Grand Jury and Media Manufactured "Penn State Sex Scandal"

Grand Jury and Media Manufactured "Penn State Sex Scandal" at the Daily Kos

But the "Victim 2" charges that have implicated Joe Paterno and Penn State presented in the Grand Jury Presentment have misled the media, the Board of Trustee's and the public in order to advance Republican political careers. The Victim 2 section of the presentment is a LIE. I am a University of Tennessee alumni with no love for Paterno or Penn State but I abhor this injustice. The media has failed to offer the truth so someone has to expose this injustice and the unforgivable lack of fairness by the media that has condemned Paterno and Penn State in the court of public opinion.

John Surma's own statement shows his lack of fitness to lead PSU Trustees

Board of Trustees Ends Legendary Career reports,

Asked what Paterno did wrong, Surma said: ''I can't characterize that. We thought because of the difficulties that have engulfed our university, it was necessary to make changes.''

This is in our opinion prima facie evidence that John Surma is not competent to act as a Trustee of the Pennsylvania State University in any way, shape, or form.

My response to Alumni Association's support for Trustees

I am disappointed that http://alumni.psu.edu/news/2011/statement-from-the-penn-state-alumni-association expresses support for the Board of Trustees noting their irresponsible rush to judgment and act of moral cowardice on November 9, when they fired Joe Paterno without any identifiable effort to exercise either fairness, due diligence, or anything else one would expect from people in a position of responsibility. My position, which I am sharing as widely as possible, is that the existing Board does not deserve and should not receive the continued trust, respect, or support of any member of the Penn State community.

--William A. Levinson, B.S. '78

ESPN and Board of Trustees Credibility Meltdown Begins

New, Previously Suppressed Grand Jury Testimony and Joe Paterno: Part four of "What did Joe Paterno know and when...

discredits Mike McQueary's multiple accounts of what happened, and therefore the legal case against administrators Curley and Schultz. It also casts serious doubt as to what McQueary actually told Paterno, thus reinforcing the perspective of irresponsible journalism by ESPN and an irresponsible rush to judgement by Penn State's Trustees.

Another version of Mike McQueary's story about Jerry Sandusky surfaces

Another version of Mike McQueary's story about Jerry Sandusky surfaces

Since charges were filed Nov. 4, several variations of McQueary’s story have come out publicly.

• His grand jury testimony says he heard slapping noises and saw a boy being sodomized by Sandusky.
• His hand-written statement to police says, "I did not see insertion. I am certain that sexual acts/the young boy being sodomized was occurring." He says the whole incident lasted about a minute.
• In an email he sent to friends following the firing of Joe Paterno, he says "I made sure it stopped," something not mentioned in the grand jury testimony or police statement.
• And now Dranov’s testimony describes a new scenario.

Letters to the BOT

What most people don't know, is the BOT is being flooded with letters questing their recent decisions.

Several of these powerful letters are listed below.

..............................................................................................................................................
You have the rare luxury of hindsight and the opportunitiy to reverse your decision to fire Joe Paterno and instead accept his resignation. I would assume that you have been following the media (we know you cave to the media ie your knee jerk reaction in firing Joe Paterno in the first place). With all of the information from credible sources you should realize that legally you have no grounds to fire him. In time this will come back to haunt you. The same way the initial decision in the handling of Jerry Sandusky by the attorney general, Ray Gricar, Corbett and the Penn State board of Trustees is now coming back a thousand fold. Can you not learn from your mistakes? Fix this travesty while you still can.

Elizabeth Morgan
..............................................................................................................................................
Dear Board of Trustees,

I want to start by saying that I'm not prone to overreaction or one to send a lot of complaint letters. I also serve on boards of both public companies and non-profits and believe I have a sense of the pressure the Trustees were initially under and continue to experience as well as the sometimes cloudy interpretation of the Board's responsibilities.

I am simply disappointed and deeply saddened. While the pressure was tremendous, you had an opportunity to stand tall and represent an ideal and you missed it. You validated a mob mentality being stirred by irresponsible media. You did what was expected rather than what was right. In so doing, you took away the opportunity for the Penn State community to stand tall and point out to the world that the actions of Jerry Sandusky were not the actions of Penn State.

