James Franklin and Several Players Being Sued for Hazing
January 14th, 2020 at 6:08 PM ^
If I'm not mistaken, PSU's entire leadership chain up from Sandusky is gone.
AFAIK, yes. But that's my point -- even with leadership gone, it appears that community hasn't learned a thing. How does one move on as you suggest when it's the same shit as 8 (and more) years ago. Rhetorical question... doesn't need an answer as the question already says it all.
I sincerely hope that school and its leaders have learned and adjusted.
Not if current players are threatening others with getting "Sanduskied".
I honestly used to feel the B1G, as a conference, had more class, integrity and responsibility than other conferences. Don't feel that way any more
What made you think that?... and I've been getting negged for years when I call people out on them looking down their noses at the SEC given the contemporary B1G East. The minute Delany didn't exercise the conduct bylaw and kick PSU out of the conference was the moment any faux-conference superiority should have flown right out the fucking window.
January 14th, 2020 at 6:55 PM ^
I know you said rhetorical question, but I thought I'd take a stab anyway.
Kids can be really dumb, and say incredibly stupid stuff. If this was condoned/fostered by Franklin or other staff members, then yup - I agree it's an institutional problem.
There's also a huge difference between tough-guy stupid talk and physical or truly threatening assault. I certainly don't know the level/extent of things that took place over there.
Anyone who's been close to a major college football team day to day knows it's a very macho, hyper-physical environment, complete with fights, intimidation and pecking orders. Some of the players are pretty rough customers. It's up to the coaches and captains to keep things from turning ugly and set and maintain clear boundaries.
I also guess we'll see if/how the administration deals with this. Remains to be seen IMO.
Regarding the conference, I always liked that the entire relationship of the conference was based on academics and research as well as athletics. I liked that there seemed to be an emphasis on following rules and being like-minded institutions. It always seemed to me that the Big 10 and Pac 10 were model conferences who did things the right way. The Rose Bowl was classy, and there was real collegiality.
Obviously, that was some time ago. Since then, we've added Nebraska which isn't up to snuff academically, we added Rutgers and Maryland purely for money, OSU seems to have adopted SEC tactics in recruiting/win at all costs mentality, and there have been several ugly scandals.
I'm admittedly old school - I still believe in following rules and I want to be proud of my university and conference. If that's naive, so be it.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:53 PM ^
Penn St is such a trash University
January 14th, 2020 at 1:53 PM ^
I find it very hard to believe that Penn St and the local police department would cover up illegal acts committed by the football team...
January 14th, 2020 at 2:33 PM ^
College football is becoming a cesspool, where are the adults running the NCAA??
January 14th, 2020 at 4:09 PM ^
I agree with your overall sentiment.
That said, unfortunately hazing has a long, ugly history in football. It's probably far less prevalent now than in past generations, thankfully.
January 14th, 2020 at 2:37 PM ^
Franklin sure does get involved in a lot of lawsuits for a college football coach. D'Antoni reading the lawsuit and wondering what the big fuss is about.
January 14th, 2020 at 3:01 PM ^
Wait.... they weren't talking about Cedar Point?
January 14th, 2020 at 2:57 PM ^
"He claims his alleged tormenters would wrestle victims to the ground, then shove their genitals in the victims’ faces or between their buttocks and hump them. Those who resisted were bullied, he contends. Hazers also stole their targets’ clothes, Humphries says."
uh... wtf?
January 14th, 2020 at 3:00 PM ^
between this stuff and DJ durkin making his players watch gore videos and killing a player, maybe M should pre-emptively have some sort of psychological screening tool to weed out the hannibal lecter contingent.
January 14th, 2020 at 3:12 PM ^
James Franklin: The moral beacon PSU needs.
January 14th, 2020 at 3:14 PM ^
All this does is give them something to invoke in the name of "overcoming adversity' next year .
January 14th, 2020 at 3:32 PM ^
I could never pinpoint why I felt this way about him but he always seemed creepy to me..maybe its the whole Pedo State thing which I know he wasnt involved with but something always just seemed off to me about him
January 14th, 2020 at 4:28 PM ^
The place has always seemed a little off. Their cultish support of Paterno, a slightly above-average coach for the last 15 years of his career, seemed harmless enough at the time. Once the scandal broke, their inability to believe that their patron saint was involved, and worse, their continued lionizing (pun intended) of the man put it over the top.
What makes it worst, IMO, was how hard Paterno worked to insist his program was the shining beacon of morality all those years. “Success With Honor” and all that.
January 14th, 2020 at 5:03 PM ^
If you have ever been out there then you know why it is off. It’s actually quite a good school but it really is in the middle of nowhere. If you get bored, depressed, or just fidgety there aren’t many options or outlets nearby.
January 14th, 2020 at 3:44 PM ^
Another banner week in the B1G East.
