🏈 Report: NCAA could restore vacated JoePa wins

[BAMANEWSBOT]

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Monday that the NCAA, Penn State and state of Pennsylvania officials are "in talks to reconsider" the sanctions applied to the Nittany Lions football program in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal -- including the vacation of 111 Joe Paterno victories.

The restoration of those victories to the late Paterno would once again make him the all-time leader in FBS coaching victories.

The reported discussions come a month before the lawsuit filed by state treasurer Robert McCord and state senator Jake Corman challenging the validity of the school's "consent decree" goes to trial. Corman has been seeking to keep the $60 million fine levied by the NCAA against Penn State under state government control, but the suit also seeks to rescind the decree and the accompanying sanctions.

Reports from September 2014 suggested the NCAA was prepared to relinquish the $60 million, but the case has proceeded as scheduled, with Commonwealth Court Judge Anne Covey ordering the NCAA to turn over 477 internal emails related to the case in November.

According to the Inquirer report, the talks are "designed to stave off a looming court battle."

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[BAMANEWSBOT]

Jay Paterno has more reason to be furious about Penn State's penalty



He didn't even READ it?

Some new facts have come to light regarding Penn State's deservedly harsh NCAA sanctions and the Freeh Report that initiated them, and they are not flattering to the NCAA.

On Friday, a settlement was reached that replaces the consent decree that resulted from the Freeh Report in 2012. Hold that thought for one second, though, and let's start with yesterday.

Court documents filed Thursday in the Paterno family lawsuit -- which called for the consent decree to be voided, among other personal claims -- showed that Oregon State president Ed Ray, who was the chairman of the NCAA's executive committee at the time of Penn State's sanctions in 2012, admitted to not even reading the Freeh Report that the consent decree was based on.

From Onward State:

"In his testimony in the Paterno Family's ongoing case, Ray admitted that he was unaware that he needed to prep for anything related to the Freeh Report before the organization's executive board met to discuss possible sanctions on the University. Instead, Ray spent time in Hawaii where he was unable to read the entire report. Ray said he returned on the 19th or 20th and approved the consent decree on the 21st without actually reading the report that was the basis of those sanctions. It's worth noting that the entire Freeh report was viewable and downloadable online for the entirety of Ray's trip and two days before."

Ray said he may -- may -- "have looked at the executive summary when it came out, and certainty (stet) read press accounts," but did not actually sit down with the full commissioned report.

Hold on -- there's more.

Deeper into the deposition, Ray admits that not only did he not read the Freeh Report, he didn't read the full consent decree either.

Just to refresh you on the consent decree, here are the initial penalties the NCAA issued Penn State in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal:

* A $60 million fine to be paid over a five-year period "into an endowment for programs preventing child sexual abuse and/or assisting the victims of child sexual abuse."
* A four-year postseason ban.
* Four years of reduced scholarship.
* Five years of probation.
* Vacating all Joe Paterno wins from 1998-2011.

The NCAA already backtracked on most of those sanctions in the wake of negligent information -- Penn State was allowed to play in a bowl game this season, and it will regain its full allotment of scholarships for next year (two years early) -- and now Friday's settlement brings further corrections.

The settlement still must receive board approval from Penn State and the NCAA, but here are the main points:

* Joe Paterno's 111 vacated victories (plus one other PSU win) from '98-11 are restored, meaning he's once again the all-time leader in wins at 409.
* Penn State will still pay the complete $60 million to help fight child abuse, and that money will be spent in the state of Pennsylvania.
* Straight from the press release: "Penn State acknowledges the NCAA's legitimate and good faith interest and concern regarding the Jerry Sandusky matter." OK, sure, whatever that means.
* Penn State will enter into an "Athletics Integrity Agreement" with the NCAA and collaborate on best practices for compliance.

And, finally, buried at the bottom of the press release is this: "The NCAA will aggressively defend the Paterno estate’s challenge to the validity of the now-replaced consent decree."

So the NCAA settled because it became abundantly clear how inadequate and poorly constructed the consent decree was, but now it's going to "aggressively defend" claims that the decree was inadequate and poorly constructed? Got it.

From the day the Freeh Report and consent decree were released, Jay Paterno, Joe's son, has been at the forefront of calling out their deficiencies.

In September, a judge agreed with him and called for "full range of discovery," which means members who had a role in drawing and issuing the consent decree (like Ray) could be called to testify under oath, in addition to giving his family permission to proceed with claims of defamation.

