Letter from Sue Paterno to Lettermen

[bplionfan]

http://www.paterno.com/Sues-Letter/4th-Anniversary.aspx#.Vjuo0vmrRpj
November 5, 2015

Dear Lettermen,

November 9 is the fourth anniversary of Joe's firing by the Board of Trustees and their wholesale indictment of the football program and the Penn State culture. Joe and I knew they had acted rashly, but we were hopeful that, with the benefit of time, they would correct their mistakes and set the record straight.

While much progress has been made in the last four years, the Administration, the NCAA and Louis Freeh have yet to acknowledge fully the extent of their errors. Worse yet, they are still waging an all-out campaign to keep the facts from ever seeing the light of day.

I write to you now to let you know that we have not given up on setting the record straight – and we never will. Four years of secrecy are enough. The victims, their families, each of you and everyone who cares about Penn State deserve the truth.

The sad history of this case is that the Board of Trustees took a terrible tragedy and made it worse. Their complete reliance on the deeply flawed Freeh report and their total capitulation to the NCAA were terrible mistakes that needlessly and recklessly tarnished the reputation of this great university.

Our only options are to give in and accept the allegation that Penn State was consumed with a corrupt culture, or fight for the truth. You and I know what Joe would have expected us to do. Penn State's culture is a treasure. It is worth fighting for. And the truth is not to be feared, but embraced.

Because these issues are currently being litigated, I am not able to comment on specific aspects of the case. What I can tell you is we respect the courts, and we welcome a chance to have the facts finally reviewed in a setting that honors transparency and due process.

Finally, I want you to know how proud I am of each of you. What you do with your lives is the ultimate testament to the Penn State culture. My life continues to be consumed with children and grandchildren and raising money for the causes Joe and I cared so much about. I also continue to pray for the victims and hope that the lessons of the Sandusky case will open eyes throughout our society.

I cherish my memories with all of you. I love Penn State more every day, which is why I will see this case to its proper resolution. I wish you and your families the best for the holidays.

With love,

P.S. Please hold the date...September 17, 2016, marks the 50th anniversary of Joe's first game as head coach. We are planning a special event to honor all that you accomplished. I will be back to you with more information about plans for that weekend.

 

[jerseylion109]

classy classy letter....just wish our administration would stop hiding the truth and review the freeh report and try to find out exactly what happened.

 

[john4psu]

Sue is the very best of Penn State and exemplifies and is the epitome of the verse, "May our lives but swell thy name."

 

[Sproul]

I don't see how haters could even hate on that. All it asks for is the truth.

 

[lionlurker]

This is why there is so much jealousy directed towards the Paterno's. Sue has class. Surma and Dandrea and their ilk think they do, wish they did, but they don't.

 

[OldTiredLion]

Maybe Sue should send two copies of that letter to Paul Suhey.

 

[psuro]

Have to admit - I got a little misty reading that letter.

 

[Class of 67]

You go girl! I hope the event is open to all fans. I encourage all to put that date on your calendar now. It's the day of the Temple home game.

 

[fairgambit]

As long as Sue and her family continue to fight for truth, justice, and the restoration of Joe's name and legacy, I will continue my meager efforts to help them. Those of us who believe in this cause must continue to speak out, as appropriate, and set the record straight. The damage done by our BOT is catastrophic, and can never be entirely repaired, but we must do what we can.

 

[nits74]

I don't see how haters could even hate on that. All it asks for is the truth.

Oh, they'll find a way. At this very moment michnittlion is probably working on a draft of his post.

 

[Ten Thousan Marbles]

9/17/16....Home...vs a team coached by one of JVP's players. Nice!!!!

 

[robbrunskill]

http://www.paterno.com/Sues-Letter/4th-Anniversary.aspx#.Vjuo0vmrRpj
November 5, 2015

Dear Lettermen,

November 9 is the fourth anniversary of Joe's firing by the Board of Trustees and their wholesale indictment of the football program and the Penn State culture. Joe and I knew they had acted rashly, but we were hopeful that, with the benefit of time, they would correct their mistakes and set the record straight.

While much progress has been made in the last four years, the Administration, the NCAA and Louis Freeh have yet to acknowledge fully the extent of their errors. Worse yet, they are still waging an all-out campaign to keep the facts from ever seeing the light of day.

I write to you now to let you know that we have not given up on setting the record straight – and we never will. Four years of secrecy are enough. The victims, their families, each of you and everyone who cares about Penn State deserve the truth.

The sad history of this case is that the Board of Trustees took a terrible tragedy and made it worse. Their complete reliance on the deeply flawed Freeh report and their total capitulation to the NCAA were terrible mistakes that needlessly and recklessly tarnished the reputation of this great university.

Our only options are to give in and accept the allegation that Penn State was consumed with a corrupt culture, or fight for the truth. You and I know what Joe would have expected us to do. Penn State's culture is a treasure. It is worth fighting for. And the truth is not to be feared, but embraced.

Because these issues are currently being litigated, I am not able to comment on specific aspects of the case. What I can tell you is we respect the courts, and we welcome a chance to have the facts finally reviewed in a setting that honors transparency and due process.

