Letter from Sue Paterno to Lettermen

[Franklin_Restores_TheTradition]

Let's not forget to add to that list the corrupt local businessmen, PA STATE GOP Committee and GOP apparatchiks, past and present. To ignore the fact that Corbett, Fina, Zimmerman, and Ridge didn't play a substantial role in this is just as bad as the false narrative.

IMO, the false narrative is about protecting personal wealth and the GOP political machine.

No doubt. And I am a registered Republican (honestly I am a fiscal conservative, but social liberal - think people should live their lives however they like as long as they stay within the boundries of the law. If their own social behavior ends up being self-destructive, the safety net should be just that - a safety net, not an entitlement to an equal lifestyle. Honestly, I'm seriously in favor of people losing their vote if they are "on the role" including government workers.). In any event, there is little doubt that there are strong ties to political corruption here and in this specific case it is the GOP "appartchik" (that is the absolutely correct word) where the corruption is "primarily", not exclusivy, taking place....that in no way says that the Democratic Party in Pennsylvania and across the country is not corrupt - quite the contrary. Goverment corruption and "moral hazzard" is an "equal opportunity" business for Republicans and Democrats alike (btw, have you ever noticed the one thing these Democrat and Republican politicians almost always have in common? Ever notice that they're almost always lawyers turned corrupt politician and they are chummy with one another as they negotiate with each other as to how they'll divy the pot?).

 

[bjf1984]

I didn't watch these but here is what I found around that date.
http://www.pacast.com/index_search.asp?page=130&search=

Thanks BP. That does have some out-takes from the PC I was referencing (FWIW, it was the morning of 11/9....not the previous day....and I see that it was "no texting while driving", not "click-it-or-ticket"....mea culpa)

It is only a brief clip, but I found this in the link you provided:

http://www.pacast.com/index_search.asp?page=130&search= The ninth "link" on that page...a 1 minute snippet.

It is only a snippet, and not the full PC, but I think you can see some of what I was referencing in there.

 

[Bob78]

If the proper power relationship existed between the BoT (superiors) and football coach (subordinate) then discussion about these Nov 2011 events would be moot because JVP would have been gone long before Nov 2011.

Maybe in the 2000 - 2004 period, but once Joe turned things around in 2005 (and admittedly, as much as I wanted him to retire on his own terms but sooner than later all along that timeline), he earned the right to play it out as long as he could. As I've said many times, Joe was the among the absolute best goodwill assets any school has ever had. The BOT as his ultimate bosses and supposed leaders of PSU no doubt knew that, and that played into their decision as to how hard they would or would not push for him to retire. That is the level of respect Joe had earned and deserved. Had a couple of the BOT not been wrapped up in petty personal and illogical vendettas against Joe and had they all done their jobs from a fiduciary view as the whole thing began to come to light publicly, the Nov 2011 events would have been moot.

 

[91Joe95]

If the proper power relationship existed between the BoT (superiors) and football coach (subordinate) then discussion about these Nov 2011 events would be moot because JVP would have been gone long before Nov 2011.

Of all the dumb things I have ever read, this definitely ranks up there with the best.

 

[91Joe95]

"Proper power relationship"? This is rich. The proper relationship probably wouldn't include a coach imploring the trustees to improve the university after its first national championship, or raising millions of dollars for it, or contributing millions of his own cash -- in the days long before coaches earned millions and were top fundraisers.Or the days before coaches cared about players graduating.

Other schools would have killed for the "relationship" our football coach had with the university. Our "leadership" went and killed the coach.

When are you idiots going to get through your heads that 11/9 didn't have to happen the way it did? Considering the university leadership knew about the indictments for a week prior to 11/4, they did a beyond pathetic job preparing for a firestorm. Please go back to your board and refrain from commenting because you add nothing intelligent to our discussions.

He raised billions, not millions. The bot was briefed back in March, not Nov. and didn't care enough about the kids to ask a single question.

 

[Madsol]

If the proper power relationship existed between the BoT (superiors) and football coach (subordinate) then discussion about these Nov 2011 events would be moot because JVP would have been gone long before Nov 2011.

