Monday, January 27
Friday, January 24
"Rare" Erickson Video Appears To Negate NCAA "Cram Down" Theory
July 17, 2012 video from StateCollege.com indicates that Erickson negotiated the sanctions with the NCAA.
By
Ray Blehar
A rarely seen video, with only 156 views as of 24 January 2014, indicated that PSU President Rodney Erickson was in dialog with the NCAA on the sanctions that would be handed down at PSU.
At around 2:35 on the video Erickson states, "once the NCAA has that, we'll continue in dialog with them about what are appropriate sanctions."
The "that" Erickson made reference to was PSU's response to the NCAA letter of November 17, 2011.
According to a December 12, 2011 letter from PSU, signed by Cynthia Baldwin, she had discussed the NCAA's letter with NCAA President Mark Emmert and NCAA general counsel Donald Remy on November 23rd. The letter proposed that PSU wait until the completion of the investigation by the Special Investigation Task force and gave the NCAA permission to monitor the investigation.
The December 12 letter also gave the NCAA the option of accepting the report of the investigation (i.e, which would become the Freeh Report) as the University's response.
In the NCAA response to PSU on December 20th, NCAA counsel Remy wrote:
"Once the work of the Special Investigations Task Force is complete, we will be better able to determine the substance and timeline for your responding to the questions we have posed to Penn State."
As the Freeh Report was issued on July 12 and the video recorded on July 17, it appears that Erickson and PSU were preparing a response (or perhaps a proposal) to the NCAA.
If that was the case, there was no "cram down," but rather an agreement on harsh sanctions that Erickson and the NCAA believed would effectively cause the Penn State football program to collapse.
That scenario would seem to indicate this was not a "cram down" -- but instead, collusion.
By
Ray Blehar
A rarely seen video, with only 156 views as of 24 January 2014, indicated that PSU President Rodney Erickson was in dialog with the NCAA on the sanctions that would be handed down at PSU.
At around 2:35 on the video Erickson states, "once the NCAA has that, we'll continue in dialog with them about what are appropriate sanctions."
The "that" Erickson made reference to was PSU's response to the NCAA letter of November 17, 2011.
According to a December 12, 2011 letter from PSU, signed by Cynthia Baldwin, she had discussed the NCAA's letter with NCAA President Mark Emmert and NCAA general counsel Donald Remy on November 23rd. The letter proposed that PSU wait until the completion of the investigation by the Special Investigation Task force and gave the NCAA permission to monitor the investigation.
The December 12 letter also gave the NCAA the option of accepting the report of the investigation (i.e, which would become the Freeh Report) as the University's response.
In the NCAA response to PSU on December 20th, NCAA counsel Remy wrote:
"Once the work of the Special Investigations Task Force is complete, we will be better able to determine the substance and timeline for your responding to the questions we have posed to Penn State."
As the Freeh Report was issued on July 12 and the video recorded on July 17, it appears that Erickson and PSU were preparing a response (or perhaps a proposal) to the NCAA.
If that was the case, there was no "cram down," but rather an agreement on harsh sanctions that Erickson and the NCAA believed would effectively cause the Penn State football program to collapse.
That scenario would seem to indicate this was not a "cram down" -- but instead, collusion.
Wednesday, January 22
RIP Joe Paterno: Message from Andrew Pitz and Evan Lewis
Two years ago today, the Penn State community lost a great man. While his accomplishments on the football field were unrivaled – 409 wins, 2 National Titles, 5 undefeated seasons, 37 bowl appearances, 24 bowl wins – Coach Paterno is known for his far greater achievements: His consistently high graduation rates and focus on academics, his ability to mold young men into professional, respectful adults, his class, dignity and honor, and his grand experiment, “Success with Honor”.Those who knew him or followed him understand what Coach Paterno represents. His legacy is not limited to athletics, but rather an entire university, town and Penn State community that stretches across the globe. He has become a symbol for doing things the right way and focusing on what truly matters, and no matter what has happened, there is nothing anyone can do to erase this, no matter how hard some may try.
His true legacy comes from his family, his former players, and the millions of lives he positively impacted, whether they are connected to Penn State, are from Pennsylvania, or simply grew to love all that he stood for.
Although he is no longer with is, we know that his place in history is forever secure. Today, we would like to remind everyone of his final message to his final team after 61 years of “Success with Honor”. Even in the face of great adversity, he stood tall and reminded his players:
We’re a team, alright?
We’ll always, always…
We will always be a team.
Not just now,
Not just next year,
It’s not over.