All of that is why we're here and have a settlement to this lawsuit (the Paterno estate is still seeking personal damages).

None of us feel sympathy for Penn State in the wake of the Sandusky scandal. Nothing has changed for the true victims in all this, and some severe punishment for the program was warranted. But that doesn't excuse the NCAA's complete disregard for a thorough, honest and fair process when determining what Penn State's penalties should have been.

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[PhillyGirl]

‪#‎BREAKING‬: NCAA says Penn State football wins will be restored under proposed agreement - 6abc.com/477860/

 

[planomateo]

Shaking my head.

 

[riz]

Knew it would happen. Now Penn State can raise the statue again. I mean, it never happened, amirite?

 

[rick4bama]

yes! I guess?

 

[PhillyGirl]

Penn State: where the rules are made up, and the sanctions don't matter.

 

[planomateo]

Every other schools who's had wins vacated should be knocking on the NCAA doors at this point. No way they can afford to fight them all. Their hands are full.

I never liked how the whole Penn State thing went down between them and the NCAA.

 

[TerryP]

The NCAA vs USC:

 

[BAMANEWSBOT]

Emmert: Settlement with Penn State was to free fine money



NCAA President Mark Emmert says the association agreed to a settlement with Penn State to ensure that $60 million in fines paid by the school could finally be distributed to victims of sexual abuse.

Emmert added Friday that the settlement was not an acknowledgement the NCAA overreached by getting involved in the Jerry Sandusky child-molestation case.

''The reason that the association and the governing board entered into the these conversations was, again, to make sure that we were moving forward in getting the fine to go to the places that it needed to go,'' he said during a news conference during the NCAA convention with University of South Carolina President Harris Pastides and Kansas State University President Kirk Schulz.

''We spent two and half years arguing that and frankly it was likely to continue to go forward as a running debate and discussion.

''Penn State has dutifully put in a trust account $12 million a year for three years and intends to do it for another two years and those dollars have been sitting there idly and that was something we all found very objectionable.''

The NCAA announced the settlement before a scheduled trial on the legality of the 2012 consent decree it will replace.

The settlement also restores 112 football victories that had been vacated as part of the penalties placed on Penn State for the Sandusky scandal. Late Penn State coach Joe Paterno will have 111 victories restored to his record, making him the winningest coach in major college football history again.

The sanctions against Penn State did not follow normal NCAA procedures. The NCAA executive committee handed down the penalties and Penn State leadership agreed not to fight them.

''The board's authority to act in this process was sound and we believe it was appropriate,'' Emmert said. ''And as the agreement points out was conducted by both parties with good intent.

''It's had a very positive impact on the university. We've seen the university adopt all the requirements of the athletic integrity agreement and it received a very positive response from Sen. George Mitchell, who was there as a monitor. So in many respects it had all of the intended impacts.''

The NCAA also hit Penn State with a four-year bowl ban that was decreased to two and huge scholarship losses for the football team that have been rolled back sooner than scheduled.

''Someone asked about who is the victor today? Whenever there are settlements rarely is it an opportunity to jump for joy, but I think the victors are those of us who were advocating for the children and who can finally see this money put to good use,'' Pastides said. ''And the fact that some of it or more of it will be spent in Pennsylvania than originally consented to is fine with me.''

Emmert said rolling back the various penalties against Penn State, one way or another, is not likely to set a precedent that could be applied to other infractions cases. Nor do the association have an intentions of using the same methods.

''The board felt they had to quickly and decisively put forward a set of sanctions,'' Schulz said. ''I hope we never have to do this again.''

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[BAMANEWSBOT]

Penn State-NCAA settlement sparks strong reaction across sports world



There was a wide range of reactions to Friday's news that Penn State and the NCAA agreed to replace a 2012 consent decree in the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal with a new agreement that restores 112 wins to the football program, makes the late Joe Paterno the winningest coach in major college football and clears the way for $60 million in penalties to be spent on child abuse prevention and treatment in the state of Pennsylvania.

Naturally, the school cheered:





As did Penn State's supporters:






Here are some longer thoughts and opinions:

"The repeal of the consent decree and the return of the wins to the university and Joe Paterno confirm that the NCAA and the board of trustees acted prematurely and irresponsibly in the unprecedented sanctions the NCAA imposed on the university, the players, coaches and the community.

"This case should always have been about the pursuit of the truth, not the unjust vilification of the culture of a great institution and the scapegoating of coaches, players and administrators who were never given a chance to defend themselves.

