Do I agree or disagree with JoePa's statue being removed? Tough question.
If I were a victim, probably. I have no idea how the victims feel or if this will in any way help them heal.
Paterno did not commit the crimes himself, but he allowed the assaults of many by not following through.
Does this in any way affect the football program's success all those years? No. Was he still a great coach? Yes.
Not for the last 10 maybe, but in his day, yes. Taking down that statue does in no way erase what Paterno accomplished with PSU, nor does it erase his substantial contributions, or loyalty to education in general.
He never wanted a statue of himself erected in the first place because he never put himself on a pedastool.
I'm sure diehard PSU fans and alumni are heartbroken, but realize what's important here. Victims lives are shattered, sometimes irreversibly.
Keep your PSU pride, cheer on your football team, and unite as one huge force to make PSU's tomorrows better ones instead of focusing on these past events.
This will show true blue and white spirit way beyond any statue ever could.
Dawn Dibert
Altoona
Emmert living in fantasy world
Well, the NCAA has spoken, and after the talking heads were done, one thing was all too clear: The Sandusky scandal wasn't even a blip on the NCAA's radar screen.
The number and severity of the sanctions imposed were simply a blatant attempt to erase the lifetime achievements, hard work, humanitarian recognition earned over the many years, the positive influence in the shaping of so many young peoples' lives, and the contributions of millions of dollars, both to Penn State University and communities in the area, and yes, even the memory of Joe Paterno.
What is even more unbelievable is that the NCAA's decision impacts so many other individuals. Without batting an eye, NCAA President Mark Emmert stated that 112 football wins would be erased from Penn State's record, thereby also erasing all the hard work and accomplishments of the young athletes who played their hearts out over these 14 years.
Emmert, in effect, told every player who played, and every fan who attended these games, they just didn't exist from 1998-2011.
He is obviously living in his own fantasy world. To further punish a dead man who has still not been proven to be involved with any child abuse, Emmert has, for all intents and purposes, crippled Penn State football by punishing Coach O'Brien and all his players who had absolutely nothing to do with the whole mess.
Only time will tell how completely Emmert was successful in trying to eliminate Penn State football as any kind of a major player. He has certainly tried hard enough.
One thing I know for sure: Penn State fans will always love and support the Nittany Lions, and as long as football is played, Joe Paterno will be remembered as having the most Division I coaching victories of all time - in spite of Emmert and the NCAA.
Ed Leipold
Altoona
Media need more compassion
While reading Cory Giger's views of the Penn State scandal, I'm finding them to read as if Neil Rudel is back to writing anti-PSU editorials.
I agree the abuse was not addressed as it should have been, but why blame a dead man for all the problems? When has anybody mentioned that the district attorney of that time (1998) stopped the investigation, touting there was not enough to pursue it?
I also wonder why the NCAA would punish the current students of PSU by killing their football program. Hasn't the media done enough to these kids by bashing their school? Most of these students were small children when some of this was happening. None of it their fault.
Imagine having been a victim of Sandusky, trying to forget that abuse for years, and now having to listen to it and read about it every day.
Maybe the media needs to have a little compassion for those victims.
Shelley Snyder
Claysburg
Considering future support
Because Penn State's punishment by the NCAA will affect so many thousands of people who had absolutely nothing to do with what happened, it is likely my husband and many other loyal fans will never see another PSU bowl game.
Shirley Long
Hollidaysburg
Drop out of Big Ten
The sanctions that were placed against the once elite Penn State football program by the NCAA and Big Ten felt like the mighty sledgehammer blow of Paul Bunyan.
But the death penalty with SMU in 1988 and the death penalty inflicted on Penn State are different. SMU was killed with a single shot. For Penn State, the death penalty was more severe in that the victim was shot and allowed to bleed slowly before death.
Having said the above and knowing the very crippling sanctions, the fallout is monumental.
Players could leave Penn State and transfer immediately to other schools for the 2012 season. Recruits coming from the 2013 class who have verbally committed to PSU will also bail out regardless of their star rating.
The sanctions leave no room for positive thinking.
At this point, once all the damage has been assessed, Penn State should seriously consider leaving the Big Ten as soon as possible, knowing the dollar penalty will be high, and go independent.
Penn State football will be fodder for powerhouse non-conference foes as well as teams from the Big Ten. Essentially, we are looking at losing teams for the next six to eight years. I don't know what magic tricks Bill O'Brien and his staff can perform to bring in quality recruits now and in the future.
The fallout will extend to Penn State's other 30 sports in terms of what impact the sanctions will have on Penn State football remaining as the primary cash cow. I am also thinking that we might be looking at home games with only 60,000 fans in attendance in a 107,000-seat stadium.
If the hierarchy intends higher prices for tickets in the future, people will not renew their season tickets in addition to dropping out of the Nittany Lion Club. As for me, this is something that I will have to think about now as the 2013 season looms around the corner.
In the future, when the sanctions and probationary period have expired, Penn State football will be but a shadow of its once-great program.
As for the NCAA and President Mark Emmert, the NCAA has been a laughing joke all along until now. Emmert gave this organization shark teeth. All colleges and universities under NCAA jurisdiction better start reviewing their programs for potential concealment and come clean. The order coming down from the NCAA is transparency or else. Watch out, Syracuse University: You might be next.
I grew up following Joe Paterno when Rip Engle hired him to come to Penn State. I was fortunate along with others in my age bracket to enjoy Penn State football when it became a powerhouse as an independent.
We should start over again and go back to being an independent. Football at Penn State University will never be the same again.
May no act of ours bring shame ever again.
Les Hart
Duncansville
Culture goes way beyond PSU
What I would like to know is by what authority the NCAA can rule on the unproven culpability of former officials of Penn State on the basis of a so-called Freeh report.
I have not read the report in detail, but what I have read is that it is more of an indictment of the culture of Penn State and its officials than a report.
None of this bears on the actual operation of an athletic team, yet it has resulted in the evisceration of the Penn State football program.
Apparently, President Erickson and Chairman of the Board of Trustees Karen Peetz were the only Penn State officials involved in negotiations with the NCAA. I have not seen that the Board of Trustees was in any way involved.
The so-called protection of the culture of football by Joe Paterno and other officials is mystifying. Sandusky was not an employee of Penn State after 1999. Those who negligently allowed him to use facilities at Penn State to further his heinous crimes should be brought to account.
But they have not been indicted and have not had their day in court.
If the culture of football at Penn State is to blame, then we cannot ignore the same culture that prevails at all major universities in the United States who field competitive football teams.
If college football has risen to a major obsession, you can blame the publicity and subsequent financial rewards on television. However, it appears to me that a wave of publicity fueled by the media has resulted in our football program and our players being sacrificed as scapegoats.
Our athletes and scholarship recipients were not responsible for these crimes or their cover-up and yet these are the parties that will pay the price.
Richard C. (Dick) Manchester
Taylors, S.C.
