SYNOPSIS: A bunch of PSU football players were around for a off-campus fight. So as punishment, they will clean the entire stadium on Sunday mornings after home games. Sidenote: I was on the stadium clean-up team at UCLA for 3 years to get funding for our club lacrosse team. Worst job ever. The PSU club teams will still get their funding even though the WHOLE football team will be doing cleanup.

Quote :

"This spring, six Penn State football players were arrested and charged for crimes stemming from an off-campus fight April 1 in which at least 15 Nittany Lions were present. The charged included a couple of star players, although what apparently bothered coach Joe Paterno the most was how many of his kids were willing to be involved. And so Paterno, 80 now but no less tough, no less disciplined, hatched a plan to set things right within his program. He'll let the local legal and student judicial process play out, but regardless he decided that to keep people from thinking his team was trash, it'll spend the fall cleaning it up. According to Paterno, the Penn State football team will clean Beaver Stadium after each home football game this fall. It'll gather garbage, sweep stairs and maybe even hose parts down. It'll be Notre Dame on Saturday, nacho spills on Sunday. It's a job that usually goes to members of club sports on campus – say, rugby or crew – which do it to raise money so they can compete. Paterno said the clubs still will get the $5,000 for the job, but his guys, fresh off playing 60 minutes of major college football the day before, will do all the work starting Sunday morning. "We're all going to do it, everybody," Paterno told the Harrisburg Patriot-News after a banquet in suburban Philadelphia. "Not just the kids that were involved. 'Cause we're all in it together. This is a team embarrassment. I wouldn't call it anything much other than that." This is easily the greatest punishment in recent collegiate history, an absolutely diabolical, telling, high-impact bit of discipline that should remind one and all that what Paterno has been doing out in State College, Pa., all these years is more than just win 363 football games, including 20 the past two seasons. In a coaching business so full of phonies who talk character only to bend the rules, who consider the definition of discipline a player's weight-room attendance, who wouldn't dare pull something like this because it might hurt recruiting, here's Joe Pa, four decades on the job and not giving a damn. Except about what's right. The incident was as simple as it was ugly. One player, Anthony Scirrotto, and his girlfriend were insulted and Scirrotto punched by passers-by on the street, according to the police. Ultimately, Scirrotto called some teammates, they rushed an off-campus party where the passers-by were and a brawl ensued. More players showed up later. "He got a little irate, called up a couple of his buddies and said, 'Hey, come on down,' " Paterno said. "They went over there and they got in a fight." Who was right and who was wrong still is being sorted out by the judicial system. Not by Paterno, of course. The details don't seem to matter to him. Rather than figure out which individuals did what, who arrived when, he decided to hammer the entire team, if for nothing less than lacking the leadership to stop the incident from getting out of hand. On college campuses where football stars often are treated to a lower standard, Paterno is going, once again, for a higher one. "I just thought that, hey, we had 14, 15 kids – I don't even know how many – that were involved in something embarrassing, and I think that we need to prove to people that we're not a bunch of hoodlums," he said. The entire team also will have to build a house for Habitat for Humanity and volunteer for the Special Olympics this summer. But the worst punishment no doubt will be cleaning up Penn State's mammoth 107,282-seat stadium. A job usually left for others now will be done by Penn State's multimillion-dollar football team. Paterno can't see how this is any different. All the kids on campus are the same, so if the rugby team can find the energy to clean the stadium, so can his guys. "I don't condone (the fight)," Paterno said. "Our kids were wrong." And across the nation college football coaches faint. Most coaches have spent their offseason complaining about not being able to text butt-kissing messages to recruits. They no sooner would wear out their players on an off day with garbage picking than give up their country club memberships. At too many places in college football, the kids never are wrong. Punishments often are things that actually help the team: more running, early-morning weightlifting. It is rarely public, rarely embarrassing and never, at least to my knowledge, a blanket shot across the entire team, a true call for leadership and shared values. But this is why Joe Paterno is Joe Paterno He isn't worried about hurt feelings. He isn't worried about potential recruits. He isn't worried about guys sacking garbage on Sunday morning. He's worried about the reputation of his players, his program and his school. He's worried about cleaning things up immediately, starting with the stadium."

[Edited on May 23, 2007 at 12:35 PM. Reason : .]

5/23/2007 12:34:06 PM

haha that's awesome

5/23/2007 12:38:30 PM

Hell yeah Joe Pa! What a badass.