We will always be…
The Penn State Football Program.
May you R.I.P coach.
https://www.facebook.com/paternoplaques
Tuesday, January 21
Review of "Happy Valley" Reveals Film Focused on Debunked Information
Brennan Smith's Review of the Sundance premier of Happy Valley in the Salt Lake Tribune revealed that the film is already obsolete and factually incorrect.
By
Ray Blehar
According to a review in the Salt Lake Tribune, the film "Happy Valley," Joe Paterno was aware of Sandusky's predation on young boys and the athletic department also failed to expose their knowledge of Sandusky's crimes. The review also said that the film is the "framing of American and sports culture, where distraction trumps all and serious issues are swept under the rug."
The reviewer, Brennan Smith, admitted that he was not familiar with the facts of the case, but was simply writing the review based on what he viewed in the film. However, his closing remark, "Even amid the winningest college coach of all-time, no one really won anything at all," seems to confirm that he believes that filmmaker Amir Bar-Lev got the story right.
And that couldn't be further from the truth.
The first point that Smith makes regarding Joe Paterno's knowledge that Sandusky was preying on young boys has been refuted by Prosecutor Frank Fina and, most recently, by Judge Leete in the Paterno vs. NCAA lawsuit. Leete ruled that the statement in the Freeh Report regarding Joe Paterno's response to the report of the 2001 incident was libelous. Additionally, Prosecutor Frank Fina declared that he found no evidence of Paterno being involved in a cover-up.
As for the athletic department officials failing to expose Sandusky, Judge Leete ruled that Freeh's statements regarding their enabling of Sandusky's abuse were malicious and defamatory. The evidence in the case clearly showed that Tim Curley reported the incident outside PSU to The Second Mile - which negates the films contention that PSU didn't share its knowledge of the incident.
Obviously, the idea that the scandal resulted from an "apathetic athletic department" is also unsupported by the evidence of the case. Certainly, the evidence in the case shows that Athletic Director Tim Curley was quite engaged in the follow-up to the incident. If there was any apathy in the 2001 incident, it was at The Second Mile, who received the report of Sandusky showering with a child and considered it a "non-starter."
Finally, the point made that Penn State or Happy Valley is a "sports culture, where distraction trumps all and serious issues are swept under the rug" appears to be a "lift" from the Freeh Report, which indicted PSU for a culture of reverence toward the football program. Freeh based that statement mostly on the issue of the janitors not reporting a crime allegedly witnessed in 2000.
Of course, readers of this blog know that the janitor incident has been completely debunked and, apparently, Bar-Lev doesn't.
Matt Sandusky's role in the Sandusky case is much like the role of Cynthia Baldwin in the Curley, Schultz, and Spanier case. In short, a gigantic flip-flop.
According to the book Silent No More, Matt Sandusky testified before the grand jury in April 2011. It is unclear how his appearance there came about, but it is highly probable that his biological mother, Debra Long encouraged the investigators to question him. At the grand jury, Matt testified that he was not abused by Jerry.
In a 1999 Sports Illustrated article, Matt stated: "My life changed when I came to live here. There were rules, there was discipline, there was caring. Dad (Jerry) put me on a workout program. He gave me someone to talk to, a father figure I never had. I have no idea where I would be without him and Mom (Dottie). And they've helped so many kids besides me."
After the first day of the trial, Matt announced that he could lie just as well as the accuser who took the stand in the case that day. Later that week (and at some point he consulted attorney Andrew Shubin, who represented Victims 2, 3, 7, and 10) Matt "flipped" and did exactly that.
Some of the reviews of Happy Valley allude to Matt Sandusky being betrayed by his family. Obviously, the reviewers don't know who the betrayer is and the motivations behind the real betrayal.
Matt Sandusky was awarded a settlement from Penn State for alleged abuse that occurred four of five years prior to PSU's first knowledge of possible misconduct by Sandusky in 1998.
.
By
Ray Blehar
According to a review in the Salt Lake Tribune, the film "Happy Valley," Joe Paterno was aware of Sandusky's predation on young boys and the athletic department also failed to expose their knowledge of Sandusky's crimes. The review also said that the film is the "framing of American and sports culture, where distraction trumps all and serious issues are swept under the rug."
The reviewer, Brennan Smith, admitted that he was not familiar with the facts of the case, but was simply writing the review based on what he viewed in the film. However, his closing remark, "Even amid the winningest college coach of all-time, no one really won anything at all," seems to confirm that he believes that filmmaker Amir Bar-Lev got the story right.
