Penn State to honor Joe Paterno

[AFJF]

http://nypost.com/2016/09/02/penn-state-faces-uproar-after-plan-to-honor-joe-paterno/

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State’s athletic department on Thursday announced plans to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Joe Paterno’s first game as coach, a move that sparked backlash on social networks by people critical of Paterno’s role in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.

The university announced plans Thursday to mark the anniversary when the Nittany Lions football team hosts Temple on Sept. 17.

Athletic department spokesman Jeff Nelson told the Associated Press that Penn State plans to announce specifics of the commemoration to ticket holders during the week of the game. He declined further comment on the plans.

Paterno coached at Penn State for 46 seasons, becoming college football’s winningest coach. But the coach was fired by the school’s board of trustees shortly after Sandusky, who was his defensive coordinator, was arrested in November 2011 for child sexual abuse. Paterno died in January 2012 of lung cancer.

The announcement to honor Paterno’s first game was met with disdain on social media sites from those who partially blame Paterno for the scandal.

In May, unsealed court documents said an alleged Sandusky victim said he complained to Paterno about Sandusky in 1976 and was rebuffed. The university’s president, Eric Barron, has said the allegation was not substantiated in court or tested by any other process. Paterno was never charged with a crime related to the scandal.

Sandusky was convicted on 45 of 48 charges in June 2012 and is serving a 30- to 60-year sentence.

Moving forward from the scandal has proven a difficult challenge for Penn State, requiring leaders to balance distancing the university from the scandal while juggling the wishes of ardent Penn State supporters who credit Paterno for giving the university an identity to be proud of.

“Depending on their position people may look at him differently, but it doesn’t change that he created that here. Or helped to create that here,” Athletic Director Sandy Barbour told the AP in August.

The Paterno Foundation had already scheduled a private celebration of the 50th anniversary of Paterno’s first game as head coach with a Football Lettermen’s reunion on Sept. 16 at Lubrano Park in State College. Penn State alum and university trustee Anthony Lubrano has been part of a group of Paterno supporters who have been pushing for the school to officially recognize the anniversary.

Joe Paterno (right) poses with then-defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.Photo: AP

The statue of Paterno was removed from outside Beaver Stadium on July 22, 2012, and highly visible, university-sponsored signs of him are mostly hard to find. Paterno’s name is still on the campus library, which was built in part with his donations.

In May, the Penn State Alumni Association sent a letter to Barron, the Paterno family and the board of trustees encouraging all sides to reconcile before the 50th anniversary of Paterno’s debut.

It noted that 91 percent of respondents to an alumni survey felt the university should publicly honor Paterno for his contributions to Penn State.

The alumni association did not immediately respond to a call from the AP.

[RutgersJetFan]

How is this still a thing with them? What a deranged student and alumni body.

[KRL]

Must be something in the water that causes delusions.  They're still living in 1976 and won't move on

[NJ]

3 hours ago, KRL said:

Must be something in the water that causes delusions.  They're still living in 1976 and won't move on

I don't think condoning deviate molestation at a level of top authority to spare your football program was a popular thought process even then. 

In most of the United States, that is.

[jetscrazey]

I don't know how you talk about Penn State football while skirting around Joe Paterno.  It's a ridiculous endeavor, despite the fact that Joe probably did do something wrong with the whole Sandusky thing.

[Kleckineau]

 

He died without a chance to explain clarify or defend himself.

We will never know for certain what he did or didnt know.

Whether he was complcit or not his name unfortunately will always evoke bad memories of PSU football.

[AFJF]

I was talking to my cardiologist the other day and BSing about football.  I told him I'm not a big college fan, but would like to take a road trip to check out one of the 100,000 seat stadiums like Tennessee or Ohio State.  He says "I"m a big Penn State fan, why not just go check out one of their games"?  I just gave him a "yeah, why didn't I think of that"? Instead of "Do you think I'm gonna' pay to go in to that building with everything that went on with that program"?

