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Wetzel: Last-ditch effort to reframe Joe Paterno's legacy fizzles out

You and I have been like-minded on this from the get go.

Agree however Remy's comments representing the NCAA after this announcement was made were not only childish but sums up why so many have such a dislike over their incredible arrogance.

There were no winners here... None.

Would have liked to see them say as much... Instead they again jumped on the Bandwagon to trash Paterno .

Curious to see what statents they make after Baylor , UNC or MSU debacles are settled.. If ever...
 
Nevertheless, it's mostly correct. Nobody ever refuted much of anything.

Here's the problem in a nutshell. It wasn't anybody's job to refute the allegations. It was the prosecution's job to prove them. The principals have been in a position from the day Joe was fired where their guilt was presumed, rather than their innocence. Penn State proceeded to reinforce that presumption of guilt with each subsequent action it took. After all this time and the incalculable damage done, not one allegation lending any credence to the narrative was proved. Not one!
 
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Here's the problem in a nutshell. It wasn't anybody's job to refute the allegations. It was the prosecution's job to prove them. The principals have been in a position from the day Joe was fired where their guilt was presumed, rather than their innocence. Penn State proceeded to reinforce that presumption of guilt with, each subsequent action it took. After all this time and incalculable damage done, not one allegation lending any credence to the narrative was proved. Not one!

And they didn't prove them, at least with respect to Joe...he was only ever implicated in the "conspiracy" part of this mess, i.e. Joe clearly complied with the legal reporting requirements and then Freeh went on to posit that Joe steered Curley away from from reporting to DPW. The prosecution failed to show enough evidence to prove any conspiracy to a jury. This fact combined w/ Joe testifying under oath that he did no such thing should be more than enough to clear Joe's name...but sadly it won't be...ever.
 
I love the way that Kevin Slaten oblierated Dan Wetzel.

Wetzel sounds like the pompous know-nothing a$$hole he really is. if he's that confident in his opinions, he'd be able to defend the crap he writes instead of collapsing into a childish turd when questioned . . .
 
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From day one, Paternos should have sued Freeh and/or Penn State.

This lawsuit against the NCAA was a waste of time - wrong defendant.
Exactly - the BOT allowed the NCAA too use the report as fact because they presented it that way. Even though there was no review/official approval. Even though NCAA was wrong in trying to over flex their muscles if the BOT didn't do what they did we would not have been in that position. The top of the old BOT should have felt the brunt of the suit.
 
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You twits keep babbling about the BOT as if they were the bad guys. Relieving those
involved in the scandal of their duties when the news broke was absolutely the right thing
to do. Apparently you can't see the further harm PSU's reputation would have taken
if they had not done so. When accusations are made regarding any non elected
public officials, the result is almost always suspension until an investigation takes place.
And the BOT attempted to get ahead of the curve by commissioning an independent
investigation to show PSU wanted to clean the slate. No one could have known that the
incompetent, lazy and probably corrupt NCAA would use the report as a basis for leveling
inappropriate and overly harsh sanctions on PSU. With the benefit of hindsight, the Bot
probably wishes they had stonewalled the NCAA and forced them to do their own investigation.
PSU could have skated much like North Carolina and other cheaters. On the bright side,
the sanctions are over, PSU has a great staff and many great young men representing the Lions.
The future is bright.
 
You twits keep babbling about the BOT as if they were the bad guys. Relieving those
involved in the scandal of their duties when the news broke was absolutely the right thing
to do. Apparently you can't see the further harm PSU's reputation would have taken
if they had not done so. When accusations are made regarding any non elected
public officials, the result is almost always suspension until an investigation takes place.
And the BOT attempted to get ahead of the curve by commissioning an independent
investigation to show PSU wanted to clean the slate. No one could have known that the
incompetent, lazy and probably corrupt NCAA would use the report as a basis for leveling
inappropriate and overly harsh sanctions on PSU. With the benefit of hindsight, the Bot
probably wishes they had stonewalled the NCAA and forced them to do their own investigation.
PSU could have skated much like North Carolina and other cheaters. On the bright side,
the sanctions are over, PSU has a great staff and many great young men representing the Lions.
The future is bright.
Independent investigation? LOL
 
