Penn State deserves death penalty for Sandusky cover-up
Joe Paterno and other Penn State officials enabled the actions of Jerry Sandusky. (AP photo)
(Updated: 12:45 p.m.)
If we make a big deal about a college football program playing dumb when a recruit takes free shoes or tattoos, or his family lives in a house rent free, how can we look the other way when evidence screams that one of the nation’s most powerful universities enabled a pedophile?
How can we sit through something so sick and vile as the testimony in the Jerry Sandusky trial and conclude that this was a one-source scandal worthy of only one individual or entity suffering consequences?
Penn State should not be allowed to play another football game. It put sport, image and fundraising above everything else. That is what every cheater in college athletics does, and because of that it deserves the NCAA’s “death penalty.”
Southern Methodist University, one of the nation’s top academic schools, saw its football program given the death penalty in 1987 because it put athletic success above what so obviously was considered morally acceptable. Isn’t it now clear that Penn State did the exact same thing?
In fact, what the powers Penn State did was worse. Their actions involved not materialistic goods but defenseless victims who will suffer for the rest of their lives.
According to a 267-page report by former FBI director Louis Freeh, the four most powerful men overseeing the university and the football program – president Graham Spanier (since fired), athletic director Tim Curley (on “administrative leave,” under indictment for perjury), vice president Gary Schultz (suddenly retired, also under indictment) and the late coach, Joe Paterno (fired in what would be two months before his death) — knew far more about Sandusky’s sick perversions and abuse than they let on. They knew it far longer than they let on.
And here’s the punctuation, your honor: They “concealed critical facts,” according to Freeh.
There’s a term for that: cover-up.
“Our most saddening and sobering finding is the total disregard for the safety and welfare of Sandusky’s child victims by the most senior leaders at Penn State,” Freeh stated.
We don’t need to know anything else.
When this story first broke, Paterno said, “This is not a football scandal and should not be treated as one.”
Many agreed. Many still do, including some misguided alumni and football All-Americans and probably surely those numbskull students who marched on campus, embraced Paterno’s statue on campus and protested his firing without any regard for the victims.
The problem is concluding that because Sandusky’s reprehensible acts did not lead to a competitive advantage, the football program shouldn’t pay. But the cover-up changes that. What the powers at Penn State did was beyond anything any college athletic program has ever done, beyond free clothes or free rent and academic fraud.
To hell with a free Camaro. We’re talking about sweeping allegations of a child sex offender under the rug in order to protect a school’s image, fundraising and recruiting. There is no more extreme example of a lack of institutional control.
Penn State deserves to be hit hard. That may seem unfair to the student-athletes, officials and fans who knew nothing of Sandusky’s acts or the cover-up. But that’s the case with all NCAA sanctions.
This investigation was commissioned by Penn State at a cost of $500,000 per month. So much for Freeh having some anti-Penn State agenda. The report numbers 267 pages, resulting from 430 interviews and 3.5 million emails and documents. Freeh’s staff included former prosecutors, FBI agents, police officers, attorneys and a Navy SEAL.
Freeh said he found “more red flags than you could count, over a long period of time.” He said the leaders at Penn State had a “callous and shocking disregard for child victims.”
He said an “inference could be drawn” that the school was trying to protect the football program, noting, “bad publicity affects a panorama of different events, including the brand of Penn State, the reputation of coaches [and] the ability to do fundraising.”
He said Paterno was not being singled out, but at one point declared: “The facts are the facts. He was an integral part of the act to conceal.”
Emails reveal Paterno was clearly following the school’s internal investigation into allegations of a 1998 assault of a young boy by Sandusky in the Penn State locker room showers, something Paterno publicly denied. The same school leaders “proposed a plan of action” after learning of a 2001 incident reported by an assistant coach, but then decided against informing authorities.
“The most powerful leaders at Penn State … repeatedly concealed critical facts,” Freeh concluded.