And that couldn't be further from the truth.
The first point that Smith makes regarding Joe Paterno's knowledge that Sandusky was preying on young boys has been refuted by Prosecutor Frank Fina and, most recently, by Judge Leete in the Paterno vs. NCAA lawsuit. Leete ruled that the statement in the Freeh Report regarding Joe Paterno's response to the report of the 2001 incident was libelous. Additionally, Prosecutor Frank Fina declared that he found no evidence of Paterno being involved in a cover-up.
As for the athletic department officials failing to expose Sandusky, Judge Leete ruled that Freeh's statements regarding their enabling of Sandusky's abuse were malicious and defamatory. The evidence in the case clearly showed that Tim Curley reported the incident outside PSU to The Second Mile - which negates the films contention that PSU didn't share its knowledge of the incident.
Obviously, the idea that the scandal resulted from an "apathetic athletic department" is also unsupported by the evidence of the case. Certainly, the evidence in the case shows that Athletic Director Tim Curley was quite engaged in the follow-up to the incident. If there was any apathy in the 2001 incident, it was at The Second Mile, who received the report of Sandusky showering with a child and considered it a "non-starter."
Finally, the point made that Penn State or Happy Valley is a "sports culture, where distraction trumps all and serious issues are swept under the rug" appears to be a "lift" from the Freeh Report, which indicted PSU for a culture of reverence toward the football program. Freeh based that statement mostly on the issue of the janitors not reporting a crime allegedly witnessed in 2000.
Of course, readers of this blog know that the janitor incident has been completely debunked and, apparently, Bar-Lev doesn't.
Matt Sandusky Flip-Flop
Smith states that filmmaker Bar-Lev made Matt Sandusky the central character in the film, which is absolutely stunning to those familiar with the Sandusky case. Matt Sandusky was included to give a voice to the Sandusky victims - and Bar-Lev admitted that Matt was a late addition to the film as it neared is production deadline.Matt Sandusky's role in the Sandusky case is much like the role of Cynthia Baldwin in the Curley, Schultz, and Spanier case. In short, a gigantic flip-flop.
According to the book Silent No More, Matt Sandusky testified before the grand jury in April 2011. It is unclear how his appearance there came about, but it is highly probable that his biological mother, Debra Long encouraged the investigators to question him. At the grand jury, Matt testified that he was not abused by Jerry.
In a 1999 Sports Illustrated article, Matt stated: "My life changed when I came to live here. There were rules, there was discipline, there was caring. Dad (Jerry) put me on a workout program. He gave me someone to talk to, a father figure I never had. I have no idea where I would be without him and Mom (Dottie). And they've helped so many kids besides me."
After the first day of the trial, Matt announced that he could lie just as well as the accuser who took the stand in the case that day. Later that week (and at some point he consulted attorney Andrew Shubin, who represented Victims 2, 3, 7, and 10) Matt "flipped" and did exactly that.
Some of the reviews of Happy Valley allude to Matt Sandusky being betrayed by his family. Obviously, the reviewers don't know who the betrayer is and the motivations behind the real betrayal.
Matt Sandusky was awarded a settlement from Penn State for alleged abuse that occurred four of five years prior to PSU's first knowledge of possible misconduct by Sandusky in 1998.
.
Saturday, January 18
Wendy Silverwood: Comments to PSU BOT 1-17-2014 - "Enough is Enough"
"JoeBots" "Paternopoligists" "Kool-Aid Kultists" "Paterno People"
"Child Rape Enablers"
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
For over two years, Penn Staters have made one simple demand: Find the full truth in the Sandusky scandal. The Freeh Report had a chance to do so, but it failed…it failed miserably.
The Freeh Report was an utter debacle in nearly all ways: not just its unfounded, distorted conclusions about Penn State's culture, its values and the four principals in question, but in the way it was delivered via a grandstanding press conference beamed nationwide from a ballroom in Philadelphia.
Its methodology and conclusions have been discredited - by the facts, by reports from leading experts in their fields and MOST SUPRISINGLY by prosecution witnesses in subsequent legal proceedings.
To those of us watching closely from the beginning, it seems this false narrative was the very outcome the Executive Committee sought, and it enabled the NCAA to impose unprecedented sanctions. To this day, Mark Emmert struggles under the misperception that Freeh had subpoena power.
You promised transparency, yet you are spending tens of thousands of dollars attempting to keep emails generated by the Frazier Task Force from the public domain, hiding behind attorney/client privilege.
