The Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal that rocked Penn State University and football fans across the nation culminated this week in an unprecedented fine of $60 million against the school and severe sanctions for the Division I football program. The Nittany Lions are banned from the postseason for four years, will lose 20 football scholarships a year for four seasons and had 14 seasons of football victories from the late coach Joe Paterno vacated.
There's been no shortage of commentary on the issue: Was the NCAA too quick to make the decision? What will it mean for football? What does it mean for the legacy of Paterno?
But there's also the issue of how the Penn State community will now come together. Alums have responded in force, tweeting, posting photos and defending their school – not for the actions that occurred – but to show the rest of the world they won't let this scandal be their school's best known chapter.
Some have posted photos with the "WE ARE" Penn State chant but somewhat altered. One said: "Don't let people who don't know who 'we are' ... tell us who WE ARE." It has been a rallying cry of sorts, joining together alums from long ago with recent graduates. Many have been tweeting with the hashtag #WeAreAndAlwaysWillBe. Groups on Facebook have been created so alums and current students can share their views, including one called "We Are (still) Penn State."
"This is a group dedicated to healing the scars of the Jerry Sandusky scandal, recognizing and honor the victims and rebuilding the reputation of Penn State University and its football team as one of the premier institutions of higher learning and athletic tradition not only in the country but in the entire world," the group's page said. "We still believe that 'Success With Honor' is who we are, and that Coach Bill O'Brien is the best man to carry on that tradition on and off the field. The actions of an evil man and those that enabled and apologized for him do not define us, and it is our responsibility to write the next chapter in the history of Penn State."
Patterson Weaver, a lawyer who graduated from Penn State in 2001, posted a lengthy note on Facebook describing how he cannot reconcile what happened with the school he knows. Weaver said the world should know the actions of the few responsible should not define the culture of the university as a whole.
Weaver has given CNN permission to post his note in entirety below:
"Apparently, Sports Illustrated will run a cover this week that reads 'We Were Penn State.' Sports Illustrated and so many others clearly have no understanding of who We are. As a second-generation Penn State grad, I have grown up idolizing Penn State, Joe Paterno, and the excellent institution of higher learning that Penn State was, is, and will always be. I am one of hundreds of thousands that consider the Penn State community something unique and special. This goes beyond a football field. This goes beyond school pride. The culture at Penn State, in no small part because of Joe Paterno, taught all of us how to be better people, better friends, and better members of our families and our community.
"So how do I reconcile that with the allegations that a few individuals, including Joe Paterno, remained silent about the terrible actions of Sandusky? Honest answer is I can’t. The allegations do not gel with what each of us learned from our university, and yes, from Joe Paterno. Penn State has always been a beacon of how to do things the right way. Of putting academics and building quality young men and women ahead of fame and wins. I cannot reconcile these allegations with the culture that helped mold who I am. The culture that helped teach me that success is only sweet when done right. That a loss with integrity is better than a win without it. That who we are as men and women is more important than fleeting glory. I cannot reconcile what people are saying of my school with the school I lived and experienced.
"But then, that’s how I know that Penn State is what we all know it to be. The apparent actions of a few individuals were tragically void of ethical wisdom or compass. But they are not Penn State. I am Penn State. We are Penn State. All of us. The hundreds of thousands that have become better people because of our school and the unique community it fosters. I find it sadly amusing that the NCAA handed down such unprecedented sanctions partly to, apparently, try to change the culture at Penn State. Clearly they know nothing about the culture at Penn State.
"But they are not alone. The media and social media frenzy that has arisen around this tragedy contains a shocking amount of glee and venom. For years many from rival schools and society generally despised Penn State and Joe Paterno for building our reputation on the motto Success With Honor. For being so squeaky clean and selfless that the football team did not even put individual names on its jerseys. They looked at Penn State with disdain, as self-righteous and egotistical. This tragedy is exactly what they have hoped for. With glee they can point at the tragic moral misjudgments of a few individuals as supposed proof of a fundamental character flaw of the community as a whole. With delight they can scream from the rooftops, tearing their robes, that the whole university must be punished, that they must be made an example. And with their own self-righteousness, the NCAA demonstrated their moral superiority by acting as judge, jury, and executioner in handing down sanctions so unprecedented that, some say, they will not only spell the end to the football program as we know it but to the prestige and pride of the whole school.