The “Tone at the Top” of the school, he said, dissuaded school janitors from coming forward after witnessing incidents: “The janitors were afraid of being fired for reporting a powerful football coach.”
Sandusky will spend the rest of his life in prison. He could’ve been stopped sooner. But Paterno and the powers at Penn State were too concerned about the ramifications, off and on the field. That makes it a football scandal, as well.
By Jeff Schultz
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810 comments Add your comment
F**K Paterno
July 12th, 2012
5:05 pm
Remove the Governor of Pennsylvania as well.
Laurie
July 12th, 2012
5:06 pm
this case reminds me of the catholic church. There was a cover up and priest were pigs. However, it doesn’t say anywhere in the catholic doctrine that molesting BOYS is okay so why would they get rid of the catholic church OR the religion. that’s kind of what we are saying about PSU football. Yes, this man was a coach and he did horrific things to children on campus and there was a cover up involving Paterno somewhat. However, if you blame one man for a cover up in Sandusky’s years of abuse, you can blame thousands. what about the family, the social workers of the kids they placed in sandusky’s home, the adopted children who must have know it was happening in their own BASeMEnT, the charity he was involve in that allowed these boys to sleep at this man’s home, these boy’s parents who allowed their boys to sleep at a grown man’s home, the district attorney who had all the facts given to them by PSU in 1998 and had the charges DROPPED and last but not least the current governor of Pennsylvania who told the DA to have the charges DROPPED. Last I checked, if charges were dropped, then there’s little someone can do about it. Although Paterno may have been able to do more, we can ALL look back and say that about SOMETHING in life. At that time, it didn’t look like it did today in 2012! it’s horrifying but to say it had anything with the football program is kind of stupid. If you say the football program was involved merely because some of the case involved a disregard of the case in general, is like penalizing ALL of the school’s extracurricular programs. After all, NCAA clearly stated that no rules were broken so how can they make a claim to the football program without making the same claim on all other athletic teams. I just don’t see it happening…
NeverAgain
July 12th, 2012
5:06 pm
It’s not just the football program. This is the culture at the University (and at most huge institutions) as a whole.
To say that it’s a football problem is incorrect. It’s an image problem for Penn State. The former administration covered up, dismissed or downplayed many things that it viewed would be “bad” for it. Just so happened that this story blew up big time. Because the death threats to African American students and other issues weren’t big enough to make national news. The abuse of little boys is sensational.
Don’t let Penn State put the blame on football. That would be like blaming the arm for the sins of the man.
A victim speaks
July 12th, 2012
5:08 pm
I am a female who was sexually molested by someone I trusted, who I looked up to as a father, who was in a position of authority over me. I now see how he “groomed” me to be near him, etc. I didn’t see it as molestation then; it was packaged as “love” for me, and since I didn’t have a father in my life, I accepted his “love.” He, too, was prominent/nationally known, so I understand the lure of it all; you feel special that this big time person wants you near him. But it’s wrong.
I found the PSU press conference lacking. PSU and their boards need to OWN this culpability. Paterno, Curley, etc., NAME them and call them out. The effects of this abuse of power has long-lasting effects. the PSU football program should be shut down for two years minimum.
My recent fiance–I hurt for him during this time, too, because he was molested by his sister, beginning when he was 9 years old and she was 19. She was a caregiver over him when he was growing up as one of ten kids. He told me it went on for three years and he has never had therapy about it. He’s now early-60+. But alas, he did develop borderline personality disorder and it has so messed him up. SO sad, but despite my efforts, there’s nothing I can do and I don’t think his other remaining siblings know. Two of them told me that at the time (then), they just thought he was a “rebellious” child. But he was acting out because of the sexual abuse by his sister. Shame on her. And hearing of the Sandusky victims, I can’t help but still hurt for my ex who doesn’t want to talk to her about it because he’s “not sure she remembers.” She remembers! Plus with BPD, he lacks the emotional tools to deal with the conversation. [Childhood sexual abuse is a contributing factor to BPD in 75% of BPD cases.]
