Quicksand Fans

As a tangent to the Sandusky Verdict thread, the Final Report on the "alleged" conspiracy by Penn State officials was issued today.

Final Report PDF 267 pages total

Short version courtesy of Andy on Ace of Spades. It is to weep

Louis Freeh's Damning Report On the Criminal Conspiracy at Penn State University
—Andy

OK, I guess I have to say "alleged" criminal conspiracy because they're innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

In the court of public opinion, though, what a bunch of amoral bastards.




"Taking into account the available witness statements and evidence, it is more reasonable to conclude that, in order to avoid the consequences of bad publicity, the most powerful leaders at Penn State University—Messrs. Spanier, Schultz, Paterno and Curley—repeatedly concealed critical facts relating to Sandusky's child abuse from the authorities, the Board of Trustees, Penn State community, and the public at large."

Although concern to treat the child abuser humanely was expressly stated, no such sentiments were ever expressed by them for Sandusky's victims.

The report also says Penn State allowed Mr. Sandusky to attract potential victims by giving him continued access to the university and its football program.

"Indeed, that continued access provided Sandusky with the very currency that enabled him to attract his victims. Some coaches, administrators and football program staff members ignored the red flags of Sandusky's behaviors and no one warned the public about him." (emphasis added)

More, from the report:

The most saddening finding by the Special Investigative Counsel is the total and consistent disregard by the most senior leaders at Penn State for the safety and welfare of Sandusky's child victims.

Bad publicity delayed but not denied. Now reap the whirlwind.



Kill Them All might be a bit harsh, but how about sue them into the next alternate dimension?

If it were me, I'd sue and then donate a huge chunk of what I got from them to organizations that help child sex abuse survivors.

I still can't believe the NCAA won't do anything to the university. Certainly if ever their 'death penality' were to apply...

The NCAA wont admit its all about money, heaven forbid we lose THAT

Yes, fate forbid they make it known, they're all about greed.

Welcome to Penn State--where we consider a few little boys getting raped in the shower a reasonable price to pay for a winning football team.

I'll be honest, despite all the things going on with the NFL (the Bounty Scandal, concussion issues, player off the field issues, etc.,), I'm kind of glad I veer more towards that, then College football right now.

That being said, I'm willing to bet that various ADs and University/College boards are bending over backwards now to make sure they never incure a Penn State type scandal.

I might agree, except it's far more likely that they are attempting to ensure they don't get CAUGHT as opposed to actually doing the right thing...

kham wrote:I might agree, except it's far more likely that they are attempting to ensure they don't get CAUGHT as opposed to actually doing the right thing...

I certainly hope you're wrong, but I know it's more likely you're right.

There's a word for the people at Penn State who knew this was going on: enablers. Those are the ones whose actions or inactions make it possible for abusive people like Mr. Sandusky to do what they do.

From what I've seen and understand, criminal predators are highly opportunistic. They look for the easiest and softest targets. As an example, if you keep the doors of your car locked while it's parked, you're far less likely to have your car broken into. A criminal will more than likely move on to a car that isn't locked as that's an easier target.

There's no doubt in my mind that Mr. Sandusky was "testing" the authorities around him to see how they'd respond to his actions. Once he realized he would face only minor sanctions, and that his actions would be covered up, he became even bolder in his actions because he knew he wouldn't be punished even if he were caught.

If he had been caught and punished early, that might have made a difference. He would likely still have the desires that he did, but perhaps he would've caught himself and thought twice before he actually tried to carry them out.

It's been demonstrated that the certainty of meaningful punishment is a far greater deterrent that the severity. Mr. Sandusky would not have done what he did if he knew he was going to get caught and punished.

The staff and leadership at Penn State let him get away with what he did because they didn't want a scandal for the football program. Well, now they have an infinitely worse scandal than they would've had if they had acted earlier.

This often happens to enablers.

Big Bad John

Everything you said in a nutshell.

bbjohn wrote:From what I've seen and understand, criminal predators are highly opportunistic. They look for the easiest and softest targets. As an example, if you keep the doors of your car locked while it's parked, you're far less likely to have your car broken into. A criminal will more than likely move on to a car that isn't locked as that's an easier target.

Absolutely positively 100% correct. Crime only thrives where it's tolerated.