Monday, July 23, 2012

The Punishment Squad

Now the NCAA is about to jump onto the pile of Penn State bashers and haters.

Under the broadest of its powers and for violations not directly related to football, the NCAA is poised to announce it's sentence on the Penn State football program.

As usual, we will be told this is "for the kids," the "victims of child abuse everywhere." What this is about is joining the mob of sanctimonious Monday morning quarterbacks who have convinced themselves of their own righteousness and purity.

If the NCAA effectively hands down a "death sentence" for the football program, the new leaders of the university will only have themselves to blame. They hired Louis Freeh and accepted his conclusion-jumping report as if it was the gospel truth. But any sentient, still thinking, reasonable person should have doubts about exactly who knew what when about Jerry Sandusky. There is a difference between knowing something to be true (Sandusky's crimes) and not doing enough to find out if it's true.

The removal of the Paterno statue is over the top. John F. Kennedy did things far worse in both his personal and professional life than Paterno ever thought of doing. We know about Kennedy now, and his penchant for using and abusing young women. Martin Luther King was serial adulterer even as he preached the Christian gospel of civil rights.

So where are the demands to take their name off federal buildings, highways and airports? They don't exist because most grown-up Americans understand that even our best and brightest are flawed. None of them are perfect and some are far from it. We still celebrate their achievements, what they stood for, and what they came to symbolize.

The effort to redefine Joe Paterno as nothing more than a vain egoist willing to see children be sexually abused to protect his own legacy as saint is - at its core - a cowardly one. In the crucible of this scandal reputations are being blithely destroyed for the mere sport of it.

Not only has Paterno not been proven guilty of his "crime," neither have Tim Curley or Gary Schultz. How crazy is it to wait for their actual trial before judging them to be guilty?

They are accused of lying to protect themselves and a child molester from "bad publicity." But the nice thing about being part of a mob is that - unlike a jury - you don't have to wait for all the evidence to be presented before coming to a conclusion. Is there anything that might be shown in a court of law that might cause anyone to doubt the guilt of these men?

The NCAA believes it has enough information to pass judgement on Penn State and to declare a fitting punishment for the tens of thousands of students, football fans, and alumni who care about this school.

But I doubt it.

UPDATE: I thought so. The NCAA has imposed a 4-year ban on bowl appearances, fined the school $60 million and stripped Joe Paterno of credit for every win since 1998. More here.

Somehow, this is supposed to be justice.

28 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

To liken the behavior of Kennedy and King to Paterno's is inane. Kennedy and King engaged in consensual
private behavior whereas Paterno was involved in a conspiracy to cover up the actions of a convicted child molester. You might be prescient regarding a rush to judgement in this case, but I doubt it.

July 23, 2012 at 10:06 AM 
Blogger jake said...

Faith transcends reason. It is when the horizon is the darkest and human reason is beaten down to the ground that faith shines brightest and comes to our rescue.
Mahatma Gandhi

July 23, 2012 at 1:27 PM 
Blogger CharlieSix said...

The NCAA did not choose to give the "death sentence" to the Penn State program. Instead they inflicted such serious damage to the program that it has to be declared as terminally ill. Death will come later down the road as a result of sanctions imposed. The $60 million fine? Okay, take money from the unrestricted endowment and put it into a Board designated endowment. But the loss of scholarships? Perhaps it doesn't matter all that much, except to the kids who would have received them since the four-year ban on Bowl Games will make any prospective recruit think twice. Which will sure dilute the squad. It will be decades in the future before the program is again competitive. Which is probably what the current administration of the University wants. So sad that many, many innoncent people are the ultimate recipients of the NCAA's pulling the trigger so quickly.

July 23, 2012 at 7:01 PM 
Blogger Dannytheman said...

Page 17 from the Freeh Report- Paterno and the rest allowed Sandusky to retire as a 'valued' member, not as a child molester, and allowed him access to Penn State and the facilities until his arrest.

Culpability? I am not smart enough to decide if Penn State Football deserves the punishment it received, but no one should ever fail to see that top brass at Penn State covered up serious allegations and allowed a monster to continue unfettered on their facility.

July 24, 2012 at 6:43 AM 
Blogger Bob Bohne said...

Jake - How many times you gonna use that quote? Is that your new mantra? You and Zimmerman. Push it off on god. What ever happened to personal responsibility Jake? What a huge cop out.

July 24, 2012 at 9:14 AM 
Blogger jake said...

Danny,
The Freeh Report also says the General Counsel of Penn State advised the Administration that they could not retire Sandusky any differently.
This was a hired professional's interpretation of the state's labor laws.
This advice came after the DA of Centre County declined to press charges.
How is this a cover-up? How can you be labeled a "child molester" before you are convicted of any crime?

July 24, 2012 at 9:19 AM 
Blogger jake said...

Bob,
Like I would let your warped values be my guide.

