Penn State: an alum's opinion

[Chef]

here is an email i wrote to my friends from college:


I posted this three days ago on the fantasy site but I am not sure anyone reads it:

I am done with Penn State. I will not cheer for them again. I can no longer support JoePa. This whole thing is morally disgusting and the fact that university is using things like "statute of limitations" and "the boy was not part of Penn State so we are not obligated to inform" is repugnant.


In light of today's news that JoePa is "doing the right thing" and making this his last year, I absolutely must say I am humiliated and appalled that I am linked with this University. Really Joe, your last YEAR? Are you sure you don't mean I coached my last game TWO WEEKS AGO? You get to finish the year out with great sadness, how do you think that boy and all the one after him feel everyday? "We ought to pray for those kids", really Joe? I am all for praying and do it daily, but in this case what would have been a little more immediate than prayers, HOW ABOUT PICKING UP THE PHONE AND CALLING 911! "I want to say to the board of trustee's, don't spend another minute deciding my fate" really Joe? You get to decide your fate? You could have DECIDED to stop all of this for the last 11 years, but no your precious program and institution are more important than the systematic destruction of innocent and helpless kids.

We should all be appalled and disgusted with our university. We should not support anything about Penn State unless anything short of everyone with knowledge of these events is publicly terminated without severance or benefits, including the president, board of trustee members, boosters, employees etc. The remaining football games should be canceled and forfeited if ANY member of the university or team (players, coaches or staff) that had knowledge of these events and did not inform law enforcement authorities remains a part of the team. The current players (although 10 years old at the time) are now complicit if they put on that uniform to represent the very people who were willing participants in this heinous and disgusting scandal. Any fans attending or watching this weekend's or any future game is complicit and supportive of the events and actions of all involved if they continue to represent our school as part of the team. The students rallying at Joe Paterno's house last night should be utterly ashamed of their actions. A football coach, program or university DOES NOT or SHOULD NEVER be more important than our collective morality.

I hope you guys feel the same.

[spectre]

Well said.

[ziggy]

Chef, you are a thousand percent on the money.

The fact that they looked the other way on a horrible incident like that is deplorable.

[Chef]

this is getting sadder by the day. i fear the moral compass of this country is off kilter. i see a microcosm of our collective morality with the moral relevance being displayed some in the penn state community. the reason this college children are rioting is that they have been giving no guidance by the adults at the university on how they should feel and a clear definition on right and wrong. the board of trustees, university officials and some alumni of this university are trying to patch this up and quiet it down instead of being outraged and demanding all implicated are at least temporarily removed until the legal system can determine guilt.

i see the same institutionalism in our government (project gun runner, bank fraud, voter fraud etc), our churches (catholic church, local churches when ministers etc are morally corrupt), our military (cover up of pat tillman's death). we need to take a serious look at what we value and hold as moral tenants or it begs to ask the question "what good are we and why is living worth it?"

[ohara831]

This scandal is so sad. My heart breaks for those young kids whose lives were destroyed by this monster. And it enrages me that a 28 year old man who sees a little boy being raped by a grown man, simply walks away to call his Daddy. WTF kind of man are you, McQuearey? And your dad, too. He tells you to leave and come to his house? Why not this: Go get that little kid NOW!!! Call the police!! Save that kid!! Now, he is lost to the unknown. What became of him? And you watched this monster come to practice many many times over the years. They say Paterno never really confronted his friend Sandusky about the matter, leaving it to the higher ups to whom he reported. Really? If not, why?

I was upset when I heard McQuearey was not fired. But I understand that he will be a main and material witness against Sandusky, so they likely have to live with it. I wish he were man enough to just walk away at the end of the year. It does Penn State no good at all to have him around.

I commend the Board for taking action and fireing Paterno and the President. They did not allow Paterno to stay for the final games as he tried to strong arm them with that resignation. "The Board need not spend another minute on my status." - my big old hairy butt. You dont deserve to finish with this team this season. Goodbye.

Chef, your school is bigger than Joe Pa, and it is bigger than this scandal. PSU will survive this, with scars, but it will survive. Hang in there. The healing process is beginning soon. But I fear there is still a bit more of the iceburg under the sea which is still to show itself. It is not quite over yet. But hang in there.

[TheBeagle]

Well said, all. This is truly disgusting. I mean the enabling of a pedophile. What the hell?!?!? How could anyone involved sleep at night, look themselves in the mirror, etc., over the last 9+ years knowing they were enabling a fucking pedophile? Wow. How many kids were violated and scarred for life because these fuckwits didn't act in 2002? Just.....disgusting.

[SWedd523]

Your eloquence is undeniable Beagle!


............and I agree 10438340593409% with what you said

[BlockParty]

Sandusky earned $456k from his 'non-profit' http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/11/sandusky-earned-456000-from-charity/

he faces 460 years in prison http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/breaking/chi-sandusky-faces-460-years-in-jail-20111111,0,1069094.story

but is not eligible for the death penalty (maybe a good thing here if they'll only put him in general population).

but how the hell is he released on only $100k in bail? http://abcnews.go.com/Business/sandusky-penn-state-scandal-cars/story?id=14916627#.Tr3JTD2Vr3w

[teej]

There's a portion of my family on my mother's side which is extremely heavily involved in PSU and it's athletics. My cousin is part of the Blue Band, his older brother ran either track or XC there, I'm not positive which. And there's a lot of other money that's gone to the school from that side of the family, probably some into the athletic department. And none of them are in any way supportive of what's gone on, and I'm pretty sure that the older generations have completely lost trust with the university.

As far as my own opinion, I wish we were able to do what Poland did to pedophiles, which is forced castration. Those kids lives have been ruined, they'll never be able to love or emotionally function because of that force of evil. And God forbid I ever get in the same room with him.