Jerry Sandusky and Related Trials

[MelicharSux]

Top25 ‏@AP_Top25
Big Ten plans to announce its own sanctions for Penn State at 11 am ET.

[pfim]

The attitude that Penn State itself is the victim makes me sick to my stomach.

Not sure that's the vibe here from most people, but I do sense that in other conversations. And it's patently absurd.

[llipgh2]

LOL at punishing those that have nothing to do with what happened.

This is what I see on my facebook wall, today PSU alums and fans "are now the
Victims."

No.

It is pretty obvious Penn State is being made an example of by the NCAA. The penalties are harsh, maybe too harsh. I can't say. But if the powers that be had acted Penn State wouldn't find itself in this situation.

As for Penn State alums and fans. These people can still go to their football games and still tailgate. Their lives haven't been destroyed. They still have their homes, their jobs, their loved ones. The boys that were molested are still the victims. Their lives are destroyed.

This is what bothers me about all this. Football is still the number one concern among a lot of Penn State fans. Not all, of course. But those that are so distraught...get over it. It's just a freaking game. Your lives have not been impacted to the point of total collapse.

Now, as for the players themselves, I feel sorry for them. While I won't call them victims, they are innocent bystanders. They unfairly have to pay a penalty. Their lives are impacted.

I didn't listen to the presser or read through everything yet. But have they been allowed to transfer to another school without penalty? Because they should be.

EDIT: Just saw Malks post about the players being able to leave. Good.

[shafnutz05]

Are people honestly surprised that diehard fans of a university's football team (or any other team for that matter) will always refuse to believe that the punishment was deserved? The Penn State fan base is no different than any other devoted fan base on the planet. Most are reasonable, but there will always be a vocal contingent that clings to irrational thoughts.

Acting like this is something that is unique to PSU is silly. You could find that reaction if it was any other big name school out there.

[Malkamaniac]

I just read somewhere that O'Brien doesn't have an out clause. No way this can be true.....right?

Pretty sure that's true.

He'd owe 4million if he leaves.

[llipgh2]

Are people honestly surprised that diehard fans of a university's football team (or any other team for that matter) will always refuse to believe that the punishment was deserved? The Penn State fan base is no different than any other devoted fan base on the planet. Most are reasonable, but there will always be a vocal contingent that clings to irrational thoughts.

Acting like this is something that is unique to PSU is silly. You could find that reaction if it was any other big name school out there.

And I'd be slamming them as well. I am if anything an equal opportunity hater.

[King Sid the Great 87]

Hindsight? Please. Many here, including myself said Penn State wouldn't risk further negative impacts of dragging out an appeal.

You've been wrong on every account here. Congratulations!

What in the hell are you talking about? I made it perfectly clear that because Penn State was in penitent mode, there was a good chance Erickson would roll over and take what was coming. So what are you talking about with me being "wrong" here?

You should go work for ESPN's NCAA desk, because you are obviously far ahead of the curve. Do you have a Twitter feed I could follow?

Would banning PSU football from TV and or bowl games for a year or two be part of a fair punishment?

Absolutely. Shutting down the program for a year would be disastrous not just to the football program, but to the educational mission of the school. There are a lot of people that just want the program shut down to kick Penn State in the teeth. Well, that's fine, but I need a better reason than that.

If I'm the NCAA, I reduce scholarships, and give some kind of TV and bowl ban. I guarantee that if the NCAA tries to venture into uncharted territory and shuts down the football program for this, the university will file a lawsuit almost immediately. And I think the university would win easily.[/quote]

Much less disastrous than what Penn State University allowed to happen to all those kids, eh?

Why do people feel the need to constantly remind everyone else that children getting molested is worse than a, b, c, d, e, and f? Thanks, I'm aware of the horrors of molestation.

The only reason you want to shut down the football program is to smack Penn State in the mouth and make them pay dearly for their sins. Not just the five people that were involved in the coverup, but a couple hundred thousand other people. Sadly, in the real world, that usually isn't a good enough reason for such a drastic action. And it won't happen.

People are having a hard time grasping that this is a criminal case. The NCAA has zero precedent for stepping into this territory, as their jurisdiction has mostly been related to cheating the system itself. As much as people would love to see the football program go down in flames forever, sorry, it's just not going to happen. The loss of scholarships/bowl games/TV coverage will set the program back some years (which is perfectly fine), but the death penalty dreamers are going to be sorely disappointed.