"For nearly three years, everyone associated with Penn State has had to bear the mark of shame placed upon the institution by the NCAA. It was a grievously wrong action, precipitated by panic, rather than a thoughtful and careful examination of the facts." — Statement issued on behalf of Paterno family.

----

"I think it's the good ol' boys giving special treatment and deference to the good ol' boys. I am always sad but never shocked when I see it happen. ... It feels like nothing really changed at Penn State." — Jeff Anderson, the St. Paul (Minn.) lawyer who filed the first civil case against Penn State on behalf of a Sandusky accuser

"The NCAA has surrendered. The agreement we reached represents a complete victory for the issue at hand. ... I'm not here to exonerate anyone, but to say, `due process matters.'" — Pennsylvania state Sen. Jake Corman, whose lawsuit challenged the validity of the Penn State-NCAA consent decree

----

"That's OK. I'm glad for him. I was self-conscious about that anyway.

"Every time I would speak they would say, 'He's the winningest coach in I-A history.' I'd say, 'Yeah, after they took 100 away from Joe.'" — Bobby Bowden on being No. 2 on the list of all-time wins

----

"Continuing this litigation would further delay the distribution of funds to child sexual abuse survivors for years, undermining the very intent of the fine. While others will focus on the return of wins, our top priority is on protecting, educating and nurturing young people." — Harris Pastides, University of South Carolina president and member of NCAA board

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"We acted in good faith in addressing the failures and subsequent improvements on Penn State's campus. We must acknowledge the continued progress of the university while also maintaining our commitment to supporting the survivors of child sexual abuse." —Kirk Schulz, Kansas State University president and member of NCAA board

----

"I think it's a step in the right direction for that (vindicating Paterno). Is it complete vindication for that? No, but a step in the right direction." — Former Penn State running back Mike Guman

----

"We'll never know what happened with JoePa's passing, but they probably went a little too harsh, especially with (NCAA president Mark) Emmert being judge, jury and executioner in the whole case. Getting the wins back is more of a gesture. It's not like all of a sudden, `Oh, yeah, the wins are back. We're fine now.' It's more of, `The damage has been done. The way you guys handled it hurt us as a community. We came through it, and it's nice, I guess, for you guys to be able to do this for us.'" — Student and season ticketholder Jason Rohrer, of Philadelphia

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[bcracker]

He knew that a Penn State coach, or former coach, whatever the pervert was, was molesting prepubescent CHILDREN on campus, and he sat on it! The university and the football program were more important to him than the violation of CHILDREN! That says a lot about a man.

 

[russb8903]

He knew that a Penn State coach, or former coach, whatever the pervert was, was molesting prepubescent CHILDREN on campus, and he sat on it! The university and the football program were more important to him than the violation of CHILDREN! That says a lot about a man.

Your capitalizing CHILDREN is like something out of a Fox News broadcast, don't insult us that way. You can make an appeal to emotion if you like, but there was never any real evidence he knew about it,. Moreover, the whole thing was outside the NCAA's purview to begin with. It will be interesting to see how much backtracking the NCAA does.

 

[BamaFan334]

Boy, the NCAA knows their balls are in a vice and are just caving in everywhere in order to remain an Association. With autonomy, paying players, lifting sanctions, it's clear they saw the end was near and are now attempting to rebuild their reputation because they know their asses were almost history.

So you came to a decision that a coach and a majority of the administration spent years covering up a child sexual abuse ring with their own assistant coach, you hit them with sanctions, but then allow the media to persuade you to drop the sanctions and restore order as if nothing ever happened? Personally, nobody gives a shit about a fine, especially when revenues are well beyond that. This will create a standard where punishments are well below the crime.

I love how they overturn this, yet Demarius Thomas gets like $100 in benefits and they swipe Georgia Tech's ACC Championship for it. No mention of restoring that. To me, that was a sole act, not a team act, so why should the team have to pay? Paterno was freaking involved in the matter, so one would think he would need to pay in some shape or form. The NCAA are a bunch of f-ing idiots. I'll punch Mark Emmerit in the face if I ever ran into him for being a total dipshit with no backbone or ethical quality in him. He knew his time was almost up, so we all know he was finding ways to cut deals and leniency. I hate Penn State, never have liked them. Can't stand James Franklin either and his lack of ethics and cover up. I hope they fail.

 

[UAgrad93]

We all said it before when the NCAA announced these penalties. They had NO AUTHORITY! Now, they are stumbling all over themselves in a PR disaster. No one has a clue as to what Paterno knew or didn't know except him and God Almighty Himself.