5/23/2007 12:45:03 PM

BADASS

5/23/2007 12:45:31 PM

yeah, i think he is well in his rights to do this and hold everyone accountable

no one took the leadership role and got the players to stay away

instead...they acted like typical dumb ass jocks and are getting what I think they deserve.

more coaches should be hard nosed like this

5/23/2007 12:46:12 PM

gg Joe Pa, just read on yahoo

5/23/2007 1:00:43 PM

Chuck would've invited them all to Amedeos for dinner.

5/23/2007 1:01:58 PM

^ and told them the team motto for the upcoming season was.....Discipline

5/23/2007 1:11:36 PM

while my knee jerk reaction is hell yea, thats awesome...

It sucks for the guy that was following all the rules, was causing no trouble, and needs sundays to do his schoolwork.

5/23/2007 1:18:37 PM

TOB take note!

5/23/2007 1:27:08 PM

^^yep, that one guy. sucks for him

5/23/2007 1:28:23 PM

I support this.

5/23/2007 1:28:55 PM

^^ heh yeah there are probably not many, but it only takes one for it to suck.

5/23/2007 1:37:20 PM

This is a great move for Joe Pa, Penn State, and College Football. It's getting past old where a person does not get into any trouble and basically walks away. It does suck for the players following the rules and did nothing, but at same time it will make that same player next time stand up and say something. If more of the players stand up and say something, less problems may occur, or they just get they ass kicked.


III

5/23/2007 1:40:07 PM

for a team to really be a team, everyone must be treated equally and everyone must be accountable for any single individual's behavior. i couldn't count the number of sprints i did in high school because others fucked up and got caught.

that kind of shit happens, and if the coach has the balls to do it, it will only make the team better in the long run because those who mess up will stop, or they won't stay on the team

5/23/2007 2:09:18 PM

I support Joe Pa

older & wiser

5/23/2007 2:17:45 PM

Awesome! gg Joe Pa

5/23/2007 2:54:36 PM

obviously, this wouldn't work with every off-campus incident, but the punishment seems to fit here.

5/23/2007 3:05:00 PM

gg

5/23/2007 3:10:33 PM

Yeah, Im sure Red Tom would be partial to such a punishment for our boys...

5/23/2007 3:26:32 PM

So to the incoming freshman football players, they get tours of the campus and the royal treatment in January, and then experience their first home game and all that comes with it in Sept., and then get to wake up at the crack of dawn and clean up the stadium for something they weren't even in town for, much less taking part in it?? Being old school isn't the worst thing in the world as far as discipline goes, but you can bet it won't help recruting for old Joe Pa Pa.

5/23/2007 10:43:19 PM

There are a lot of players that are influenced by their parents, so many of the parents that want their kids to stay out of trouble and learn leadership will pressure their kids to go to Penn State if they are being recruited by the staff in Happy Valley. Yeah you want talented players, but you also want character guys that will lead the team on and off the field, make good decisions for themselves, and represent your program in a great way. This will only help PSU weed out those recruits that they don't want playing for them.

5/23/2007 11:33:12 PM

^^and when you get into the real world, you'll realize that people will actually work harder for leaders that they respect more than leaders who just placate them.

5/23/2007 11:56:46 PM

^ winner

GG Joe Pa

5/24/2007 12:06:21 AM

^^ the NFL is hardly the real world, and that's what most guys that attend Penn State shoot for, and yea, it's not the worst thing in the world to discipline guys in this manner, and yes, a lot of recruits will listen to their parents, but not all come from backgrounds with a strong parental relationship. I'm also referrring to the top 5 star recruits, the other recruits are a dime a dozen. The top 100 recruits in college football come to college to go to the NFL, the degree is secondary to most, no I don't have scientific data to back it up, just common sense. As we've all seen, talent covers up any and all character/discipline flaws with the great players (Terrel Owens, Vick, Pacman, etc.) I like the idea, but I wonder if it will hurt Joe Pa's recruiting

[Edited on May 24, 2007 at 12:11 AM. Reason : .]

5/24/2007 12:10:40 AM

^As valuable as talent is, when it is mixed with bad character, you get bad results. The players mentioned above, TO, Vick, and Pacman are doing nothing but bring their teams down, regardless of how good their athletic abilities are.

5/24/2007 1:03:36 AM

^^ blah blah blah. you're already backpedaling. You named three players out of thousands of NFL players. How about LT, Philip Rivers, Tom Brady, Marvin Harrison, Peyton Manning, Sean Alexander, Tory Holt, etc. See, I can play the game of anecdotes, too.

Just admit you are making ridiculous claims based on your own caricatured picture of athletes.

