Breaking News out of Penn State tonight

[redmustang]

Just caught the end of this story on CNN. Emails uncovered between university president, vice-pres. and athletic director from 2001 discussing how to cover-up the Jerry Sandusky problem.

[SNAFU]

oooooooooooooo Heads are gonna roll!

[strummergirl]

Anything that further knocks those self-righteous fans and alumni further down a peg to eat their words that their beloved JoePa was simply misinformed and still infallible.

Now if this were to open an NCAA investigation, although unlikely, against the football program... Get your popcorn ready!

[FindingNamo]

WE ARE PED STATE! WE ARE PED STATE!

[dramamama611]

Wow, this is about to get intersting. Of course, this will be treated so much differently than when the church just moves pedophile priests around. (With the exception of that very recent finding)

[Kad]

Good.

As if there were any doubt about how far up the chain of command this mess was.

[Bettyboy72]

Good-may they all receive justice. BASTARDS!

All those poor traumatized men. I hope more men begin to talk about their abuse and get support, help and healing.

[singtopher]

I don't see this anywhere on CNN's website.

[Addison D.]

It's a little hearsay-ish at this point, as CNN does not actually have copies of the emails, but the contents as outlined are pretty specific, and certainly damning if true.





CNN 'Justice' post

[Addison D.]

Freeh and the FBI still have not made the contents of the e-mails public, but the NYT is also reporting the story in slightly greater detail than CNN did Friday night.




"E-Mails Suggest Paterno Role in Silence on Sandusky"

[winston89]

As much as I'd like to see the NCAA do a full on investigation, I doubt that they are going to. After all, there were two lead players in this whole mess. One's dead, the other one is in jail for life. I feel like should the NCAA look into this mess, they aren't going to find anything that we don't already know at this point.

[Addison D.]

There may well be lots more to be learned. I'm inclined to think that the stories of Sandusky pimping boys out to the power elite of the PSU board are apocryphal, but what if they're not? It would be --with due due respect to the victims--an incredible story.

[Yawper]

The NCAA is already watching this investigation because there's evidence that Paterno's real involvement was helping football players get special treatment and escape standard university disciplinary actions.
http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/2012/6/30/3128792/penn-state-scandal-ncaa-investigation

[strummergirl]

That prostituting rumor came from a Philly radio airhead who said it on a Boston radio program known more for shock than substance.

And Winston, being dead did not stop the investigation of the Fab Five era in Michigan and the dead guy was the smoking gun of the whole operation.

And who is to say nothing new will be found out. Unearthing a paper trail is very possible..

[wexy]

I was at the Yankee game filling up my water bottle yesterday and a little kid came out the bathroom with hid dad wearing a Penn State tee shirt.
It made me queasy.

[thetinymagic2]

on purpose??? yikes. Or a very, very black sense of humour - but why oh why??? who won?

[wexy]

^ It was weird... Yanks won,it was too hot though.

[Addison D.]

Freeh's report is out.

Is there anything more anyone would like to say?





NYT Article

[strummergirl]

Just a chilling anecdote from ex player LaVar Arrington who like many former players, stood by the program and Paterno. Then he found out he knew victim #4 and that Sandusky used Arrington's relationship with the boy to prey on the boy. Arrington changed his tune, though still coming to grips with the revelation, and wrote an op-Ed in the Washington Post on it.

[NYadgal]

They have guards around the Joe Paterno statue on the Penn State campus to protect it.

Imagine if the school would have provided the innocent students and young men with such protection...

SHAMEFUL.

That statue needs to come down. Make a statement.

[Kad]

Of course, Paterno's defenders are still deluded into thinking the man is guileless.

[SonofRobbieJ]

My guess is that the guarding of the statue is more about a visual display of 'Please don't riot here or we'll shoot you.'

But if anything deserved an angry mob, this would be it.

[Addison D.]

I'm all for pulling down the statue of Paterno--the thuggish boosterism of those Happy Valley football hooligans could definitely use a little tempering by way of a public backlash.

Having said that, though, I am leery of people's focus on 'football' as the culprit here. Football was the sacred cow this time. At this institution. But people have such a powerful ability to compartmentalize things within a comforting narrative, and then blithely carry on as atrocities repeat themselves. How many American Jews--who sanctimoniously intone "Never Again" at the mention of the Holocaust--lifted a finger to do something about Darfur?

People need to understand that sexual predators can be found anywhere and that childhood sexual abuse is incredibly, sickeningly common. Don't kid yourself that now that the Priests and Sandusky have been exposed we are 'done with this sort of thing'.

The underlying villain in this story, in my opinion, isn't PSU's football program--it's the cowardice and laziness of the innumerable individual people who looked the other way.

[SonofMammaMiaSam]

There's also the little problem of the Paterno Library, paid for by you know who.

[Kad]

While I do agree with you somewhat, Addison, the fact is that the idea of football/major athletics being untouchable and above the rules is widespread at many colleges.

The college athletic system is pretty screwed up in America right now. It's a system that chews kids up and spits them out, with only the college and coaches reaping the benefits.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Though I agree with you in the broader outline of your thesis, Addison, I think you have to ask 'Why?' when it comes to people looking the other way. It's all about self-preservation of a sort. And when an organization is led by someone perceived to be infallible in some way, then rot will ALWAYS happen. ALWAYS.