 

[bcracker]

@russb8903 Fox News? I didn't know they spoke in capital letters. I watch Fox a lot, and I have never once heard a word capitalized. That is an amazing talent you have there to figure that out

I insulted you by capitalizing "CHILDREN"? Wow, I would hate to see how you would react if someone called you a "TURD." How, exactly, does my capitalizing "CHILDREN" insult you? I assure you, russ, you weren't even an electrical impulse in my thoughts when I wrote that.

I simply wrote what was on my mind at the time. I had no one's post in this thread in my thoughts when I was writing. The capitalized "CHILDREN" was simply emphasis.

You actually wrote, "don't insult us..." Who else did I insult? Did you conduct a survey of the community here and come up with a consensus? Unless you did, please allow others to speak for themselves. They have no problems letting me know when they don't like what I write.

You write,

there was never any real evidence he knew about it

Paterno testified before a GRAND JURY that Mike McQueary told him McQueary witnessed Jerry Sandusky sexually fondling a 10-year-old BOY in a shower in the athletic facilities of Penn State. A 10-year-old BOY. The incident occurred in 2001 or 2002.

Paterno did what was LEGALLY required of him. He told his boss. And there it remained. The State Police wasn't notified. Sandusky, however, continued to use the Penn State athletic facilities until his arrest in November 2011. Joe Paterno bears a responsibility for the lack of justice served for the 10-year-old and the children who were molested in the interim. He said himself, "With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more."

http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/12/us/pennsylvania-penn-state-investigation/index.html

You say I "make an appeal to emotion". I wasn't appealing to anything. As I said before, I simply recorded my thoughts.

Is it an emotional subject? Indeed, it is. I do get emotional when children are abused in any way. I have children. And the thought of someone Sandusky-ing them does get my dander up. But despite the emotional nature of the subject, I assure my rationality is fully intact.

 

[TerryP]

Your capitalizing CHILDREN is like something out of a Fox News broadcast, don't insult us that way.

Something out of a Nancy Grace report...

Paterno did what was LEGALLY required of him. He told his boss. And there it remained.

I remember reading this, although I can't recall how it was worded exactly, but there's wording in PSU's employee contract which dictates procedure in reporting other employees. Another small piece in a story with a lot of chapters.

We all said it before when the NCAA announced these penalties. They had NO AUTHORITY!

That's still the main point of all of this in my eyes.

Even if we say "OK, they over-stepped their role" it doesn't excuse the lack of due process. It certainly doesn't excuse individuals like Ray not taking the time to read the report.

*On another note, it wouldn't shock me to see more lawsuits coming from this whole fiasco. If I were a small business owner in State College I believe I'd be looking into a class-action suit with other small business owners over lost revenue due to those sanctions against the school.

 

[BamaFan334]

Your capitalizing CHILDREN is like something out of a Fox News broadcast, don't insult us that way. You can make an appeal to emotion if you like, but there was never any real evidence he knew about it,. Moreover, the whole thing was outside the NCAA's purview to begin with. It will be interesting to see how much backtracking the NCAA does.

Come on man are you really that naive to think Paterno knew nothing??? He was the head coach for however many years. It's his responsibility to know it all. Don't play dumb and act like the guy was in the dark about it all. You'd be amazed at what Coach Saban, Jimbo Fisher, Mark Richt, Gus Malzahn, and every other head coach knows that you have no clue about. And that comes from the players themselves. It's their job to know everything about their players and coaches and everywhere they are and do. There is so much going in behind the scenes at programs it would blow your mind. NOW, do I think he watched, participated, or was told on a regular basis about these acts, NO! But I am willing to bet my life he knew what had happened well before it came to the public light. In the end, it's his responsibility to know what happens in his program.

 

[TerryP]

You'd be amazed at what Coach Saban, Jimbo Fisher, Mark Richt, Gus Malzahn, and every other head coach knows that you have no clue about.

Hold up.

When we have been talking about Taylor there have been more than one post suggesting there are things we don't know versus what the administration and coaching staff does know. Here you're saying the same thing, but this time it's going to support your view on Paterno.

Unless I'm reading this wrong, I'm seeing a lack of consistency.

 

[UAgrad93]

I would add that while coaches like Saban, Richt, Malzahn, and other WANT TO AND PROBABLY KNOW EVERYTHING going on in their program, older coaches like JoePa, handed down authority A LONG time ago. With Sandusky having been one of Paterno's longest tenured assistants, you know that such authority was handed to him.