I am not so naive to think that if everyone had it to do again, they would not recognize that different steps would have been immeasurably better. Mistakes of commission and omission were undoubtedly made. However a statement like what follows would have given us all something to rally behind. It would have been calming during the storm. It would have been the kind of leadership that is expected of you.

"The board has been deeply concerned about the events that have been unfolding. We've thought long and hard and debated what steps to take. In the end, we are guided by the values and principles this institution has stood for and continues to stand for. We feel a great sense of sadness and we will diligently continue the process of investigating and seeking to understand what has occurred. Our positions may change as facts unfold. For now however we are not going to abandon good people who we believe acted according to their best judgment at the time, in very difficult circumstances. As a board, we are not going to bend our principle of fairness and loyalty due to the rush to judgment we are seeing until we have factual information that indicates our loyalty is misplaced.

At the same time, the Board will not exercise blind loyalty. The situation is deeply concerning, and we will find out what we as an institution need to learn from this and we will insist on appropriate accountability. But to be very clear and specific, it is inconsistent with the values of this university to turn our backs on people we believe are good because of pressure we are under. Joe Paterno remains the head coach of our football team, but more importantly a valued educator and member of the Penn State family. He is not beyond evaluation regarding these events; however we don't expect perfection, just good moral character and selfless intent and dedication to what Penn State is. If there were improprieties, his record will not excuse them. However his record is clear and he deserves our support at this time - regardless of the pressure and rush to judgment we are seeing.

We want to reiterate that the principles we are dedicated to at this time are due process and standing by good people in trying times. These are principles we want our students and alumni to be able to count on. We will update you as the Board continues its work."

More than simply an opportunity lost, the course you chose is heartbreaking and will shape the path for years to come. I won't presume to speak for all, but many alumni feel rudderless due to the lack of leadership in this critical time.

Respectfully,

Bill Boor
BS - Chemical Engineering
..............................................................................................................................................
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

As a current student and Alum of Penn State I was disappointed with the board’s action to terminate a long standing member of the University with haste and without foundation. The board allowed media pressure and opinion to taint their judgment. This is not the way any organization should run their business.

In fact within the entire situation as best as the current evidence suggests Joe Paterno did the right thing, yet he has been vilified by the boards decision. Just because a decision to accept Joe’s retirement is not necessarily supported by the media’s desires is not nearly enough for the board to take further action. In fact in taking this action the Board has further tarnished the Penn State Brand by allowing the prevailing opinion to flourish. Further the board has fostered the opinion that this was a “football” matter when in fact the accused had no longer reported through Joe Paterno in 2002.

If the Penn State Community had bowed to public opinion of the time in 1946 there would be no “We Are”. Back in 1946 it was the Football Program that stood up for the right thing in the face of adversity. This was one of the defining moments in our history and for that I am proud. The Board failed in their duties during their recent decision and failed in their duties since 2002. Either the board was aware of the situation in 2002 and failed to insure the incident was reported or it was not. If the board was not aware then organizationally something is wrong since a decision not to report such an incident should have been brought to the boards attention. By firing Joe Paterno the board has placed the blame for its failure wrongly upon an individual who did was required of him. This is not the Penn State way and the decision should be reversed.

“We are Penn State” This is what we should stand for. We should right this wrong and then we should do what we should have done in the first place. Compile all the facts, make appropriate decisions that impact those affected based on those facts, and put adequate controls in place to insure that whatever went wrong cannot happen again.

I am Proud to be a Penn State Alum and will forever be so. However, if this board can not correct its wrong I for one will do everything in my power to insure we correct this by working tirelessly to insure the Board is replaced with people who understand what Penn State is and should be.

Please take the time and consider what has transpired and correct the mistakes that have been made.

Sincerely,

John R. Cohrac Sr. ‘90

Penn State Trustees Reaffirm Moral Cowardice, Poor Stewardship, and Lack of Character

Letter to the BOT

Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship kindly requests that the Board of Trustees provide an apology to Coach Joe Paterno and President Graham Spanier for the decision to terminate both individuals prior to completion of an internal investigation. Additionally, as the meeting to terminate both employees was held in secret in violation of the Sunshine Act [65 Pa.C.S.A 701-710] Joe Paterno should be reinstated as head coach and Graham Spanier should be reinstated as University President.

