Penn State and the Freeh Report (Page 2)

They are taking it down and putting another one up.  It's exactly the same except Paterno is looking the other direction.

I want to make a statement but it just hurts in my soul for these victims who basically had a whole institution aiding in their downfall. 

Any grown man, any person, knows right from wrong.  Men, blinded by greed and self absorbed in their own self idolization.  These were kids!  These men, to hell with their souls and may they crawl in darkness forever.

But the do sanction games don't they (I honestly have no idea)? Seems to me the NCAA could refuse to allow PSU to have any games that count against conference standings, or even any NCAA division school (any division) period. That effectively kills their athletic program, at least the revenue driving program(s) sending a message to the school; doesn't it?

I would be all for this direction if the NCAA could pursue it. Somebody needs to make a very public and very major statement that athletics do not come above child safety.

Just to show you what kind of head-in-the-sand mentality we have here in Central PA, a good friend whom I do not consider at all to be a cult of PSU member (though he is alumni) posted a link to this editorial on facebook, simply noting it as interesting. I disagreed rather civilly, but strongly, that I find this man's point of view "interesting." 

The author, to me, sounds like a dodging defense attorney, trying to create a situation where anything less than 100% video evidence counts as reasonable doubt. He even casts doubt on whether there even was a victim that McQueary saw.

http://www.johnziegler.com/editorials_details.asp?editorial=219

Fair points, and I could see where the NCAA decides to choose that path and be consistent with their organization goals and past history of rules enforcement.

But, if what seems to be the case turns out to be true, PSU will bury their heads in the sand and I'd imagine any politician in the state will choose to do the same... So effectively no one will stand up and say that a program that puts it's own success above and beyond the safety of others will have no repercussions to the program so long as they don't create a competitive advantage? More a philosophical statement than a question I expect an answer to...

The whole situation just drives me insane; everyone up in arms, but no one willing to actually take a stand, which ironically is part of the problem that let this continue for so long.

I have a problem with almost all NCAA sactions against universities.  IMO a university is the students.  Not the faculty, not the administrators, not the coaches, not the guy who cuts the grass. A university is it's STUDENTS.  NCAA sanctions punish the students who had absolutley nothing to do with this situation. 

Criminal charges should be brought against those who are actually at fault.  They should be in prison.  They should also be hit with civil suits that will ruin them financially.  Then, they should be tar and feathered. But the students will end up suffering for the actions of individuals who they have never even met.

As a non football fan, it took me awhile to figure out what you all meant by "death penalty".  This means death to the Penn State football program right?

Triaya, wow, I'm impressed that you read the entire report.

Claaw, I appreciate your view from Pennsylvania.

I hope most people realize that pedophiles exist everywhere and it is less the existence of pedophiles (horrible as this truly is) within supposedly upstanding institutions that is shocking but the reactions of these institutions that is appalling.  I wonder if there are studies or statistics on institutions' reactions to a pedophile in there midsts.  There must be other organizations that have acted inappropriately in such situations?  Are the Catholic Church and Penn State just more in the news than other institutions because of their status/power?

Blaming those at fault interests me less than finding ways for this NEVER to happen again.  Perhaps there should be training for reacting to a pedophile similar to CPR.  If someone has a heart attack everyone, in the vicinity stops what they are doing.  People know to call 911 and many know CPR.  Similarly if a child is being threatened, everyone should be trained to change course and intervene no matter what the situation.  This is apparently not as instinctual as we would like to think.

I firmly believe that the line between good and evil goes right down the center of everyone of us.  Joe Paterno, from the little I know, seems to me to be a man of incredible abilities, ethics and character in some ways.  He was way ahead of his time in holding his athletes to high academic standards.  On the other side of the line, he had tragic failings in that he was a man of his era in the way he dealt with a pedophile in his organization.

The quip about a new statue with its head turned got a dry chuckle from me.  If I was in charge, I would want a new separate statue representing children put near Paterno's statue.  This would have large words engraved so everyone could read:  "Let us never forget there are more important things than football."

Well, a little less than half of it is endnotes/appendices/exhibits, but there's still some text in those pages--like damning, damning e-mails from Spanier--to read.

However, fully 34 pages of text, of about 140-150 of the report itself, consists of very specific, comprehensive recommendations regarding exactly how Penn State can ensure nothing remotely like this ever happens again, including addressing the existing PSU culture.

The University itself may have hired independent counsel to investigate the entire affair and produce the report, but a) that's a good thing, and b) make no mistake that the entire tone of the report, while professional and fair, slams every individual and every aspect of PSU that should be slammed.

Whatever entities are to judge Penn State--the NCAA, its greater community, alumni, the citizens of Pennsylvania and the U.S.--should do so by the swiftness and thoroughness, in fact, even excessiveness with which the University implements the information and recommendations in the Freeh Report.

----- Edited to add:

Here's the link to the document. It will make you sick; it will make you angry; it will make you cry, but it will also give you thought as to how to encourage others to be more vigilant.