Someone waived that privilege to enable former General Counsel Baldwin to testify before the Grand Jury, who has that power and did the Board vote on it?
It is in Mr. Freeh's contract to appear before the University to discuss his findings. In addition, Jim Clemente and Dick Thornburgh are at the ready to answer any questions the Board & the Community might have.
The truth should scare no one, yet barriers are continually raised, denying a community of people unfairly smeared by Freeh's unsupported conclusions the answers to which they are entitled.
The Freeh report also missed a critical opportunity to educate the public on the identification of child sexual victimization, and instead used the platform created by this scandal to sensationalize the blaming of Joe Paterno. This was a terrible disservice not only to Penn Staters, but also to all parents, grandparents and children in our state.
The Third Annual Conference on Child Protection and Well-Being is scheduled this May at the Nittany Lion Inn; it is sponsored by Penn State's Network on Child Protection and Well Being.
As The Network's mission is to educate on child maltreatment through teaching, research, and service, this May conference would be a phenomenal venue to incorporate a Community Panel Discussion with Drs. Frasier & Noll, Messrs. Freeh & Clemente & Gov. Thornburgh.
Trustee Frazier tells me there "are no do-overs in life". However, there are public apologies, retractions and setting the record straight.
I am confident that I speak for tens of thousands of Penn Staters to demand that the Board marginalize the Freeh Report, publicly refute its key findings about Penn State's values and culture, and apologize to the Paterno Family, the Lettermen and the University Community at large.
Lastly, the Media has probably been the most vocal about shouting these buzzwords of "culture" "secrecy" "actively conspire to conceal" and yet, when it comes to investigating, researching or asking the questions of The Second Mile, Children & Youth Services and our State agencies?
We get silence from you.
These are licensed entities, staffed with trained professionals that accepted and approved, embraced and encouraged, lauded and applauded a Preferential Child Sexual Offender……and they did so for decades.
Stop sweeping this under the rug. Stop turning a blind eye. Stop your silence.
Tuesday, January 14
Penn Live/Patriot News "not accurate at all" - don't give them the clicks
On ESPN Radio this morning, former PSU football coach Bill O'Brien called David Jones' report on January 1st, "not accurate at all" -- par for the course in the Sandusky scandal.
By
Ray Blehar
Today, on Mike and Mike in the Morning, former PSU football coach Bill O'Brien put the false story to rest that Paterno People were part of the reason he left Penn State. During the interview, when asked about the Patriot News' New Year's Day story, O'Brien answered, "No, that's not accurate at all."
O'Brien's answer also fits the Patriot News' coverage of the Sandusky scandal -- not accurate at all.
Despite the fact that the paper won a Pulitzer Prize for "local reporting," its articles concerning the Sandusky scandal were light on facts, high on supposition, and biased toward the outcome that would sell the most newspapers.
Exactly the same modus operandi used by Jones when fabricating stories about the influences of the JoeBOTs and the Paterno People on PSU's football program.
Interestingly, a check of today's PennLive web-site shows that David Jones has not addressed O'Brien's remarks.
And why would he?
He is following the lead of his employer.
Specifically, to not correct the record when the truth comes out, to only write the parts of the story that fit their preferred narrative, and to bury what should have been the lead deep into the story -- after most readers have quit reading.
When O'Brien decided to leave Penn State, Jones, much like Louis Freeh, had his preferred narrative ready to go and made sure that took priority in the story, but if you could actually stomach reading through the hyperbole and innuendo for most of the article, you would have found that Jones admitted O'Brien was moreso "running toward the Houston Texans" rather than "running away from Penn State" at around paragraph 15.
Of course, that wasn't the headline because that's not a controversial story. A former NFL assistant, who became a college coach had decided to leave for a promotion/career as an NFL head-coach.
Ho-hum. Paragraph 15.
Not something that any national media outlet would swoop in to quote Jones about.
To get the national media to take notice, make the "off the record" conversation the story - ethics be damned.
Louis Freeh's report and press conference was more of the same. Highly inflammatory and false statements were front loaded, but the real story was buried in Chapter 8 of the Freeh Report. Most readers only read the Executive Summary, but if you made it to Chapter 8, you would have found that the Freeh group did not find that PSU officials violated the child abuse reporting statute.
Of course, it is unlikely that anyone in the media actually read Chapter 8, let alone reported on it. Not when they could tweet soundbites from the press conference.
Similarly, no national media outlet was about to swoop in to quote Sara Ganim about a children's charity that hardly anyone knew about -- who were the most obvious culprits for covering up the crimes of Jerry Sandusky.
