Penn State sanctions - Is it enough or too much?

[NaTaS+ 958]

Well NaTaS I think you would be a good example seeing as you played college football correct? If something like this happened and you knew nothing and suddenly every single game your team played in and won was vacated so that on the history books your teams never won a dam game that wouldn't affect you even a little bit?

 

As a player, I'd be pissed for sure. I'm trying to look at this from a different perspective. We're talking here as fans, that are not directly impacted by this. What is the public perception of those games? As a fan, will you look at those seasons as winless seasons? I dont think the majority will. My perception of Joe Paterno as a head football coach will never change. My opinion of Joe Paterno as a human has been impacted pretty substantially.

[NaTaS+ 958]

I'd like to know how past and current players are being punished. First off, past players that did their time for PSU are long gone, and had nothing to do with the acts of Sandusky. The only reason why they're being linked is because they went to PSU.

 

 

 

The players are punished --if they played from 1998 to now-- because the games they won have been vacated. That is to say if you're LaVar Arrington, you never officially won a game in your college career.

[sweetness34 142]

I'm going to come at this from my perspective, a player playing D1 and two championship rings... I'd be pissed. I agree with what the NCAA did other than taking away all of the wins.

 

Someday I'd like to come back to the stadium and see all of the signs that have the championship years listed and be able to point to the 2010 and 2011 years and say I was on that team. By taking away those wins you take away all of that pride.

 

The players had nothing to do with this, it would be one thing if we found out that PSU had been cheating for the past ten years. But this is by one fucked up individual and the cover up by other coaches.

 

Even the penalties of future aren't nearly as big as doing that to past players. Because they're giving players an out and future players are just going to steer clear of going there for a few years. They'll still have the option to go win some games and play under other teams.

[oochymp 2,393]

Again though Spartan, why are we punishing the football program? Because one coach turned out to be a sick pervert and the head coach was a damn fool for trying to ignore it? How is that the fault of the football program. You can't blame the entire program for something that happened when it has NOTHING to do with the football program. Basically because it happened in the showers at the campus, people assume it was the entire football programs fault. But that's not true. If that's the case, then what, there would be no punishment for Penn State had it not happened on their grounds? This whole NCAA punishment is stupid, and they have stepped way over their bounds. They are hurting an entire program that honestly may never recover just because of something that happened unrelated to the program.

the problem for the university is an issue of priorities, the school put the football program above everything else (I'm not saying PSU is alone in this) and allowed Sandusky to do what he did in full knowledge of the highest authorities at the school, it's something that shouldn't be tolerated and if it takes completely dismantling the program that had been put too high up that's a fair price to pay, when the guys at the top fuck up their punishment will inevitably hurt those at the bottom

[Piggly Wiggly 960]

Penn State is damn FORTUNATE that they're still going to be able to play on Saturdays. The NCAA could have easily suspended the program for a year or longer.

 

- People want to fucking cry over Paterno's 100+ wins getting vacated? Seriously? Damn right every win should be stripped from the record books while he and his cronies were covering up what this sick fuck Sandusky was doing. No, Paterno didn't just make a mistake, he made the biggest, most despicable fuck up of his life. He cared much more about the football program than well-being of children. Kids were molested and sodomized and yet people think it's a crime that wins from '98-'11 were vacated.

 

- 4 year bowl ban is nothing. A mere 2 years longer than what USC got for Reggie Bush's petty bullshit. Should have got 5+ years.

 

- $60m is not a huge hit towards PSU's wallet. They're a fucking cash cow. $100m or more would have been just right.

 

- Scholarship penalties are pretty fair. Hopefully that'll bury their asses for awhile.

 

All in all, the sanctions could have been much worse for PSU.

[NaTaS+ 958]

I'm going to come at this from my perspective, a player playing D1 and two championship rings... I'd be pissed.

 

I played on a team in the same conference as Penn State and know guys on my team that were heavily recruited by Joe Pa. I noted above that as a player, I'd be pissed, but I'm trying not to think as a player.

