Penn State AD and Sandusky Charged

Marciano490

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Am not a lawyer, but this looks to me like his reporting of the rape to school authorities, in this case to Paterno, would qualify him as a whistleblower. His failure to halt the assault as it happened or go to law enforcement at any time in the ensuing 9 years until called by the grand jury seems to not qualify him under this Act. We'll see when the lawsuits commence, I guess.
I vaguely remember this stuff from Employment Law, but my memory, and the wording of the statute makes it look like you only get whistleblower protection if you report violations of statutes regulating corporate behavior (EPA regulations, salary/wage stuff, policy of discrimination) and not so much for run of the mill violations of the criminal code.
 

canderson

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And no presidential medal of freedom for Paterno.

U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) announced today that they are rescinding their support for the nomination of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno for the Presidential Medal of Freedom. They issued the following statement:

“In light of the recent events in State College, we are rescinding our support for the nomination of Joe Paterno for the Presidential Medal of Freedom. We hope the proper authorities will move forward with their investigation without delay. Penn State is an important institution in our commonwealth. We should turn our attention to the victims of these atrocious crimes and ensure they get the help they need. Our hearts and prayers go out to them and their families.”
 

drtooth

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Mark May is on ESPN, and he absolutely blasted the administration over not axing McQueary. Now he's lambasting the "reporters" whose first question after the trustees' announcement was "who's going to coach Saturday?"

Great stuff. The fact that he's a Pitt alum, albeit one who was also recruited by Paterno, is likely ramping up his venom, but he's been on point with everything he's said.
Would really like to watch the video of this.

Edit: Is it possible that Corbett and the trustees are debating whether to play the game Sat/finish the season?
 
Sep 27, 2004
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Seriously, who gives a shit about the whistleblower law?

The school has a massively metastatic cancer inside of it. You can't leave even a single cell of this cancer in the body. McQueery is such an obvious cancer it is beyond comprehension how they could still have him around.

Then again, this is the same leadership that let all this happen for a decade or more, and then, when it all came out, took almost a week to fire the coach and president.
People are asking why he hasn't been fired yet and some are speculating what the law says or doesn't say. No one thinks this aspect is anything but just one small corner of this whole moral implosion.
 

Delicious Sponge

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People are asking why he hasn't been fired yet and some are speculating what the law says or doesn't say. No one thinks this aspect is anything but just one small corner of this whole moral implosion.
I get it, and of course it's an academic discussion. They haven't fired McQuery because they're worried about the whistleblower law, it's because they don't have any clue what to do. And it's not because they're stupid, it's because they're really and sincerely fucked.
 

Kremlin Watcher

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Snod - thank you for making that point. I understand how humor works and appreciate that it is appropriate in many ways. I took offense at that particular attempt at humor because I think it downplays the seriousness of the situation. I am just so hyper-outraged by the entire situation that I get pretty het up when I see that. You are courageous for discussing your experience as a child.

On another note, is there a risk of the institution not surviving this? Think about this: Penn State administrators knew about Sandusky's child abuse issues as far back as 1998, and unquestionably by 2002. They then facilitated his serial child rape until recently. If I am Penn State's legal team, I am thinking: "Holy shit - we could have all of our academic credentials revoked, get kicked out of all the major academic associations and the conference, have our endowment drained by an endless series of lawsuits, lose entire sports programs because we can't recruit athletes, etc. etc." This looks like a legal layup, especially with the precedent established by the Catholic Church's settlements. But PSU doesn't have the church's assets.
 

Rasputin

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Seriously, who gives a shit about the whistleblower law?

The school has a massively metastatic cancer inside of it. You can't leave even a single cell of this cancer in the body. McQueery is such an obvious cancer it is beyond comprehension how they could still have him around.

Then again, this is the same leadership that let all this happen for a decade or more, and then, when it all came out, took almost a week to fire the coach and president.
The trustees have a responsibility to protect the university from lawsuits. The dude will be fired when it doesn't leave them liable for a big lawsuit.
 

Omar's Wacky Neighbor

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Leaving in a bit to the studio :)
What's sadly mildly amusing is watching the Nittany Yahoos calling for the dismissal of everyone above Paterno and everyone under Paterno, but Paterno smack dab in the middle should be given a lifetime personal services contract with the school.
 