At the very least, the Executive Summary and Chapter 10 are worth reading.

http://www.thefreehreportonpsu.com/REPORT_FINAL_071212.pdf

I really like this idea.

Where I went to school we had a tragic mass shooting in 1966 and a memorial was put in place to remember those who were lost.  I think a suggestion like the above would prove true "ownership" over the events that occurred and be symbolic of an effort moving forward to make sure it doesn't happen again.

That's it. If CalTech (CALTECH, fercryinoutloud) gets THIS for doing THAT, then the NCAA should visit hellfire and lay waste to Penn State's football program for, say, ever.

Just sayin'. Fair's fair.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/14/sports/caltech-ncaa-case-gives-new-meaning-to-academically-ineligible.html?_r=1&smid=fb-share

The Freeh report isn't just about those four Who Shall Not Be Named. For example, it cites the mostly nonexistent and when so, woefully inadequate background checks done on staff and volunteers for youth sports camp programs at the University. A number of people with already extant criminal backgrounds "slipped through the cracks." Oh, gee, whoops.

For that alone, COMPARED TO the CalTech case, what do you think should happen?

Thanks Yanti, for posting that.  It's a thorough read for sure.  One thing is for certain, in Happy Valley, the world hasn't changed much since 1952, and that place is a complete and total mess.  There're more things wrong there than you can count.  It isn't just the school, it just seems to be pervasive in the culture there.  Police, school, outreach programs, every where it seems.  Just WOW!!!!

edit: bad punctuation.

The Catholic Church is trying although it is a little too little, a little too late. In my diocese, every adult who plans on interacting with children in any way (teach religion, Sunday School, go on a class field trip, volunteer for a classroom party or ANYTHING else) has to take a class called Protecting God's Children. It is a really unpleasant video + discussion that highlights the ways a pedophile targets children, how to keep children informed etc.

As a parent this is all enough to cause a serious trust issue with anyone my children encounter outside of my immediate family. 

Thanks for the CALTECH post.  There are so many issues with this whole situation at Penn State.  WRT the NCAA issuing a Death Sentance, based on the Freeh Report I don't think that they have the authority.  What they do have is the Probable Cause to investigate the athletic program  for breaking rules.  The NCAA has years of precidence to use in this effort then they can sanction based on tangible fact.

I agree with the previous post that the university is based on the students, not the icons, buildings faculty etc.  So its hard to justify a punishment for a student that was clueless to the crimes. 

The school should feel some pain for this and that should be focused on the AD and administration.  It may be self inflicted by students and athletes departing to complete their education elsewhere. 

It was very uncomfortable to say the least. The movie featured a guy who was a convicted pedophile so he gave his perspective on how he lured children in. Really creepy but something I probably really needed to hear and I absolutely would not go to a workshop or class like this unless I had to.

Now, do I think it is/was effective? I'm not sure. How do you measure something like that you know? For me it created an awareness of something I probably would otherwise just try to pretend does not exist.

But watching a movie does not create the moral drive to forge ahead when faced with accusing someone. You know what I mean? At the end of the day, whether it is the Catholic Church or Penn State, someone somewhere did not find the will in themselves to stand up to everyone else and fight for the children. THAT is not changed by watching a movie.

BT Post of the Year

First... here is an article for people to read about the culture at Penn State.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/15/us/triponey-paterno-penn-state/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

Second... I live in PA, but I am not now, nor have I ever been a Penn State fan. I did, however, grow up having Penn State shoved won my throat. I have been to one game in Happy Valley, and that was because Notre Dame was playing there and that's who I wanted to see.

I have thought about the whole scandal a lot. I have a 12 year old son. It breaks my heart to think of not only how these boys were treated, but how it was all allowed to continue for so long just to save face for the football program.

I strongly believe that if when the abuse were first suspected the university would have taken swift action to protect, identify, and support any victims, and push for prosecution of the accused that they could have come out as the hero in this.

But they didn't.

Now I believe that they do deserve the death penalty. I understand that the people and players that will be affected by this really had nothing to do with the situation, but it is the football mentality, and that the athletes in general are above the law that I think the entire program needs knocked down a few pegs. Despite what many may believe, the world does not revolve around football but young boys childhoods were stolen because many believed that it does. I think a swift, strong, punishment needs to be handed down, and handed down NOW. Not in a year or two once another investigation has taken place. People need to know that this kid of culture, and this kind of behavior cannot and will not be accepted.

That's all I have to say about that.

Of course you do.  Like it or not, Paterno now has a new legacy, and it's not worthy of a statue. Yes, that's right, Paterno's legacy as a coach is now replaced by this legacy of disgrace.  That's what happens when you do something so grossly negligent.  He won football games? He was a role model for young men?  Really?  Who gives a rats arse.  If he wasn't dead he'd belong in prison.  That's where you go when you look the other way when children are being abused.

Juck FoPa.