What did Ganim and the Patriot News do?
Ethics be damned again, they made Penn State and Joe Paterno the enablers of Sandusky's abuse in order to grab the headlines and sell newspapers.
And rather than doing any legitimate investigative reporting on the Sandusky case or on The Second Mile, the Patriot News took the easiest path and did "local reporting" on the press releases and information offered to them by the Office of Attorney General.
Their approach won them a Pulitzer Prize for local reporting.
Their approach also ensured that thousands of Pennsylvania's children would continue to be raped, abused, tortured, and even killed while the public's attention was focused on the alleged failures at Penn State - and not on the failures of the Commonwealth's child protection system.
It's all about the dollar.
The Patriot News decided to sell out Pennsylvania's children for their own fame and fortune.
They also traded their role as the "fourth estate" to be an arm of the state government who keeps Pennsylvania's citizens misinformed and ignorant about the safety of its children.
For the sake of the kids, don't give Penn Live another click.
Thursday, January 9
Tom In Paine: Freeh Report,NCAA and news media to go on trial in Paterno law suit.
by Marc Rubin
One of the most egregious and well documented cases of news media dishonesty, libel, cowardice and greed along with official misconduct by the NCAA and others, will finally go on trial in a court of law where facts and rules of evidence, not media dishonesty,a mob mentality, distortions or ratings, web hits and newsstand sales at the expense of a man's reputation, will be the standard on which facts will be presented and judged.
On Tuesday a judge ruled that the Paterno family's law suit against the NCAA can continue. The issue had always been, would the judge find that the Paterno's had standing to challenge the NCAA sanctions as they pertained to Joe Paterno. The NCAA had asked for the suit to be dismissed on the grounds that the Paterno family didn't have standing. The judge ruled they did, and decided it on the basis of an evidentiary showing that libel was involved and that one of the issues to be decided in court will be the NCAA's" reckless disregard" for "falsities" in the Freeh Report on which they based their decisions.
The judge wrote:
"Plaintiffs ( the Paterno family) identified disparaging statements accusing Joe Paterno of enabling and concealing child sexual abuse and knowledge or reckless disregard for their falsity" (italics mine)
In other words, the judge was satisfied that there was a showing that those accusations in the Freeh Report at the heart of the attack on Paterno were in fact false and the issue will be the NCAA's knowledge of, or reckless disregard "with respect to their falsity".
On Tuesday a judge ruled that the Paterno family's law suit against the NCAA can continue. The issue had always been, would the judge find that the Paterno's had standing to challenge the NCAA sanctions as they pertained to Joe Paterno. The NCAA had asked for the suit to be dismissed on the grounds that the Paterno family didn't have standing. The judge ruled they did, and decided it on the basis of an evidentiary showing that libel was involved and that one of the issues to be decided in court will be the NCAA's" reckless disregard" for "falsities" in the Freeh Report on which they based their decisions.
The judge wrote:
"Plaintiffs ( the Paterno family) identified disparaging statements accusing Joe Paterno of enabling and concealing child sexual abuse and knowledge or reckless disregard for their falsity" (italics mine)
In other words, the judge was satisfied that there was a showing that those accusations in the Freeh Report at the heart of the attack on Paterno were in fact false and the issue will be the NCAA's knowledge of, or reckless disregard "with respect to their falsity".
This means that Louis Freeh, his dishonest report, the NCAA and by extension a slew of purported journalists and news organizations will also be on trial for their self serving dishonest reporting attacking Joe Paterno, falsifying facts, and distorting his relationship to the issues surrounding Jerry Sandusky and Penn State.
Monday, January 6
Press Release: Upon Further Review, San Diego, January 11, 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
UPON FURTHER REVIEW: PENN STATE TWO YEARS LATER
TO EXAMINE FREEH REPORT, NCAA SANCTIONS AND THE LEGACY OF JOE PATERNO
Town hall meeting January 11th to be held in San Diego at the Hilton Bayfront to provide the latest information prior to the NCAA Annual Convention
San Diego, CA, January 6, 2014: Franco Harris, NFL Hall of Fame running back from the Pittsburgh Steelers and former Penn State University running back, will host Upon Further Review: Penn State Two Years Later, a town hall meeting focused on an analytical examination of the Freeh Report, sanctions by the NCAA on the University’s football program, the University’s Crisis Management, the Mainstream Media’s reaction and the impact on the legacy of former head football coach Joe Paterno and the Penn State football program.