I hope PSU does NOT in any way still honor Joe Paterno; he is scum for putting football and PSU above the concern for these children being molested by Jerry Sandusky, and Paterno’s family needs to publicly apologize for Joe’s disgraceful cowardice and misplaced goals.
TRS
July 12th, 2012
5:09 pm
Really good column by Sally Jenkins who did the last interviews with Joe.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/joe-paterno-at-the-end-showed-more-interest-in-his-legacy-than-sanduskys-victims/2012/07/12/gJQAMUX9fW_story.html?hpid=z1
Laurie
July 12th, 2012
5:09 pm
i’m not really sure why people are talking about the death penalty. NCAA stated a few months ago that even if it comes out that they could have done more and that it was a cover up, it’s a criminal issue and does NOT violate the NCAA violations. The death penalty wouldn’t even be on the table. They said the same thing today so i’m not sure why we are even discussing it.
Tear It Down
July 12th, 2012
5:09 pm
Exhume Paterno’s body and parade his decapitated head through the streets of College Station.
Set fire to the Sandusky family home and those of his closest neighbors.
Drag Paterno’s fat idiot attorney son’s body through the streets of Harrisburg behind a horse&buggy.
Publish a list of the names of everyone involved in Sandusky’s charity and issue a a fatwah condeming them to .
In other words, what would Jesus do?
allen981
July 12th, 2012
5:09 pm
Shut Penn State down – now! No excuses can ever justify Penn State’s lack of action – none.
Dan
July 12th, 2012
5:09 pm
I can’t believe anyone is shocked to find out there was a cover up. That is what the big power programs do best
To: A Victim Speaks
July 12th, 2012
5:10 pm
Giggity
Atlanta Native
July 12th, 2012
5:11 pm
How about just suspending Penn State’s football team from competing for a period of time rather than just cancelling it forever? Perhaps until a new policy is written up that can detect and prevent this kind of stuff from ever happening again, with specific protocols established within the entire chain of command of the school – and approved by an appointed board not connected with the university. And of course the installation of all new university executives and athletic department managers and coaches. Just sweep it clean.
I’m not a football fan, but the activity is important to many people,
5150 UOAD
July 12th, 2012
5:12 pm
Shark Punch!……………for what Clinton did in the White House Oval Office we should tear it down too. Take the desk Monica Lewinski was under and burn it on the front lawn as well.
What's the Big Deal
July 12th, 2012
5:13 pm
I feel like a lot of people are really repressed. Why is everyone getting so worked up over a little horseplay?
Some people are so jealous of Jesus.
Give what was a young child a break
July 12th, 2012
5:14 pm
I’d like to see Mike McQueary and his father criminally charged (if indeed what is reported is true). They were the worst and biggest culprits in all of this – you mean you left that child there for more abuse and walked away? McQueary was not a “child” himself mind you and could have easily taken care of Sandusky….I hope and pray the Atty. General does not let him off the hook if proof is there in all of this…..
Laurie
July 12th, 2012
5:14 pm
we are still making this about football. it has nothing to DO with football. Almost all of the acts occurred in Sandusky’s basement and not the football campus. If the governor of PA had the case thrown out, there’s little someone can DO. Even the district attorney had the case thrown out in 1998. it’s easy for us in 2012 to look back and see the horror in this but at that time, would any of us have done anything differently… sadly the answer would be NO. It’s pathetic. Unfortunately, that’s the world we live in. the only pig in this entire situation from where I stand, is SANDUSKY. That man is ultimately accountable and NOBODY ELSE. PIG and he will rot in hell!
Atlanta Native Wrote:
July 12th, 2012
5:16 pm
” . . . a new policy is written up that can detect and prevent this kind of stuff from ever happening again, with specific protocols established within the entire chain of command of the school – and approved by an appointed board not connected with the university . . . blah blah blah, oh I farted, do you smell that. sensational. Bruce . . . !”