Finally, I want you to know how proud I am of each of you. What you do with your lives is the ultimate testament to the Penn State culture. My life continues to be consumed with children and grandchildren and raising money for the causes Joe and I cared so much about. I also continue to pray for the victims and hope that the lessons of the Sandusky case will open eyes throughout our society.

I cherish my memories with all of you. I love Penn State more every day, which is why I will see this case to its proper resolution. I wish you and your families the best for the holidays.

With love,

P.S. Please hold the date...September 17, 2016, marks the 50th anniversary of Joe's first game as head coach. We are planning a special event to honor all that you accomplished. I will be back to you with more information about plans for that weekend.

To quote her son Jay "this is why we fight"

 

[fairgambit]

9/17/16....Home...vs a team coached by one of JVP's players. Nice!!!!

Not only that. It will be against the defending National Champions!

 

[91Joe95]

Just beautiful. I bet the PSU admin had no idea of the date.

 

[bwifan]

Oh, they'll find a way. At this very moment michnittlion is probably working on a draft of his post.

I am sure he and CR666 are holding a conference call on how best to blow this letter up and spin it in the BOT's favor...

 

[CoolBean]

Not only that. It will be against the defending National Champions!

Temple is the defending national champ?

 

[fairgambit]

Temple is the defending national champ?

Well, not yet, but they will be when we play them next year. Temple fans have made this very clear to me.

 

[kgilbert78]

9/17/16....Home...vs a team coached by one of JVP's players. Nice!!!!

She is a wise lady.....

 

[Pocono Lion]

Says it all. Yes, this is why we fight. As an aside, after the game this past Saturday, my wife and went to Mass at the Pasquerilla Center. Sue was there and after Mass we went up and introduced ourselves, expressed our condolences on Joe's passing, etc. She noted to us that Illinois was Joe's last game and it would have been too hard for her to attend the game Saturday. Classy lady and as tough as nails.

 

[Aoshiro]

This is why there is so much jealousy directed towards the Paterno's. Sue has class. Surma and Dandrea and their ilk think they do, wish they did, but they don't.

No. They don't wish they had class.
The only thing they care about is money.

 

[marshall23]

Maybe Sue should send two copies of that letter to Paul Suhey.

Perhaps we can borrow Erickson's tractor and drag him to the celebration

 

[doctornick]

Great letter! Such a wonderful lady and representative for our university.

P.S. Please hold the date...September 17, 2016, marks the 50th anniversary of Joe's first game as head coach. We are planning a special event to honor all that you accomplished. I will be back to you with more information about plans for that weekend.

Did not realize that. Good to know -- I will make it a point to attend the Temple game next year.

 

[marshall23]

She gave the University ample time to honor Joe. Now she will organize this and it will be a huge embarrassment to the Fools.

 

[BobPSU92]

Great letter.

I will have to go to the game the weekend of Joe's 50th anniversary to see how the university honors him.

 

[PSU73]

Sue-Pa is a legend. In fact, she may very well have been the designer behind the more well known one.

 

[Player2BNamedL8r]

Have to admit - I got a little misty reading that letter.

Great letter from a great lady.

Oh, and I also got a little misty when I saw you finally got back to your old picture posting ways...thanks RO!!!

 

[NapaNit]

It's impossible not to love and respect Sue and her life's work. She is a true Champion.

 

[OhioLion]

I wish I would have done two things in the spring of 1981. Listen to my friend Earl Robb of Milhiem and enroll at Penn State; and follow a letter's recommendation that I check with the people in admissions, get enrolled into Penn State, then come talk to the football staff. That letter was in reference to me and sent to my friend Earl Robb. It was signed...... Joe Paterno.

I wish I would have as I truly would love to say I am an alum of Thee Pennsylvania State University, and by some miracle from God, a letterman of the football team.

Only then would I feel like I am a part of what Sue writes in her letter, and the pride that I can feel from those of you who are alumni.

For those of you that fall into one or both of those categories, consider yourselves envied.

I am still Penn State proud, just not with a diploma from that great university; and I can yell WE ARE, with the best of them.

 

[marshall23]

It should be a joyous celebration. I can predict 2 doctors and one dentist that will be conspicuous by their absence.

 

[Cruising Route 66]

I am sure he and CR666 are holding a conference call on how best to blow this letter up and spin it in the BOT's favor...

While I love Sue to death for the good person she is and the work that she does, I think she would better served if she waited for the C/S/S trials to play out before casting aspersions on the Board or anyone else. Trials which are clearly being delayed by the defendants themselves.

 

[michnittlion]

I am sure he and CR666 are holding a conference call on how best to blow this letter up and spin it in the BOT's favor...

What's to "blow up and spin"?

As John Surma said himself on 9-November-2011, Joe was fired because "it was in the best interests of the University, which is much larger than the athletics program.

Give ulterior motives to Surma's words if you will, but from my POV he is pretty clear and succinct in what he said. And 4 years later, I still feel the BoT made the tough but correct and necessary decision.