J.McG

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Francesa saying there was a feature by Gumbell on HBO Real Sports about a PSU women's basketball coach (not sure if she is the current coach) who was a virulent homophobe and forbid her players from being associated with anything that could even remotely be viewed as support for the gay community. Apparently Paterno gave vocal support for her when asked about it in the feature. Has anyone seen this?
 

mauf

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On another note, is there a risk of the institution not surviving this? Think about this: Penn State administrators knew about Sandusky's child abuse issues as far back as 1998, and unquestionably by 2002. They then facilitated his serial child rape until recently. If I am Penn State's legal team, I am thinking: "Holy shit - we could have all of our academic credentials revoked, get kicked out of all the major academic associations and the conference, have our endowment drained by an endless series of lawsuits, lose entire sports programs because we can't recruit athletes, etc. etc." This looks like a legal layup, especially with the precedent established by the Catholic Church's settlements. But PSU doesn't have the church's assets.
Two questions need answering before anyone can give an intelligent opinion on PSU's exposure:

1. Does PSU enjoy sovereign immunity under PA law?
2. If not, what are the policy limits on any applicable insurance policies that PSU carries?

In any event, I don't see the liability here posing an existential threat to an institution with a billion-dollar endowment. From a legal perspective, the case against PSU is much harder to make than the case against, say, the Archdiocese of Boston.
 

Corsi

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Re: Madden and his "pimping" rumor:



And now one reason there might be something—something—to this. Here's a text exchange I had with a journalist in Pittsburgh:

Him: FYI, he ain't bluffing here.

Me: How do you know?

Him: I don't know for sure...I just know he is confident in what he has.

Me: He's also a professional troll who loves attention. He's going on radio stations all over the country today.

Him: Separate his on-air persona with journalistic chops..mark was a hell of a reporter. Don't dismiss him.

Me: We have the audio of his comments. He calls it a rumor.

Him: Fair. I know Mark well....I just have a very strong feeling he's not bluffing here.
http://deadspin.com/5858394/3-reasons-to-be-skeptical-of-the-sandusky-kiddie+sex+ring-rumor-and-one-reason-not-to-be?tag=penn-state-scandal
 

mauf

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Francesa saying there was a feature by Gumbell on HBO Real Sports about a PSU women's basketball coach (not sure if she is the current coach) who was a virulent homophobe and forbid her players from being associated with anything that could even remotely be viewed as support for the gay community. Apparently Paterno gave vocal support for her when asked about it in the feature. Has anyone seen this?
You should cross-post this in the other thread where people are discussing PSU's next coach. Kind of silly that anyone thinks Tony Dungy would be a serious candidate (assuming he would take the job).
 

canderson

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Francesa saying there was a feature by Gumbell on HBO Real Sports about a PSU women's basketball coach (not sure if she is the current coach) who was a virulent homophobe and forbid her players from being associated with anything that could even remotely be viewed as support for the gay community. Apparently Paterno gave vocal support for her when asked about it in the feature. Has anyone seen this?
Renee Portland.

She had an anti-lesbian policy for players, and resigned in 2007. She had a very long run of homophobic actions.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07081/771683-100.stm
 

Delicious Sponge

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The trustees have a responsibility to protect the university from lawsuits. The dude will be fired when it doesn't leave them liable for a big lawsuit.
They aren't this dumb.

They're probably afraid to deal with McQueary because he knows a lot of shit and they are worried about how he'll act if he is kicked out along with those who may seem more guilty.

In other words, he's really useful if you're hoping to obstruct justice.

The BoT ought to have investigators from the DA, the federal government, whoever, invited in to help them root out all the bad guys, or at the least turn over everything they've found to the government. They can deal with the consequences afterwards. They can't credibly deal with the authorities on this stuff as long as people who were involved in this are still on their payroll.

As it is they are still acting like people who think it will blow over.
 

Scriblerus

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Two questions need answering before anyone can give an intelligent opinion on PSU's exposure:

1. Does PSU enjoy sovereign immunity under PA law?
2. If not, what are the policy limits on any applicable insurance policies that PSU carries?

In any event, I don't see the liability here posing an existential threat to an institution with a billion-dollar endowment. From a legal perspective, the case against PSU is much harder to make than the case against, say, the Archdiocese of Boston.
PSU has already fired the President, the coach, and suspended the AD and VP of Finance pending the legal action. As more is revealed, more people will be fired, but the university will carry on. The future of the football program could be a little more tenuous, but at the most, they might get suspended, lose scholarships, etc. There is too much money and branding associated with the football team to shut it down. Look for PSU to begin a massive PR campaign for their academic success and faculty accomplishments. They need to make sure they don't take a big hit in enrollment for next year, although it's early enough in the application cycle that most people will have moved on from this by the time their kids are deciding where to go to school.
 

Byrdbrain

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Renee Portland.

She had an anti-lesbian policy for players, and resigned in 2007. She had a very long run of homophobic actions.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07081/771683-100.stm

Wow a woman's sport coach with an anti-lesbian policy. That has to cut your potential athlete pool by at least half doesn't it?
 

natpastime162

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They aren't this dumb.