As a matter of fact, since the marginal value of a dollar decreases as the millions increase, athletes naturally value respectability in their leaders a hell of a lot more than regular people. Pegular people (us) are much more willing to put up with shit in order to get paid.

Enough with this idiotic "oh no, recruits will get angry!" panty-waist hand-wringing about a fucking team no one here even cares about.

[Edited on May 24, 2007 at 1:40 AM. Reason : l';]

5/24/2007 1:39:03 AM

lol, Pegular

5/24/2007 2:49:29 AM

5/24/2007 2:58:13 AM

I think more coaches should stand up to their players and punish them. This wasn't a fight that broke out its one that was started again by the players. If a team is held accountable for individual actions of players then the team grows stronger. Also it makes players question there decisions more if they know their actions might cause their whole team.

5/24/2007 10:21:32 AM

Quote :

"but you can bet it won't help recruting for old Joe Pa Pa."

I disagree. This is largely being perceived positively by the press. Also, remember how strong parental influence is in recruits decision to choose a school. Most parents would undoubtedly respect and appreciate this move by Joe Pa. If I were a father of a recruit, I'd want him to play for a coach that would keep him in line and make him respect the rules/laws, to help him grow into a responsible adult who makes good decisions.

5/24/2007 11:10:08 AM

Well, seeing how a lot of recruits do not come from backgrounds with a discipline character to begin with, it might have more of a negative impact than you think. I also agree with what's being done for the current players, hey you do the crime, you do the time. But for the incoming players is where I raised the issue to begin with, because they were not present for the fight or whatever happened. And you're also not going to hear a a big time recruit come out and say he was interested in PSU but decided elsewhere because of this, he knows that would make him look dumb.

5/24/2007 11:41:19 AM

They play as a team. As a freshman I would want to clean the stadium with the rest of my team. If you did not then the rest of the team would not respect or like you. I am glad that Joe Pa did this you would never see Bobby Bowden do this. Most coaches would rather have a great team with a low moral and ethical standard than to have a average team full of good student athletes. That is sad in my oppinion.

5/24/2007 12:05:59 PM

With the NFL laying down the law now, and teams now considering character into their draft decisions, this falls right in line with how many people are fed up with athletes acting like they are above the law. I see more coaches giving out harsh punishments, and parents who know how much their kids can make in the NFL if they stay out of trouble during their college years. Look at Tank Tyler. He's seems to be not that bad of a guy, and just b/c of one error in judgment he made when dealing with the authorities cost him mucho dinero and a more than likely late 1st round-early 2nd round draft position. He said he's learned a lot from his mistake and has matured a lot since then. I wish him the best at KC, even though I really wish he would have lasted till the Panthers.

*I'm getting to go to the 49ers @ Panthers game on 12/02. I'll be able to see Manny Lawson and Marcus Hudson play in person again! Way to go older brother on getting the tickets.*

5/24/2007 10:22:51 PM

hahah score one for the good guys

5/24/2007 10:55:08 PM

I seriously doubt that this will hurt recruiting as much as you think it will. It's not like he's kicking these players off the team or suspending them from play, he's basically telling them that because they screwed up they have to clean their room.

On top of that, I suspect that recruits that would be scared away by a little bit of discipline probably aren't the kind of recruits JoePa wants around anyway. He, at this point, probably doesn't have the time, patience, or energy to put up with bringing on potential troublemakers.

5/25/2007 10:53:29 AM

anyone who knows about old-school college b-ball knows what John Wooden did to his players, some of the best talent in the nation. Didn't seem to hurt his recruiting and hung a "few" banners during his tenure. Granted, it was 35 years ago, but parents and players had no problem with his discipline.

5/25/2007 11:24:03 AM

Quote :

"Granted, it was 35 years ago, but parents and players had no problem with his discipline."

Discipline from Wooden, do you know who Sam Gilbert is?

5/25/2007 11:47:21 AM

hahaha, yeah "Papa" Sam. well, that's a whole 'nuther story. full of speculations and assumptions and definitely a lot of truth....

5/25/2007 12:21:28 PM

hah, awesome

I did clean up at Wake Forest onetime, the stadium is TINY and that was a fucking BITCH

5/25/2007 12:40:19 PM

Ive never been a Penn State fan, but when I heard this article I was like HELL YEA...now someone is 'finally' putting their foot down! Good going JoePA..and much luck this season-minus the fact I cant stand the nittany lions...but this was by far a CLASS ACT!

5/27/2007 7:08:55 PM