Why would he have been long gone? For football-related reasons? Maybe back in 2000-2004, you'd have a point. But when he was fired in 2011, PSU was 8-1 and in first place in their B1G division with a top 10 recruiting class lined up for that coming February. From a football-related standpoint, there was absolutely no basis to remove him. If the crap doesn't hit the fan, there's not even a made-up-scandal reason to remove him.

 

[B_Levinson]

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

The Cowards of Centre County
(with due credit to Kenny Rogers for the original)

Nobody knew he was the coward of Centre County
He'd never had to stand for what he knew was right.
His mama named him Rodney, but no one knew he was yellow,
When the time came for him to stand, he didn't dare to fight.

In November 2011, the Trustees gave Rodney the Lion
The time soon came for him to prove himself a man.
One day while he was working, Mark Emmert he came calling
He came to screw the Lion, n'there was only one of him.

Rodney opened up the door, and saw the battered Lion.
His guts turned to water, and he did not dare advance.
The tears poured down his cheeks while his body shook
His teeth chattered, he felt right sick and found he'd wet his pants.

"What ya gonna do, boy?" Mark Emmert he did challenge
"Ya ain't gonna do nothing, you stupid worthless clown."
"Now I need some help with this 'cause your alumni want a tussle,"
So Rodney walked over and helped Mark hold the Lion down.

"We need to move on," Karen Peetz she then insisted,
While Ken Frazier said "Let's choose the easy over the right"
"Just let the matter drop" Keith Masser then demanded
Said Keith Eckel, "I'd rather cringe than stand and fight"

Then Paul Suhey he came a-crawling
He said "Rodney, better let him have it all."
When Rodney left Old Main, Paterno's statue wasn't standing.
He said, "I've saved my own sorry ass" while Penn State took the fall.

Then the NCAA boys laughed when Wick Sollers walked into the courtroom;
One of them got up and met him half way cross the floor.
When Wick turned around they said, "Another coward's leaving,"
But you could've heard a pin drop when Sollers stopped and locked the door…

 

[B_Levinson]

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.

The sworn testimony of Keith Masser and Kenneth Frazier already proves that the Board not only scapegoated Paterno, the entire Board then lied about the circumstances in March 2012. This makes Frazier and Peetz unfit for any position of responsibility including their jobs at Merck and BNY Mellon respectively. Although I respect Surma's decision to take a pay cut when he laid people off at U.S. Steel (something Kenny the Racist did not do when he fired people at Merck), his role in this also makes him unfit for a leadership position. Somebody who scapegoats any subordinate, even one who pushes a broom, is not fit for even basic supervisory responsibility and, of course, the U.S. Military Academy will expel any cadet who lies. A liar can't command the respect and obedience of people in life and death situations, and a liar can also get plenty of letters written to people's families.


"That Day: 11/9/2011" (with due credit to Rudyard Kipling for the original)

It got beyond all dignity and it got beyond all hope;
It got to shamming injured, and running from the fight.
We Trustees were looking for the nearest road to slope;
It were just a blooming knock-out, and our fault!

Now there ain't no chorus here to give,
Nor there ain't no band to play;
And I'm too shameless to regret what I did,
Or seen what I seed that day!

We was scared of the media, and we let them know it, too;
And the alumni did their best to make us keep our word,
But Surma shouted "'Ook it!" [run away!] and it come to sove-ki-poo [sauve qui peut],
And we chucked our honor from us -- Oh my Gawd!

There was public relations damage on the ground we wouldn't keep --
No, there wasn't hardly any when the front begun to go;
But, Christ! along the line of flight the media cut us up like sheep,
And that was all we gained by doing so.

I heard Tim Dalhberg behind me, but I dared not face my man, [1]
Nor I don't know where I went to, 'cause I didn't stop to see,
Till I heard a beggar squealing out for quarter as he ran,
And I thought I knew the voice and -- it was me!

We was scapegoating Coach Paterno right away;
Then we was lying through our teeth all about the countryside;
And the alumni cursed their Maker 'cause they lived to see that day,
And the Penn State community shook its head, and cried.

We was rotten before we started -- we showed we had no pride;
We abandoned State's defenses when we should have fought and stayed;
Yes, every little Trustee had his rights and wrongs to mind,
So we had to pay for teaching -- and we paid!