 

Shit, even as a player and understanding what went down...I might be relieved that it was just games that was taken away and not the program. I might even be willing to accept the punishment for the sake of putting this behind the program and moving on.

[NaTaS+ 958]

Here is a post by LaVar, echos my sentiments:

 

 

 

I have to swallow the fact that as of today, I have no wins as a starter for the Penn State football team. And you know what? It doesn’t matter.

 

The penalties handed down by the NCAA are harsh enough to bring down an entire football program. But they are not enough to bring down Penn State. Many may feel that football defined us; we know different.

 

Our way at Penn State is education first, and everything else after that. It’s our task as alumni to make that message clearer than ever before.

 

There was a failure by individuals in powerful positions at the school, and it has impacted everyone from Penn State, including those who played on its football team. We shoulder those mistakes because we must; it’s the right way. We didn’t make this mess, but we can now start to fix it.

 

Like it or not, Monday’s action by the NCAA against the school bring this entire fiasco a step nearer to closure.

 

I believe it is the duty of the Paterno family to continue to fight for Joe Paterno’s reputation. If they are successful, they will have their moment to set the record straight about why Joe should not have been judged the way he was. However, that’s a war for those who were closest to him and the situation surrounding his demise. Same goes for Graham Spanier or any other school officials that are fighting for vindication. That’s just the reality of this, nothing personal.

 

As for the punishment handed down Monday, my thinking has been this: Whatever the punishment, get it over with so everyone involved can close this chapter and begin the rebuilding process. A strong punishment was necessary. Otherwise I don’t think it would have been accepted by those looking on from around the country.

 

Now the school, students and the State College community can face the dawn of a new day. Sure it won’t be easy moving on from here, but sometimes turning away from the past is the only way to see a bright future.

 

As an alumnus of Penn State, I’m not turning my back on my school. I believe responsible Penn Staters believe we serve each other and our institution and that to me means always striving for excellence, having integrity, respect and dignity in our daily approaches to life. I really think it’s important that it’s understood that we acknowledge horrible things happened at our school. We do so in order to make it clear that we don’t condone these actions or blindly support our school.

 

Sure Joe Paterno was the catalyst in keeping us all motivated to be great Penn Staters, and it hurts to see all the failures and bad things that have happened. It’s sad to know so many suffered and now many more are suffering in the aftermath of what took place.

 

If Penn State is to ever have a chance at restoring its reputation it starts with one positive action at a time.

 

Change obviously needed to happen and from this point on I think it’s clear that the representation of Penn State falls on the ones who matter the most an entire community and student body, not a coach or a program but everyone.

 

Everyone won’t be perfect. People will still fall short of representing themselves and our institution the right way. Yet those who are truly committed to good will stand in there through the good and the bad.

 

Right now is the time for the Penn State community to stand up for its principles and beliefs and impact change so that things like this don’t happen again. It’s time to restore the pride of our school.

 

Please leave your comments here and chat with me on twitter @lavararrington

 

 

 

[Favre4Ever+ 4,476]

Penn State is damn FORTUNATE that they're still going to be able to play on Saturdays. The NCAA could have easily suspended the program for a year or longer.

 

- People want to fucking cry over Paterno's 100+ wins getting vacated? Seriously? Damn right every win should be stripped from the record books while he and his cronies were covering up what this sick fuck Sandusky was doing. No, Paterno didn't just make a mistake, he made the biggest, most despicable fuck up of his life. He cared much more about the football program than well-being of children. Kids were molested and sodomized and yet people think it's a crime that wins from '98-'11 were vacated.

 

- 4 year bowl ban is nothing. A mere 2 years longer than what USC got for Reggie Bush's petty bullshit. Should have got 5+ years.

 

- $60m is not a huge hit towards PSU's wallet. They're a fucking cash cow. $100m or more would have been just right.

 

- Scholarship penalties are pretty fair. Hopefully that'll bury their asses for awhile.