"These individuals seem to want us alumni to stand on the highest hills, screaming in anguish as we rip and tear our degrees into a thousand pieces, burning our Penn State belongings, and then burying ourselves in the mud in shame as we screech, weep, and wail about how we must repent for attending such an institution, how we were once Penn State, once unique and admired, but no longer.
"But we won’t. The actions of a few do not define us. The knee-jerk reactions of others will not end us. Our school taught us more than organic chemistry and music theory. It taught us to persevere. To overcome. To succeed – with honor. That is who WE are. That is what WE are.
"On September 1, Penn State will play its first game of the season against Ohio University. I wish I could be there. I wish I could hear what the world will hear. The earth-shattering cries of more than a 100,000 people, echoing from Erie to Scranton, from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, of WE ARE PENN STATE. The cheer will not be merely for football. It will be for all of us. It will be a declaration that we are more than this tragedy. That we will not go quietly into the night in despair and shame. That we will improve, overcome, persevere, and excel – with honor.
"So to those so gleeful over the tragedy and the repercussions that have befallen Penn State, to those that so happily write us off as defeated and finished, to those that want to discount and disparage our pride, tradition, and principle of Success With Honor, I have bad news.
"WE ARE, AND ALWAYS WILL BE, PENN STATE."
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Oh, please, a little education goes a long way. Pedophiles have nothing to do with gay, regardless of the gender of victims. Do some research before starting with this idiocy.
Charlotte, Penn State '90 is a troll, posting to show how ridiculous some of the PSU supporters sound. I sincerely hope that you're one, too. Because if you're not, then you're a sorry excuse for a human being.
thats like saying you support all government policies because you pay taxes.
What about all the good things Coach Sandusky did? You don't hear about that. Think about the winning seasons he helped bring to our school. He is a hero.
Quiet down now, little troll.
I agree with you Penn State '90. Joe Paterno did not do a single thing wrong and his name is being dragged through the mud. He and Coach Sandusky are great men that should be revered.
Your an idiot
Sorry – Never have been a Penn State or JoPa fan. However, where is all the venom coming from related to the students (and even players) who had nothing to do with this situation? The kid in the English department, the rent-a-cop who handed out parking tickets, or the vendor who served hot dogs at games....HOW THE HECK IS THIS IN ANY WAY ANY OF THEIR FAULT?????
I guess if we are from the USA, we are all responsible for the water-boarding of prisoners at Gitmo? If you are from L.A., it's your fault that Rodney King got beat? if your white, your responsible any time the KKK does anything??? Are you kidding me? Learn to think and use a little bit of reason. The reports, etc, prove that all this went down because those in power kept it hidden!! Have you all casting the hate read nothing about this case?
Yes, this is the worst situation to hit a college athletic program ever (and we all hope nothing ever comes along that is worse), but that does NOT mean that everyone that attended, worked for, or supported PSU had any idea what was gonig on, or were responsible to stop it!
In my opinion, the anger is coming from a lot of people around the country who have been abused as children and never got justice. Or they know someone who has been through it and never received justice. It opens up a lot of wounds for people. It is sick that the Alum still idolizes Paterno/PSU. You should be livid for what the people who did to these children, not make excuses or stand by your man/men. Pretty hard to have respect for a school that keeps up this culture of arrogance.
THANK YOU!!!!! You "get it!"
What culture of arrogance, Good??? On my television set, I see a lot of students and players looking down, or otherwise away from the cameras. I see board members trying to stammer out complete sentences in an effort to keep their jobs (don't pretend YOU wouldn't be doing that yourself) and trying to explain why they didn't act regarding a matter that was deliberately kept from them!
Again, nothing worse has ever happened, but there is no way that any rational person actually believes that EVERY person who has ever been associated with PSU in some way "held those boys down and allowed Sandusky to do what he did".
As far as your response – How is striking out in anger blindly and trying to defend yourself any different in either situation. Those wronged in the past (but having nothing to do with the PSU stuff) are no different than those who went to PSU (but had nothing to do and no knowledge of these acts) – each are trying to preserve their own ideas of themselves and who THEY are.
...and all the kings horses, and all the kings me, couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together again. Have fun trying.