The Freeh Report had it handsome, but the Commonwealth Court has found [2];
We messed up big time, and we didn't do our jobs,
We panicked and we cowered, and threw State's name on the ground,
Now we collaborate while State's reputation the NCAA robs.

And there ain't no chorus here to give,
Nor there ain't no band to play;
And I'm too shameless to regret what I did,
Or seen what I seed that day!

[1] The Front Row with Tim Dahlberg November 8, 2011 called for Paterno's removal

[2] Decision of 4/09/2014 (as in 409) http://www.pacourts.us/assets/opinions/Commonwealth/out/1MD13_4-9-14.pdf?cb=1 page 37

 

[robbrunskill]

If the proper power relationship existed between the BoT (superiors) and football coach (subordinate) then discussion about these Nov 2011 events would be moot because JVP would have been gone long before Nov 2011.

When should they have dumped him? Even they should have been smart enough to realize what Joe meant in contributions. After the 2005 season when he went 11-1? After either the 2008 or 2009 when he went 11-2? OBTW he was 8-1 and leading the BIG when the cowards dumped him ?

 

[Aoshiro]

If the proper power relationship existed between the BoT (superiors) and football coach (subordinate) then discussion about these Nov 2011 events would be moot because JVP would have been gone long before Nov 2011.

Because it makes perfect sense to fire an AP top 25 coach.

 

[Mister Magoo]

Mrs. PSU

 

[Evan Ceg]

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.

Good post. Yes, they should have done much of what you suggest, but I think there was shock and deer-in-the-headlights reaction by the BoT that week in November 2011. Who knows if they had any privileged information at that time which guided their decisions? They might have thought that they confronted an existential threat to the University and should sacrifice Joe and the football program to save the University as a whole. (That would have been the wrong perception, of course, but I can't dismiss the possibility that they believed it. Such was the intense heat upon the brand.) There's no question that the BoT made key mistakes that week, the argument remains over motivations.

Yes, Penn State's response to the early days of the Scandal will be a prominent business and communications case study for years to come. A case study in how not to respond to a crisis. .

 

[Aoshiro]

Good post. Yes, they should have done much of what you suggest, but I think there was shock and deer-in-the-headlights reaction by the BoT that week in November 2011. Who knows if they had any privileged information at that time which guided their decisions? They might have thought that they confronted an existential threat to the University and should sacrifice Joe and the football program to save the University as a whole. (That would have been the wrong perception, of course, but I can't dismiss the possibility that they believed it. Such was the intense heat upon the brand.) There's no question that the BoT made key mistakes that week, the argument remains over motivations.

Yes, Penn State's response to the early days of the Scandal will be a prominent business and communications case study for years to come. A case study in how not to respond to a crisis. .

No doubt some of the trustees were shocked. But the trustees who were running the show (Corbett, Surma, etc) were fully prepared as they were the ones who set things in motion. Don't forget - Corbett's team made hotel reservations to be in State College before the bomb was even dropped.

The key players weren't shocked or taken off guard - they planned the entire thing.

 

[Franklin_Restores_TheTradition]

No doubt some of the trustees were shocked. But the trustees who were running the show (Corbett, Surma, etc) were fully prepared as they were the ones who set things in motion. Don't forget - Corbett's team made hotel reservations to be in State College before the bomb was even dropped.

The key players weren't shocked or taken off guard - they planned the entire thing.

Don't confuse the troll with facts.....they aren't "down with facts", they're only cool with the unadulterated rhetoric, garbage & spin pumped out by their propaganda, errrrr PR, machine otherwise known as the corrupted Ministry of the Press and Media.

 

[Art]

Good post. Yes, they should have done much of what you suggest, but I think there was shock and deer-in-the-headlights reaction by the BoT that week in November 2011. Who knows if they had any privileged information at that time which guided their decisions? They might have thought that they confronted an existential threat to the University and should sacrifice Joe and the football program to save the University as a whole. (That would have been the wrong perception, of course, but I can't dismiss the possibility that they believed it. Such was the intense heat upon the brand.) There's no question that the BoT made key mistakes that week, the argument remains over motivations.