Just shows that if you're a big enough deal in some of these little towns that have nothing going on outside of football, you can do no wrong.

[joewilly12]

[NYJ37/12]

10 hours ago, RutgersJetFan said:

How is this still a thing with them? What a deranged student and alumni body.

Not a fair statement to make. We are not all deranged. It turns my stomach to even speak on this issue. 

[Bocajetfan]

14 minutes ago, AFJF said:

I was talking to my cardiologist the other day and BSing about football.  I told him I'm not a big college fan, but would like to take a road trip to check out one of the 100,000 seat stadiums like Tennessee or Ohio State.  He says "I"m a big Penn State fan, why not just go check out one of their games"?  I just gave him a "yeah, why didn't I think of that"? Instead of "Do you think I'm gonna' pay to go in to that building with everything that went on with that program"?

Just shows that if you're a big enough deal in some of these little towns that have nothing going on outside of football, you can do no wrong.

Just trying to look at both sides not defending Joe or what occurred under his watch. Child abuse is undefendale at the same time when you look at the investment he made in Penn State and the impact it had on the student body and the community, it's hard for them to forget the personal impact he had on them. I'm talking scholarships buildings things that impacted Penn State as a whole not just the Football or athletic program. Just my thought "There but for the grace of God go I"

[C Mart]

You're mad at Colin Kaepernick when Penn State is up to its vile ways again?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/rosenblog/ct-colin-kaepernick-penn-state-rosenbloom-20160902-column.html

[32EBoozer]

1 hour ago, Kleckineau said:

 

He died without a chance to explain clarify or defend himself.

We will never know for certain what he did or didnt know.

Whether he was complcit or not his name unfortunately will always evoke bad memories of PSU football.

If he did conspire to hide the facts and facilitate in it's duration, it would be awful to die with that on your conscience.

[joewilly12]

Dead men tell no tales. 

[32EBoozer]

1 minute ago, joewilly12 said:

Dead men tell no tales. 

Isn't that the Clinton Motto? LOL

[C Mart]

21 minutes ago, 32EBoozer said:

If he did conspire to hide the facts and facilitate in it's duration, it would be awful to die with that on your conscience.

Your conscience. Doesn't mean his

[32EBoozer]

9 minutes ago, C Mart said:

Your conscience. Doesn't mean his

Yeah, when you reach your pinnacle in life, sometimes staying there is more important than how you conduct yourself while clinging to it.

[56mehl56]

Wow - what is going on Penn State. They might as well just hold a Son of Sam appreciation day. 

[KRL]

It's criminal that they won't let go of a person who enabled a pedophile for decades.  They need to divorce

themselves from the past and focus on rebuilding the credibility of the school going forward

[mphtrilogy]

Don't they understand, he is still hurting this college?  Who can look at penn state the same way any way now.  They need to move far far away from his name.

[Green DNA]

What's next?  Will NAMBLA will be giving Paterno a posthumous lifetime achievement award?

[Il Mostro]

KY must be the title sponsor of this perverse shindig.  Unreal.

[Joe W. Namath]

I saw the movie Spotlight recently and it made me think of the Paterno situation.  Just like most of the higher ups in the catholic church, joe turned a blind eye and went about his business.  Disgusting.

[Matt39]

Penn St people are weird.

[RutgersJetFan]

7 hours ago, NYJ37/12 said:

Not a fair statement to make. We are not all deranged. It turns my stomach to even speak on this issue. 

It's absolutely a fair statement to make. If you call for this type of stuff you're cheering on a man that turned his back on children getting raped. It's that simple.

[kelticwizard]

10 hours ago, Bocajetfan said:

 Child abuse is undefendale at the same time when you look at the investment he made in Penn State and the impact it had on the student body and the community, it's hard for them to forget the personal impact he had on them. I'm talking scholarships buildings things that impacted Penn State as a whole not just the Football or athletic program.

I couldn't agree more.  Just because someone had a bad side to them is no reason not to honor them for their good achievements.  That's why I'm going to that Joe Paterno tribute at Penn State this month.