Atlanta Native Wrote:
July 12th, 2012
5:18 pm
How about just suspending Penn State’s football team from competing for a period of time rather than just cancelling it forever? Perhaps until a new policy is written up that can detect and prevent this kind of stuff from ever happening again, with specific protocols established within the entire chain of command of the school – and approved by an appointed board not connected with the university. And of course the installation of all new university executives and athletic department managers and coaches.
Blah Blah Blah. How about you put a lid on it, Nerd!
DEATH PENALTY
July 12th, 2012
5:18 pm
Could have been stopped years and years ago by a bunch of people who knew.
Mike S.
July 12th, 2012
5:20 pm
I agree 100% Jeff. This is most certainly worthy of the death penalty because, just like any other violation, it was covered up in order to preserve and uphold the athletic department.
Delbert D.
July 12th, 2012
5:21 pm
@5:09p.m. “Exhume Paterno’s body and parade his decapitated head through the streets of College Station.”
The King of England did that with the head of Simon Fraser, putting it on a pole next to that of William Wallace.
TrishaDishaWarEagle
July 12th, 2012
5:21 pm
those involved are out of the system at the university, so all you are really saying is lets ruin thousands of peoples lives by destroying ntheir livelyhood (which is what it would ammount to..that part of the state relies heavily on 6 saturdays a year) because I feel vindictive. If that is how you feel, fine..but admit it..and stop pretending its just about fairness and justice.
ARdawg
July 12th, 2012
5:24 pm
Laurie
Sandusky is the pig here but, he’s not the only one. The enablers are just as guilty. The ones who knew and sat idly by while it continued have just as much culpability
Delbert D.
July 12th, 2012
5:25 pm
@5:11p.m. “Perhaps until a new policy is written up that can detect and prevent this kind of stuff from ever happening again, with specific protocols established within the entire chain of command of the school – and approved by an appointed board not connected with the university. And of course the installation of all new university executives and athletic department managers and coaches.”
That was the summary of the press conference earlier today. Study groups, procedures, institutional introspection, rearranging the furniture.
DEATH PENALTY
July 12th, 2012
5:27 pm
Paterno and his gang of administrative thugs hid the facts while Sandusky was on his decades long rampage.
Chuck Clausen
July 12th, 2012
5:32 pm
I don’t think this is an NCAA matter, there were no rule violations in which one team used the breaking of the rule in order to get a competitive advantage. Sandusky should go to jail and Paterno and everybody else involved in the cover up should be fired.
Shark Punch!
July 12th, 2012
5:34 pm
@ F**K Paterno: My working hypothesis is that you’re a simple troll, but I’ll bite. Do you really advocate depriving current students (who had nothing to do with these incidents) of a valuable academic resource just because it has a particular name attached to it? Why?
Since you feel so strongly about this issue, maybe you should be out there doing something about it.
SSIgator
July 12th, 2012
5:35 pm
Laurie is correct. Hard to believe that this is still running along the lines of football. All of those that are in support of the NCAA and the proper authorities handling this at the same time – be careful what you wish for. The next time that a UGA or UF or any school’s football player is charged and arrested for assulting a woman, do you then want the NCAA to also step in and put the school and its athletic department on probation for its “lack of institutional control”? Once something like that gets a foothold, it is hard to stop it. Kind of like the crew that is running this country currently.
Jan Kemp Was Right
July 12th, 2012
5:37 pm
Football is to higher education as the proverbial Schwinn is to a trout.
Delbert D.
July 12th, 2012
5:40 pm
SSIgator – “Once something like that gets a foothold, it is hard to stop it. Kind of like the crew that is running this country currently.”
There is a direct correlation there with keeping the citizens as ignorant as sheep.