Yes, Penn State's response to the early days of the Scandal will be a prominent business and communications case study for years to come. A case study in how not to respond to a crisis. .

"Deer in headlights", huh? Among the BoT, there were two CEOs of Fortune 500 companies and the soon-to-be president of a major bank. And it's not as if these folks didn't have an inkling that there was the possibility, even remote, that a firestorm was coming PSU's way. People in their positions are expected to act with grace under pressure. These were abject failures and there is no goddamned excuse.

 

[91Joe95]

"Deer in headlights", huh? Among the BoT, there were two CEOs of Fortune 500 companies and the soon-to-be president of a major bank. And it's not as if these folks didn't have an inkling that there was the possibility, even remote, that a firestorm was coming PSU's way. People in their positions are expected to act with grace under pressure. These were abject failures and there is no goddamned excuse.

I'd say there subsequent actions pretty much show it goes way beyond merely simple shock at the beginning.

 

[Evan Ceg]

These were abject failures and there is no goddamned excuse.

Yes, they did fail abjectly and inexcusably. But if this was all a pre-planned plot, there would not have been four days of appalling radio silence from the BoT until the Wednesday night press conference. Their game plan would have cranked out disinformation starting November 4 or 5.

I hope Tom McAndrew will correct me if I misremember his post of some months ago, but didn't Tom say there were about four BoT members who should had a clue what was coming down the tracks?

I also hope that someday one or more of the BoT members then present will disclose the the tone and content of the BoT discussions leading up to that Wednesday night.

 

[Op2]

There was no firestorm coming, the firestorm was already here. Do some googling and see what the reaction across the country was after the story broke but before JVP was fired. The best JVP could hope for was a suspension, which at that stage would have had the same effect as a firing anyway.

Unlike every other story JVP or the BoT had ever been a part of, this wasn't a PSU story or a college football story or a college administration story. The was a truly national story and was going to remain one no matter what. You can't have a story that big, involving child sex allegations no less, but not even suspend people until things get sorted out. That's why the "I'll retire at the end of the season" statement only angered people and made things worse.

As I say, if you don't believe me then google for yourself.

 

[Aoshiro]

There was no firestorm coming, the firestorm was already here. Do some googling and see what the reaction across the country was after the story broke but before JVP was fired. The best JVP could hope for was a suspension, which at that stage would have had the same effect as a firing anyway.

Unlike every other story JVP or the BoT had ever been a part of, this wasn't a PSU story or a college football story or a college administration story. The was a truly national story and was going to remain one no matter what. You can't have a story that big, involving child sex allegations no less, but not even suspend people until things get sorted out. That's why the "I'll retire at the end of the season" statement only angered people and made things worse.

As I say, if you don't believe me then google for yourself.

There were people on the Board of Trustees who were actively shoveling fuel into that fire.

 

[Art]

Yes, they did fail abjectly and inexcusably. But if this was all a pre-planned plot, there would not have been four days of appalling radio silence from the BoT until the Wednesday night press conference. Their game plan would have cranked out disinformation starting November 4 or 5.

I hope Tom McAndrew will correct me if I misremember his post of some months ago, but didn't Tom say there were about four BoT members who should had a clue what was coming down the tracks?

I also hope that someday one or more of the BoT members then present will disclose the the tone and content of the BoT discussions leading up to that Wednesday night.

Regardless of what Tom or others may have passed on, I have to believe that a number of board members were being passed information on the progress of the grad jurty investigation. That make their inaction criminal.

As to their silence in the immediate aftermath of the news breaking, why do anything when the mainstream media is doing the job for you?

 

[Art]

There was no firestorm coming, the firestorm was already here. Do some googling and see what the reaction across the country was after the story broke but before JVP was fired. The best JVP could hope for was a suspension, which at that stage would have had the same effect as a firing anyway.

Unlike every other story JVP or the BoT had ever been a part of, this wasn't a PSU story or a college football story or a college administration story. The was a truly national story and was going to remain one no matter what. You can't have a story that big, involving child sex allegations no less, but not even suspend people until things get sorted out. That's why the "I'll retire at the end of the season" statement only angered people and made things worse.