(yes, the news should have been delivered face-to-face and not via a phone call. That was AWFUL, no argument there)

 

[Player2BNamedL8r]

While I love Sue to death for the good person she is and the work that she does, I think she would better served if she waited for the C/S/S trials to play out before casting aspersions on the Board or anyone else. Trials which are clearly being delayed by the defendants themselves.

Clear to you perhaps. Another more plausible theory may suggest that the delay stems from a lack of case by the state.

 

[Bob78]

What's to "blow up and spin"?

As John Surma said himself on 9-November-2011, Joe was fired because "it was in the best interests of the University, which is much larger than the athletics program.

Give ulterior motives to Surma's words if you will, but from my POV he is pretty clear and succinct in what he said. And 4 years later, I still feel the BoT made the tough but correct and necessary decision.

(yes, the news should have been delivered face-to-face and not via a phone call. That was AWFUL, no argument there)

Why not engage Paterno in a conversation and appeal to him to voluntarily step aside? They already knew Joe was going to retire; some but not many knew that he was sick. Maybe they would have figured out what was truly best for the university by engaging him in a conversation rather than pandering to the media and letting their own lack of foresight and lack of crisis management skills rule the day. Nope... Big Surms wouldn't drink the Kool-Aid. What a leader. Even engaging other BOT members into a discussion about what's best at that time - and actually putting aside their egos long enough to listen - would have been more productive. They didn't even get everyone together until a few days later. By then the cooler heads, who could think on their feet a little bit, were kept out of the Surma-Frazier-Peetz clusterfest and could not chime in to say 'wait a minute'. (I suspect Garban tried to and was pushed aside.)
Imagine if they had begun their strategic (vs. reactionary) thinking on Saturday as they should have under their fiduciary responsibilities when the fit was hitting the shan! But no.... gotta have the biggest, swingingest one at all times. Us poor unwashed non-BOT members were all talking and asking why the BOT wasn't out in front of this by Saturday evening. But what do we know? We didn't anticipate they would dig the hole far deeper than necessary and then keep digging to work through their own disaster. We screwed up... We trusted the Trustees!
They certainly would have had a better chance to look at the longer term situation with at least one cooler head (Joe) in the conversation as opposed to looking at the immediate and flushing away one of the greatest goodwill assets any school in the country has every had. And their egos and BSD approach won't let them publicly back down. Worst crisis management effort in the history of US universities. PSU ain't Merck, and only a handful of all-empowered trustees did not understand that intuitively.

 

[marshall23]

The Ship of Fools and their 2 defenders. Deranged, frivolous and oblivious. The fifty year celebration of Joe, his players and The Grand Experiment will be magnificent. "The University" has no leadership and no standing to honor someone of Joe's pedigree. The Fools are reduced to spending millions to keep the first draft of the Freeh Report hidden.

 

[psute]

Great letter...

 

[PSU1991]

I wish I would have done two things in the spring of 1981. Listen to my friend Earl Robb of Milhiem and enroll at Penn State; and follow a letter's recommendation that I check with the people in admissions, get enrolled into Penn State, then come talk to the football staff. That letter was in reference to me and sent to my friend Earl Robb. It was signed...... Joe Paterno.

I wish I would have as I truly would love to say I am an alum of Thee Pennsylvania State University, and by some miracle from God, a letterman of the football team.

Only then would I feel like I am a part of what Sue writes in her letter, and the pride that I can feel from those of you who are alumni.

For those of you that fall into one or both of those categories, consider yourselves envied.

I am still Penn State proud, just not with a diploma from that great university; and I can yell WE ARE, with the best of them.

I fall into one of those categories, but as JayPa has pointed out, you don't have to have a diploma from the school to be Penn State proud and be considered a Penn Stater. After all, Joe didn't have one either.

 

[marshall23]

Clear to you perhaps. Another more plausible theory may suggest that the delay stems from a lack of case by the state.

Defendants are delaying the trial? The one that McGetton said they never planned to prosecute? If defendants can delay a trial, what happened to Sandusky's attempts to delay? lol

 

[LafayetteBear]

Have to admit - I got a little misty reading that letter.

Me too, but then I looked at your new avatar photo and suddenly that misty feeling vanished entirely.

 

[michnittlion]

Why not engage Paterno in a conversation and appeal to him to voluntarily step aside?

You and I both know the answer to that question --- Joe (or more likely, one of his family members who crafted that statement) made it clear on the morning of 9-November-2011 that he wasn't interested in a conversation.

Trying to dictate terms while lobbing cannonballs over the heads of people who have some control over your destiny is typically not wise.

 

[ApexLion]

What's to "blow up and spin"?

As John Surma said himself on 9-November-2011, Joe was fired because "it was in the best interests of the University, which is much larger than the athletics program.

Give ulterior motives to Surma's words if you will, but from my POV he is pretty clear and succinct in what he said. And 4 years later, I still feel the BoT made the tough but correct and necessary decision.

(yes, the news should have been delivered face-to-face and not via a phone call. That was AWFUL, no argument there)

Were you and CR on a date? Or does your computer ring when someone mentions you? Jeezus, that was a pretty fast rollout of the hogspinwash by both of you.