The meeting will be held Saturday, January 11th, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel, located at 1 Park Boulevard San Diego, California, and is free and open to the public. Doors will open at 10 a.m. and attendees are encouraged to arrive early to ensure seating which is on a first-come, first-served basis. Additionally, the event will be streamed live on the Internet.
“From the charges of the Freeh Report to the sanctions of the NCAA and the decisions of the Penn State Board of Trustees, the ongoing debate over Coach Paterno has had a dramatic effect on Joe’s legacy and the Penn State football program,” said Harris. “I’m eager to host a panel of experts to give the audience the latest information on the situation."
Harris has consistently defended Paterno, telling various news outlets that it was wrong of the PSU Board of Trustees to fire the long-time head football coach and to turn its back on the University.
“After reading the Freeh Report and absorbing all the facts in the last 2 years, I feel even more strongly about Joe and about his non-involvement in any type of cover up,” said Harris. “There was no cover-up by the athletic department or the football program. No way would Joe ever cover-up anything like this, and there’s no way Joe would protect Sandusky to protect the football program.”
This view was recently corroborated by Frank Fina, the Sandusky Prosecuting Attorney, who came out on “60 Minutes Sports” saying that his investigation found no evidence that Joe Paterno was involved in any sort of cover-up.
The meeting will be held Saturday, January 11th, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel, located at 1 Park Boulevard San Diego, California, and is free and open to the public. Doors will open at 10 a.m. and attendees are encouraged to arrive early to ensure seating which is on a first-come, first-served basis. Additionally, the event will be streamed live on the Internet.
“From the charges of the Freeh Report to the sanctions of the NCAA and the decisions of the Penn State Board of Trustees, the ongoing debate over Coach Paterno has had a dramatic effect on Joe’s legacy and the Penn State football program,” said Harris. “I’m eager to host a panel of experts to give the audience the latest information on the situation."
Harris has consistently defended Paterno, telling various news outlets that it was wrong of the PSU Board of Trustees to fire the long-time head football coach and to turn its back on the University.
“After reading the Freeh Report and absorbing all the facts in the last 2 years, I feel even more strongly about Joe and about his non-involvement in any type of cover up,” said Harris. “There was no cover-up by the athletic department or the football program. No way would Joe ever cover-up anything like this, and there’s no way Joe would protect Sandusky to protect the football program.”
This view was recently corroborated by Frank Fina, the Sandusky Prosecuting Attorney, who came out on “60 Minutes Sports” saying that his investigation found no evidence that Joe Paterno was involved in any sort of cover-up.
Upon Further Review will include presentations and discussions from the following experts:
John U. Bacon, author of “Fourth and Long: The Fight for the Soul of College Football
Ryan Bagwell, head of The Penn State Sunshine Fund aimed at increasing transparency of the Penn State Board of Trusteee
Ray Blehar, a 28-year member of the U.S. intelligence community responsible for analyzing and evaluating information to determine its validity and impact and a key leader of http://notpsu.blogspot.com and http://sanduskyreports.com, two leading sources of facts in the overall Sandusky scandal
Steven Fink, author of “Crisis Management: Planning for the Inevitable”
Anthony Lubrano, President of A.P. Lubrano & Company and a current member of the PSU Board of Trustees
Eileen Morgan, a Professional Analyst and author of "Critical Analysis of the Freeh Report"
John Ziegler, Writer and National Radio Talk Show Host and the leader of http://www.framingpaterno.com
The combination of these experts will help the audience to better understand the sequence of events, providing new information, and shedding new light on the Sandusky matter and the impact on the outcomes that were decided by the PSU Board of Trustees and the NCAA.
“The ‘facts’ provided by Louis Freeh were not debated and, as a result, the NCAA used the Freeh Report to levy some serious penalties against the Penn State football program,” said Harris. “Freeh continues to come under fire for other ‘investigations’ he has completed and his unsubstantiated opinions. At the same time Bob Costas has come out saying the situation dictates further review. So much has developed in the last 2 years that certainly requires a further examination”.
The NCAA comes to San Diego the following week for their annual convention, so this event provides much needed information to aid the public and the media in questioning the NCAA’s actions.
An audience participatory segment will conclude the 2½ hour session with members of the community asking questions and offering their opinions.
Harris hopes to keep the topic alive while due process takes its course across several arenas: three Penn State Administrators trials, a suit against the NCAA and two other in-depth investigations by the FBI and current Pennsylvania Attorney General.
“The Board of Trustees has made poor decisions every step of the way,” he said. “Not once have they stood up for Penn State University.”
