Penn State Cult (Joe Knew)

[ORD_Buckeye]

Hey ORD,

Longtime listener and big fan here! I gotta say I love your enthusiasm in this matter, but I have to ask, what makes you so sure this will be the case?

Thanks!

It comes down to how strongly and pointedly Emmert emphasized that the ncaa was free to step back in and hand down further penalties if they it necessary. The Presidents were unanimous in wanting the death penalty. Emmert--at Erickson's pleading--went back to them and negotiated it down.

I'm sure that they've taken note of Barney O'Rubble's smack talk about the sanctions but let it pass as the bluster of some imbecile football coach trying to hold his team together.

I'm sure they bit their lip at the Paternos' lame appeal but wrote it off to the family trying to restore the old man's honor and keep the financial gravy train rolling.

Now, you have board of trustees filing lawsuits against the ncaa. At some point, there has to be a tipping point where they just say "enough is [censored]ing enough" no amount of sanctions are going to change the culture there.

And remember that Emmert went out of his way to point out that the culture that he was talking about went beyond the internal dynamics of university administration. He used the phrase (and I'm quoting from memory here) "culture of reverence for the football coach" that allowed him to amass unchecked power. Don't think they haven't taken notice of the pro Paterno signs at the rally or that the rogue trustees were elected by the alumni. I don't think you need to spend time on BWI to realize that none of this has sunk in with the Penn State community. All it's done is make an overwhelming majority of them think that they (and St. Joe) are the victims. What happens when Erickson has to step down and leave for his family's safety? What happens when faculty start bailing from an AAU university? What happens when the PSU alumni have their next trustee election and three more whack jobs join McCombie and Lubrano?

I just think ped aggy (every constituency other than Erickson, the faculty and some of the board) is doing everything they can to paint the ncaa, Emmert and the Presidents into such a corner that they have to step back in and respond. And at this point there's only two responses: death penalty or complete banishment from the ncaa.

 

[sparcboxbuck]

I'm still not sure why anyone in Slappy Valley needs to 'accept' the terms that the NCAA handed out.

I sure as fuck don't need my kids permission when I take their iPods away when they're being dumb asses.

Why does anyone in Slappy Valley think that their word carries so much weight as a cunt hair?

Seriously, can someone explain this? And I mean beyond the obvious...

 

[Hodgepodge]

It comes down to how strongly and pointedly Emmert emphasized that the ncaa was free to step back in and hand down further penalties if they it necessary. The Presidents were unanimous in wanting the death penalty. Emmert--at Erickson's pleading--went back to them and negotiated it down.

I'm sure that they've taken note of Barney O'Rubble's smack talk about the sanctions but let it pass as the bluster of some imbecile football coach trying to hold his team together.

I'm sure they bit their lip at the Paternos' lame appeal but wrote it off to the family trying to restore the old man's honor and keep the financial gravy train rolling.

Now, you have board of trustees filing lawsuits against the ncaa. At some point, there has to be a tipping point where they just say "enough is [censored]ing enough" no amount of sanctions are going to change the culture there.

And remember that Emmert went out of his way to point out that the culture that he was talking about went beyond the internal dynamics of university administration. He used the phrase (and I'm quoting from memory here) "culture of reverence for the football coach" that allowed him to amass unchecked power. Don't think they haven't taken notice of the pro Paterno signs at the rally or that the rogue trustees were elected by the alumni. I don't think you need to spend time on BWI to realize that none of this has sunk in with the Penn State community. All it's done is make an overwhelming majority of them think that they (and St. Joe) are the victims. What happens when Erickson has to step down and leave for his family's safety? What happens when faculty start bailing from an AAU university? What happens when the PSU alumni have their next trustee election and three more whack jobs join McCombie and Lubrano?

I just think ped aggy (every constituency other than Erickson, the faculty and some of the board) is doing everything they can to paint the ncaa, Emmert and the Presidents into such a corner that they have to step back in and respond. And at this point there's only two responses: death penalty or complete banishment from the ncaa.