ATLcracker
July 12th, 2012
5:40 pm
When I read your headline I thought it was over the top. My initial thought was that criminal punishment of the four main players in the cover up and the assistant coach was enough. I didn’t think the Penn State community was culpable and should not be punished. But after I read the column and some of the comments I went back and read this paragraph: ” Penn State deserves to be hit hard. That may seem unfair to the student-athletes, officials and fans who knew nothing of Sandusky’s acts or the cover-up. But that’s the case with all NCAA sanctions”. I think my first reaction was completely wrong. The student-athletes, officials and fans benefited tremendously from this cover up and there has to be some negative consequences for that result. How severe? This is by far the worst scandal attached to any athletic program and the punishment must fit the crime. The punishment should be equal to or more severe than any previous punishment and only the SMU type death penalty meets that standard.
Shark Punch!
July 12th, 2012
5:41 pm
@ TrishaDishaWarEagle
I don’t think that Centre County would shrivel economically without football weekends, but otherwise, AMEN.
SSIgator
July 12th, 2012
5:42 pm
Delbert D -
That’s why they are sheeple.
ARdawg
July 12th, 2012
5:43 pm
Demm….two days straight I have agreed with SSIgator. Quick, someone take my temp
TRS
July 12th, 2012
5:44 pm
@SSlgator…YES! if the leaders of the football program are actively involved in a cover up and are enabling the crime to continue. The people who run these programs have a duty to handle situations like this correctly…what the PSU staff did was criminal.
The football program absolutely got a competitive advantage by trying to sweep this under the rug/cover it up. Had this come out in 98 or 01 the programs recruiting would have suffered but they probably would not have faced NCAA penalties because they did the proper thing and turned the pedo into the justice system. The cover up was pure and simple to protect the football program…allowing it to continue to occur in the football facilities.
They are going to deservedly suffer sanctions.
Chuck Clausen
July 12th, 2012
5:44 pm
At one time in my life I worked in the Athletic department of one of our Country’s largest universities. It is highly likely few if anybody knew what was going on. I saw everyday people who’s name I didn’t know. My job as a coach was to win football games, we had little if any time to gossip.
tomato
July 12th, 2012
5:44 pm
“The next time that a UGA or UF or any school’s football player is charged and arrested for assulting a woman, do you then want the NCAA to also step in and put the school and its athletic department on probation for its “lack of institutional control”?”
If the program knew about the assault and intentionally covered it up while the player continued assaulting women in campus locker rooms for years? Then hell yes the program should get smacked down.
BillS
July 12th, 2012
5:45 pm
If “lack of institutional control” is found to be an issue at any school, NCAA penalties should be enforced, whether Penn State or anywhere else. And stop this drivel about what would happen to all those poor people who had nothing to do with this: that does in no way mitigate the crime and the potential penalties
SSIgator
July 12th, 2012
5:46 pm
ARdawg -
Not to worry. Once football season starts, we will again agree to disagree.
RunninWithTheDawgs
July 12th, 2012
5:55 pm
If the law does their job, I don’t see a reason for the death penalty. Anyone who had any knowledge of what was going on will be fired and or in prison, then you’d have a bunch of innocent people being punished. Maybe the NCAA could tell them to change the name of the school if they wanted to compete in the NCAA.
SSIgator
July 12th, 2012
5:55 pm
TRS and tomato -
I understand what you are saying, but where do you draw the line? If you let the NCAA in to also decide matters that should be a local issue, where do you draw the line? Or, as another “what if” situation: a football player at a school is convicted of a crime and punished by the local authorities, much to the relief of the local community. However, the NCAA rules that the local authorities did not exercise proper investigative techniques. As a result, the NCAA demands that the the school re-instate the convicted football player, much to the chagrin of the victim and yhe local community. What then?