The Pennsylvania State University would not be the institution that it is today without Joe Paterno’s contributions to attitude, excellence and education. The University reputation has been tarnished by the recent events and Joe Paterno’s legacy has been ruined as a result of this Board’s decision to feed the media firestorm.  Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship requests that that BOT show leadership by recognizing that the hasty decision had a negative impact on the entire Penn State community, Alumni, students, faculty, employees, supporters and friends by failing to seek answers before acting.

Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship requests that the board demonstrate its leadership abilities by admitting that they hurried to a rush judgment without facts and by overturning the decision to terminate Joe Paterno and Graham Spanier.

If the board chooses to ignore our request, Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship will work tirelessly to ensure that all Alumni voted members of the BOT are replaced with individuals who have virtue, character and the ability to lead the University.

Another Paterno story

Caroline Rouen Dixon

In 1987 was severely burned in a house fire in Harrisburg. It was 3 days before classes started my junior year. I had moved into Cedarbrook and was working at the Deli, but decided to go home for the night to see friends & the next day the fire happened at their home. I spent my entire junior year in the Baltimore Regional Burn Unit. I got a letter from Joe in the first few weeks wishing me well. It meant the world to me...

The Assassination of Joe Paterno

The Assassination of Joe Paterno

While we can debate the pathetic state of journalism ad nauseum, the only thing I am concerned about is what if we find out after all the facts come out that Paterno was one of the few who actually tried to fix the problem?

What if we find out that after learning of Sandusky being investigated in 1998, Paterno immediately attempted to fire Sandusky from the staff but was overruled by University hierarchy including members of the then-current Board of Trustees?

What if we find out that Paterno was specifically told by members of the Penn State administration that the 2002 case had been handed over to the authorities?

What if we find out that despite no police reports being on file, Mike McQueary did in fact talk to police about the 2002 incident in the Lasch Football Building?

What if we find out that this cover up took place far over Joe Paterno or anyone in the athletic department’s heads and they had nothing to do with any true wrongdoing?

The Grand Jury Report: Part two of "What did Joe Paterno know and when did he know it?"

The Grand Jury Report: Part two of "What did Joe Paterno know and when did he know it?"

Consequently, the evidence available to us thus far not only clears Paterno of any suspicion that he engaged in a cover-up -- an extremely far-fetched suspicion, in the first place -- but also that Paterno earned praise for performing his legal duty. Arguably, by insisting that Schultz be brought in, Paterno went beyond his legal obligation.

Unfortunately, such evidence proved worthless as jackals in the news media seized upon the hysteria surrounding the news of despicable sexual molestation of young boys by Jerry Sandusky to transform a "Jerry Sandusky scandal" into a "Penn State scandal" and then a "Joe Paterno scandal." Now, there's no questioning why the "Jerry Sandusky scandal" emerged. Moreover, given that Sandusky was once employed by Penn State (and maintained close ties with Penn State), and given the grand jury report and the subsequent indictments of Penn State's Athletic Director, Tim Curley, and the Vice President responsible for overseeing the University police, Gary Schultz, one understands how the "Sandusky scandal" became the "Penn State scandal." But, how the "Sandusky scandal" and the "Penn State scandal" became the "Joe Paterno scandal" is much less easy to understand.

The Vicky Triponey Timeline of Terror

Dolores Umbridge from the Harry Potter series?

The Vicky Triponey Timeline of Terror

Interesting words from ESPN

They made a point to destroy Joe Paterno, while they sat on information:

ESPN 11/23: "Criticizing Paterno was fair. For those who claim Paterno didn't have enough information to act, how can you not consider that enough of a red flag? Paterno was morally obligated to do more than just inform former athletic director Tim Curley and senior vice president Gary Schultz, who then oversaw campus police."
(http://espn.go.com/espn/commentary/story/_/page/hill-111122/jemele-hill-readers-respond-support-joe-paterno)

ESPN 11/29: "We kept the tape for 8 years, not really knowing what to do with it. We dont see it as our job to go to authorities with evidence that we collect. Well, for one thing we did not witness anything ourselves."

Upon further review Joe Paterno rose to the occasion while everyone else sunk.

