Penn State Penalty

[preach4bass]

Wow! They might as well have burned the school down and erased them from all record book. I don't disagree with their punishment, but I wasn't expecting the NCAA to be so harsh. Way to go NCAA!

[SuskyDude]

Not harsh enough if you ask me. Pedo State University should have been burned down. It was an intstitutional rape factory, disgusting.

[Sam]

I am conflicted about the penalties.

First, innocent people are affected by the penalties. People who did nothing. Young guys who dreamed about playing for Penn State and in the Rose Bowl.

Second, Sandusky was not even associated with the team when he did what he did and of course, he needs to go away for a long time. But once again, the current players, coaches and administrators are totally innocent of all charges. At least so far.

Third, the kids that got taken by Sandusky will have scars for life and no amount of money will help them go away. More innocent people pulled into this sorry story. These young adults of today will receive compensation but that is still not enough to heal the wounds.

And Fourth, being an LSU fan and losing to Papa Joe two times in bowl games, which we could have won, I liked JoPa and his accomplishments and what he did for college football and Penn State University. It is sad to see his victories and statue taken away.

Yes, you can rebut my position by saying JoPa did not do enough and that the NCAA had no other options but to penalize current and future players and coaches. But JoPa did report the incident to his superiors and those guys started the cover up. Coach Paterno went along, thinking he was doing what was best for the school.

For those of you who hate PSU you will have fun watching the team lose their games for the next few years. Even the Virginia fans are thinking victory this year and into the future when the Hoos take on the Lions. And that in itself is sad.

With college rosters full with current and new players there may not be many places the Penn State players can transfer. It takes time to schedule classes; set up room and board; and have their grades and courses reviewed to decide which ones can be transferred. So the majority of the PSU players are stuck at State College to try to salvage as much as they can.

Sad day, indeed, for college sports and Penn State.

[Captain Obvious]

Anything less then the death penalty and they'd be getting off easy. I Think they got off easy.

If there was ever a school that deserved the death penalty it was Penn State.

[SuskyDude]

. But JoPa did report the incident to his superiors and those guys started the cover up.

See, when I hear this, it makes me feel like I've taken crazy pills. He didn't do enough, not even close.

When you find out someone is raping children, you tell the POLICE. Not your superiors, THE POLICE.

Unless, of course, you want it covered up because you don't want your beloved football program to be destroyed. Good grief.

[tipptruck1]

I heard some were today. That a current Penn St. Player can stay all year. If they can not find a new school to transfer. They will not lose a year of eligibility.

[deaknh03]

A couple of things. Sandusky had been doing this since at least the late 70s, I will not believe that there weren't rumors around that he liked young boys, there had to have been. Joe P and his superiors took it into their own hands and decided that letting a molester free was more important than Penn state football. Joe P denied knowing about the molestations up to 8 days before he died, in an interview he gave where he denied any and all knowledge, yet there are emails from him which he plainly admits to knowing what's going on and how to proceed with the situation, from 12 ears ago. If Joe P could turn the other cheek for this, what else has gone on under his watch? What else did he overlook to not hurt Penn football? As far as I'm concerned, Joe is in hell watching, and Sandusky and a couple others will soon join him, scumbags. I feel sorry for the young men at penn now, expecting to play football for a big time program, and now they are sunk, and most of all for the men Sandusky and the others tossed aside for the sake of the program.

[Lund Explorer]

I have to agree with Sam to a certain point. A number of innocent players are going to lose out due to a group of so called adults who are either gone from this school or soon will be. The real stand out players will get cherry picked by the other professional (oops, I mean colleges) teams. The rest will be the ones to serve JoePa's penalty for him.

The NCAA had to do something, and while this isn't the death penalty, it is death by a thousand cuts. About a dozen each for every kid on that team.

[SuskyDude]

I have to agree with Sam to a certain point. A number of innocent players are going to lose out due to a group of so called adults who are either gone from this school or soon will be. The real stand out players will get cherry picked by the other professional (oops, I mean colleges) teams. The rest will be the ones to serve JoePa's penalty for him.

