Horns247 Board

it kind of makes me sick the more I hear of all of the football related vindictiveness. It's like those kids have memories they will never get over and people are concerned more about football. Trivializing. What needs to happen is in the courts. Why do we not have posts about prosecutions, of the President etal? We don't, we have posts about wanting to punish more innocent kids by putting their team on probation or taking some statistics away. Everthing but what is important it seems.

I agree that football is secondary by a wide margin, and normally does not even belong in the same conversation. What makes this different is that football was the reason this was covered up. So it needs to be part of the punishment.

The reason they did not expose the rape was because they knew it would create a shit storm and it would have severe effects on their school and athletic department.

It was absolutely a football decision to cover this up.

I just do not see the connection. To me it would be like taking from a company any awards for outstanding business accomplishments by a accreditation firm. We are not taking profits. Just acknowledgement of a job well done.

I do not think it is a quick and rash decision considering this was initially exposed in November.

I don't believe the cover-up had anything to do with Penn State football. At the time it occurred, Sandusky was not a coach, not a booster. Any relationship he had with Penn State was because it was permitted by the school.

Now, did the people facing charges and Paterno deliberately choose not to act against Sandusky? Sure looks like it. That was an incredibly callous act in response to horrific, continuing crimes against children. I agree, it's a huge scandal and deservedly so.

The punishment is going to be determined by the courts. There will be criminal trials and civil suits. People probably will go to prison. Penn State, as a school, will be hit with huge damages, as will the individuals.

Regardless of how it happened, nobody can show me where Penn State football was the raison d'etre for the cover up. They appeared to be protecting Sandusky, protecting their jobs. People want to punish the football team because it's an easy line to draw, and they want something they see as surviving to be tarnished. I think when this is all over, that's going to happen anyway. Paterno's legacy already is damaged beyond repair. But I don't think that the athletic department should be punished because it produces a product that is nationally recognized, when there is no indication that Sandusky had anything to do with it after 1999.

If the NCAA acts in some meaningful way, as a cynic, I believe it will be because the NCAA management believes that public opinion is on its side. But appealing to the mob is no way to run an organization. As I've said before, letting the NCAA decide this one without a rule in place actually opens the way for much less to be adjudicated as well -- it's a bad precedent to set.

It appears that the NCAA can vote Penn State out. If they want to do that, it's their club... they can pick their own members. But if they're not going to do that (and I don't think they will), they better have something more as a basis for punishment than honesty and integrity, because everybody falls short on that score at some point.

The conclusion of the Freeh report was that the reason for the coverup was to protect the football program.

I see it the same way you do.

No matter how you look at it:
1) covered it up to not effect the football program
2) cover it up to save his job

they both have the same effect..........Joe P. wanted to win more football games so he covered it up.

Remember, the 1st allegation came in 1998 when Sandusky was still the D.C. Try recruiting when your D.C. is charged with child rape.

This makes me happy.

Those kids will never see the campus.

Different coaching staff, different administration. At this point it would be near impossible for Paterno to get commitments if he were alive and still coaching PSU.

Since the school cleaned house, I think parents feel ok about letting their sons play football there.

And, Paterno would have been able to sign good players if this had come out in 2001, but maybe not as many, which is why he covered it up. If it came out now that Greg Davis had been molesting kids at football camps a few years ago, we would see a few decommitments and possibly some transfers. Both of which would effect our programs future.