You twits keep babbling about the BOT as if they were the bad guys. Relieving those
involved in the scandal of their duties when the news broke was absolutely the right thing
to do. Apparently you can't see the further harm PSU's reputation would have taken
if they had not done so. When accusations are made regarding any non elected
public officials, the result is almost always suspension until an investigation takes place.
And the BOT attempted to get ahead of the curve by commissioning an independent
investigation to show PSU wanted to clean the slate. No one could have known that the
incompetent, lazy and probably corrupt NCAA would use the report as a basis for leveling
inappropriate and overly harsh sanctions on PSU. With the benefit of hindsight, the Bot
probably wishes they had stonewalled the NCAA and forced them to do their own investigation.
PSU could have skated much like North Carolina and other cheaters. On the bright side,
the sanctions are over, PSU has a great staff and many great young men representing the Lions.
The future is bright.
How about you show us the part where Paterno and Spanier were "suspended pending investigation," Wally? There's no way you could have graduated from college and not know the difference between suspension and firing.

On the other hand, we've seen numerous examples of police shootings where the department puts the officers on leave until there is an investigation, and they refuse to comment one way or the other until that investigation is complete. Politicians, journalists, athletes, teachers... you name the profession... when one of them is accused of something criminal, their organization supports them until something is proven. Did Penn State do that? And you think the BOT is courageous and smart? The future may be bright, but you're pretty dim. You're a total f***head, Wally.

BTW, why is your only concern in this entire situation football?
 
How about you show us the part where Paterno and Spanier were "suspended pending investigation," Wally? There's no way you could have graduated from college and not know the difference between suspension and firing.

On the other hand, we've seen numerous examples of police shootings where the department puts the officers on leave until there is an investigation, and they refuse to comment one way or the other until that investigation is complete. Politicians, journalists, athletes, teachers... you name the profession... when one of them is accused of something criminal, their organization supports them until something is proven. Did Penn State do that? And you think the BOT is courageous and smart? The future may be bright, but you're pretty dim. You're a total f***head, Wally.

BTW, why is your only concern in this entire situation football?
Seriously? Paterno announced his retirement making it impossible to suspend him.

Spanier's statement of support for Curley and Schultz went too far. Everyone knew there was an incident and they didn't report it to authorities. Calling the charges groundless was a really bad look.

Also remember Spanier's statement was as much about self preservation as anything else.
 
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You twits keep babbling about the BOT as if they were the bad guys. Relieving those
involved in the scandal of their duties when the news broke was absolutely the right thing
to do. Apparently you can't see the further harm PSU's reputation would have taken
if they had not done so. When accusations are made regarding any non elected
public officials, the result is almost always suspension until an investigation takes place.
And the BOT attempted to get ahead of the curve by commissioning an independent
investigation to show PSU wanted to clean the slate. No one could have known that the
incompetent, lazy and probably corrupt NCAA would use the report as a basis for leveling
inappropriate and overly harsh sanctions on PSU. With the benefit of hindsight, the Bot
probably wishes they had stonewalled the NCAA and forced them to do their own investigation.
PSU could have skated much like North Carolina and other cheaters. On the bright side,
the sanctions are over, PSU has a great staff and many great young men representing the Lions.
The future is bright.

They may not be "bad guys" in that they're not criminals.

But they are horrible leaders and not fitting to be in charge of anything more than a small department. You're pretending they acted in the best interest of PSU.

They did not. They acted in their own self interest.

"I'll do anything, just don't call me a pedophile enabler"
 
Paterno was an employee, and unfortunately employees don't get to decide when or whether they're put on suspension or not.

He essentially did though. He dared the BoT to basically fire him. That rarely ends well.

Once he announces retirement, a 2 game suspension is exactly the same as a firing.
 