To put this into some context with the next worse NCAA case in history (SMU). The NCAA did something similar as with Ped State inasmuch as the original penalty was a full death penalty (three years), but the NCAA was so impressed with the way the university made efforts to clean up the football program and how the faculty took control of the situation, that they bumped the death penalty back to 1.5 years. In fact, it was one faculty representative in particular who made the strongest case. Similarly, at PSU, the original penalty was much worse and was reduced because the NCAA (well, Emmert at least) was impressed enough by Erickson's argument, that he acquiesced on the severity.

Where the situations differ is the aftermath of the bitching and moaning and fighting of the penalties by at least some of those in charge at PSU. Sure, the fans and alumni are [censored]ed, but that doesn't matter - that was the case at SMU as well. The difference is that those in charge of SMU wanted to change, had a roadmap to that change, and never wavered from that road. PSU has a head football coach who is, at best, misleading his players and recruits about the possibilities of the sanctions being reduced and several members of the BOT who are actively trying to undermine both the NCAA as well as the PSU leadership. If they have a roadmap, it must be drawn by a third grader... a blind third grader...having a seizure..

If the rogue BOT members are somehow successful in the courts or manage to take over the BOT, Emmert throwing down the death penalty may be the least of their concerns. The NCAA may be so [censored]ed off that they may remove their NCAA accreditation (assuming 2/3 of the college presidents/chancellors sign on). That removes the entire athletic program from the NCAA. Hell, with the no fewer than 7 additional investigations going on by the state and feds into non-athletic issues at PSU, even NCAA accreditation may be a mere blip on the radar. Among the things being investigated are violations of the Cleary Act, a donation scheme among PSU/Second Mile/pedophiles/mob, and a violation of rules governing the use of government grants by Spanier. Imagine if the investigations and up finding wrongdoing. PSU as an institution would be gutted and possibly would never recover.

 

[Delaware Buck]

I think this is all about McCombie, Lubrano, etc... trying to stay with their election promises knowing full well that they have no shot of succeeding. Zero. Filing motions, lawsuits, etc... allows them to save face and keep cult cred intact.

 

[Ryan36_1]

Got to hand it to RoBOT (short for rogue board of trustees...pairs well with zombie icon I think). They are doing their best to redefine my Platonic ideal of bat [Mark May] crazy.

Love it.

New dream scenario:

RoBoT, clad in matching t-shirts, holds a presser announcing plans of a lawsuit. Mid presser, the BoT come out as their entrance theme plays over the loud speaker. In the ensuing confrontation, just as BoT takes the upper hand, one of their members picks up a folding chair starts taking out the other BoT members, he then rips off his shirt to reveal he was wearing his RoBoT tshirt underneath the whole time.

I just compared the Board of what is supposed to be a prestigious higher education institution to a 90s wrestling storyline. Ladies amd Gentlemen, Penn State University!

 

[Zurp]

Love it.

New dream scenario:

RoBoT, clad in matching t-shirts, holds a presser announcing plans of a lawsuit. Mid presser, the BoT come out as their entrance theme plays over the loud speaker. In the ensuing confrontation, just as BoT takes the upper hand, one of their members picks up a folding chair starts taking out the other BoT members, he then rips off his shirt to reveal he was wearing his RoBoT tshirt underneath the whole time.

I just compared the Board of what is supposed to be a prestigious higher education institution to a 90s wrestling storyline. Ladies amd Gentlemen, Penn State University!

