So, with the blessing of the Paterno clan, Penn State’s gonna do some honoring this weekend.
Penn State detailed plans Thursday to mark the 50th anniversary of Joe Paterno’s first win as hundreds of the late coach’s former players made their way back to State College for a private reunion, marking a milestone that has emerged as a sensitive issue for the university and people critical of Paterno’s role in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.
Athletic director Sandy Barbour said Thursday that commemorations during Penn State’s game Saturday against Temple would focus on Paterno’s commitment to student-athletes and academic, plus highlights of the 1966 game.
“Coach Paterno wanted academic success not only for his players but also for every student who came through Penn State. Together with his wife, Sue, they helped countless students become leaders and earn a Penn State diploma,” Barbour said in a statement. “Our plans are consistent with the wishes of the Paterno family as well, with a focus on the players and their accomplishments at Penn State and beyond.”
If this strikes you are somewhat tone deaf, you’re not alone. What in the world are these people thinking with a public show of support? Hey, it’s college football, so you only get one guess.
So here comes Penn State on Saturday against Temple with a commemoration that may satisfy nobody and anger everybody. Note to Penn State: When your administrators won’t conduct interviews about the commemoration in advance, as Penn State refuses to do, it’s a good sign you don’t need to honor Paterno right now.
Paterno has not been officially recognized in Beaver Stadium since his last game on Oct. 29, 2011. The Paterno statue came down from outside the stadium. And now is the right time to honor him?
Why now? Fundraising is probably a big reason since the school is going through another capital campaign. There are plans to renovate Beaver Stadium. As I wrote in May, some major Paterno supporters won’t write checks until they see him honored.
It’s times like this that make me grateful Charles Manson wasn’t a successful head football coach somewhere.
Get The Picture 
It kind of gives one the impression that Penn State doesn’t really care about what was done to the young victims or how Paterno may have ignored warnings and evidence of the crimes against them. This, for me, is a kind of proof that Penn State “went a long to get along” with the NCAA and placate the angry public so they could just move on. Not because they felt there were wrongs that needed to be made right (to the extent that is possible in child sexual abuse). But just because they wanted to check a box and say, “See we are sorry.”
But there’s no real sorrow here. Celebrating the professional accomplishments of a man who – from many corroborated accounts – simply ignored the victimization of children is beyond tone deaf. It’s practically a crim in and of itself.
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Sadly I listened to I believe it was Joe Rogan’s podcast where he gave a guy two hours to argue that none of it ever happened and that Sandusky was framed. I’m not sure why people would frame a guy who was no longer employed by the school but I guess the guy was a Paterno apologist.
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sweet hell, man. what were you doing listening to a joe rogan podcast… and for two hours?!?
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This is why the program should have been given the death penalty, incidentally. You can’t get rid of the culture that allowed Sandusky to operate and who knows what else to go on by reducing scholarships for a couple of years and not even following through on the relatively weak initial punishment. And yes, I get that the NCAA is corrupt, employs selective enforcement and blah, blah, blah. It doesn’t change the fact that someone has to be responsible for reigning in out of control programs. They aren’t going to do it themselves, and the NCAA is the only enforcement arm in town as it stands.
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Exactly, the NCAA took a stand but didn’t go far enough, and then backed it down. Marvelous. Why anyone feels anger about Briles and allows a public salute to Paterno and says nothing about Sgt. Carter threatening a player for daring to help a rape victim is hypocrisy at the highest level. You either have values that are not for sale, and do not waver, or you sink to the lowest level of those amongst us.
If State Penn is doing this for financial reasons alone, I hope this becomes the long sought after Meteor Game. Our educational institutions are as corrupt as the government; little wonder we are stumbling as a society.
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Agree totally.
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Wait until Ole Miss gets a total pass. And obviously its apples to rotten oranges but the NCAA is totally toothless now.
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I don’t know if I am more alarmed that there are so many Paterno supporters that the school has to cater to them to achieve capital campaign goals… or that there are people so tied to a dead man’s legacy… well, at least the “good” parts… that they would punish the program that he so loved because they won’t have a public show of support for someone that should have known about child molestation and did nothing to stop it.
That’s why it is a relevant question to ask the masses… are you a fan of the team or the coach? Obviously there are many, many Paterno fans that claim to be Penn State fans. It may be a good practice to get rid of coaches on occasion just to make sure nobody gets too attached. If you’re the longest-tenured coach in the league, you should be on the hot seat by default because fans will have developed an attachment that is hard to shake.
