<p>It was interesting to listen to the BOT, at least part of it (I missed part). Clearly, most of the members support the President, believe he had the authority to sign the decree and want to move forward. Some are hung up on the “PSU Culture” being attacked, but some of that seems like semantics to me. </p>
<p>The series about the Second Mile is somewhat chilling to read. Very odd organization…surely many childern have been helped, especially those who were able to attend summer camps. But I just don’t see handing out football cards with positive messages as all that helpful. And I think it’s odd, well more than odd, to have honorary board members who don’t know they are on the board.</p>
<p>I really hope the “missing” records are in the hands of investigators…</p>
<p>Courtney was PSU attorney back in 1998, and in 2001. He also helped JoePa defend players from an investigation into their beating up of other students in 2007. He also turns up as the Counsel for Second Mile. He might have been the financial conduit.</p>
I wasn’t suggesting that they didn’t know. I think they absolutely did know and knew that their own actions were unethical, irresponsible and most likely illegal. When I suggested that they compartmentalized it, what I meant was that they took the whole issue and put it at the back of their minds. Since the shower incident, there had (perhaps) been no other issues that they were aware of so they could convince themselves, if they even felt the need to, that the whole thing had been dealt with. I think that people do this all the time. In this case, it caught up with them.</p>
<p>we both had the same objective EPTR, I too just wanted to clarify, and yes, I thought your original post was clear. I think it’s hard to imagine how this could have happened…and I personally have had the same thought you did…which is why I found your post interesting, how does the mind work in situations like this? I can see the response you suggested in more of a bystander, but find it hard to see it in the administration.</p>
<p>Right. I think it’s even more likely in someone who participated in the cover-up/enabling because they have even more reason to want to put the whole thing away and pretend that the issue is either taken care of or was never really a big issue to begin with. The alternative (knowing that your own actions allowed little boys to be raped) just does not compute.</p>
<p>I don’t know. It’s just interesting to me to try to figure out what mindset allows for behavior like this. It seems more plausible than a situation where there was some kind of child sex ring or whatever. I also don’t think that Sandusky was blackmailing anyone. He just doesn’t seem that bright to me.</p>
<p>I think the mindset that allows predation and abuse to occur has been set out very nicely by the poster who works with abuse victims, about 100 posts back. We have amply demonstrated it as a posting community these many months ---- people simply cannot, cannot, believe it is taking place. So they rationalize, they excuse, they invent, they hypothesize. They come up with dark conspiracies and power-related reasons that avoid the simple and awful truth – there are sick and evil people in the world, working very hard to access what they need. These twisted people have a very long view of things, and are willing to con anyone and everyone over an impossibly long time to get what they want. And the other people will not “see” and will not act. </p>
<p>It is simple, but awful. Abuse happens for the same reason bullying does – people (ordinary and powerful, famous and obscure) don’t want to step in, don’t want to take a chance, don’t want to risk their rosy worldview or personal circumstances. No amount of sanctions, laws, or public pillory can change that until we all acknowledge it.</p>
<p>“The alternative (knowing that your own actions allowed little boys to be raped) just does not compute.”</p>
<p>I don’t see them as contradictory. One can begin with denial. Over time, it can lead to something else, when the abuser also has power over you. That’s what I believe happened to JoePa.</p>
<p>The attorney, Wendell Courtney, is a key link in this whole affair whose role has not yet been fully sorted out. Surprisingly, Penn State never had an in-house general counsel until they hired Cynthia Baldwin , a high-profile civil litigator and former state court judge from Pittsburgh, in 2010. Instead they relied on Courtney, a private practitioner in sleepy little State College, PA. (I’ve never heard of a university the size of Penn State not having an in-house general counsel; typically there would be a full-time general counsel and several other lawyers working under the GC, plus they would still outsource some big legal jobs to top private firms).</p>
<p>According to the grand jury presentment, Courtney knew about and advised Penn State on both the 1998 incident and the 2001 incident. Courtney later publicly denied that he had been told about the 1998 incident, but the state Attorney General’s office says they have billing records and sworn testimony that Penn State officials consulted with Courtney about the 1998 incident, and there are apparently e-mails from Courtney to Baldwin shortly after she took the job as General Counsel in which he discusses and downplays both incidents. It’s at best odd, and possibly professionally unethical, to throw your former client under the bus as Courtney did by claiming Schultz, Spanier et al. kept him out of the loop; and on top of that, it’s hard not to conclude he’s just lying.</p>
<p>While serving as chief counsel to Penn State, Courtney also did pro bono “and some paid” legal work for Second Mile between 1998 and 2009, according to a Second Mile board member. In 2009 he officially became chief counsel to Second Mile and serrved in that capacity until 2011, when the Sandusky scandal exploded publicly. Both Courtney and his wife also served on the Second Mile board during this perior, and they were regular contributors.</p>
<p>Courtney hasn’t been accused of being part of the cover-up, but he seems to have been there at all the key moments, and he apparently carried knowledge of the accusations against Sandusky with him to Second Mile–yet there’s no discernible indication that he did anything to stop Sandusky. It seems to me he needs to be included among the prominent enablers.</p>
<p>New report that a witness saw Sandusky and a psu booster abuse boys on a private plane. Witness has some “baggage” but is credible enough for investigators to follow up with others.</p>
<p>Why the witness is talking know, that’s not clear. But if Sandusky and a booster had two boys on a private plane…</p>
<p>the whole situation is just so incestuous. no normal professional boundaries, no normal communication, no accountability. just one dysfunctional happy valley family.</p>
<p>YOu think the above is disgusting, this is getting really bizarre. At this juncture, I would not be at all shocked what organization might be behind this.</p>
<p>Read this:</p>
<p>It’s worth noting that last month, the mother of one of Second Miles’ “unintentional” board members was kidnapped in Maryland, handcuffed and driven around for a full day. No ransom demands were made. She was later found unharmed in a car. The FBI are pursuing leads on a suspect. The woman is the mother of Cal Ripken. Had he been making unwelcome comments about Second Mile?</p>
<p>bclintonk -Thanks for the info on Wendell Courtney. Since it’s proven that he lied about not knowing about the 1998 incident, it’s not a stretch to think he’s lying about all the other stuff too. </p>
<p>I will add him to my list of people I want to see indicted–currently headed by Spanier. (I don’t think there’s any chance of anyone looking into Corbett’s role, sadly.)</p>
<p>samiamy, it’s all pretty awful at this point, but I’m not sure a website that also tells me that coffee enemas are surprisingly effective and that the hidden secrets of my toilet might kill me is the best sort of authoritative news. The article does not cite any sources, it’s just somebody hypothesizing. Which doesn’t mean they aren’t right, but the site cracked me up.</p>
<p>The Second Mile cards haven’t been handed out in years, but back in the day they were quite the collector’s item. Local programs are run on the ground by volunteers – my church used to run a picnic for one of the camps. Can we please not demonize ordinary people who helped serve cookies when TSM asked for help, or the social service interns who answered the phones or organized events? In the past 5-8 years or so, TSM efforts have focused more on fundraising and long term goals, and less on individual kids. Does anyone believe that is a coincidence? <em>shudder</em></p>
<p>It literally makes my hair stand on end: last fall, Gov Corbett had approved a big fat grant for TSM to build a campus outside of town. It would have had dormitories so the program could become more residential and not outreach. Thank God for investigative journalism, who knows how many children Sara Ganim and the Patriot-News saved from that.</p>
<p>In fairness to our highly esteemed (cough cough) governor, he approved the grant, then held the grant, and then revoked it, over the course of events.</p>