The NCAA had to do something, and while this isn't the death penalty, it is death by a thousand cuts. About a dozen each for every kid on that team.

Tragic results from the actions of a corrupt institution. Stinks for the players, its not their fault, but thats the breaks. Its not the NCAA's fault either. The blame rests on Sandusky, Paterno and anyone responsible for the cover up.

[K_Mac]

While I feel for the young men negatively effected because of the penalties, the children who were abused will suffer for the rest of their lives because of actions and failure to act by everyone at Penn who was involved in this horrible situation. Institutional cover-up of years of child molestation is unimaginable, yet that is clearly what happened here. I have no sympathy for Penn in this. The thousand cuts should be literally administered to anyone who had any knowledge and did nothing.

[A-Jay]

Lust

Gluttony

Greed

Sloth

Wrath

***

Pride

This very sad situation has it all.

A-Jay

[Traveler2586]

See, when I hear this, it makes me feel like I've taken crazy pills. He didn't do enough, not even close.

When you find out someone is raping children, you tell the POLICE. Not your superiors, THE POLICE.

Unless, of course, you want it covered up because you don't want your beloved football program to be destroyed. Good grief.

X2 Doing anything less makes him part of the cover up.

[Nice_Bass]

Without getting into how sick the whole situation is/how wrong it was I think the NCAA took the path of least resistance. First off, I dont think by any stretch of the imagination that you could not have just shut the entire program down- think if this type of thing happend in the private sector. I dont think that company would be around very long. With this decision the NCAA can now say they laid down a harsh penalty, which in reality will essentially shut down this program long term. NCAA can also say they are going to fight the basis of coruption in major college programs, where policing themsleves is the norm. Win-win for NCAA. Lose-lose for the victims of this situation, and it will do nothing to prevent future coruption at other universities. (All corruption, not child rape, thankfully).

[NoBassPro]

Between Penn State and Ohio State, its going to look like the Big Ten has never won a game

[NorcalBassin]

If you permit it, you promote it. They got off easy.

[nick76]

Penn State got.off easy and the NCAA looks like an inept enforcer. If this thing really did go from top to bottom in covering it up, that is the ultimate punishable offense according to the NCAA. Lack of institutional control from the top down. The death penalty is the only option.

Now the current players and recruits have the ability to either transfer (good luck) or ride out their entire career for a team that plays with a severe handicap. This punishment solely affects the current coaching staff, the players, and the recruits who had nothing to do with it. Give the the death penalty where they lose all revenue and are forced to still pay for facilities, scholarships, and the fines. At least with the death penalty those players who can't transfer are not subjected to torture and rridicule for under achieving.

I also believe the NCAA ruled here out if their rules and bylaws. Penn State was never given a formal notice odds allegations and an investigation was never performed. This has been a bad precident for this NCAA to set and the teams to accept. I believe they have a right and an obligation to rule here, but only if done correctly.

[ClackerBuzz]

I only feel bad for one group of people...the children that were abused. I'll pass on the 'holier than thou' attitude. It happens in everyone's town, city and state. Winning at all costs has become a major problem in our society. Change is not going to come from the top. It starts with us...from the ground up.

[HeavyDluxe]

I'll chime in just for kicks.

I actually don't think this is something where the NCAA should've gotten involved. None of the allegations of cover-up resulted in anything approaching an on-field/competitive advantage for Penn State. Sandusky's conduct sure wasn't responsible for bringing in higher-quality recruits. The NCAA exists to enforce competitive fairness and competitive ethics among the member schools and this is an overstep of their bounds forced by their fear that failure to act would have them crucified in the court of public opinion.

These were criminal acts perpetrated by a select few people. They should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and punished severely. The penalties that the NCAA levied that impact Paterno's direct legacy (the vacated wins, for example) are appropriate.

Please don't get me wrong... I think what these men did is heinous beyond all degree and I believe there will be full justice for it - if not now, then someday.