[Malkamaniac]

Are people honestly surprised that diehard fans of a university's football team (or any other team for that matter) will always refuse to believe that the punishment was deserved? The Penn State fan base is no different than any other devoted fan base on the planet. Most are reasonable, but there will always be a vocal contingent that clings to irrational thoughts.

Acting like this is something that is unique to PSU is silly. You could find that reaction if it was any other big name school out there.

And I'd be slamming them as well. I am if anything an equal opportunity hater. 8-)

Im not shocked either, but I'm pretty sure id want to remove myself from child rape.

[shafnutz05]

I mean I hear the "Oh man these idiot Penn State fans again...", and I'm just curious if people think this would occur if this happened at another university. I think because so many of you have a ton of Penn State alumni on your Facebook friend lists, you are seeing a lot more of the irrational reaction to this.

[Rocco]

So Miami gets a year long investigation by the NCAA for hookers and booster money but PSU gets 10 days with no due process. Nice.

Well at least the games between Pitt will be more competitive now....

No due process? There was a 9 month investigation was there not? I mean you can only bury your head in the sand so much. The fact that some PSU fans(not you necessarily) are playing the victim card now makes me sick.

22 people in the NCAA decided to short-circuit their own system so they could hand out a punishment outside of their normal process. There really wasn't due process- Emmert and company looked at the report and told PSU what they were getting instead of giving PSU a notice of formal investigation. It's grandstanding by the NCAA.

[shafnutz05]

Spoiler:

Hindsight? Please. Many here, including myself said Penn State wouldn't risk further negative impacts of dragging out an appeal.

You've been wrong on every account here. Congratulations!

What in the hell are you talking about? I made it perfectly clear that because Penn State was in penitent mode, there was a good chance Erickson would roll over and take what was coming. So what are you talking about with me being "wrong" here?

You should go work for ESPN's NCAA desk, because you are obviously far ahead of the curve. Do you have a Twitter feed I could follow?

Would banning PSU football from TV and or bowl games for a year or two be part of a fair punishment?

Absolutely. Shutting down the program for a year would be disastrous not just to the football program, but to the educational mission of the school. There are a lot of people that just want the program shut down to kick Penn State in the teeth. Well, that's fine, but I need a better reason than that.

If I'm the NCAA, I reduce scholarships, and give some kind of TV and bowl ban. I guarantee that if the NCAA tries to venture into uncharted territory and shuts down the football program for this, the university will file a lawsuit almost immediately. And I think the university would win easily.[/quote]

Much less disastrous than what Penn State University allowed to happen to all those kids, eh?

Why do people feel the need to constantly remind everyone else that children getting molested is worse than a, b, c, d, e, and f? Thanks, I'm aware of the horrors of molestation.

The only reason you want to shut down the football program is to smack Penn State in the mouth and make them pay dearly for their sins. Not just the five people that were involved in the coverup, but a couple hundred thousand other people. Sadly, in the real world, that usually isn't a good enough reason for such a drastic action. And it won't happen.

People are having a hard time grasping that this is a criminal case. The NCAA has zero precedent for stepping into this territory, as their jurisdiction has mostly been related to cheating the system itself. As much as people would love to see the football program go down in flames forever, sorry, it's just not going to happen. The loss of scholarships/bowl games/TV coverage will set the program back some years (which is perfectly fine), but the death penalty dreamers are going to be sorely disappointed.

Ok, so there were three different instances here where I asserted that Penn State would not receive the death penalty, and I was correct. I guess thanks for proving me right?

lol, you even quoted me here:

The loss of scholarships/bowl games/TV coverage will set the program back some years (which is perfectly fine), but the death penalty dreamers are going to be sorely disappointed.

How in the WORLD was that "wrong", as you tried to point out before? Get some reading comprehension and come back and see me.

[Malkamaniac]

I mean I hear the "Oh man these idiot Penn State fans again...", and I'm just curious if people think this would occur if this happened at another university. I think because so many of you have a ton of Penn State alumni on your Facebook friend lists, you are seeing a lot more of the irrational reaction to this.

To be fair, this is a special instance that I hope nobody ever had to deal with again.

[DontToewsMeBro]

You're delusional if you think this doesn't negatively impact the students. You're right, it's not all about football, but guess where all sixty million dollars is going to come from? It will kill other sports, and severly damage the academics of the school.

[llipgh2]

I mean I hear the "Oh man these idiot Penn State fans again...", and I'm just curious if people think this would occur if this happened at another university. I think because so many of you have a ton of Penn State alumni on your Facebook friend lists, you are seeing a lot more of the irrational reaction to this.

