Paterno family statement on NCAA ruling

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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"Sexual abuse is reprehensible, especially when it involves children, and no one starting with Joe Paterno condones or minimizes it. The horrific acts committed by Jerry Sandusky shock the conscience of every decent human being. How Sandusky was able to get away with his crimes for so long has yet to be fully understood, despite the claims and assertions of the Freeh report.

"The release of the Freeh report has triggered an avalanche of vitriol, condemnation and posthumous punishment on Joe Paterno. The NCAA has now become the latest party to accept the report as the final word on the Sandusky scandal. The sanctions announced by the NCAA today defame the legacy and contributions of a great coach and educator without any input from our family or those who knew him best.

"That the President, the Athletic Director and the Board of Trustees accepted this unprecedented action by the NCAA without requiring a full due process hearing before the Committee on Infractions is an abdication of their responsibilities and a breach of their fiduciary duties to the University and the 500,000 alumni. Punishing past, present and future students of the University because of Sandusky’s crimes does not serve justice. This is not a fair or thoughtful action; it is a panicked response to the public's understandable revulsion at what Sandusky did.

"The point of due process is to protect against this sort of reflexive action. Joe Paterno was never interviewed by the University or the Freeh Group. His counsel has not been able to interview key witnesses as they are represented by counsel related to ongoing litigation. We have had no access to the records reviewed by the Freeh group. The NCAA never contacted our family or our legal counsel. And the fact that several parties have pending trials that could produce evidence and testimony relevant to this matter has been totally discounted.

"Unfortunately all of these facts have been ignored by the NCAA, the Freeh Group and the University."

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/53734/paterno-family-statement-on-ncaa-ruling

Go Gophers!!
 

I tried to give JoePa the benefit of the doubt for as long as I could on this thing, but the Freeh report told me all I needed to know. He and others concealed it for their (and Sandusky's) skins.

I think the time has come for Jay Paterno and the Paterno family to keep their mouths shut.
 


SelectionSunday said:
I tried to give JoePa the benefit of the doubt for as long as I could on this thing, but the Freeh report told me all I needed to know. He and others concealed it for their (and Sandusky's) skins.

I think the time has come for Jay Paterno and the Paterno family to keep their mouths shut.
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+1
 

SelectionSunday said:
I tried to give JoePa the benefit of the doubt for as long as I could on this thing, but the Freeh report told me all I needed to know. He and others concealed it for their (and Sandusky's) skins.

I think the time has come for Jay Paterno and the Paterno family to keep their mouths shut.
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+1

Clearly the family doesn't get it.
 


Yes, this would be a good time to just shut up and let things settle down a bit. I don't think these statements are helping them.
 

PSU operated in a vacuum and the family still thinks they're in that vacuum.
 

Being as they are family, I can understand it will time for them. What really bothers me is some of the fans/students that have been in total denial the last few days.
 

It is no longer " Happy Valley". Horrific Valley is more suitable. I can't believe how much of their fan base is looking at Paterno through rose colored glasses.
 



Agree with what you have all said. I think the family is really embarassing themselves right now. They are clearly in denial about what Joe did and did not do.
 

This is the line that gets me:
The sanctions announced by the NCAA today defame the legacy and contributions of a great coach and educator without any input from our family or those who knew him best.
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I mean...really? Can they really not see how that comes off to the rest of the world?
 

When you say Woody Hayes, the first thing that comes to mind is-punching opposing player on field on field of play.

When you say Joe Paterno, the first thing that comes to mind is - covering up of sexual abuse of children.

These are two facts that will never change.
 




Let me get this straight. First, the Paterno family is not an employee of PSU, except the son. He is covered by PSU agreeing to the findings of the Freeh report, so no hearing was in order. The institution spoke for all its employees, living and dead. So, it is unnecessary to go before the infractions committee. Since, the Freeh report was accepted as fact by the Trustees, there was ZERO need for an NCAA investigation. That PSU agreed that it was sufficient for the NCAA to use the report as the report of findings, allowed for the NCAA to take action. Nobody lost due process. Due process was waived and the facts agreed upon by all parties. So, if nothing is in dispute, except by the outside family, who cares what the family of Joe Paterno thinks.

If his son does not want to abide by that decision and thinks his fathers good name is being dragged through the mud, he may bring suit. Good luck to them on that account.
 

This family needs to hire a PR firm. This is disgusting. They have constantly said the wrong things at the wrong times throughout this entire situation. The family is really a microcosm of the entire Penn State community that let this go on for as long as it did. What happened at Penn State is disgusting, it's worse than anything that happened at SMU and it's worse than the mess at USC. The legacy of Penn State doesn't matter. The legacy of Joe Pa doesn't matter.

If they really want to have the discussion about what Joe Pa knew or didn't know, you'd think they'd have the common sense to wait a couple years. But no, they are still so blinded that they think now is an appropriate time. They think protecting Joe Pa's legacy is important enough to bring it right now. I'd imagine they think allowing Joe Pa to keep the wins record would have been the "humane" thing to do.
 

station19 said:
When you say Woody Hayes, the first thing that comes to mind is-punching opposing player on field on field of play.

When you say Joe Paterno, the first thing that comes to mind is - covering up of sexual abuse of children.

These are two facts that will never change.
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Not arguing with your opinon at all.
For me, word association:
Woody Hayes - I think Ohio St./Michigan
Joe Paterno - I think of glasses and black nikes

I have different opinions if you add the firing of before each of their names.
 


The family has to come to the realization that the penalty handed down today was not about Jerry Sandusky. It was Coach Paterno, Curly, and Spanard who covered and concealed Sandusky feloneous actions for 14 or more years. If Coach Paterno was still alive and the other three could/should be charged with failure to report, assessory after the fact. He claimed he could have done more, is faulty on its face. He did nothing, other than keeping it in house. How many games was he escorted by the State Police, did he ever turn to one and ask what do think I should do? In this day and age of manditory reporting, what planet were they on, oh Paternoville.
 

The Paterno family needs to take one final lesson from the patriarch of the family:

Shut up and look the other way.
 



One person that knew and could have stopped this....

Mrs. Sandusky could have stopped this many years ago. I'm not buying that she didn't know anything. She benefited from her silence and allowed boys to sleep under her roof with her husband/pedaphile. Has anyone heard anything about her?
 

husker70 said:
The family has to come to the realization that the penalty handed down today was not about Jerry Sandusky. It was Coach Paterno, Curly, and Spanard who covered and concealed Sandusky feloneous actions for 14 or more years. If Coach Paterno was still alive and the other three could/should be charged with failure to report, assessory after the fact. He claimed he could have done more, is faulty on its face. He did nothing, other than keeping it in house. How many games was he escorted by the State Police, did he ever turn to one and ask what do think I should do? In this day and age of manditory reporting, what planet were they on, oh Paternoville.
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they sound they want to join OJ on the hunt for the real killers.
 

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