Also, next July I'll be heading over to Dovia di Predappio, Italy, for their annual Trains Must Run On Time Festival honoring the town's favorite son, Benito Mussolini, and his trailblazing work in the field of transportation punctuality.

[long suffering jets fan]

11 hours ago, Kleckineau said:

 

He died without a chance to explain clarify or defend himself.

We will never know for certain what he did or didnt know.

Whether he was complcit or not his name unfortunately will always evoke bad memories of PSU football.

In almost 45 years the man had a spotless record.  It is reported that an alleged Sandusky victim told him something was going on and was rebuffed.  The charge was never proven, yet he was tried in the press and they continue to tear him down.  This is the state of the media in this country,  don't let due process stand in the way of a good story.  I agree that it would be easier for the Penn State Paterno devotee's to just drop it, but I think they believe a misjustice was done here. 

[rillo]

Pretty disgusting. 

[Larz]

45 minutes ago, long suffering jets fan said:

In almost 45 years the man had a spotless record.  It is reported that an alleged Sandusky victim told him something was going on and was rebuffed.  The charge was never proven, yet he was tried in the press and they continue to tear him down.  This is the state of the media in this country,  don't let due process stand in the way of a good story.  I agree that it would be easier for the Penn State Paterno devotee's to just drop it, but I think they believe a misjustice was done here. 

most abuse victims don't come forward because of attitudes like this.

[JoJoTownsell1]

I'm a huge Penn State fan and I think this is just a really dumb idea.  The people on campus live in an alternate universe.

But I do respect their "f+ck the pc police,  we're doing whatever we want" attitude. The country needs more of that. 

[long suffering jets fan]

Why?  Because I believe in the law and that people shouldn't be tried in the media.  Plenty of people went and reported Sandusky's crimes to the authorities, so I don't believe that was the case here.  The case against Joe Paterno however is just heresay.  I hope that if something about you that is untrue gets out in the media that you'll have an opportunity to defend yourself.  

[rex-n-effect]

5 minutes ago, long suffering jets fan said:

Why?  Because I believe in the law and that people shouldn't be tried in the media.  Plenty of people went and reported Sandusky's crimes to the authorities, so I don't believe that was the case here.  The case against Joe Paterno however is just heresay.  I hope that if something about you that is untrue gets out in the media that you'll have an opportunity to defend yourself.  

You're welcome to your opinion but you aren't welcome to your own set of facts. No criminal investigation or prosecution occurred because Paterno died months after the story about Sandusky broke. The state does not posthumously pursue criminal prosecutions. However, there was an extensive posthumous investigation done at the request of Penn State which concluded Paterno covered for Sandusky. You can disagree with the findings but you do not get to disregard the existence of the investigation or its findings to wage war on the media. 

[NYJ37/12]

5 hours ago, RutgersJetFan said:

It's absolutely a fair statement to make. If you call for this type of stuff you're cheering on a man that turned his back on children getting raped. It's that simple.

I didn't call for any of this. You cannot group all of the past and current student body into these bad decisions. 

[CrazyCarl40]

Should probably just burn the whole place down and start fresh with intellectual people. 

[HDKostempski]

The only reason that this happened at Penn State rather than at Nebraska or Alabama or Wisconsin is because Sandusky was hired to coach at Penn State ... and  Paterno's program was so successful that Sandusky remained at PSU for decades.  In a less successful program, Sandusky would have been cut loose much earlier and then hired on elsewhere.   What's a few little boys or freshman coeds getting raped compared to winning a national championship?   They're essentially "collateral damage". 

I attended Nebraska in the early 1970s at the beginning of Tom Osborne's reign.  As a starving grad student, I "tutored" football players for 1 semester before deciding that starvation was preferable to participating in the crass and calculated exploitation of young men who were just thrown away like so much garbage after their eligibility ended or they were too seriously injured to play again.  It's why I follow the NFL but not major college football, and am glad that my alma mater stays safely mired in Div III.

[SenorGato]

Disgusting