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Before the game, fans will be asked to stand and look the other way for an extended moment of silence.
Temple’s band will present a tribute to Bill Cosby at halftime.
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Nice.
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Winner
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Oh snap.
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+1 The noon start virtually guarantees it finishes before the kids’ bedtime.
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Well done Sir
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Boom.
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You win the internet today. Bravo!
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there is so much burn there.
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They were most likely emboldened by the swift and decisive non-response to Baylor. Hey, if they can get away with it, what do we have to ashamed of? Not to mention UNC. Or FSU. Or, well, you get the idea. Let’s face it, when push comes to shove and the choice is between money or the innocent lives of people who have done nothing wrong, money always wins.
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+1
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In other related news, Jerry Sandusky will be granted a one day release from jail so that he can participate in the reunion. As to why he is being included, AD Barbour said, “while Jerry certainly engaged in heinous acts, his defenses were incredible over several decades at PSU, which brought us immeasurable success. And thus, we are choosing to recognize the good things that Jerry did for the program overall.”
In other related news, Penn State also plans on re-erecting JoePa’s statue on campus. This time, however, they plan on turning it 180 degrees and facing it in another direction to symbolize JoePa looking the other way.
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I think there were some very vocal former players that pretty much demanded this.
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Then disassociate.
There are standards. I know it seems crazy in this day and age, but at some point an opinion ceases to be acceptable.
If Penn State does the right thing, it will be to disassociate itself as an institution from Paterno supporters.
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I wonder if the NCAA is going to boycott the state of Pennsylvania over this.
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Nice.
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Its worked for me for 44 years!
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You are dead on Senator. Things like this make me wonder just how low people can be morally. I understand that Paterno did a lot of good, but the harm he allowed at the same time…..is just so reprehensible. Biggus was right in his comments above. The program should have gotten the death penalty.
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Honoring Paterno, further dishonoring the university. Got it. Good plan.
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Find new donors. IF PSU is such a great institution and worthy of its mission and of support, then it can find donors who don’t hold socially and morally unacceptable opinions.
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I just wish they would quit calling at Happy Valley, that’s creepy as hell!
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Where children have “sugar plums dancing all in their heads, and dirty old men crawling under their beds.” Creepy indeed, the victims don’t find it so “happy” a place.
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I have never much liked PSU and losing to them in the Sugar Bowl to prevent us from a second NC in the 80’s was difficult. But, I couldn’t give two shits what they do or how they do it. I do not like it when fans of other schools and programs comment on or have opinions about the Georgia Way. It’s our Way and no ones else’s business. So, if Penn State wants to honor a dead former coach who by many accounts was a dick, let ’em. It’s no one else’s business.
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So, turning our heads is the proper thing to do when atrocities are being condoned/ignored. Sounds so very current day America to me. Head in the sand, it will all be better tomorrow Scarlett.
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So, what impact does your indignation have? None, except to make you feel better about yourself. This isn’t a nations constitutional rights being trampled. It’s a sordid affair that had permanently tarnished an institution of higher learning. So what? Does it impact your day or your tomorrow?
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Oh, c’mon. We all know what’s driving thing bus called college football.
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Full disclosure: I don’t like the Nittany Lions and hated Joe Paterno when he was alive because I am convinced that he stole Georgia’s signals in the 1982 Sugar Bowl–in other words he cheated the Dawgs out of a nattie. F#ck Joe Paterno and you can quote me. Here’s my problem about what happened to State Penn. None of the players did anything wrong in SanduskyGate. Sandusky was tried, convicted and sent to prison. The people in positions of authority who looked the other way who didn’t get prosecuted (some did) were all fired and publicly humiliated. I do not see where this was or is an NCAA matter. It was and is a criminal law/employment law matter and criminal law punished those who were culpable and the others lost their jobs and probably won’t be able to get similar positions ever again. When is enough, enough? Is the university supposed to forget all its football accomplishments that were done by all those other people, particularly the players, who were not implicated, including those from the past before SanduskyGate ever happened? There but for the grace of God go us peeps. I can certainly see some awful scandal happening in Athens if the right forces coalesce in the wrong way at the wrong time. We were lucky the Jan Kemp thing was only about academics. We may not be so lucky the next time. So maybe we ought to lighten up on all this sanctimonious horseshit.
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