadowed.

Just to clarlify, you are saying that all the PSU admins and team officials knew about all the boys being harmed by Sandusky the whole time, or are you saying they knew about the incident that happened on campus and the 98 incident only?

 

[trickblue]

Penn State To Remove Paterno Statue This Weekend

NEW YORK (WFAN) – It seems the fate of Joe Paterno’s statue at Penn State has been sealed.

“Am told that Penn State plans to take down the Paterno statue this weekend,” Kim Jones of the NFL Network and WFAN reported via Twitter on Friday.

Paterno, fired by the university last year amid the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal, died in January. His legacy was further tarnished by a scathing report released last week by former FBI director Louis Freeh.

The Freeh report accused the former coach and other university officials of “repeatedly” concealing “critical facts relating to Sandusky’s child abuse” in order to avoid bad publicity.

more​

 

[RoyTheHammer]

Penn State To Remove Paterno Statue This Weekend​

NEW YORK (WFAN) – It seems the fate of Joe Paterno’s statue at Penn State has been sealed.​

“Am told that Penn State plans to take down the Paterno statue this weekend,” Kim Jones of the NFL Network and WFAN reported via Twitter on Friday.​

Paterno, fired by the university last year amid the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal, died in January. His legacy was further tarnished by a scathing report released last week by former FBI director Louis Freeh.​

The Freeh report accused the former coach and other university officials of “repeatedly” concealing “critical facts relating to Sandusky’s child abuse” in order to avoid bad publicity.​

more​

Sell it. Donate the money to child services.