July 24, 2012 at 9:23 AM 
Blogger Bob Bohne said...

Danny - Don't waste your time. People like Charlie and Jake have invested time and energy defending the indefensible. They won't admit they were wrong. They will grasp at straws. They will even claim that this was gods will, admitting that their faith transcends their ability to reason. Suicide bombers do the same thing. It's called "Blind Faith". It translates into "I'm too embarrassed and stubborn to admit that I was wrong" Or in this case "I won't give Bob the satisfaction of admitting that he was right"

July 24, 2012 at 9:27 AM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What goes around comes around!
Justice always gets served. One way or another!
Paterno and Penn State have always been overrated. Excess Greed and DisneyWorld lifestyles always come back to bite EVERYONE!

July 24, 2012 at 10:01 AM 
Blogger Dannytheman said...

I was under the impression that Penn State said they would accept the findings of Freeh? Am I wrong?

July 24, 2012 at 11:46 AM 
Blogger jake said...

The Board of Trustees commissioned the Freeh Report, and paid $6.5 million for it.
Not surprisingly, the report goes to great lengths to absolve the Board of blame.
Of course they are going to accept the findings. But alumni, students, parents, community members, and citizens of the Commonwealth are all interested parties.
There are at least two court cases pending.
Why would anybody reach a final conclusion before all the evidence was heard?
Sandusky has been judged guilty by a jury of his peers. Why would you deny those same rights and due process to JoePa?

July 24, 2012 at 1:10 PM 
Blogger jake said...

For Bob:
The smaller the mind, the greater the conceit.
Aesop

July 24, 2012 at 1:22 PM 
Blogger Dannytheman said...

I will wait for the finality of the 2 upcoming trials to render my final decision. But it sure seems to me, with the evidence at hand, that coverup and deception was allowed. It also seems that criminal activity was ignored and favors were granted to uphold the status of the institution.

As usual, if I am wrong I will post that I am wrong.

July 24, 2012 at 3:16 PM 
Blogger Bob Bohne said...

Danny - Don't sweat it. I know from dealings with you in the past that you're man enough to admit when you're wrong. That's something you'll always have over Jake. But you won't have to do it this time around.

July 24, 2012 at 5:48 PM 
Blogger jake said...

From Danny and the Disclaimers to Pathetic Bob and the Lynch Mob...you're really moving up in the world, Danny.

July 24, 2012 at 8:02 PM 
Blogger CharlieSix said...

Bob: Hey, yo... You said that people like Charlie and Jake: "have invested time and energy defending the indefensible." You need to either get a grip or have your meds adjusted, Bob. My post was very clear: The NCAA has inflicted damage upon many, many people who were not in any way involved with the alleged acts of Spanier/Schultz/Curley/Paterno. How you can twist my words into defending the indefensible is beyond comprehension. But, then too, it is understandable given the liberal initiative to take what people say and twist it to the liberal's devices... Again, Bob, get a grip or maybe have your meds adjusted...

July 24, 2012 at 8:08 PM 
Blogger Bob Bohne said...

This is interesting. Jake busting on Danny because Danny refuses to defend Paterno. And Charlie forgetting his past posts defending Jake and his JoPa rants. How about Jake and the Jerk Offs singing "Charlie get a grip"

July 24, 2012 at 8:38 PM 
Blogger Bob Bohne said...

For Jake -
The four most beautiful words in our common language: I told you so.
Gore Vidal

July 24, 2012 at 8:46 PM 
Blogger jake said...

Bob,
Sure hope your girlfriend can stand all your premature enunciation.

July 24, 2012 at 9:04 PM 
Blogger Bob Bohne said...

jake - This from a man who thought the South Park pedophile episode was high art.

July 25, 2012 at 6:05 AM 
Blogger jake said...

Another irrelevant entry from Bob. Thanks for the latest DILLIGAFF* moment...
*Does It Look Like I Give A Flying F#@%.

July 25, 2012 at 10:18 AM 
Blogger Bob Bohne said...

No it doesn't. Neither did Paterno. I see where the two of you had something in common.

July 25, 2012 at 10:59 AM 
Blogger Dannytheman said...

The entertainment alone here is worth the price of entry. Oh, it's free?? Better yet!!

You two should get married.

July 25, 2012 at 11:40 AM 
Blogger jake said...

Just imagine if the JoePa lynch mob applied to marriage...
Bob could convict you for what he thought you were thinking, and for what more he thought you should have done.

July 25, 2012 at 1:33 PM 
Blogger CharlieSix said...

Once again, Bob: Please get a grip. There are many therapists out there who can help you.

July 25, 2012 at 8:13 PM 
Blogger Dannytheman said...

jake,

my wife does that all the time...

July 26, 2012 at 10:16 AM 
Blogger Bob Bohne said...

What's the name of your's Chuck? Maybe you can get a referral fee.

July 26, 2012 at 12:31 PM 
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