You twits keep babbling about the BOT as if they were the bad guys. Relieving those
involved in the scandal of their duties when the news broke was absolutely the right thing
to do. Apparently you can't see the further harm PSU's reputation would have taken
if they had not done so. When accusations are made regarding any non elected
public officials, the result is almost always suspension until an investigation takes place.
And the BOT attempted to get ahead of the curve by commissioning an independent
investigation to show PSU wanted to clean the slate. No one could have known that the
incompetent, lazy and probably corrupt NCAA would use the report as a basis for leveling
inappropriate and overly harsh sanctions on PSU. With the benefit of hindsight, the Bot
probably wishes they had stonewalled the NCAA and forced them to do their own investigation.
PSU could have skated much like North Carolina and other cheaters. On the bright side,
the sanctions are over, PSU has a great staff and many great young men representing the Lions.
The future is bright.
B_JB4enUoAAUEX1.png:large
 
So Surma uses Jim Kollar as an example...
this is from an article that I found in The Daily Collegian from 2008 (note the last paragraph, in particular):


"In 1967, defensive end Mike McBath and two other players sat down at an airport bar after beating Miami on the road.

"By bad luck, who was it that walks up but Joe," McBath said. "He tells us to meet in his office the next day. He says he is going to throw our fate over to the team."

What gets lost in the story, McBath jokes, is he, quarterback Tom Sherman and guard Jim Kollar were all 21.

During a meeting, the team found the blunder more hilarious than shameful. Amid players' joking, McBath recalls Paterno losing his patience, and the then-second-year coach kicking down the door in disgust and saying, "That's it. It's my team. I'm in charge. I'll decide."

Only Kollar was kicked off the team, because he had broken a team rule once before. McBath would go on to play in the NFL for the Buffalo Bills and barely reminisces about such a "minor moment" in his life, he said."
 
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Here's the problem in a nutshell. It wasn't anybody's job to refute the allegations. It was the prosecution's job to prove them. The principals have been in a position from the day Joe was fired where their guilt was presumed, rather than their innocence. Penn State proceeded to reinforce that presumption of guilt with each subsequent action it took. After all this time and the incalculable damage done, not one allegation lending any credence to the narrative was proved. Not one!
Sad but true. If only someone at Penn State spoke out the way Slaten has on a number of occasions (not necessarily HOW he's spoken, but definitely his content), then the media would have actually had to pay attention to an alternate narrative. Instead they were spoon fed an undisputed single story and ran with it, facts/investigation be damned.
 
Noticed this extremely frustrating tweet by Mark Alesia who helped break the Larry Nassar story at the Indy Star.

Rather than reward him with clicks, here's the story from Bernie Fine's No. 1 fan.

Last-ditch effort to reframe Joe Paterno's legacy fizzles out
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Dan Wetzel | Columnist | Yahoo Sports | Jun 30, 2017, 6:03 PM


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Joe Paterno won more college football games than any other coach, until those wins were vacated because of the Sandusky scandal. (AP)

With fiery rhetoric from high-powered attorneys and surrogates such as a former Pennsylvania governor, four years ago the family of the late Joe Paterno announced they were suing the NCAA. The suit sought to overturn NCAA sanctions against Paterno’s old Nittany Lion football program. It was mostly about what the family deemed unfair and irreparable harm the NCAA inflicted on Paterno due to its use of the Freeh Report in leveling the penalties.

The Freeh Report, written by former FBI director Louis Freeh and commissioned by Penn State itself, took a harsh view of Paterno and others in allowing former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky to molest boys through the years.

Deemed a search for truth and a continuation of JoePa’s dying wish to investigate the case, the high-profile lawsuit was billed as the family fighting back against a rush to judgment that had cost Paterno his job and his reputation. He died of cancer at age 85 in January 2012, just months after being fired after 55 years as head coach, where he had won more games than anyone in college football history.

“An illegally imposed penalty that is based on false assumptions and secret discussions,” blasted Wick Sollers, the Paterno family attorney, upon filing the suit. It was further backed by members of the Penn State Board of Trustees and other prominent community members, including former Gov. Dick Thornburg.

Sollers said the case demanded “meticulous review.”

After four years of presumably just that level of review, the case came to an abrupt conclusion. The family voluntarily filed a motion in Centre County Court Friday to discontinue the case “with prejudice,” meaning it’s over for good.

