Penn State alumni still frustrated with Board of Trustees handling of Paterno

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PSU Board of Trustees Meeting 03-15-13 (John Leierzapf, John Leierzapf)

Reported by: Ewa Roman

Email: ewaroman@cbs21.com

Contributor: Nate Wardle

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Published: 3/15 7:12 pm

Updated: 3/15 9:03 pm

More than 30 Penn State alumni, including former Penn State football players, were in attendance at Friday’s Board of Trustees meeting. Ten of them were allowed to address them in public session.

Each speech was different but there was one theme, rebuild the reputation of Penn State and rebuild the reputation of Joe Paterno.

Ten Penn State alumni, including some former Penn State football players, had three minutes each to address the Board of Trustees at a meeting around 5 p.m. in Derry Township.

They questioned the Board of Trustees leadership and demanded the trustees stand up to the NCAA and ask the sanction be removed.

In addition, a former football player spoke about Joe Paterno and the importance of his legacy. The players were there to hold the board to a higher standard and more specifically members of the board who have already been held to a higher standard because they played for Joe Paterno.

"They wouldn't take his call, they wouldn't make a call, they sat around silently,” stated former player on the PSU National Championship team Mark Battaglia. “Worse yet maybe they led the effort to fire Joe. Why?"

"We ask you to reconsider the following, read the report by the Paternos and compare to the Freeh report and gain a better perspective on this matter,” added Mickey Shuler. “Just because you commissioned and paid for it doesn't mean it is accurate or complete."

"We need to just move forward,” Robert Libby stated. “I don't think it serves a purpose to drag university leadership through the mud and I think that's what's taking place it pains me to hear continued criticism of Penn State’s Board of Trustees"

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hazhaulr - 3/19/2013 8:23 AM

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I say close the whole school, deport all those that were remotely involved and get on with life. That whole deal out there does nothing but revolve around money. Oh, and the proceeds from closing the school and selling the property would get split up amongst all the victims. Then there would be no more debate about who did what or who knew what. These people were involved in a very serious crime and need to pay.

MR1957 - 3/16/2013 10:46 AM

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If this were an aberration by Louis Freeh I might be inclined to concur with some of the comments that suggest we should move on. However it was not an aberration, check the facts. Freeh has a reputation from shooting from the hip and asking questions later (see Atlanta Olympic bomber). He forever ruins lives with minimal evidence. The fact that the very individual who we owe a debt of gratitude for what Penn State is today (see Coach Paterno's speech to the BOT in 1982) was ruined by this very reckless and unsubstantiated report that jumped very wide chasms in it's conclusions, should be revisited. The BOT deserves our respect, but they also are ultimately accountable for what happened before and after November 2011 and until all members of the BOT that were in office before Nov 2011 resign, we should pressure them to do so.

jem236 - 3/16/2013 9:58 AM

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Rob B, if the trustees do not deserve respect, than neither does Paterno. If you can condemn them for not seeing the warning flags with reports in July, than you need to condemn Paterno for only telling Curly and Shultz of the 2002 incident and never following through to make sure that it was reported to the proper authorities and the child was protected. No matter what you say, no matter how you try to misdirect the conversation, the bottom line is Paterno was an adult in a position of power who could have put a stop to the abuse of children. As for the poll, I am an alumni, I work with alumni, I am friends with alumni - none of us were polled. Apparently their sample size for the basis of their statistical model is not large enough.

Rob B - 3/16/2013 5:22 AM

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Sorry jem236 but you are wrong. The Alumni Association conducted its own survey and found that PS4RS does represent a majority of the alumni. The Board of Trustees wants to get together and move on because looking back just shows how horrible they have mishandled everything. They are just like every other political animal who hopes the voters forget their idiocy when the next election comes along. In what way have they acted in the best interest of Penn State or the child victims of Sandusky? They heard about the Grand Jury in March 2011 and buried their heads in the sand until November. No one even admitted they heard about it even though it was proven to be in their own minutes. Then they allow Gov. Corbett to use them to deflect any attention of his own politically charged decision to not immediately prosecute Sandusky years ago by sacrificing the last person at Penn State who actually did the right thing and who had the courage, integrity, and public clout to be the positive face of Penn State. On top of it all, they wasted over $8 million on a shoddy piece of investigation by Freeh and allow it to cost the university another $100 million in fines and lost athletic department revenue over four years without even asking for a a little something we in the USA like to call due process. Sorry if you've either had your head in the sand for two years or you have a financial/familial connection to this bunch of losers. These "trustees" doesn't deserve our trust or our respect. They lost all of that by their own actions and inaction.

stephenlight - 3/16/2013 5:00 AM

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@jem236, it is a great and free country. You can gather up the silent supporters of this Board and have your first group meeting in your kitchen. From there you can grow to a forum able to occupy your living room. Good Luck. The PS4RS supporters continue to grow and they do represent the majority of Alumni.

jem236 - 3/15/2013 8:34 PM

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I think this article misses the larger point. Mr. Lieby's comments were toward the need for unification of University and that the majority of alumni don't feel the way the PS4RS group feel. They are the local minority. Mr. Lieby was speaking for the silent majority. There were a few speakers today that spoke out in representation of the silent majority. More need to get together so that PS4RS doesn't ruin the reputation of all Penn State alumni. PS4R make Penn State alumni look like idol worshiper who place the reputation of a single man over the well-being of children. We need to set the record straight and let it be known that the majority of Penn State alumni do not feel that way.

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