CCA
July 12th, 2012
5:56 pm
The Sandusky
The Sandusky ordeal is a shame. I am not defending it, however we need to look at the bigger
picture of what is happening in society. Does acceptance of homosexuality in our society contribute? Did ROE vs WADE play any part in society digressing to this point? What caused the
Roman Catholic Church sex scandal? Let us not forget Slick Willie in the White House or Barney
Franks recent so called wedding.
VandyFan2012
July 12th, 2012
5:59 pm
Abolish all athletics at PSU. Athletes can transfer without sitting out.
Burn Paterno’s program to the ground and wipe any trace of it from the record books.SMU deserved the death penalty, Penn State deserves much, much worse than what SMU got. Penn State chose to protect their fraudulently acquired reputation as a class football program and university over children who were being sexually abused by a child predator in Penn State facilities because he was a friend of the head coach. Let that sink in. That is a felony crime and is several orders of magnitude worse than taking cash from alumni.
If Joe Paterno’s children were the ones being abused what do you think he would have done? And to hear the senior leadership of the university bow down to Paterno to protect their image is sickening.
Chuck Clausen
July 12th, 2012
6:00 pm
Woody was one of my heros – plenty of Buckeyes received a punch from the “Old Man” at practice – getting hit by a 66 year old man does not hurt, it was almost a badge of honor. Winning under Woody was a serious business. By the way I knew Joe Paterno well at one time, I would have been proud to have a son play for Joe.
tomato
July 12th, 2012
6:05 pm
SSigator, the NCAA cannot overstep state and federal laws. If the player is convicted in a court of law, the NCAA cannot override that decision.
SSIgator
July 12th, 2012
6:06 pm
It just dawned on me what we are all missing in this:
AltamahaDawg and his friend Nancy have yet to sign on with their opinions. Not to worry though, whatever they say will be what should happen because they know everything. If you don’t believe me, just ask them. They will tell you so.
SPS
July 12th, 2012
6:09 pm
NCAA sanctions generally punish the wrong people. Keep them out of it, and let the court system deal with that group of dirt bags.
perk
July 12th, 2012
6:10 pm
I had the death penalty discussion this morning with some clients. split on whether to give the death penalty. my 1st reaction was that it was not the football team. the evidence on Joe Pa changes that. It looks like he knew back in 92 and again in 98 before the 2001 incident. Something has to be done to the athletic dept. Bottom line is that kids are the victims….there lives are affected forever. I don’t care what people do with their lives with adults…..but don’t hurt kids. Everybody left (Pres, VP, AD, etc) who covered up should go to jail.
ERIC
July 12th, 2012
6:18 pm
OKAY EVERYONE GRAB YOUR PITCH FORKS AND TORCHS AND LETS GO AFTER THE CATHOLIC CHURCH WHO HID THIS SAME THING FOR DECADES. LETS MAKE ALL THE CHURCH GOERS SUFFER BECAUSE OF CHILD MOLESTING PRIEST.( HOW ABOUT WE LET THE FOOTBALL PROGRAM OUT OF IT AND USE THE MONEY GENERATED FROM IT GO FOR ABUSED CHILDREN?) THAT WOULD MAKE MORE SENSE.I BET THE ALOT OF THE PEOPLE ON HERE DIDNT MAKE COMMENTS WHEN THEY READ ABOUT THE PRIEST MOLESTING CHILDREN. WITH SOME OF THE JERKS IN HERE IT IS JUST ABOUT PENNSTATE FOOTBALL NOT THE CHILDREN. AND THATS SAD.
DEATH PENALTY
July 12th, 2012
6:20 pm
The Penn State administration
protected Sandusky while he attacked children for 14 years ( 5,110 days ) !
24jordan
July 12th, 2012
6:22 pm
I have been a fan for years I love the no name uniform that they have when they come on the field I also like the way Joe ran his program this goes beyond the realm of what life is all about people need to be held accountable for this kind of behavior this should not have been allowed too go on this long
shame, shame on you PS ………….. Yes I’m in favor of the DEATH PENALTY