There was no settlement here. There were no considerations. This was a one-sided decision. After all this time, the family just gave up on this avenue. The NCAA was still muscled up for a fight. The timing wasn’t a coincidence. Plaintiff attorneys were facing a Friday afternoon deadline to file its discovery that backed up its claims on the case.

Instead they quit.

Whatever truth the Paternos hoped to shine on the situation never materialized. Instead the news of the retreat was buried late on a Friday before a holiday weekend.

The NCAA immediately declared “total victory.” It then put the family and its lawsuit on blast with a level of pent-up vitriol uncommon for the Association.

“The Paterno family characterized this case as a ‘search for the truth,’ ” Donald Remy, the NCAA’s chief legal officer, said in the statement. “Its decision today, after years of investigation and discovery, to abandon its lawsuit rather than subject those facts to courtroom examination is telling.

“We believe that the powerful record developed during discovery overwhelmingly confirmed what the NCAA has believed all along: the NCAA acted reasonable in adopting conclusion of an eight-month investigation by Louis Freeh,” Remy continued.

This turn of events represents another bitter and humiliating chapter in this story for Paterno supporters. They have long slammed the Freeh report as overly conclusive and inconsistent – little more than a predetermined blame game in search of the flimsiest of proof. There was a measure of merit to the claim, as Freeh took leaps of logic to make conclusions that could certainly, at the very least, be debated.

As such, there was long held hope among Paterno supporters that this lawsuit would cause the 267-page Freeh Report to come under continued assault, eventually leading to the softening of public opinion against Paterno. The ultimate goal was complete vindication and the return of a statue honoring the coach outside Beaver Stadium.

Previously, the NCAA had walked back heavy sanctions against the football team, all but conceding it went too far in its initial decision.

Other than that, though, there has been little success to be found in the courts for the pro-Paterno and pro-Sandusky factions. Be it criminal or civil, be it decision by jury or judge, almost everything has gone against the Paternos.



Former grad assistant Mike McQueary, a villain to the pro-Paterno people, meanwhile won a whistle blower lawsuit against the school for his wrongful firing. He was awarded $7.3 million. Additionally, the school’s civil suit against an insurer led to even more brutal headlines, as uncorroborated allegations of additional abuse were revealed that painted Paterno and Penn State in even worse light.

In the swirl after the scandal hit, causing Paterno’s once glowing career to end in controversy, there was a belief from those loyal to him that eventually the cool and calm of the court system would deliver vindication.

Perhaps nothing was more important to achieving that than Paterno v. NCAA. It promised to be an intriguing battle between a once beloved and respected coach who spent his life promoting the ideals of college athletics against the central organization of college athletics itself. Both sides had resources, patience and seemingly endless resolve. Fireworks were expected.

“This matter will never be resolved until the full facts are reviewed in a lawful and transparent manner,” Sollers, the Paterno attorney, said at the outset.

On Friday that review ended. In like a (Nittany) Lion, out with a whimper.

=======================================================================

Unfortunately, these are the headlines that will define the story's conclusion. And it's all because the Paterno family was too classy to sue Penn State University and the 2011 Board of Trustrees.


yeah, I'm not going to read that regardless of what it says or how fair it may be.
 
The real Rat was Victor Surma. I would like to set the record straight. Surma did have an axe to grind and there was no love loss between him and Paterno. He blamed Paterno for the problems of his nephew.
If Vic Jr. was gay that was no one's fault. If he got dangerously involved with drugs that may have been due to his unfortunate feelings of guilt and shame for being gay. If that was the case, and I'm just guessing here, then the blame, if there is any, would more likely rest with the finger pointer, Vic Sr., not Joe. Another guess is that that scenario is not uncommon.
 
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Paterno was an employee, and unfortunately employees don't get to decide when or whether they're put on suspension or not.
That's kind of the point. While you guys obsess over him being fired you ignore the fact he limited BOT's options.

After announcing his retirement suspension is essentially firing him. Here's part of his statement:

"That's why I have decided to announce my retirement effective at the end of this season. At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can.

