A Midsummer Dark Night's Scheme

 

The Freeher: Do I really look like a guy with a plan? You know what I am? I’m a dog chasing cars. I wouldn’t know what to do with one if I caught it! You know, I just, do things. The NCAA has plans, the Trustees have plans, the Paterno’s got plans. You know, they’re schemers. Schemers trying to control their worlds. I’m not a schemer. I try to show the schemers how, pathetic, their attempts to control things really are. So, when I say, ah, come here, when I say that you and your football team was nothing personal, you know that I’m telling the truth. 

It’s the schemers that put you where you are, Spanier. You were a schemer, you had plans, and uh, look where that got you. I just did what I do best. I took your plan and I turned it on itself. Look what I did, to Penn State with a few innuendos and a couple of emails. Hm? You know what, you know what I noticed? Nobody panics when things go according to plan. Even if the plan is horrifying. If tomorrow I tell the press that like an ex-Florida player gets arrested for murder, or a truckload of academic fraud happened at North Carolina, nobody panics, because it’s all, part of the plan. But when I say that one, little old football coach covered up a scandal when he didn't, well then everyone loses their minds!

In case you are not aware, the tangled web of lawsuits continues . . .

Graham Spanier has filed a notice of intent to bring a defamation lawsuit against Louis Freeh.

Spanier, who has denied the allegations in the report, is suing Freeh and his firm, Freeh, Sporkin & Sullivan, for libel/defamation. Spanier is seeking monetary damages and is demanding a jury trial. 

Of course, you're probably already aware that the Paterno family, joined by former players, coaches, faculty members and Board of Trustee members have sued the NCAA to reverse the sanctions.

The suit, to be filed in Common Pleas Court of Centre County, Pa., alleges that the NCAA violated its own rules in meting out penalties in the wake of the child sex abuse case involving former Nittany Lions assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, penalties that were based on an investigative report by former FBI director Louis Freeh.

And recently, Coach O'Brien spoke behind closed doors to the Board of Trustees.

O’Brien addressed the trustees for more than an hour Friday morning behind closed doors during the board’s executive session at the Penn State Fayette branch campus. The presentation’s slides were visible from a hallway through several full-length glass-paned doors into the room where the session was held. 

But, one of the presentation slides had the heading “potential proposal to modify sanctions” and another had a heading concerning the impact of the scholarship reductions that are part of the sanctions. 

Another slide read “Individual lawsuits do not help us!” with the words “do not” underlined and in capital letters.

This latter slide has prompted a surge of Internet speculation drawing lines between those who support O'Brien's decision to reduce the sanctions and "move on:" versus those who still seek the truth, even if sanctions persist.

My Take:

Glass doors?  Seriously?  If that wasn't planned, for the effect that it is having, then I've never been a Penn State fan.

Look.  Bill O'Brien is stepping up to the plate for his team.  His slide about "INDIVIDUAL" lawsuits may not even be referring to the Paterno suit, since there are multiple parties involved.  He is concerned about his team--about giving his current players a level field to play on, to give his team depth so that his players aren't more susceptible to injury, and to enhance recruiting which gives more students a chance to earn a Penn State degree.

None of the players on this team have anything to do with what allegedly happened, and penalizing the program isn't helping a single victim one iota.  The NCAA over-stepped its authority.  The Freeh Report is flawed.  Not a single PSU administrator has yet been convicted of any wrong doing. 

Unlike the Governor's anti-trust suit against the NCAA, there is a better chance that the courts will allow the Paterno suit to proceed, i.e. that the plaintiff's have standing.  While that doesn't mean the NCAA will lose, it does mean that the next phase--discovery--will allow the representing attorneys the opportunity to subpoena NCAA records, which from what I've been told, could open up a significant can of worms.

It is probably true that pending lawsuits against the NCAA would probably deter the organization from reducing any sanctions currently.  But that may be part of the scheme.  The NCAA may be more likely to reduce the sanctions--if certain or all lawsuits are dropped.  Whether intentionally or not, the Paterno Suit actually gives the NCAA some ammunition to continue the sanctions despite the fact that Penn State has behaved and implemented most of the changes recommended by the Gospel According to Freeh.

So what do you think?

Has O'Brien sold out to the move-on proponents, just to make things go away without any regard to the truth?  Or is he just fighting for his team with no political agenda to further?

I lean toward the latter.

STEP on up!

Are you ready for the new STEP program at Penn State?  For those of us who have been loyal fans--some for decades--some even remember games BEFORE Paterno!--things are about to change.

Change isn't always for the better.

Cory Giger of the Altoona Mirror has an article with quotes by Graham Spanier about this fabulous new program.

Penn State President Graham Spanier understands many fans are upset about the new, more expensive football seating program going into effect in 2011, but he contends the university had no choice but to implement the plan.