Upon further review Joe Paterno rose to the occasion while everyone else sunk shows that ESPN violated the same standards it applied to Joe Paterno, and that other journalists may have engaged in unprofessional conduct meriting their own dismissal.

Our Web site is now online

http://ps4rs.org/

Facebook Group Update - 410 Members and counting

Our movement is growing each day, this morning we added member 410. If you are interested in joining the movement please submit a request:

WE intend to vote out the Penn State Board of Trustees

Those who join and post offensive information will be banned by the admins.

Joe Paterno's Character (by Robert Young)

Here is a personal story 10 years my nephew who was 12 was dying of cancer and he got a make-wish and his wish was to meet Joe Paterno. I told him there would be no way Joe could come to Pittsburgh Children Hospital to visit him. It was mid Oct and I knew Joe would be way to busy to take time out and visit, but to my surprise not only did Joe make the trip. He brought him a game ball and jersey he spent around two hours with my nephew. It was the best day ever considering how sick he was however, sadly he died three months later and once again Joe shocked us all when not only him, but Sue and Jay came to the funeral. So to make a long story short my heart is broken to what has happened to Joe Paterno and how the media has treated him. Joe Paterno has meant so much to so many people to just be tossed out like garbage. We owe it to Joe to continue to show him our full support he has done nothing wrong God Bless Joe Paterno and please give us the strength to continue to fight the good fight for a man of honor.

Penn State Trustees May Have Violated State Law

Penn State Trustees may have violated Sunshine law with secret/emergency meetings including the one that fired Joe Paterno.

Excellent analysis by an ATTORNEY

Another Side to the Penn State Story

Sandusky Cover Up Scandal

Sandusky Cover Up Scandal at Hacksaw's Sports has an excellent commentary.

Another Trustee: Paterno was Fired to Gratify Media

Trustee: Media frenzy forced board's hand

Why did the trustees rush to judgment? Intense media attention and public outrage compelled them to take immediate action against coach Joe Paterno and President Graham Spanier, according to a trustee who spoke to The Morning Call.

The board feared any delay would only fuel the frenzy outside, said the trustee, who asked to remain anonymous.

The board considered letting Paterno stay on for Saturday's home game, but with interim head coach Tom Bradley assuming the role of team spokesman, the trustee said. In the end, however, he said the board feared all the television cameras would remain focused on Paterno, thereby unnecessarily drawing out the drama and further damaging the university's reputation.

There is is. The Board acted solely to gratify the media, thus underscoring its lack of fitness to exercise stewardship and responsible trust for the University.

"It was a witch hunt at Penn State"

Bill Kline's "It was a witch hunt at Penn State" says all that needs to be said.

In bouncing Paterno last week, John Surma, the vice chair of Penn State's Board of Trustees, said the trustees "do not yet know all the facts."

Exactly 51 seconds later, Surma, when asked why Paterno was let go, responded: "In consideration of all the facts …"

Talk about an oxymoron. Which one is it? Do you have all the facts or not? And if not, on what are you basing your decision?

Trustee Admits Rush to Judgment!

PSU Trustee Speaks About Paterno, Spanier Firings speaks for itself.

He said the board had to act fast last week so the university could move forward, but now it has to take its time making sure it knows all the facts before making other changes.

This is an open admission of a rush to judgment and therefore poor stewardship.

We need a name for our movement

We need a NAME for our group. Our nominees will have a limited amount of space for biographies (hopefully including Penn State activities) and campaign statements. We want them to be able to add a simple phrase to show why they are running against the incumbents:

(1) "Penn State Alumni for Honor"
(2) "Committee to Restore Penn State's Honor"
(3) "Alumni for Responsible Stewardship"
(4) "Committee for Responsible Stewardship"
(5) Others?

E.g. if Franco Harris were to agree to run, he could add simply "Penn State Alumni for Honor Candidate" and people could look up that phrase on the Internet.

Since our goal is indeed to restore our University's honor, we should also do something about the root cause of Sandusky's (alleged until proven) child abuse. I sent a couple of State Reps whom I know a link to a site that lists various states' "Duty to Rescue" laws. These generally provide low-grade misdemeanor penalties for NOT calling the police to intervene in a violent felony, which is what Mike McQueary apparently didn't do (but now claims to have done). This sounds reasonable. (http://volokh.com/2009/11/03/duty-to-rescuereport-statutes/)

Boycott The Meadows Race Track and Casino

Franco Harris fired by Meadows for his support of Joe Paterno

The Meadows Race Track and Casino has fired former Penn State and Steelers great Franco Harris as a spokesman for his support of Joe Paterno.