Pfftt. That's a good start, but we aren't dealing with low-budget TNN (you brought up 90's wrestling, so I'm going back to a 90's network) production. There are no ends to imagination. Watch:

So the covert RoBot dude screams, "I'm doing it for you, JoePa! I'm doing it for you!!" Thousands of fans, hearing their battle cry, jump out from the bushes armed with bananas and other assorted fruit. They quickly surround the original BOT's and hold them captive. Then, seemingly from no where, the angry mob produces "the rail", and threatens to start shoving it in places most uncomfortable, if the original BOT won't relinquish all of their powers to the RoBOT. The BOT, fearing that this may be their only chance to get out of the state alive, sways toward signing the papers produced by RoBOT.

Just before the pen hits the paper, though, President Obama leads his army of 50 Merry Men (Robin Hood must have been sick) into Happy Valley. At first, the angry Penn Staters are caught by surprise, and flee before the advancing troops. But they quickly reform, ready for a showdown. And that's what it turns into: a good old-fashioned showdown, with Obama and his troops at one end of Main Street (is there a Main Street in Happy Valley?) and RoBOT and the angry mob at the other - all waiting for some signal.

Obama reaches for his walkie-talkie. He doesn't have time for this game, and knows that he has bombers circling high overhead, who can rain hell with precision bombing attacks at his command. He is going to end this now.

But just as he presses the button, his walkie-talkie explodes. Someone has shot it out of his hand. He turns to his left to see Penn State president Erickson pointing a smoking pistol at Obama. In a blink of an eye, the Secret Service tackled Erickson and hauled him away, as he was yelling, "REDEMPTION" and the angry mob cheered his name.

"Crap," thought Obama, "Back to the showdown." His apprehension turned into terror, though, when he saw that the angry mob was being joined by a second angry mob - this one led by Bilbo O'Borkbork and his team. But then his terror left when he saw that his team was leaving almost as quickly as they formed. By the time the were within shouting range of Obama and his troops, it was just O'Borkbork and about 15 walk-ons, who had chances to walk on at just about any Division III school, except they didn't get accepted.

Then, just as Obama was out of ideas on how to solve this dilemma, Mark Emmert flew in on a giant eagle, wearing long white robes, with his long grey beard flowing behind him. He jumped from his mount, waving his old wooden staff, and landed before the angry mob. Lasers spewed from the staff, and the angry mutant mob recoiled in pain. Just as they started to flee from Emmert, the ground beneath their feet opened, revealing an endless chasm which glowed orange, and they all - every last one of them - fell into the earth.

With the hole still open, Obama walked out to meet the hero. They agreed that the hole should remain open as a reminder to all in Happy Valley of the time when football became more powerful than the BOT.

That was 50 years ago.

Speaking of the BOT, to this day, every time Penn State wins a game, the BOT performs a ritual where they throw one of the fans in attendance into that chasm. Both of those fans' names have been carved on a plaque that sits next to the chasm.

 

[cincibuck]

At the Alabama schools, I think it is literally a situation where you have to leave the state for your safety if you snitch.

I also think it's a situation where if an Alabama or Auburn President oversaw an athletic department culture where major violations were self-reported to the ncaa and he fired their Jim Tressel as a result, he could start packing his bags tomorrow.....if he could make it to the state line alive.

No joke or hyperbole. I think Gee would have faced realdeath threats in Alabama.

What makes you so sure Gee didn't face them in Columbus?

I think that this is the crucial difference we would hope exists; that in State College there wasn't the support behind the president and the AD to take appropriate action, and so nothing was done until the story could no longer be contained. In Columbus- and earlier, in another small town setting, Bloomington- the school was still in the hands of the president and thus Tressel and Bob Knight had to go. In both instances the president of the school had to be aware that he was dealing with a larger public than the faculty and students, one with little or no connection to academics, for whom the team was their sole identity with the school. It doesn't help that the president of a top twenty-five program school is paid significantly less money than the football/basketball coach.

Let's not fool ourselves into thinking that a winning coach at Ohio State couldn't obtain a similar level of control. The stakes are so high and the money is so big, the rules so ambiguous, that the desire to not see gaps in ethical conduct can certainly blur judgement.

 

[cincibuck]

How many faculty they have?

