Paterno

briannell · Post by **briannell** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 4:20 pm

okay, up to this point I really liked paterno as a coach, but this is unacceptable. Yes, true "groupies" show up at door steps of well known football players both in and out of town. This has gone on forever, i don't condone it. I have known several FB players dumb enough to fall for the "groupie" chick and end up really regretting it. Does not mean sexual assault is okay. I don't care how far she leads him on when a woman says no it's NO!!!!! No man has the right to engage in sexual relations with a woman after she says no. Joe was wrong to blow the problem off like this.

Women's group asks Paterno to resign over comments

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — A leader of a women's rights group has asked Joe Paterno to resign over comments the Penn State football coach made about an alleged sexual assault.
Joanne Tosti-Vasey, president of the National Organization for Women in Pennsylvania, said Sunday that she was "appalled" by Paterno's comments last week and that they represent an institutional insensitivity that endangers women.

Paterno's remarks came a day before the Orange Bowl, when a reporter asked about Florida State linebacker A.J. Nicholson, who was accused of sexual assault and sent home before Tuesday's game.

Paterno replied by talking about past suspensions of Penn State players. He then added: "There's some tough — there's so many people gravitating to these kids. He may not have even known what he was getting into, Nicholson. They knock on the door; somebody may knock on the door; a cute girl knocks on the door. What do you do?"

"Geez. I hope — thank God they don't knock on my door because I'd refer them to a couple of other rooms," Paterno continued. "But that's too bad. You hate to see that. I really do. You like to see a kid end up his football career. He's a heck of a football player, by the way; he's a really good football player. And it's just too bad."

Tosti-Vasey issued a news release calling for Paterno to apologize and step down from the post he has held for 40 years. She sent an e-mail to Paterno and the university president the next day, but said Sunday she has not heard back from either.

"Allegations of sexual assault should never be taken lightly," the statement reads. "Making light of sexual assault sends the message that rape is something to be expected and accepted."

Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon said Sunday that Paterno's comments were taken out of context. A spokeswoman at the NOW headquarters in Washington said the organization's president, Kim Gandy, supports the call for Paterno's resignation.

Guido D'Elia, communications director for Penn State football, said Paterno made his remarks in the larger context of distractions in the bowl-game environment. Nor, he said, did Paterno intend to make light of the assault allegations.

"I think if you were present, you understood he meant no malice," D'Elia said Saturday. "If you heard his tone, he really thought it was too bad for everybody. He was concerned for everybody."

No charges have been filed against Nicholson, although police in Florida said the matter remains open.

Tosti-Vasey said Sunday that Paterno's comments are the latest in a series of insensitive actions by the university's athletic department. The Pennsylvania NOW branch criticized the university in 2003 after a football player accused of sexual assault was allowed to play in a bowl game.

Last year, former Penn State women's basketball player Jennifer Harris started a discrimination complaint against coach Rene Portland, claiming that she was harassed by the coach to change her appearance because she was not "feminine enough."

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Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

UMclassof2002 · Post by **UMclassof2002** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 4:40 pm

I agree with Paterno's statements in this case.

The player was ACCUSED, not convicted, of sexual assault. The same thing happened to Ell Roberson last year and the charges were withdrawn. No, assault is not alright, but let's not presume this was assault. Look at what happened to Kobe. He was practically convicted in the media before it turned out that he was completely innocent and that the girl was a psycho-nutjob attention whore. Face it, in the Kobe case, she was all about his 12' blacksnake. And when he was done with it, he said "Later, trick" and she decided she didn't like that. Predominately white community, black superstar...you figure it out. Not assault.

Now you've got this case, and JoePa is just pointing out that there are two sides to every story. Let's wait until all the facts are in before we rush to judgement. I seriously doubt that he just attacked this girl without her coming on to him, but we don't yet know.

Post by **SonomaCat** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 4:47 pm

Just to clarify, Kobe wasn't found "innocent," he just wasn't convicted. And rumor has it that a lot of money changed hands in the process.

It could well have been as you described it (white community + black man with deep pockets), but it certainly wasn't conclusively proven to be the case.

And if Kobe has 12' of anything, he's in the wrong business.

UMclassof2002 · Post by **UMclassof2002** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 4:51 pm

Bay Area Cat wrote:Just to clarify, Kobe wasn't found "innocent," he just wasn't convicted. And rumor has it that a lot of money changed hands in the process.

It could well have been as you described it (white community + black man with deep pockets), but it certainly wasn't conclusively proven to be the case.

And if Kobe has 12' of anything, he's in the wrong business.

Fair enough, but the Ell Roberson thing is true (former Kansas State QB).

In addition, if you are going to highlight the distinction between "innocent" and "not convicted" in the Kobe case you also need to recognize the difference between "accused" and "convicted" in the present case.

Post by **SonomaCat** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 4:55 pm

UMclassof2002 wrote:
Bay Area Cat wrote:Just to clarify, Kobe wasn't found "innocent," he just wasn't convicted. And rumor has it that a lot of money changed hands in the process.