Friday, January 3
Upon Further Review, San Diego, CA, Sat. 1/11/14 10:00 AM Hilton-Bayfront
Franco Harris will host UPON FURTHER REVIEW (free and open to the public; no pre-registration reqd)
Hilton San Diego Bayfront
1 Park Boulevard
San Diego, California
Featured Speakers:
John U. Bacon, author,
Fourth and Long, the Fight for the Soul of College Football
Steven Fink, CEO, Lexicon Corporation,
Crisis Management and Communications
http://ps4rs.wordpress.com/2013/10/25/viewing-the-penn-state-crisis-through-the-lens-of-a-professional/
Ryan Bagwell, Penn State Sunshine Fund
Ray Blehar. Analyst/Investigator (notpsu.blogspot.com)
Anthony Lubrano, PSU Trustee
Eileen Morgan, Technical Writer
John Ziegler, FramingPaterno.com
Hilton San Diego Bayfront
1 Park Boulevard
San Diego, California
Featured Speakers:
John U. Bacon, author,
Fourth and Long, the Fight for the Soul of College Football
Steven Fink, CEO, Lexicon Corporation,
Crisis Management and Communications
http://ps4rs.wordpress.com/2013/10/25/viewing-the-penn-state-crisis-through-the-lens-of-a-professional/
Ryan Bagwell, Penn State Sunshine Fund
Ray Blehar. Analyst/Investigator (notpsu.blogspot.com)
Anthony Lubrano, PSU Trustee
Eileen Morgan, Technical Writer
John Ziegler, FramingPaterno.com
Wednesday, January 1
2014 is here and the Sandusky scandal is not a "distant memory"
Then PSU BOT Chair Karen Peetz was wrong about Sandusky scandal being a "distant memory" by the time 2014 got here.
By
Ray Blehar
In November 2012, then-PSU BOT Chair Karen Peetz, in response to a question about the impact of the Sandusky scandal on finding a new president to replace Rodney Erickson, said ""By the time someone gets here in 2014, it will be just a distant memory."
It's New Year's Day 2014 and it's clear that Peetz got it wrong.
Not only is the scandal not a distant memory, but with the departure of football coach Bill O'Brien, it is quite certain that talk of the scandal, the unwarranted NCAA sanctions, and the fall out at PSU will permeate the airwaves during the period up to and after the selection of PSU's next head coach.
But Peetz's statement was clearly wrong before the recent news about O'Brien broke.
As we have learned, the wheels of justice in Pennsylvania have turned very slowly for former PSU administrators Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, and former President Graham Spanier and interest remains high in the outcome of their criminal trials.
The latest turn in the saga came last week, with the release of former PSU General Counsel Cynthia Baldwin's grand jury testimony and the revelations that she told the judge "she represented the University solely" then sat silently as she heard Graham Spanier state she represented him.
Most legal experts who have weighed in believe that Baldwin's conflict of interest and breach of attorney-client privilege will doom most of the case going forward against the PSU three.
However, the Sandusky scandal was the proverbial bad penny that PSU could never get rid of, mostly because of the ham-handed management of the scandal's aftermath by the BOT and continuing ineptness from it's PR mouthpiece, David LaTorre.
Had the BOT's intention truly been to move forward and put the scandal behind the University as quickly as possible, it would not have hired Louis Freeh to perform a sham investigation then hold a grandstanding press conference to announce the findings. It wasn't until the PSU BOT had used Freeh to wrongly blame Paterno and the football program for enabling Sandusky's crimes and then were complicit with the NCAA to levy near death-penalty sanctions on the football program, that they decided it was time to move forward (and put the scandal behind the University).
As e-mails from the Pennsylvania Department of Education revealed, the PSU BOT Special Investigations Task Force, who hired Freeh, disbanded just days after he issued his factually challenged report. Apparently, the task force never reviewed the report, nor did the BOT. Their desired result was achieved: the truly criminal elements at PSU were not exposed and Freeh reasonably concluded that Paterno and the administrators were enablers of Sandusky's abuse, with their reputations smeared.
In retrospect, the BOT's moving forward might have actually worked had they not decided to lump Paterno in with the administrators. The evidence of Paterno's knowledge of the 1998 incident was practically non-existent and anyone who can read English knew that there was no change to any plans in 2001 based on anything Paterno said.
The railroading of Joe Paterno so obvious (to everyone except the media) that there was no way the PSU alumni were going to move forward until the truth was exposed.