As I say, if you don't believe me then google for yourself.

They should have planned for the worst when Spanier advised them, the entire Board, months before that a grand jury was investigating someone very closely identified with PSU.

 

[91Joe95]

Yes, they did fail abjectly and inexcusably. But if this was all a pre-planned plot, there would not have been four days of appalling radio silence from the BoT until the Wednesday night press conference. Their game plan would have cranked out disinformation starting November 4 or 5.

I hope Tom McAndrew will correct me if I misremember his post of some months ago, but didn't Tom say there were about four BoT members who should had a clue what was coming down the tracks?

I also hope that someday one or more of the BoT members then present will disclose the the tone and content of the BoT discussions leading up to that Wednesday night.

They did spread 'misinformation.' They already told the NYT Paterno was going to be fired even Paterno said anything.

 

[91Joe95]

There was no firestorm coming, the firestorm was already here. Do some googling and see what the reaction across the country was after the story broke but before JVP was fired. The best JVP could hope for was a suspension, which at that stage would have had the same effect as a firing anyway.

Unlike every other story JVP or the BoT had ever been a part of, this wasn't a PSU story or a college football story or a college administration story. The was a truly national story and was going to remain one no matter what. You can't have a story that big, involving child sex allegations no less, but not even suspend people until things get sorted out. That's why the "I'll retire at the end of the season" statement only angered people and made things worse.

As I say, if you don't believe me then google for yourself.

Sorry, but you're wrong. The bot already told the NYT they were going to fire Paterno before he ever said a word. Frazier was already casting blame before Paterno ever said a word. That is what was feeding the media frenzy.

 

[91Joe95]

They should have planned for the worst when Spanier advised them, the entire Board, months before that a grand jury was investigating someone very closely identified with PSU.

They couldn't be bothered to ask a single question. That's how much they cared. Oh, and they lied about having ever been briefed. They were caught red handed when someone reviewed some meeting notes.

 

[JoeDidntKnow]

They just don't make women like SuePa anymore. Pure class and dignity. She'll always be the first lady of PSU football and beyond.

 

[Mixolydian]

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.

Isn't it fascinating that the one person who liked your post is...ummm... a well known big dick? And oh yeah...GFY

 

[kgilbert78]

Yes, they did fail abjectly and inexcusably. But if this was all a pre-planned plot, there would not have been four days of appalling radio silence from the BoT until the Wednesday night press conference. Their game plan would have cranked out disinformation starting November 4 or 5.

I hope Tom McAndrew will correct me if I misremember his post of some months ago, but didn't Tom say there were about four BoT members who should had a clue what was coming down the tracks?

I also hope that someday one or more of the BoT members then present will disclose the the tone and content of the BoT discussions leading up to that Wednesday night.

Or *some* were taking the time to get their ducks in a line. I think the truth is somewhere in the middle. Some of the BOT clearly had an agenda, saw their chance, and ran with it. Some were caught totally by surprise--and yes that was dumb, but not too surprising. The BOT had become a country club and folks were not used to asking questions. I'll also note that stupidity is not malice. Humans want people to blame when things go bad--and that's one reason JoePa got hammered so bad by the media. It is human nature to do so--and to assume nefarious motives too. But I do think a lot of this happened--on all sides--because folks either missed what was happening or simply screwed up. Some, of course, *were* nefarious. Those folks should be hammered (IMHO, that's some of the BOT, the Gov, and maybe Schultz). At the same time, those who simply missed it or screwed up should have resigned. On all sides. Even if they had done nothing "wrong", it happened on their watch. One person did so. Steve Garban. I respect him for that. Note: as for Joe, he did what he should have done, IMHO. But even that might well not have been enough in the firestorm that hit--and I think that firestorm would have hit no matter what the BOT did. They could have ameliorated it with better choices. But not stopped it. We need to be realistic about that.

 

[Franklin_Restores_TheTradition]

Isn't it fascinating that the one person who liked your post is...ummm... a well known big dick? And oh yeah...GFY

Under CRud66's "home away from home" wouldn't it be more appropriate if there was a picture of Dante's Inferno?