They're probably afraid to deal with McQueary because he knows a lot of shit and they are worried about how he'll act if he is kicked out along with those who may seem more guilty.

In other words, he's really useful if you're hoping to obstruct justice.

The BoT ought to have investigators from the DA, the federal government, whoever, invited in to help them root out all the bad guys, or at the least turn over everything they've found to the government. They can deal with the consequences afterwards. They can't credibly deal with the authorities on this stuff as long as people who were involved in this are still on their payroll.

As it is they are still acting like people who think it will blow over.
In what world do you live in? There is no way the truth doesn't come out. The obstruction took place years ago when a few select individuals knew the details of the crime(s).
 

WayBackVazquez

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They aren't this dumb.

They're probably afraid to deal with McQueary because he knows a lot of shit and they are worried about how he'll act if he is kicked out along with those who may seem more guilty.

In other words, he's really useful if you're hoping to obstruct justice.

The BoT ought to have investigators from the DA, the federal government, whoever, invited in to help them root out all the bad guys, or at the least turn over everything they've found to the government. They can deal with the consequences afterwards. They can't credibly deal with the authorities on this stuff as long as people who were involved in this are still on their payroll.

As it is they are still acting like people who think it will blow over.
So you think this guy testified under penalty of perjury before a grand jury that he watched a grown man anally raping what he thought was a 10 year-old boy and did nothing to stop it, but he's holding back "a lot of shit"?
 

Mr. Wednesday

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Rumored Madden allegations starting to make me think that the disappearance of the DA had nothing to do with busting a drug cartel.
I'm not saying it's impossible that there's a connection to the whole Sandusky thing, but I'd want to see a contemporaneous link to Gricar. As it is, all we have is the investigation seven years before he disappeared where he elected not to press charges. And again, on the other hand, the drug ring was busted shortly before his disappearance (a matter of months), and there are common elements with another prosecutor who was involved with breaking up a drug ring, both apparently part of the same high-level organization. As things stand, for me, Occam's Razor says his disappearance is related to another case, or not to his job at all.

No matter the outcome, I do hope that this leads to further investigation of Gricar's disappearance. The yardbird.com site says the investigation at the time had the outward appearance of being cursory (and having said that, I suspect that they had good reason for the outward appearance not accurately reflecting what was really being done). Although I'm a little dismissive of the Sandusky link, it does occur to me that if such a link is there, it could jump-start the Gricar case.
 

Sheets

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PSU has already fired the President, the coach, and suspended the AD and VP of Finance pending the legal action. As more is revealed, more people will be fired, but the university will carry on. The future of the football program could be a little more tenuous, but at the most, they might get suspended, lose scholarships, etc. There is too much money and branding associated with the football team to shut it down. Look for PSU to begin a massive PR campaign for their academic success and faculty accomplishments. They need to make sure they don't take a big hit in enrollment for next year, although it's early enough in the application cycle that most people will have moved on from this by the time their kids are deciding where to go to school.
I couldn't disagree more. This disgusting scandal will hang over PSU for years to come.

EDIT: To clarify, the scandal will be the first thing to come to mind to all but the most ardent Penn State supporters when The university is mentioned. Most parents are going to think long and hard before dropping a small fortune to send their kid to a school where they will graduate with a (unfairly or not) tainted diploma.
 

uscchris

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This whole affair reminds me of a college reading assignment years ago: "A Report on the Banality of Evil"...

In seeing Tom Bradley press conference this am, one question stood out (paraphrasing): "Do you expect a national audience to believe, with five coaches at Penn State for over 30 years, that only two were aware of Sanduskey's actions?" He declined to answer, of course. However, it made me think that Penn State should seriously consider abandoning the rest of the season, or even exploring whether the players could coach themselves - the entire staff just needs to go.
 

Scriblerus

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I couldn't disagree more. This disgusting scandal will hang over PSU for years to come.
Yes, for some people. But look at the FB alum pages, the comment sections on multiples news sites, and then ask if any of those people are worried about the stain of PSU moving forward. Unfortunately, we live in a society that is quick to forget, especially when people can justify it by saying "They fired all the bad guys, and they will certainly make sure that something like this never happens again." I have worked at universities that faced scandals (none as bad as this for certain) and within a two years, most of the incoming students had no idea that a scandal ever happened. I'm not saying that I agree with this attitude, but it's not uncommon.
 

Sheets

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Yes, for some people. But look at the FB alum pages, the comment sections on multiples news sites, and then ask if any of those people are worried about the stain of PSU moving forward. Unfortunately, we live in a society that is quick to forget, especially when people can justify it by saying "They fired all the bad guys, and they will certainly make sure that something like this never happens again." I have worked at universities that faced scandals (none as bad as this for certain) and within a two years, most of the incoming students had no idea that a scandal ever happened. I'm not saying that I agree with this attitude, but it's not uncommon.
See my edit above.
 