If the NCAA felt compelled to act, I wish they would've acted in favor of financial and other institutional penalties against Penn State that had less direct impact on student-athletes (if there is such a thing in Div I athletics) who are as much victims as anyone else.

[GLADES]

I agree with the 60M(should have been more) in fines. However, the players had nothing to do with the abuse IMHO. I am kind of torn about the removal of scholarships, it only hurts the students. All of the sanctions and penalties should have been against the coaches, staff and administrators. Hopefully there will be some criminal charges and serious jail time to all of those who were in a position of authority and knew all along what was going on. Penn State is forever tarnished.

[GLADES]

I'll chime in just for kicks.

I actually don't think this is something where the NCAA should've gotten involved. None of the allegations of cover-up resulted in anything approaching an on-field/competitive advantage for Penn State. Sandusky's conduct sure wasn't responsible for bringing in higher-quality recruits. The NCAA exists to enforce competitive fairness and competitive ethics among the member schools and this is an overstep of their bounds forced by their fear that failure to act would have them crucified in the court of public opinion.

These were criminal acts perpetrated by a select few people. They should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and punished severely. The penalties that the NCAA levied that impact Paterno's direct legacy (the vacated wins, for example) are appropriate.

Please don't get me wrong... I think what these men did is heinous beyond all degree and I believe there will be full justice for it - if not now, then someday.

If the NCAA felt compelled to act, I wish they would've acted in favor of financial and other institutional penalties against Penn State that had less direct impact on student-athletes (if there is such a thing in Div I athletics) who are as much victims as anyone else.

Paterno knew what kind of person Sandusky was and what going on in the showers and in the room next to his. He should have called the police when nothing was done by the administrators.

[nick76]

I'll chime in just for kicks.

I actually don't think this is something where the NCAA should've gotten involved. None of the allegations of cover-up resulted in anything approaching an on-field/competitive advantage for Penn State. Sandusky's conduct sure wasn't responsible for bringing in higher-quality recruits. The NCAA exists to enforce competitive fairness and competitive ethics among the member schools and this is an overstep of their bounds forced by their fear that failure to act would have them crucified in the court of public opinion.

Not trying to start a war here, but I would have to respectfully disagree with you on this statement. By hiding what had happened on that campus Penn St. did gain a competitive advantage. They were allowed to recruit without any future players knowing the true crimes that were being committed. Ohio State lost a recruit this year after it was found out that he had attended a party with an Ohio State "superfan" who was a convicted sex offender. The recruit decided that it was creepy enough to not want to attend OSU and decided to attend another university. How many Penn St. recruits would have thought twice about attending a school where these problems existed? I also feel that all the negative publicity would have affected recruiting as well. The initial punishment may have been smaller than it is now, but there still would have been the stigma attached to the school. The hid this to avoid that stigma. That gave them a competitive advantage as well.

[llPa1nll]

See, when I hear this, it makes me feel like I've taken crazy pills. He didn't do enough, not even close.

When you find out someone is raping children, you tell the POLICE. Not your superiors, THE POLICE.

Unless, of course, you want it covered up because you don't want your beloved football program to be destroyed. Good grief.

Well said, couldnt have said it better myself...

[Traveler2586]

Paterno knew what kind of person Sandusky was and what going on in the showers and in the room next to his. He should have called the police when nothing was done by the administrators.

X2 He had a morel and professional responsibility to follow through to insure the safety of the kids.

[HeavyDluxe]

Paterno knew what kind of person Sandusky was and what going on in the showers and in the room next to his. He should have called the police when nothing was done by the administrators.

Absolutely. 100%.

[shootermcbob]

In ANY enforcement of NCAA penalties, LOTS of "innocent" players, coaches, fans share in the discipline handed down. Those are the breaks. This years Ohio State team will not play in a bowl, or for Big Ten championship...no matter how good or bad they perform. Same thing happened at USC, Same thing will happen at Penn State. That's the way it goes.