The Meadows has the right to hire and fire whomever it wants. But this stinks.

Facebook group contact information

I intend to vote out the Penn State Board of Trustees

You must be approved by the group owner.

Trustees' Own Statement Proves Poor Stewardship

Are we the only ones who see something wrong with the fact that the Board fired and humiliated Joe Paterno (and also forced President Spanier to resign, although the buck arguably stops with him) the next day, before the indicated action was taken?

At its regular meeting on Friday, November 11, 2011, the Board will appoint a Special Committee, members of which are currently being identified, to undertake a full and complete investigation of the circumstances that gave rise to the Grand Jury Report. This Special Committee will be commissioned to determine what failures occurred, who is responsible and what measures are necessary to insure that this never happens at our University again and that those responsible are held fully accountable. The Special Committee will have whatever resources are necessary to thoroughly fulfill its charge, including independent counsel and investigative teams, and there will be no restrictions placed on its scope or activities. Upon the completion of this investigation, a complete report will be presented at a future public session of the Board of Trustees.

"Sentence first, verdict afterward" is suitable for a scene in Alice in Wonderland but not for responsible adults who are entrusted with the welfare of an institution like Penn State.

Note that there was obviously no determination whatsoever of what failures occurred or who was responsible before the Board (in our opinion) caved in to media pressure the following day. This should make an excellent management and business ethics case study, and we encourage management schools to adopt it as such. We may even cite it in our new book on management and leadership, which stresses the role of a leader as a steward and holder in trust (the Indo-European root dher, e.g. Dharma, Jemadar) of an organization's well-being.

Procedure for Petition Candidates

Membership Selection

Alumni trustees are elected, three each year for three-year terms, by the following procedure: On or before January 15 each year, nominating ballots are sent (1) to all alumni of the University who have, within two years prior to March 1 of each year, been either active members of the Penn State Alumni Association or contributors to the Penn State Fund, or (2) to any other alumni who make a request in writing for a ballot.

Qualified alumni who receive 50 or more nominating votes, and who accept the nomination in writing, have their names placed on an election ballot which is sent to the alumni (specified in the paragraph above) on or before April 10. At a time specified by the Board during spring commencement week, the ballots are tabulated in the presence of two trustee tellers. The three candidates receiving the highest number of votes are declared elected.

Nomination forms must be submitted to the Office of the Board of Trustees by the deadline specified.

THE DEADLINE IS MARCH 1 2011

Contact Information: The Pennsylvania State University Board of Trustees 205 Old Main University Park, PA 16802-1571 Office: (814) 865-2521 Fax: (814) 863-4631 Email: bot "at" psu.edu

Penn State Trustees' Questionable Stewardship

The Chinese leadership concept of the Mandate of Heaven relates to the leader's or monarch's service to his or her stakeholders, and stewardship for the welfare of the organization. The Indo-European root dher, which appears in Asian Indian titles like Sirdar, Jemadar, and so on along with names like Darius means "to hold" in the sense of responsibility or stewardship. From where we sit, the manner in which Penn State's Trustees fired football coach Joe Paterno illustrates poor stewardship.

One statement in favor of Paterno's dismissal said the Trustees had to "stop the bleeding" over the scandal due to former coach Jerry Sandusky's alleged sexual abuse of children. One can indeed stop a head wound from bleeding by cutting the patient's throat, which may well be what the Trustees did to the University in terms of future alumni support. (The thousands of students who demonstrated against Paterno's dismissal will be alumni in a few years.) Everything about the affair, including an emergency meeting, suggests not a careful and deliberative process but rather a hasty rush to judgment. The elephant in the living room is the conspicuous absence of assistant coach Mike McQueary from the list of those fired or forced to resign. Trustee spokesman John Surma said Wednesday that there "has been no change in (McQueary's) status at this time."

