MSU Red Cedar Message Board

I agree with the writer - Penn State's football program deserves the death penalty.

Good work by Rick, Interesting that at least one person was on to the "real Joe" 25 years ago.

And Sally Jenkins is downright pissed that JoePa lied to her face.
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Everything else about Paterno must now be questioned; other details about him begin to nag. You now wonder if his self-defense was all an exercise in sealing off watertight compartments, leaving colleagues on the outside to drown. You wonder if he performed a very neat trick in disguising himself as a modest and benevolent man. The subtle but constant emphasis on his Ivy League education, the insistence that Penn State football had higher standards, now looks more like rampant elitism. ...

The only explanation I can find for this “striking lack of empathy” is self-absorption. In asking how a paragon of virtue could have behaved like such a thoroughly bad guy, the only available answer is that Paterno fell prey to the single most corrosive sin in sports: the belief that winning on the field makes you better and more important than other people.

You can bet there was a lot more sleeze going on there. This kind of stuff doesn't happen in one area and not in others. Paterno hid all sorts of stuff, lied about it, controlled others with his power, intimidated and punished. I'm glad he at least had to live long enough to see what was coming.

No wonder Matt Millen was such a dumbass. I wonder if ever even went to class.

Yeah, last week CNN got a hold of some emails

"In email exchanges obtained by CNN between Vicky Triponey, then vice president of student affairs in charge of disciplining students, and then-athletic director Tim Curley and ex-president Graham Spanier, Triponey laments the culture surrounding the Nittany Lions football program, questioning why Paterno would be permitted to keep serious violations of the school’s code of conduct private “despite any moral or legal obligation to” make it public.

In a subsequent e-mail to then-Penn State President Graham Spanier she is more blunt: “I am very troubled by the manipulative, disrespectful, uncivil and abusive behavior of our football coach,” she writes.

In the same e-mail, she calls Paterno’s behavior “atrocious” and said others are mimicking his behavior. “It is quite shocking what this man — who is idolized by people everywhere — is teaching our students…” she writes.

The emails also suggest that, after Triponey had attempted to discipline PSU football players outside of Paterno’s preferred methods, she was harassed and it was ultimately suggested she leave her post.

After Triponey tried to discipline football players in the same manner as other students, she was harassed both online and at her home, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation. On her front lawn somebody put up a “for sale” sign. Police installed a surveillance camera. In the end, the source says Spanier suggested she think about her future at Penn State, and she resigned."

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/07/09/emails-from-ex-psu-official-blast-paternos-atrocious-behavior/

The more I read about this, the more I think that PSU may want to shut down the football program for a while. Yes, I understand that it hurts the local community, but look at the goon-mindset this program has created? I remember when the news first broke, PSU fans were vilifying Sandusky's victims - now they are trying to cling to the notion that that old googly-eyed bastard was some sort of saint. Yes, the man did some good, but remember that some of the most wicked people in history also had long-lasting, positive contributions (Hitler's autobahn, for example). People are free to remember Joe Paterno the way they want - but take that goofy statue down and don't give him credit for building a good, wholesome program. The guy was a bully and a goon and shouldn't be praised as some sort of saint.

The more I read about this, the angrier I get. I want PSU football to get torpedo'd. Scratch that, I want them to face sanctions that make the Biblical plagues look like fun. I know that the anger I feel right now is nothing compared to the anger I'm going to feel when the statue stays standing and when PSU takes the field this season after having no punishments handed down from the NCAA or Delaney.

I rarely think that Reilly is worth a read, but he gets it right here.

That's been out there for a while. From the CNN article:

[In an e-mail to AD Tim Curley, Triponey] criticizes Paterno for wanting to limit the Campus Code of Conduct to incidents that take place on campus and keeping disciplinary matters involving his players private. "Coach Paterno would rather we NOT inform the public when a football player is found responsible for committing a serious violation of the law and/or our student code -- despite any moral or legal obligation to do so," according to her e-mail.

In the same e-mail, Triponey also refers to calls her office was receiving from coaches and others. "I must insist that the efforts to put pressure on (Student Affairs) and try to influence our decisions...simply MUST STOP," she writes.
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That's from 2005. When she tried to investigate the involvement of football players in an off-campus brawl in 2007, she was stonewalled -- by Paterno, who insisted he be the ultimate authority when it came to discipline for his team -- and she ultimately resigned, at the suggestion of the university president.

Edit: I forgot the best part. Triponey's resignation came after Paterno told her to pound sand on her investigation into the off-campus conduct of his football players, and the president backed him up. Also from the CNN article:

After Triponey left Penn State, the university changed its discipline policy involving off-campus incidents. Its current code of conduct says it only applies to "off campus conduct that affects a Substantial University interest."

Maybe just remove the word "Humanitarian" from the wall behind him. He sure did educate a lot of people, and coaching was apparently the only thing that mattered to him.

Oh. My. God. Replace "Accomplice" with "Conspirator," and you've got something there, Sparky.

This info was actually released last year. I have always remembered this when passing judgement on Paterno and rebutting claims about his so-called great character. I'm glad this is being revisited and hope that it becomes well circulated and discussed. JoePa's priorities were quite messed up, probably not unlike many coaches.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/bigten/story/2011-11-22/11-22-11-Paterno-Discipline/51346682/1

Good article. Death penalty is the only right answer.