It could well have been as you described it (white community + black man with deep pockets), but it certainly wasn't conclusively proven to be the case.

And if Kobe has 12' of anything, he's in the wrong business.

Fair enough, but the Ell Roberson thing is true (former Kansas State QB).

In addition, if you are going to highlight the distinction between "innocent" and "not convicted" in the Kobe case you also need to recognize the difference between "accused" and "convicted" in the present case.

Agreed on both points. My roommate is a K State alum and diehard football fan, so I heard a lot about Roberson thing -- it sounded like that apparently false accusation really messed up the entire team.

briannell · Post by **briannell** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 5:03 pm

And if Kobe has 12' of anything, he's in the wrong business

I concur

As for the Kobe thing - she was paid off, and he GOT OFF

I think Paterno shouldn't have addressed this issue without sitting down and thinking about how he would respond. It was crass.

yes many girls cry wolf to get things, but many dumb men put themselves in the situation as well. As for the Kobe reference I knew several MSU players that "used" girls and were very lucky none of them tried to retaliate for it. I also knew two girls while living in the dorms that were in their minds ( i wasn't there, so i DON'T know if it's true) "assaulted" by the male athletes they were seeing. One was so freaked out she dropped out of MSU. She was very nice, I felt bad for her, she was scared of retaliation if she went to the police, so she went to our RA, but wouldn't report it. So just because a man isn't convicted of it, does not mean he didn't do it either.

bozbobcat · Post by **bozbobcat** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 5:12 pm

I'm not sure how to respond, but I have a couple of observations. Joe Paterno needed to think before he made his comments, but I don't think he's going to have to resign over them. Joe Paterno really is a grumpy old man if you look at it. PSU's women's basketball coach really has some problems right now. There was an ESPN "Outside the Lines" feature about Rene Portland and how she treated homosexual players or players she suspected of being homosexual. I've noticed that athletes anywhere have more girls attracted to them, and I've really noticed a large number of girls attracted to the athletes here at MSU, especially football players. (much to the chagrin of the always single bozbobcat

I don't think I'm that ugly and I've got a lot of good character traits.

) I hope these guys treat the girls well but I'm not so sure of that. I know a lot of girls who have dated/been attracted to football players and what really amazes me is how these guys talk to the girls and flirt with them. I know I wouldn't do the same as them. Maybe it's because I'm stuck in the past or something (sad part is that I'm only 20) and I try to be extremely respectful and polite around girls. Anyway, these are a few rambling observations that I've made. Excuse the random thoughts.

Hello Kitty · Post by **Hello Kitty** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 5:28 pm

bozbobcat wrote:I'm not sure how to respond, but I have a couple of observations. Joe Paterno needed to think before he made his comments, but I don't think he's going to have to resign over them. Joe Paterno really is a grumpy old man if you look at it. PSU's women's basketball coach really has some problems right now. There was an ESPN "Outside the Lines" feature about Rene Portland and how she treated homosexual players or players she suspected of being homosexual. I've noticed that athletes anywhere have more girls attracted to them, and I've really noticed a large number of girls attracted to the athletes here at MSU, especially football players. (much to the chagrin of the always single bozbobcat I don't think I'm that ugly and I've got a lot of good character traits. ) I hope these guys treat the girls well but I'm not so sure of that. I know a lot of girls who have dated/been attracted to football players and what really amazes me is how these guys talk to the girls and flirt with them. I know I wouldn't do the same as them. Maybe it's because I'm stuck in the past or something (sad part is that I'm only 20) and I try to be extremely respectful and polite around girls. Anyway, these are a few rambling observations that I've made. Excuse the random thoughts.

I really dislike when people generalize an entire group of people from the actions of some. I believe that football players are commonly stereotyped as sexually aggressive meatheads with no manners or regard for societal rules. I don’t call these people football players; I call these people jerks because my friends that played football did not act this way. Fraternities experience the same generalizations. Instead of someone saying, "I know a few jerks that are in frats", they group in all frat members. I think we all need to be aware of that.
I know you personally were not doing that on purpose.

bozbobcat · Post by **bozbobcat** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 6:15 pm

I hope I didn't do that. I know there are some very nice football players out there who are great people.

anacondagriz · Post by **anacondagriz** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 6:18 pm

Like Joe Pa is actually going resign because NOW wants him to. This lady needs to find more important battles to fight, like the pink locker rooms at Iowa.

HelenaCat95 · Post by **HelenaCat95** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 11:04 am

JoePa responds,

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2287512

UMclassof2002 · Post by **UMclassof2002** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 5:50 pm

"If my kids calls for it [my resignation], if my squad calls for it ... but when people don't know what they're doing are looking for publicity or trying to give publicity to their cause or looking for some sort of scapegoat, no, it doesn't bother me," he said.

Uh, I'd say JoePa just knocked Joanne Tosti-Vasey the ufck out.