PSU President Eric Barron posted:

May 8, 2016

Dear Friends:

Over the past few days, allegations have surfaced from individuals who claim to be Sandusky victims and from unidentified individuals about the alleged knowledge of former University employees. None of these allegations about the supposed knowledge of University employees has been substantiated in a court of law or in any other process to test their veracity.

I want you to know I am appalled by the rumor, innuendo and rush to judgment that have accompanied the media stories surrounding these allegations. All too often in our society, people are convicted in the court of public opinion, only to find a different outcome when all the facts are presented.

In contrast, over the last two days we have worked to be diligent in reanalyzing the record of reports and depositions to ensure that our reactions and comments are both responsible and trustworthy.

First, the allegations related to Penn State are simply not established fact. The two allegations related to knowledge by Coach Paterno are unsubstantiated and unsupported by any evidence other than a claim by an alleged victim. They date from the 1970s. Coach Paterno is not alive to refute them. His family has denied them.

Second, we cannot find any evidence, related to a settlement or otherwise, that an alleged early assault was communicated to Coach Paterno. This raises considerable credibility issues as to this press report. Others cite assistant coaches that were witnesses or had knowledge – stating it as fact in headlines and text – even in the face of a denial and clear failure to corroborate from the individuals allegedly involved. Other stories are clearly incredulous, and should be difficult for any reasonable person to believe. We should not be rendering judgments about the actions of Coach Paterno or any other former employees of Penn State based on incomplete, sensationalized media accounts.

I can think of few crimes as heinous as the sexual assault of a child. We are, as individuals and as an institution, appalled by Sandusky’s actions, and unified in our commitment to prevention, treatment and education. I encourage you to visit this link for information on Penn State’s commitment.

Unfortunately, we can’t control the 24/7 news cycle, and the tendency of some individuals in social media and the blogosphere to rush to judgment. But I have had enough of the continued trial of the institution in various media. We have all had enough. And while Penn State cannot always comment on allegations that emanate from legal proceedings, I thought it was important to let you know my reaction to the media frenzy that has ensued over the past few days. I am appalled.

Sincerely,

Eric Barron
President

Big Ol Marsh Pussy posted:

Can someone tell me what Joe Paterno did

Mel Mudkiper posted:

To be fair, it's not an entirely unreasonable response

"we have absolutely no evidence with which to prove or disprove these allegations, and we cannot accept them as fact because of this" is a completely reasonable position for an institution to take.

Being so defensive about it is some really bad PR though.

Big Ol Marsh Pussy posted:

who is the father of my child. sOMEONE TELL ME

Big Ol Marsh Pussy posted:

Can someone tell me what Joe Paterno did

Parmesan Basil posted:

Probably just give the place the death penalty at this point. Shutter the schools imo

Ehud posted:

I don't think I've ever been appalled by anything





oh except when sandusky spent all those years raping kids and nobody stopped him

FIRST TIME posted:

Not the administrative term but the actual death penalty.

Quest For Glory II posted:

ran off the field early becaus ehe pooped in his pants once

Kalli posted:

Mel Mudkiper posted:

Man, as someone who was still hard on the Paterno legion during this time its impossible to describe everything that was running through our minds at the time

Toilet Mouth posted:

2016 has reinforced two things I've always held to be true- if you never apologize (Trump), and never write anything down (Penn State), you're basically golden.

Dubious posted:

kill the NCAA imo

Probably Magic posted:

Now we're getting to some real solutions.

Dr_Strangelove posted:

http://news.psu.edu/story/409338/2016/05/08/president/president-shares-letter-university-community-regarding-recent

Dr_Strangelove posted:

Yeah, the tone is just all kinds of wrong. It's an appeal to the PSU die-hards, but to everyone else he looks like an insensitive jackass.

INSPECTAH DECK posted:

Heaven and Hell are real.

quote:

Penn State confirmed Sunday that its payouts to alleged victims of sexual abuse by former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky cover incidents that date from 1971, the Associated Press reported. That confirmation followed an open letter from university President Eric Barron, who wrote that he was “appalled by the rumor, innuendo and rush to judgment that have accompanied the media stories surrounding these allegations.”

D.N. Nation posted:

James Franklin's greatest victory as a head coach is a win over an 8-win, injury-depleted Georgia team wherein one of Georgia's best defensive players was ejected for this:



So bad they reformed the rule.

Marquis de Pyro posted:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/05/09/penn-state-payments-cover-sandusky-accusations-from-as-far-back-as-1971/


the innuendo surrounding our payments relating to the crimes...

NC-17 posted:

We are very upset the details of our secret payment to rape victims have been revealed.

Cthulhumatic posted:

Who used to have the avatar with Paterno superimposed on the concentration camp gates? That should be the background of this thread.

Ehud posted:

Dottie Sandusky will get to the bottom of all of this.

Mel Mudkiper posted:

To be fair, it's not an entirely unreasonable response

"we have absolutely no evidence with which to prove or disprove these allegations, and we cannot accept them as fact because of this" is a completely reasonable position for an institution to take.

Being so defensive about it is some really bad PR though.