As one who adjuncts and thus talks to the tenure track folks, I can tell you that job movement isn't much of an option. State and federal cuts in higher education and the cost of cranes on campus mean finding your happiness right where you are.

 

[buxfan4life]

From Audibles:

The fact that Erickson signed a document with words attesting to all of our "wrongdoings," when we have model athletic programs with academic success is a good reason to do this.

They just don't get it. I now want the Feds to tell the NCAA that they must do a full investigation, and that the Feds turn to PSU and state that the NCAA will have temporary subpoena power to get the info they need.

That is exactly what the pedtards do not want to happen as they will then see how Joe really was and they would then have to re-evaluate their lives.

Please, let this happen.

 

[buxfan4life]

Uh oh. Outsiders bring FACTS to the table...

DocSoloman

Foreign Squad
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Posted: Today 1:04 AM
Re: Trustees filing appeal with NCAA over sanctions
19.01.2 Exemplary Conduct. Individuals employed by or associated with member institutions for the administration, the conduct or the coaching of intercollegiate athletics are, in the final analysis, teachers of young people. Their responsibility is an affirmative one, and they must do more than avoid improper conduct or questionable acts. Their own moral values must be so certain and positive that those younger and more pliable will be influenced by a fine example. Much more is expected of them than of the less critically placed citizen.

trevorjt7 wrote:

Dawgs4ever wrote:

roarlions89 wrote:

Joe Paterno and PSU did not commit any NCAA violation according to their bylaws.

Wrong. Numerous bylaws were arguably violated.

Name one

 

[Buckrock]

Those people are just crazy.

The NCAA is a membership institution; a club.

Penn State, one member of the club, has accepted a report that suggests a systematic failure (from the president down to the lowly, little, insignificant head football coach) where high ranking folks were aware of a potentially felonious situation that occurred in the football facilities. They also knew that there was an eye-witness to said situation. They did nothing with this information other than talk to each other about it. The conclusion of those who researched the situation said that the failure was due the "culture" and the brand that is Penn State Football. These conclusions were accepted by Penn State.

The NCAA asked Penn State straight up if they chose to accept the report as it is, and submit it in lieu of actual investigation by the NCAA. Penn State said yes.

Due to Penn State's acceptance of the sequence of events, at least 18 other members of that club that is the NCAA have said that Penn State should be banned from football activities for more than one year due to the "culture".

Emmert asks for, and receives from other members of the club, permission to skip the "due process" since Penn State wanted the NCAA to accept the findings in the Freeh Report in lieu of an actual investigation. He then administers punishment that would help the "culture" de-emphasize football, but still allow them to field a team. He decided to be nice and not kill the program even though other members asked for it.

Now a couple of idiots on their BOT who feel one man (who is obviously is so much greater than the university itself in their eyes) are trying to file a federal lawsuit that should be quickly thrown out of any court in this land.

Again, these people are crazy.

Well said!!!

 

[Buckrock]

PSU is so stupid. Fight the NCAA? Go ahead. I would be more concerned about the FBI, The Department of Education, State AG, Federal and State funding cuts, prison sentences. What a bunch of delusional fools.

 

[Woody1968]

Cannot wait for the Million Pedtard March on the nations capital to demand justice!

 

[Poe McKnoe]

I think this is all about McCombie, Lubrano, etc... trying to stay with their election promises knowing full well that they have no shot of succeeding. Zero. Filing motions, lawsuits, etc... allows them to save face and keep cult cred intact on message boards.

FIFY

 

[ucfknight]

Can someone explain the hierarchy to me? Can Erickson, as President over rule/ veto the roBot decision to appeal? Can he tell them to shut up and put them back into place? Can he terminate/ fire some of these roBots like Lubrano? Or does the BOT outrank the President in matters like these? I was wondering because I was thinking why doesn't Erickson just tell these roBOTs that their being idiots and tell them to step back.