SumnerH

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Renee Portland.

She had an anti-lesbian policy for players, and resigned in 2007. She had a very long run of homophobic actions.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07081/771683-100.stm
http://womenshoops.blogspot.com/2005/10/brief-history-of-rene-portland-and-l.html has some brief mention of Paterno supporting her policies, but no real details.
 

drtooth

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I wonder if the Governor may force the BOT hands and cancel the rest of the season.

I also wonder at what point the NCAA gets involved. The common "issue" with OSU, Miami and evn back to SMU is the term "lack of institutional control." I am not sure that you can find a much larger example of that than here and it is far more damaging (and revolting) then players getting money or hookers. Just my $.02
 

Delicious Sponge

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So you think this guy testified under penalty of perjury before a grand jury that he watched a grown man anally raping what he thought was a 10 year-old boy and did nothing to stop it, but he's holding back "a lot of shit"?
No - I didn't mean to suggest that. I am talking about the Board's state of mind. They are acting like people who don't know what to do which is either because they are stupid or because they think they are better off with him still coaching Penn State football. Oh, wait.
 

Tyrone Biggums

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A day after all of this...the NCAA has slapped The Ohio State university with "failure to monitor"...hmm so Tattoo's > than Child Rape coverups. I hate the NCAA
 

Rasputin

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No - I didn't mean to suggest that. I am talking about the Board's state of mind. They are acting like people who don't know what to do which is either because they are stupid or because they think they are better off with him still coaching Penn State football. Oh, wait.
Or, you know, they're acting like people who were advised by their legal department that firing the whistleblower opens them up to a large lawsuit. Is that really that difficult to understand? They're going to bring in a new head coach in a few months and he's going to replace the entire staff.
 

fairlee76

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So you think this guy testified under penalty of perjury before a grand jury that he watched a grown man anally raping what he thought was a 10 year-old boy and did nothing to stop it, but he's holding back "a lot of shit"?
Yeah, not sure what he could possibly have that qualifies as "a lot of shit" above and beyond watching a grown man sodomize a 10 year old. This whole thing is so effed up.
 

mauf

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Or, you know, they're acting like people who were advised by their legal department that firing the whistleblower opens them up to a large lawsuit. Is that really that difficult to understand? They're going to bring in a new head coach in a few months and he's going to replace the entire staff.
Don't waste time explaining things to him -- he knows everything.
 

Delicious Sponge

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Or, you know, they're acting like people who were advised by their legal department that firing the whistleblower opens them up to a large lawsuit. Is that really that difficult to understand? They're going to bring in a new head coach in a few months and he's going to replace the entire staff.
Well then all I can say is that if that's the case they're getting really bad legal advice.
 

Byrdbrain

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Yeah, not sure what he could possibly have that qualifies as "a lot of shit" above and beyond watching a grown man sodomize a 10 year old. This whole thing is so effed up.

Well he could have information on the coverup after he reported the rape. Not part of the grand jury testimony but I would imagine it is of interest to someone.
 

Tyrone Biggums

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Zero NCAA scholarship athletes are involved in these allegations.
That we know of...remember Sandusky started the 2nd mile in the 70s. Perhaps a month from now we find out a linebacker walked on because of sexual favors with Sandusky? How about lack of institutional control?
 

SoxFanInCali

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California. Duh.
The new Big 10 Championship Trophy has been traveling around during the season to each member school. It just happens to be scheduled to be shown at Saturday's Penn State - Nebraska game. The name of the trophy?

The Stagg-Paterno Championship Trophy.

 

Kremlin Watcher

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A sovereign immunity claim might be hard to make. On their Wiki it states that Penn State is a "state-related" entity, but not under the control of the Commonwealth or any of its agencies. A good lawyer could have a field day with that, especially if the feds are involved.

And on the liability side, I would have thought that if the University or its officers and administrators are found guilty/liable in criminal and civil cases, that would be prima facie evidence of gross negligence, wouldn't it? And if they are found to be grossly negligent, would that nullify any insurance claims they could make?
 

Marciano490

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A sovereign immunity claim might be hard to make. On their Wiki it states that Penn State is a "state-related" entity, but not under the control of the Commonwealth or any of its agencies. A good lawyer could have a field day with that, especially if the feds are involved.

And on the liability side, I would have thought that if the University or its officers and administrators are found guilty/liable in criminal and civil cases, that would be prima facie evidence of gross negligence, wouldn't it? And if they are found to be grossly negligent, would that nullify any insurance claims they could make?
How would federal involvement affect the analysis?