From where we sit, the Trustees' unspoken objective, and the word "groupthink" comes to mind, was to satiate a media feeding frenzy. We cannot identify any "careful consideration" (the words used in conjunction with Paterno's dismissal) in terms of deliberation much less impartial investigation. The committee or panel the Trustees said would investigate has in fact yet to be created. The phrase "Sentence first, verdict afterward" from Alice in Wonderland comes to mind immediately.

Let's look at the media lynch mob's view that "Paterno should have done more to protect the children" from a position of common sense and reality rather than emotion or a self-serving desire to attack the country's most respected football coach and mentor. Kenny Rogers' lyrics "Did you ever kick a good man when he was down, just to make yourself feel strong?" come to mind immediately in the latter context. The same goes for a beer-muscle crowd that always knows with the benefit of 20:20 hindsight what the person on the spot should have done. Suppose that Paterno had indeed called the State Police as soon as McQueary brought his allegations to him.

State Trooper: "All right, Mr. Paterno, what did you see, and when and where did you see it?"

Paterno: "I wasn't there."

Trooper (not very impressed): "Then the man who was there needs to talk to us."

The best Paterno could have therefore done even with the benefit of 20:20 hindsight (the indictment against Jerry Sandusky) would have been to put McQueary in touch with the police instead of University administrators. Then it would have been McQueary's word against Sandusky's unless the victim could be located. We cannot give legal advice but we are not even sure it is possible to prosecute a sex crime without a victim.

It is very bad judgment to accuse anybody of a crime you cannot prove, and this was (in 2002) an easily foreseeable outcome of Paterno "taking the matter further than he did." The scenario is not hypothetical, and we speak from personal experience.

A few years ago, while researching Barack Obama's legislative tolerance for live birth abortion, we found on a very prominent pro-life Web site a credible accusation that a named doctor and hospital had left an unwanted baby (as defined by law, not the pro-life camp) to die from neglect. We took reasonable, prudent, and limited action by forwarding the hearsay evidence (the same kind of evidence in front of Paterno) to the hospital regulatory agency of the state in question. In other words, we went through channels as Paterno went through channels. The agency discovered the accusation to be false, so the Web site owner was lucky to not be sued for libel along with the source of the accusation. This illustrates the possible consequences of "doing more" as Paterno's critics say he should have done.

The context in which McQueary reported his allegations to Paterno could have easily reinforced the nightmare scenario of a false accusation to the wrong people followed by its moral and legal consequences. Our immediate first reaction would have been, "You weren't confident enough that you saw what you think you saw to call the police on the spot. How can I be confident enough to call them on the basis of hearsay evidence now?" This does not mean we would have looked the other way or done nothing; we did something about the hearsay report of a baby's purported murder. Paterno also did something. He took the allegation to his superiors, and probably assumed quite reasonably that they would involve the University's attorney to handle the matter in a way that would not expose the University to a libel suit. That is good stewardship, which makes the Trustees' preemptory dismissal and humiliation of the man who exercised it bad stewardship.

Paterno had no way to know that Gary Schultz, whose supervisory responsibilities included the campus police, would not handle the matter thoroughly and would later be indicted for perjury. Graham Spanier's sole fault meanwhile seems to be that, as Schultz's supervisor, the buck technically stopped with him.

The underlying problem is of course that McQueary did not call the police to report an (alleged until proven) violent felony in progress. Had he done so, the police might have arrived in time to catch Sandusky in the act, or at least in time to catch him when he tried to leave with the boy. Then they would have had a victim, witnesses including not only McQueary but also the responding officer(s), physical evidence, and an open and shut case.

It is therefore impossible for us to envision any circumstances in which the Trustees can be right about firing Paterno while not firing McQueary. Had the Trustees fired everybody involved including McQueary, we would not agree with the action's haste or its fairness to Paterno, but nobody could say that the Trustees had not been consistent. They could also have fired nobody while waiting for both the law and their own investigative panel to do their work. They instead chose the worst possible course of action; one whose inconsistency makes it impossible for us to accept their boilerplate statement that it was for the best interests of the University. We perceive only a hasty consensus to satiate a media lynch mob by firing and humiliating a man known not only for his football victories but also for making star players go to class rather than win games for him if that choice had to be made. Others also perceive it this way, and that is not in the best interests of the University.

--Bill Levinson B.S. '78