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Franco Harris is a good man (this is coming from a Browns fan), and he is losing a lot of money by saying this. Maybe people should put their pitchforks down and listen.
Franco Harris is a good man (this is coming from a Browns fan), and he is losing a lot of money by saying this. Maybe people should put their pitchforks down and listen.
If pitchforks do not come out for a long-term conspiratorial coverup, they would never come out. Bear in mind, the investigation was led by the ex chief of the FBI.
Lots of thoughts and lots of potential angles on this one.
Regarding Joe Paterno, I don't think he's a monster. He's not the one who molested children; the guy who did has been dealt with. I don't think Joe was a horrible person. I don't think he should be forgotten for mentoring many professional athletes who clearly developed into decent people.
He was, unfortunately, a human. A human who was given too much respect; too much authority; too much latitude. As the saying goes, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Over time, PSU gradually deferred to the Paterno cult on all matters involving PSU players. Academics? Discipline? Fights in a bar? Personal problems with coaching staff? It all went through Joe. The problem was that there were no checks and balances, and no human is going to end up making good decisions with that kind of authority. I'm not defending Paterno, because after all, the ball was in his court when it came to Sandusky. He had asked for that latitude, that discretion. He got it over the years. PSU trusted that he knew what to do with it. Maybe he did when it came to his football players, but when it came to some of the uglier side of life, he had no clue. He tried to solve a criminal problem in the same way he would deal with a player who was late for two consecutive practices.
I agree with much of what has been done in the wake of this human disaster. I agree with tearing down the statue; it wouldn't be right to leave it up. It would be an ugly slap in the face to the victims. It would be a humiliating reminder of all that went wrong at PSU the final 10 years of the program. I also agree with the sanctions and the bowl ban. I think it definitely went far. I think it effectively cripples the program and makes it non-competitive. However, when I heard the announcement, I still felt unsatisfied. I felt like it was just wrong for PSU to still have a functional and operating program, even if it is effectively handicapped. I mean, USC has been handicapped, they're a year or two removed from being forced to vacate their title and they're now in the mention for a possible title showdown with Alabama or some other school later in the year. Ohio St - a program that totally went beyond the pale. And yet a year later, they've got Urban Meyer. Some penalties. Which just goes to show that as long as there's a tradition and some players who have pads, helmets, and cleats, there's going to be a coach willing to make a program out of whatever they've been left with. I doubt Penn St. will be all that much different in another few years. In short, football is still real, and the consequences seem short.
Simply put, the NCAA should have given Penn St the death penalty today. They had an opportunity to send an even stronger message that would have resonated everywhere. And that message is, football's just not that damn important. The show will not just go on. No, Penn State, you're going to live without football for a year or two, and you're going to reassess what it means to be an academic institution with an athletic program. No, Penn State, you're going to think about which is more important, a game or lives. And moreover, all of your rivals who might otherwise be dancing on your football graves, are going to be forced to think about that, too. They had the chance to do that today. They did not. It's sad. The show goes on.
My question is this... If you don't give Penn State the death penalty how do you ever give it to a school in the future?
It should have been all or nothing. Either the NCAA and Big 10 terminate the program (either temporarily or permenantly) or stay out of it and let the courts handle it. While my first reaction to this scandal was "Death Penalty! Kill the program" now I'm not so sure. I'd be satisfied if everyone who knew about Sandusky and covered it up is prosecuted, thrown in prison and tossed into general population. If they had any honor they would commit suicide after writing an apology letter to the victims.
I was glad to see that all of the players will be allowed to transfer without penalty. This years seniors are probably screwed but at least the rest of the kids can salvage their career.
Lots of thoughts and lots of potential angles on this one.
Regarding Joe Paterno, I don't think he's a monster. He's not the one who molested children; the guy who did has been dealt with. I don't think Joe was a horrible person. I don't think he should be forgotten for mentoring many professional athletes who clearly developed into decent people.
He was, unfortunately, a human. A human who was given too much respect; too much authority; too much latitude. As the saying goes, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Over time, PSU gradually deferred to the Paterno cult on all matters involving PSU players. Academics? Discipline? Fights in a bar? Personal problems with coaching staff? It all went through Joe. The problem was that there were no checks and balances, and no human is going to end up making good decisions with that kind of authority. I'm not defending Paterno, because after all, the ball was in his court when it came to Sandusky. He had asked for that latitude, that discretion. He got it over the years. PSU trusted that he knew what to do with it. Maybe he did when it came to his football players, but when it came to some of the uglier side of life, he had no clue. He tried to solve a criminal problem in the same way he would deal with a player who was late for two consecutive practices.
