The Paterno Family issued this statement Monday afternoon in response to the NCAA sanctions against Penn State:
"Sexual abuse is reprehensible, especially when it involves children, and no one starting with Joe Paterno condones or minimizes it. The horrific acts committed by Jerry Sandusky shock the conscience of every decent human being. How Sandusky was able to get away with his crimes for so long has yet to be fully understood, despite the claims and assertions of the Freeh report.
The release of the Freeh report has triggered an avalanche of vitriol, condemnation and posthumous punishment on Joe Paterno. The NCAA has now become the latest party to accept the report as the final word on the Sandusky scandal. The sanctions announced by the NCAA today defame the legacy and contributions of a great coach and educator without any input from our family or those who knew him best.
That the President, the Athletic Director and the Board of Trustees accepted this unprecedented action by the NCAA without requiring a full due process hearing before the Committee on Infractions is an abdication of their responsibilities and a breach of their fiduciary duties to the University and the 500,000 alumni. Punishing past, present and future students of the University because of Sandusky's crimes does not serve justice. This is not a fair or thoughtful action; it is a panicked response to the public's understandable revulsion at what Sandusky did.
The point of due process is to protect against this sort of reflexive action. Joe Paterno was never interviewed by the University or the Freeh Group. His counsel has not been able to interview key witnesses as they are represented by counsel related to ongoing litigation. We have had no access to the records reviewed by the Freeh group. The NCAA never contacted our family or our legal counsel. And the fact that several parties have pending trials that could produce evidence and testimony relevant to this matter has been totally discounted.
Unfortunately all of these facts have been ignored by the NCAA, the Freeh Group and the University."
"Sexual abuse is reprehensible, especially when it involves children, and no one starting with Joe Paterno condones or minimizes it. The horrific acts committed by Jerry Sandusky shock the conscience of every decent human being. How Sandusky was able to get away with his crimes for so long has yet to be fully understood, despite the claims and assertions of the Freeh report.
The release of the Freeh report has triggered an avalanche of vitriol, condemnation and posthumous punishment on Joe Paterno. The NCAA has now become the latest party to accept the report as the final word on the Sandusky scandal. The sanctions announced by the NCAA today defame the legacy and contributions of a great coach and educator without any input from our family or those who knew him best.
That the President, the Athletic Director and the Board of Trustees accepted this unprecedented action by the NCAA without requiring a full due process hearing before the Committee on Infractions is an abdication of their responsibilities and a breach of their fiduciary duties to the University and the 500,000 alumni. Punishing past, present and future students of the University because of Sandusky's crimes does not serve justice. This is not a fair or thoughtful action; it is a panicked response to the public's understandable revulsion at what Sandusky did.
The point of due process is to protect against this sort of reflexive action. Joe Paterno was never interviewed by the University or the Freeh Group. His counsel has not been able to interview key witnesses as they are represented by counsel related to ongoing litigation. We have had no access to the records reviewed by the Freeh group. The NCAA never contacted our family or our legal counsel. And the fact that several parties have pending trials that could produce evidence and testimony relevant to this matter has been totally discounted.
Unfortunately all of these facts have been ignored by the NCAA, the Freeh Group and the University."
Comments
Was anyone in Central Pa. aware of thishttp://ideas.time.com/2011/12/07/paternos-revenge-penn-state-football-is-no-1-in-academic-bowl/
Nancy N.
July 24, 2012 at 5:41 pm
Quit drinking the joepa kool-aid. Joe decided that the football prgram was moe important than Sandusky's victums. Penn State should have gotten the death penalty. I'm no longer a fan of Penn State, it was all one big lie! It is a shame that the janitors who witnessed the abuse knew they would be fired if they reported it. Many of you obviously still worship at the alter of the joepa cult of personality. Shame on you. Kids where molested and raped an all you can think of is the football program.
joe m.
July 24, 2012 at 3:50 pm
To the Paterno family: You are absolutely correct and I hope you don't stop until you clear Joe's name and regain the status he earned and deserves. Should you need support post something and my family will be by your side. Do don't rest until you bring down all of them including Corbett. If anyone covered anything up or protected Sandusky it was our wonderful governor who didn't pursue Sandusky until after he received political contributions from Sandusky for his bid of governor. He should be ashamed as well as Erickson and the rest of the trustees to permit such disgrace against a wonderful man. Please continue your fight. You have many who support you and will stand by you during this horrific time.
Dottie D.
July 24, 2012 at 6:36 am
Perhaps all those angered by the College's removal of Joe's statue and the smearing of his name should hit them where it will really hurt. The wallet. Refuse to attend any more Penn State games, events, anything Sports related until they return Joe's statue to it's rightful place and restore his record! If you have tickets, return them and demand a refund, and don't buy any more until they fully restore the tribute to the best football coach Penn state ever had. Or is likely to ever have again!
Douglas S.