Tim Cotton, PSU 61
NCAA stands for National Collegiate Athletic Association and was to govern athletics, not morals. There was never a mention that Penn State did not compete fairly. Therefore, any statements(punishment) from this organization are outside it's responsibilty and not legally binding.
Some people have complained we are acting defensively, but then some people here have said that we are indirectly supporting what happened just by attendance? You are making us act defensive.
People are confused. We do not stand by Sandusky. We celebrated him being locked up. We would like other guilty people to be locked up as well for what they have done to the victims and this university.
But the sanctions were harsh. They are punishing the innocent i.e. football players, who always wanted to play here or any football player who won a game since 1998. The fines the school can deal with. Penn State football can survive that. It's everything else.
The victims would not have wanted this. I bet you they are appalled by these sanctions. Justice has been, and should continue to be served to the guilty, but this was sincerely uncalled for.
And for those still thinking everyone at PSU is for some reason not academically gifted (despite having one of the strongest engineering programs in the country) or just blame us by attendance, then you are just showing how sadly ignorant, cruel, and prejudice human kind can be.
Be intelligent.
This is what is exactly people are referring to when they talk about the CULT of Penn State and it's football program. I realized that the students, alumni and members of the State College community is not at fault for the child abuse of Jerry Sandusky. But the GREATER ISSUE that has been rised is the culture and cult like behavor of the students, alumni, and members of the State College community. This SICK CULTURE of idolizing paterno, and the football program and school lead to the university's downfall.
We all know the LEADERSHIP is at fault. But for god sakes, how about the janitors that said nothing because of the culture of protecting the school. Or why did nothing happen in 1998 after the first incident? Or why these sick people were still flocking to paterno statue this past Saturday to take photos with their sons and grandfathers?????
The ENTIRE Penn State community needs to SHUT UP right now. Can you let this moment be about the victims and how to prevent and stop child abuse. This is NOT about you – your stupid school, your stupid football program, nor State College community.
This is about FAILURES of your community at large to value money and reputation over morals. Penn State alumni would best serve their school by letting the emotions of America play out and stop trying to make themselves as victims.
Very well put madjim!
I got my degree at Penn State in 1976. I was, am, and will forever be proud of my school. I worked hard for my degree, have a wonderful career and in no way will the actions of a few people take that from me. I am ashamed of the few who failed those young people. I am not ashamed of the thousands of Penn State professors, students, and past students who worked hard to achieve their goals.
Scott, if you had checked your facts, then you would know that the current governor was the AG of the state when a lot of this was being investigated. He has a lot of blame in this situation. I am an alum and i have read the ENTIRE Freeh report and every other scrap of information I can find anywhere about this. The final chapter has not been written.
Your university, PSU, accepted the Freeh Report without reservation. Your beef is with PSU, not the NCAA.
By living in and paying taxes to America you have indirectly supported waterboarding, innocents becoming collateral damage in drone strikes, and the endless amounts of money spent on illegal drugs domestically that fuels cartel wars south of the border. Live in denial if you wish. The rest of the world knows about your country
In my opinion, no punishment is too harsh for PS, its leaders and especially the athletic program. It's about time the arrogant bunch of them are forced to feel humiliated, if that is possible. Wish the program were eliminated entirely, no matter what athletes–past, present & future–are affected.
That's the great thing about opinions, they don't have to be based in fact.
Looks like it came close. It was reported today that NCAA was ready to slam a 4 year death penalty on the football program. With all of the whining, "victim" hood and arrogance of so many students and alumni I am seeing (some PSU student said that this is their 9/11–seriously–how pathetic!) I'm not sure if that wouldn't have been the better choice.
If you are more than that, then cut the football program.
Penn state is a school that supports pedophiles. How can anyone be okay with that?
(I can't believe that I am defending PSU, but this ignorance is mindblowing).
Who jon is supporting Sandusky??? Name me one person from Penn State – the board, the current coaches, the team, anyone – who is saying "I stand behind Jerry and everything that he did". You can't come up with one, can you – because there are none! No one supports pedophiles. And if you think that you won't get push back by telling people that you do think that they are supporting pedophiles, you need to put the iphone down and starting paying attention in your 7th grade Algebra class!!
By living in the US and paying taxes (well in your case probably not, you seem like a handout kind of person) you are supporting the War on Drugs, all of our middle eastern interventions, and our prison system. Isn't generalizing fun?