"This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more. My goals now are to keep my commitments to my players and staff and finish the season with dignity and determination. And then I will spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to help this university."

It wouldn't have changed how people reacted.
 
That's kind of the point. While you guys obsess over him being fired you ignore the fact he limited BOT's options.

After announcing his retirement suspension is essentially firing him. Here's part of his statement:

"That's why I have decided to announce my retirement effective at the end of this season. At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can.

"This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more. My goals now are to keep my commitments to my players and staff and finish the season with dignity and determination. And then I will spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to help this university."

It wouldn't have changed how people reacted.

except Joe had already planned on retiring that season, and the BoT knew it
 
That's kind of the point. While you guys obsess over him being fired you ignore the fact he limited BOT's options.

After announcing his retirement suspension is essentially firing him. Here's part of his statement:

"That's why I have decided to announce my retirement effective at the end of this season. At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can.

"This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more. My goals now are to keep my commitments to my players and staff and finish the season with dignity and determination. And then I will spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to help this university."

It wouldn't have changed how people reacted.


"It wouldn't have changed how people reacted."


Just clowns like you LT.
 
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Wetzel kneels at the altar of the lazy, sanctimonious, "gotcha" journalism today that satisfies the masses.

I would be concerned if Wetzel wrote a positive Paterno article.

Joe was a good man that got caught up in bad situation not if his own making, that's it.


True but once he was in the situation someone needed to go to the police. It could have been anyone in the chain of command but NONE of them made the call.
 
True but once he was in the situation someone needed to go to the police. It could have been anyone in the chain of command but NONE of them made the call.


Because they didn't have to. Are you really that dense?
 
except Joe had already planned on retiring that season, and the BoT knew it
How does that change anything we're discussing about him being fired instead of suspended?

Announcing it publicly ensured people would react the same way if he were suspended rather than being fired.
 
"It wouldn't have changed how people reacted."


Just clowns like you LT.
People would have screamed "They should let him finish the season. He's stood by Penn State for so long, they need to let go out on his own terms".

On the other side "What's the point? If it were anyone else they would be fired immediately. It's just an example of how much of cult that place is".

So no, it wouldn't have changed how people reacted once Paterno played the "let me coach out the season" card publicly.
 
True but once he was in the situation someone needed to go to the police. It could have been anyone in the chain of command but NONE of them made the call.

Eh, that's all hindsight, sanctimonious, Monday-morning QB-ing. Personally, given the facts we know I think everyone acted reasonably with the exception of the OAG and possibly TSM.

Regardless, Joe not calling police does not justify the public destruction of his reputation by guys like Wetzel.
 
True but once he was in the situation someone needed to go to the police. It could have been anyone in the chain of command but NONE of them made the call.
Before the chain of command was informed is more like it. Mike, Dranov. John Mc, Towny, Dukie, Mrs. Mc, the girlfriend, the sister(s) and so on.
 
except Joe had already planned on retiring that season, and the BoT knew it

Determining what Coach Paterno's status should be (retiring early/immediately, not coaching for the remaining games) based on the reality of the media/public firestorm could have easily been achieved during an internal review of the Freeh Report's findings before publicly releasing it. Performing such an internal review would have been obvious to a Board with any modicum of competence.

It really seems like some of the OGBOT members had such animosity towards/jealousy of Coach Paterno that they deliberately released the Freeh Report (of which they almost certainly already knew the contents) publicly without review just so they could fire Paterno on the spot.
 
Determining what Coach Paterno's status should be (retiring early/immediately, not coaching for the remaining games) based on the reality of the media/public firestorm could have easily been achieved during an internal review of the Freeh Report's findings before publicly releasing it. Performing such an internal review would have been obvious to a Board with any modicum of competence.

It really seems like some of the OGBOT members had such animosity towards/jealousy of Coach Paterno that they deliberately released the Freeh Report (of which they almost certainly already knew the contents) publicly without review just so they could fire Paterno on the spot.

Paterno was fired in November 2011, long before the Freeh Report was produced. That being said, Paterno should never have been fired irregardless of the Freeh Report farce.
 
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