July 24, 2012 at 2:04 am
I found this on another post...FREEH DISCREDITEDARE BEYOND REPROACH Reply Ex-FIFA Presidential Candidate Has Ban Annulled and How It Connects to Penn St. By Frank Wagner (Featured Columnist) on July 19, 2012 2,339reads Use your %u2190 %u2192 (arrow) keys to browse more storiesNext It's not often that the worlds of football and futbol (or soccer, if you would) collide, but today's news may be one of those times. Last year, FIFA (the international governing body of soccer) was preparing for its presidential elections when controversy struck. Just a few weeks away from the election, Qatari Mohammed Bin Hammam, the former president of the Asian Football Confederation and challenger to the widely disliked incumbent FIFA president Sepp Blatter, was accused of corruption. After a quick investigation, Bin Hammam was found to have bribed FIFA's ethics committee with gifts to the tune of $1 million. Bin Hammam was subsequently banned from FIFA for life, leaving the door open for Blatter to win the election unopposed. Does that sound slightly fishy? Well today, the Court of Arbitration of Sport (the highest power in international sporting matters) overturned the ban FIFA had imposed on Bin Hammam and nullified the findings of the investigation into the Qatari (per ESPN). In fact, the court said of the investigation (from Business Week): It is a situation of "case not proven", coupled with concern on the part of the panel that the FIFA investigation was not complete or comprehensive enough to fill the gaps in the record. So what does this have to do with American football, you ask? The connection lies in the investigation into Mohammed Bin Hammam and, moreover, who ran it: former FBI director Louis Freeh. If that name sounds familiar, Freeh is the same man who ran the investigation into Joe Paterno and the Penn State football scandal. In fact, it is Freeh's report that is being treated as the most damning evidence in the case against Paterno's legacy. In it, Freeh says of the case: Our most saddening and sobering finding is the total disregard for the safety and welfare of Sandusky's child victims by the most senior leaders at Penn State. The most powerful men at Penn State failed to take any steps for 14 years to protect the children who Sandusky victimized. Other than Paterno's family, Freeh's report has been treated as unquestionable fact?an understandable reaction. After all, the author's former position in the FBI makes his findings and thoughts fairly reliable. But what about his findings in the Bin Hammam case? What about the fact that the Swiss Court of Arbitration found his investigation of the case to provide "insufficient evidence" to support that same investigation's conclusion? One thing is clear: Whether or not Freeh's findings in the Bin Hammam case were misguided or not does not affect the facts and quality of his report on the Penn State scandal and Joe Paterno's legacy. However, it should probably make the "Freeh Report" at least a little less than unassailable
Kathy B.
July 23, 2012 at 3:15 pm
this is my reaction to all of this they wanted to do this to JOE the man is gone he can't say anything he was a thorn in their side this will never be over i hope when they clear his name that the PATERNO'S sue the school and the NCAA for killing this man's name..
John C.
July 23, 2012 at 2:50 pm
Is anyone from Penn State,NCAA,BIG TEN,or the MEDIA understand how they are now harming more kids with what they are doing punish the right people and leave the kids alone you vultures!!!!
Jamie J.
July 23, 2012 at 2:45 pm
On January 22, 2012 God said you will torture my servant no more, reached his hand down from heaven and made this world a poorer place by taking JoePa's soul and giving it a deserving place next to his side. Joe did what was required but he was so sorry that his supervisors covered it up and he did not speak up that the pressure from idiots like Spanier and his cronies led him to believe his life was over. Now we can add Freeh and the NCAA to our list of torturers. What I do not understand is why none of this torture is directed at Sandusky? He caused everything that is wrong now. He was judged by his peers and was found guilty. He claims he is innosent even though his addopted son said he was raped. He needs to meet his maker.
God Bless JoePa
Casey J.
July 23, 2012 at 1:48 pm
On January 22, 2012 God said you will torture my servant no more, reached his hand down from heaven and made this world a poorer place by taking JoePa's soul and giving it a deserving place next to his side. Joe did what was required but he was so sorry that his supervisors covered it up and he did not speak up that the pressure from idiots like Spanier and his cronies led him to believe his life was over. Now we can add Freeh and the NCAA to our list of torturers. What I do not understand is why none of this torture is directed at Sandusky? He caused everything that is wrong now. He was judged by his peers and was found guilty. He claims he is innosent even though his addopted son said he was raped. He needs to meet his maker.
God Bless JoePa
Casey J.
July 23, 2012 at 1:47 pm
Paterno's, You have said everything right in this letter..They robbed everything that Joe Pa worked so hard for. He did what he was supose to do ,they did nothing..But yet the janitor,McQuery,his father,shultz,spanier,whatever the other guys name is they did nothing..Joe isn't here to defend himself so he is taking the blame for it all..as far as this household is concerned Joe Pa won those games & he will always be Penn State..I am so glad I bought the book all about Joe Pa well worth the money..When we think of Penn State it will always be Joe Pa..They need to fire all that even knew anything like they did Joe..Oh over the phone
Todd V.
July 23, 2012 at 1:47 pm
Judy R.
July 23, 2012 at 1:21 pm