"We're overdue on it," Spanier said. "We're especially overdue at Penn State because we're one of just a few universities - you could probably count the number on your fingers - that truly operates intercollegiate athletics on a self-support basis
"This is important to us at Penn State because I don't want to be in a position where I'm taking money from academic budgets to support athletics."

So basically, the reasoning behind possibly alienating one of the most loyal fan bases in sports is because we're OVERDUE.  Seriously?!  Because Ohio State and THEM do this, we should do it too?

Granted, the self-supporting argument and not wanting to take academic money to support athletics is noble and reasonable.  But it is a smoke screen people.

FACT:  Penn State football already supports all the other programs and has done so for years--at a profit.  Extra money has been converted to upgrading facilities like Beaver Stadium, the Museum, and the Lasch building.  Look around you folks!  This is not a program that has operated at a loss before.  NOT EVEN CLOSE.

"Sometimes people criticize us for being focused on money when it comes to athletics," he said. "We have to be focused on money; it's like any other aspect of life. There has to be an income side to match the expenditure side. I assure you, we don't do anything very lavishly at Penn State. We're very working-class when it comes to what we do."

Has anyone seen the training facilities for PSU football?  Have you been in the stadium?  I'm not sure how you can justify saying things aren't done lavish, but then maybe my definition is different than Mr. Spanier's.

Cost of athletics rise [emphasis added]


Why is Penn State implementing this new plan? Simple.

As coach Joe Paterno frequently says, the school has to pay the bills.

And the bills are very expensive.

Again, taken out of context, these are very reasonable points.  But let's look at the economics a bit closer.

A fan with four seats near midfield who has been paying $400 in Nittany Lion Club dues will see that price jump to $2,400.

Let's do the math.  [(2400-400)/400] *100 = 500%.  Those are some very expensive bills at Penn State.  I would hazard to say that if PSU needs to increase funds by 500%, there are very few schools that will be able to continue competing. 
 
Simply put, this is ridiculous.  Yes, the program will need to generate more money.  I personally think that PSU wants to stockpile for the day when Paterno will have to be replaced, knowing that the price tag will probably be higher than what it is.    At least that sounds honest and makes some sense.  But Spanier, in discussing the next coach adds,

We're not going to pay two million or four or five million. I'm sorry, I don't care who it is. That's just something we're not going to do at Penn State. We want to pay people fair salaries.

 
So where, God forbid is the budget expanding 500%???  Can't they fly coach instead of first class?  We don't even provide SUV's and rental housing to recruits like some programs.  Are we going to start that as well, since we're obviously overdue???
 
Eventually, costs may increase.  Soooo, why not STEP up a little more slowly?  Maybe increase seats from $100 to $200 this year, and maybe every fourth year?  Or $50 per year?  The Nittany Lion Club just increased giving levels a couple of years ago!
 
But this is no place for rational thinking or logic.  The STEP program has been unveiled, and like it or not, we fans will have to live with it.  From the article:

"We can't afford that," said 84-year-old Jim Williamson from Bellwood, a 1946 PSU graduate and season-ticket holder since 1960. "It's just not possible. On our income, we can't do it."


This fall will be the final season, therefore, that Williamson buys his four season tickets.

"I hear a lot of people say, 'I'm not going to renew my tickets,'" Williamson said. "I know there are a lot of people waiting for tickets, but it's going to be interesting to see if they can maintain about 110,000 there for games.

Ah, yes.  The old stand-by.  The infamous waiting list.  Well let me tell you a little about that list.  If you have enough points, you can get tickets when they open up.  To get points, you donate bucks.  So that waiting list is comprised of people who haven't donated enough money to date to get off that list.  And these people are going to afford $600 per seat in addition to the actual cost of the ticket, transportation, etc?  I don't think so. You think you're standing in line for a sold out movie and when you finally get to the box office, you find out the price of a ticket is $600.  It'll come out on DVD.
 
I have only talked to two people who are definitely planning on renewing.  I certainly won't be getting 12 tickets anymore, as my annual donation jumps from $3000 to $10,000!!!  Sad part is I thought $3000 was too much.  Boy was I wrong.  Hope that waiting list is long.
 
This is not Columbus, Ohio (pop. 711,000) people.  Or Ann Arbor (pop. 114,000).  Or Madison, Wisconsin (pop. 208,000).  Or Iowa City, Iowa (pop 67,000) for that matter.  This is University Park.  State College (pop 38,000).  Small airport.  Fans travel hours to get here.  That costs money too.  And with so many games being available on TV, especially with the Big Ten Network, the impetus to shell out that kind of money and devote that much time wanes considerably.  Penn State thought they found out how enduring their fans were in 2003-4.  The fall-out of this ill-conceived plan will make a 6-4 loss to Iowa seem like a sunny day at the beach.
 
I could be wrong, but I think this STEP is too big a jump for most fans, and the days of a full Beaver Stadium for most games will become a thing of the past.