In September 2013, when prosecutor Frank Fina was asked about Paterno's role in covering up Sandusky's crimes, he responded, "I did not find that evidence." Fina's statement confirmed the railroading of Paterno.
Fina's statement also validated the $64,000 question that the alumni continue to ask: "what is so important to keep hidden that the PSU BOT would trash Joe Paterno and his legacy, the University, and the football program, as well as pay nearly $100 million, in order to keep it from being discovered?"
The good news on this first day of 2014 is that PSU alumni, friends, and fans are not the only people who are looking for the answer to that question.
Over the last few weeks of 2013, there was an uptick in interest about the "back stories" of the Sandusky scandal by a handful of journalists. The Federal investigation and the PA Attorney General investigations continue to press forward. And reliable sources indicate that the Spanier defamation case against Louis Freeh may soon go on the offensive.
The Sandusky scandal is far from a "distant memory" and the people who have been part of the offensive against PSU for two years are finally going to be put on the defensive.
By
Ray Blehar
In November 2012, then-PSU BOT Chair Karen Peetz, in response to a question about the impact of the Sandusky scandal on finding a new president to replace Rodney Erickson, said ""By the time someone gets here in 2014, it will be just a distant memory."
It's New Year's Day 2014 and it's clear that Peetz got it wrong.
Not only is the scandal not a distant memory, but with the departure of football coach Bill O'Brien, it is quite certain that talk of the scandal, the unwarranted NCAA sanctions, and the fall out at PSU will permeate the airwaves during the period up to and after the selection of PSU's next head coach.
But Peetz's statement was clearly wrong before the recent news about O'Brien broke.
As we have learned, the wheels of justice in Pennsylvania have turned very slowly for former PSU administrators Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, and former President Graham Spanier and interest remains high in the outcome of their criminal trials.
The latest turn in the saga came last week, with the release of former PSU General Counsel Cynthia Baldwin's grand jury testimony and the revelations that she told the judge "she represented the University solely" then sat silently as she heard Graham Spanier state she represented him.
Most legal experts who have weighed in believe that Baldwin's conflict of interest and breach of attorney-client privilege will doom most of the case going forward against the PSU three.
However, the Sandusky scandal was the proverbial bad penny that PSU could never get rid of, mostly because of the ham-handed management of the scandal's aftermath by the BOT and continuing ineptness from it's PR mouthpiece, David LaTorre.
Had the BOT's intention truly been to move forward and put the scandal behind the University as quickly as possible, it would not have hired Louis Freeh to perform a sham investigation then hold a grandstanding press conference to announce the findings. It wasn't until the PSU BOT had used Freeh to wrongly blame Paterno and the football program for enabling Sandusky's crimes and then were complicit with the NCAA to levy near death-penalty sanctions on the football program, that they decided it was time to move forward (and put the scandal behind the University).
As e-mails from the Pennsylvania Department of Education revealed, the PSU BOT Special Investigations Task Force, who hired Freeh, disbanded just days after he issued his factually challenged report. Apparently, the task force never reviewed the report, nor did the BOT. Their desired result was achieved: the truly criminal elements at PSU were not exposed and Freeh reasonably concluded that Paterno and the administrators were enablers of Sandusky's abuse, with their reputations smeared.
In retrospect, the BOT's moving forward might have actually worked had they not decided to lump Paterno in with the administrators. The evidence of Paterno's knowledge of the 1998 incident was practically non-existent and anyone who can read English knew that there was no change to any plans in 2001 based on anything Paterno said.
The railroading of Joe Paterno so obvious (to everyone except the media) that there was no way the PSU alumni were going to move forward until the truth was exposed.
In September 2013, when prosecutor Frank Fina was asked about Paterno's role in covering up Sandusky's crimes, he responded, "I did not find that evidence." Fina's statement confirmed the railroading of Paterno.
Fina's statement also validated the $64,000 question that the alumni continue to ask: "what is so important to keep hidden that the PSU BOT would trash Joe Paterno and his legacy, the University, and the football program, as well as pay nearly $100 million, in order to keep it from being discovered?"
The good news on this first day of 2014 is that PSU alumni, friends, and fans are not the only people who are looking for the answer to that question.
Over the last few weeks of 2013, there was an uptick in interest about the "back stories" of the Sandusky scandal by a handful of journalists. The Federal investigation and the PA Attorney General investigations continue to press forward. And reliable sources indicate that the Spanier defamation case against Louis Freeh may soon go on the offensive.
The Sandusky scandal is far from a "distant memory" and the people who have been part of the offensive against PSU for two years are finally going to be put on the defensive.
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