I agree with much of what has been done in the wake of this human disaster. I agree with tearing down the statue; it wouldn't be right to leave it up. It would be an ugly slap in the face to the victims. It would be a humiliating reminder of all that went wrong at PSU the final 10 years of the program. I also agree with the sanctions and the bowl ban. I think it definitely went far. I think it effectively cripples the program and makes it non-competitive. However, when I heard the announcement, I still felt unsatisfied. I felt like it was just wrong for PSU to still have a functional and operating program, even if it is effectively handicapped. I mean, USC has been handicapped, they're a year or two removed from being forced to vacate their title and they're now in the mention for a possible title showdown with Alabama or some other school later in the year. Ohio St - a program that totally went beyond the pale. And yet a year later, they've got Urban Meyer. Some penalties. Which just goes to show that as long as there's a tradition and some players who have pads, helmets, and cleats, there's going to be a coach willing to make a program out of whatever they've been left with. I doubt Penn St. will be all that much different in another few years. In short, football is still real, and the consequences seem short.
Simply put, the NCAA should have given Penn St the death penalty today. They had an opportunity to send an even stronger message that would have resonated everywhere. And that message is, football's just not that damn important. The show will not just go on. No, Penn State, you're going to live without football for a year or two, and you're going to reassess what it means to be an academic institution with an athletic program. No, Penn State, you're going to think about which is more important, a game or lives. And moreover, all of your rivals who might otherwise be dancing on your football graves, are going to be forced to think about that, too. They had the chance to do that today. They did not. It's sad. The show goes on.
The problem is college football is that important because of money and it's been that way for a long time.
Penn St wasn't a power house anymore and one of those reasons was because they ran a pretty clean program compared to Ohio St or USC, until this disaster came out. I think the football program should be shutdown for a year and much heavier fines than the 60 million, maybe 100 million would be more appropriate payable to victims of sexual abuse over a 9 or 10 year period. Taking away wins is petty unless it's proven they cheated by paying players or handed out roids to its players, I agree with the taking down of his statue, but why not take his name off the Library he donated millions to build, why not burn the library to the ground or give Paternos family the money he donated to build it, especially if it was built between 1998 -2011. Seems ridiculous doesn't it ? so does taking away scholarships from poor high school kids who had nothing to do with this whole mess. This isn't about boosters giving the quarterbacks mom a house, or a linemans dad a Corvette. What happened at Penn St was beyond any of this stuff and the punishment should be accordingly, the NCAA as a governing body is a joke, crooked in the least. Different crimes deserve different fines.
Last edited by James420; 07-24-2012 at 07:15 AM..
Reason: H
The problem is college football is that important because of money and it's been that way for a long time.
Penn St wasn't a power house anymore and one of those reasons was because they ran a pretty clean program compared to Ohio St or USC, until this disaster came out. I think the football program should be shutdown for a year and much heavier fines than the 60 million, maybe 100 million would be more appropriate payable to victims of sexual abuse over a 9 or 10 year period. Taking away wins is petty unless it's proven they cheated by paying players or handed out roids to its players, I agree with the taking down of his statue, but why not take his name off the Library he donated millions to build, why not burn the library to the ground or give Paternos family the money he donated to build it, especially if it was built between 1998 -2011. Seems ridiculous doesn't it ? so does taking away scholarships from poor high school kids who had nothing to do with this whole mess. This isn't about boosters giving the quarterbacks mom a house, or a linemans dad a Corvette. What happened at Penn St was beyond any of this stuff and the punishment should be accordingly, the NCAA as a governing body is a joke, crooked in the least. Different crimes deserve different fines.
Off topic but please don't lump Ohio State in with USC or Penn State. A couple of kids got hooked up on tats and sold some of their belongings. Their HOF coach and several players paid for covering it up with their careers. Tressel will likely never coach again. Just about everything else they were accused of was proven to be bogus (SI saying they were getting free cars should have brought a libel suit).
Not even close to giving recruits a house or covering up child molestation.
Backon topic... while obviously the violations committed by OSU, USC, North Carolina, Auburn, etc.. pale in comparison to the crimes of Sandusky and subsequent cover up I don't know if what happened at Penn State falls under the umbrella of the NCAAs jusidiction. An Ohio State player selling some gold pants or getting a tat for free becasue he's an Ohio State player is a clear violation (even if it is silly) but while what happened at Penn State is horrible I'm not sure it gave Penn State a competative advantage.
Just to be clear I'm not defending anyone there. Personally, I feel that anyone who covered this up should be executed. Prison and civil suits are not enough.
If pitchforks do not come out for a long-term conspiratorial coverup, they would never come out. Bear in mind, the investigation was led by the ex chief of the FBI.
Yeah. And Franco could oh....read the actual emails that pretty much launched the perjury charges and confirmed that Paterno squashed the guys that wanted to report Sandusky 12-13 years ago....and keep it "in house".
Franco has had too many concussions over the years. Would be funny to see him go on TV and have Freeh read the emails to him and then watch Franco flounder. Moron.
Franco, and many other pro-sports figures have had thier butts kissed so much they think they are experts at and can do anything. Then they open their mouths and look like Stephen Hawking would if he were to try olympic synchronized swimming.
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Then they open their mouths and look like Stephen Hawking would if he were to try olympic synchronized swimming.