Yes. It would.

And I'm sure if the NCAA dug deeper, a lot of skeltons would be uncovered. Joe Starkey posted a link on Twitter to a story about what amounts to serial rapes by Notre Dame football players, and how the university is turning a blind eye. Even after one victim killed herself.

[Rocco]

John Infante ‏@John_Infante
Had Penn State not wanted to play ball, Emmert was not authorized to unilaterally impose punishments.

John Infante runs the Bylaw Blog and is probably the most knowledgeable layperson on the NCAA rules. Basically, the NCAA didn't have jurisdiction but PSU chose not to fight. I disagree with their decision but they didn't ask me first.

[Pavel Bure]

Still can't believe people were ever defending Joepa on this. I do think the sanctions are good and appropriate. It's about changing the culture, the fabled "Penn State Way" if you will and that I think is the right approach.

[Juice]

You're delusional if you think this doesn't negatively impact the students. You're right, it's not all about football, but guess where all sixty million dollars is going to come from? It will kill other sports, and severly damage the academics of the school.

I'm thinking it will most likely come from their almost two billion dollar endowment fund.

[Malkamaniac]

You're delusional if you think this doesn't negatively impact the students. You're right, it's not all about football, but guess where all sixty million dollars is going to come from? It will kill other sports, and severly damage the academics of the school.

NCAA already said in the conference that PSU can't hurt other things, and must keep all of them going.

[pfim]

John Infante ‏@John_Infante
Had Penn State not wanted to play ball, Emmert was not authorized to unilaterally impose punishments.

John Infante runs the Bylaw Blog and is probably the most knowledgeable layperson on the NCAA rules. Basically, the NCAA didn't have jurisdiction but PSU chose not to fight. I disagree with their decision but they didn't ask me first.

They had to agree to these. I maintain that if the death penalty was involved, PSU wouldn't have agreed. Just my opinion.

[Rocco]

You're delusional if you think this doesn't negatively impact the students. You're right, it's not all about football, but guess where all sixty million dollars is going to come from? It will kill other sports, and severly damage the academics of the school.

NCAA already said in the conference that PSU can't hurt other things, and must keep all of them going.

All of those other sports get money from football. The NCAA has napalmed the non-revenue sports as well.

[shafnutz05]

You're delusional if you think this doesn't negatively impact the students. You're right, it's not all about football, but guess where all sixty million dollars is going to come from? It will kill other sports, and severly damage the academics of the school.

NCAA already said in the conference that PSU can't hurt other things, and must keep all of them going.

Which is an absolutely ridiculous thing to say. Unless they are the Federal Reserve, and have a U.S. Mint in an underground bunker under Old Main.

[JS©]

Now, as for the players themselves, I feel sorry for them. While I won't call them victims, they are innocent bystanders. They unfairly have to pay a penalty. Their lives are impacted.

But to a much lesser degree, they still have football. They will still be able to play on Saturday afternoons. They will still be able to be scouted. More importantly, they will still be able to get their education, although how much comes out of their pocket after this year might be a factor.

That being said, I wouldn't blame a single player for leaving at this point. Scholarships cut, no chance of playing in a bowl game for the rest of your time at PSU, and the black eye of having to play for PSU that might possibly hang over your potential football career.

[ulf]

My PSU friends are mad this happened without an official investigation. They used the investigation that PSU paid for.. Do they really want another one, that wasn't paid for by the school receiving the penalties?

[since1970]

My take on this is nothing happened to the University, but to an extracurricular activity. The English, Math, Science departments are still doing what a university is supposed to do......EDUCATE! People might point to the university experience is lessened, or financially the university may be impacted, and those costs might be passed on to students, that remains to be seen. I see individuals living with the stigma of molestation for the next 60/70 years based on the inactions of administrators and athletic department heads. Four years or ten years doesn't absolve the school from it's responsibilty in turning a blind eye to what happened, or "a conspirancy of silence" as was mentioned in the press conference this morning.

[Rocco]

John Infante ‏@John_Infante
Had Penn State not wanted to play ball, Emmert was not authorized to unilaterally impose punishments.

John Infante runs the Bylaw Blog and is probably the most knowledgeable layperson on the NCAA rules. Basically, the NCAA didn't have jurisdiction but PSU chose not to fight. I disagree with their decision but they didn't ask me first.

They had to agree to these. I maintain that if the death penalty was involved, PSU wouldn't have agreed. Just my opinion.

I don't think they "had" to do anything. They chose not to fight it so they can get it over with.