 

All in all, the sanctions could have been much worse for PSU.

 

 

It's not just the fact that Paterno had the wins vacated... Those kids (obviously many of which are no longer kids) put their blood, sweat, and tears into that football team and going out and fighting every week for those 100+ wins. And now, it's like they didn't happen.

 

Anyway... harsh sanctions came because of harsh crimes.

[sweetness34 142]

It's not just the fact that Paterno had the wins vacated... Those kids (obviously many of which are no longer kids) put their blood, sweat, and tears into that football team and going out and fighting every week for those 100+ wins. And now, it's like they didn't happen.

 

Anyway... harsh sanctions came because of harsh crimes.

+1

[Piggly Wiggly 960]

It's not just the fact that Paterno had the wins vacated... Those kids (obviously many of which are no longer kids) put their blood, sweat, and tears into that football team and going out and fighting every week for those 100+ wins. And now, it's like they didn't happen.

No, it's not.

 

The wins have already been celebrated. They just don't officially count anymore which is a punishment to Paterno's name. Years from now, people aren't going to say ''oh, X player never officially won a game at Penn State!'', it'll be ''Joe Paterno isn't the all-time leader in wins anymore because he covered up the Sandusky scandal''.

[BC 331]

Why couldn't this have happened to Oregon instead?

[KiLaSix9+ 398]

I agree with the punishments and find them to be fair. It should be noted that the president of PSU or athletic director (I didn't exactly catch the title) said that the university was given the option of receiving the death penalty, with a chance to appeal or agreeing to take this punishment instead, with no appeal.

 

And while this may not be a death penalty, this is going to put the universities football program back for at least a good 5-10 years before they are relevant again.

[Maverick 791]

He's dead already so it's not like taking away the wins effects him...like others have said, NCAA just did it to remove Paterno's name from their books.

 

I just hope everybody doesn't forget there are others involved here. Curley, Schultz, Spanier....SANDUSKY. None of these guys better get off easy, either.

[housemd 338]

As a PSU fan,I must say that I'm glad we are still allowed to play games..Four years will pass quickly and everything will be better,in terms of getting the scolarships back and the postseason ban being over..

[Glanvilles Grits 142]

I just don't see the point in destroying entire record books because of actions taken off field. I guess I can just agree to disagree and my stance will remain that this had nothing to do with the program. They were individual acts.

Edited July 24, 2012 by Chris D

[rzb+ 367]

I know that we're focusing on the wins erased and how they affect the players, but what about the trust and friendship that they had with JoePa, Sandusky, and the rest of the staff involved? They must feel betrayed in some way. Coaches are regularly looked at as role models, how do you think that weighs on their hearts? As we've said, they gave their blood, sweat, and tears.. for men who were tarnishing their reputation year after year.

 

But these are the times that show true fanhood. I hope Penn State fans stay strong. I don't think this will kill their program. USC easily survived their punishment. From what I've seen, PSU fans are as loyal as they come, so through time.. they'll be back in the driver seat.

[56AceInDaPlace 110]

I think the NCAA just don't want JoePa to be a figure head in college football anymore. Attempting to erase his name from the record books.

 

That and from 98' til present he knew what was going on. I didnt agree with everything. Now if im missing any info please lemme know after i reply. JP wasnt the only one who knew. If they wanted to punish those responsible they should of done that. Starting with school officals who helped cover it up, janitors who knew, players, coaches ETC. JP was the big scapegoat here. Im not defending him in his actions of not doing something more but he got the big hit bcuz hes dead. Everyone who knew about it should be fired and never allowed to work at college/any programs ever. Anytime u put a crime as bad as this on someones history, it will fuck them up on getting a job anywhere lol.

 

Something going on that long that big, others knew about it. Specially when JP told officals about it. Supposedly anyways, if anyone wants to correct me on what the actual report says feel free. Reminds me of what one of my teachers used to say to us. One person ruins it for everybody.