January 14th, 2020 at 3:49 PM ^
I mean this feels really close to these guys raping each other...what the heck is going on there??
Humphries says the hazers told underclassmen on the team that they were “their bitch because this is a prison” and threatened them with sexual assault.
January 14th, 2020 at 6:25 PM ^
to be clear: if what the kid alleges is true, then it is absolutely sexual assault perpetrated by the players and enabled by coaches. i repeat:
"He claims his alleged tormenters would wrestle victims to the ground, then shove their genitals in the victims’ faces or between their buttocks and hump them"
that is sexual assault.
whether there will actually be any civil consequences is to be determined but i am skeptical that anything other than bad vibes will emerge from this.
January 14th, 2020 at 4:13 PM ^
Coach James Franklin and his staff ignored violent hazing on Penn State’s football team, including threats by the perpetrators that, “I’m going to Sandusky you,” an ex-player claims in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday.
Well, glad to see they've learned and moved forward, wiser in the knowledge.....oh, wait...
January 14th, 2020 at 4:34 PM ^
... and the Joepologists have been crying all these years that the public doesn't give them a break... it was just one guy... the punishment was served yada, yada, yada.
January 14th, 2020 at 4:44 PM ^
I'll never understand hazing that is sexually charged, are the guys that do this bisexual or gay? Because if they are claiming to be straight I will never understand why you would want to rub your genitals on another man or stick something up their butt.
January 14th, 2020 at 4:46 PM ^
This is a really stupid take.
It's not about genitals or sex or preferences.
It's about power and intimidation.
January 14th, 2020 at 4:58 PM ^
Fair point, didn't think of that way I suppose. If these allegations are true Franklin should be fired and any of those players should be kicked off the team.
January 15th, 2020 at 8:16 AM ^
I get where you are coming from though. For my work (in medical field I'll leave it at that) I'm in a lot of college locker rooms (mostly training rooms) I've seen dudes running around trying to piss on each other, putting stim units on each others nuts and just doing the dumbest crap you can imagine. But this does feel a little more...it reads like they were pretty close to raping/penetrating or performing an actual sex act and then threatened to murder him if he told. Don't get me wrong doing the other stuff is innaporpirate but I've been in a locker room where I've heard "all you youngsters going to get pissed on in the shower". That stuff just happens. It's gross...and weird but it happens.
To your point this feels borderline truly sexual in nature which I don't think we actually see a lot when it comes to hazing.
Now let's also caveat we don't know the facts truly and that's a big footnote.
January 14th, 2020 at 5:00 PM ^
Yeah I think it's more about being an asshole than wanting to be in one. You don't have to be straight to never violently threaten to have sex with any part of another man, you just have to not be a psychotic shitbag who enjoys other people's misery
January 14th, 2020 at 10:27 PM ^
I get your point, but I’ve never thought to show power over another guy by sticking my dick in his face...something is a little off about that.
January 15th, 2020 at 3:46 PM ^
by sticking my dick in his face
Congrats, you're not a psychotic shitbag like the average pedo state backer is.
January 14th, 2020 at 4:59 PM ^
Sexualized hazing is pretty common. In many hyper-macho environments being on the receiving end of homosexual acts is the most humiliating thing they can envision. Since hazing ultimately is a ritualized act of humiliation designed to break your individuality..it fits the picture.
January 16th, 2020 at 3:59 PM ^
hazing ultimately is a ritualized act of humiliation designed to break your individuality
Very well stated.
January 14th, 2020 at 4:58 PM ^
Maybe they could replace Franklin with the Jerk King, Tyson Fury, and solve some of their misplaced aggression with his method.
January 14th, 2020 at 5:43 PM ^
Parsons is named in this and I don’t ever feel like sharing bad stuff about players, but let’s just say that dude is a very bad apple.
January 14th, 2020 at 5:50 PM ^
I have no love for the man, but in fairness facts need to play out. A person's not guilty just because we don't like him or just because an accusation is made against him.
If he's guilty, so be it, and may he be disciplined appropriately. But let's establish facts first.
January 14th, 2020 at 6:53 PM ^
Happy Valley is a horror movie.
January 14th, 2020 at 6:55 PM ^
They must be fully healed, and can now start threatening rape again. Good folk.
January 14th, 2020 at 6:58 PM ^
There's a whole lot of nothing in this story. "Hazing" can mean a million things. What did they actually do?
January 15th, 2020 at 10:06 AM ^
Per ESPN:
"The participants allegedly referenced former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky -- who is serving a 30- to 60-year prison term for sexually abusing children -- by saying, "I am going to Sandusky you."
The actions included wrestling underclassmen to the ground while maintaining restraint, simulating a "humping" action; wrestling underclassmen to the ground while another participant placed his genitals on the face of underclassmen; and instances of the participants placing their genitals on the buttocks of the alleged victims and stroking their genitalia."
January 14th, 2020 at 7:00 PM ^
All part of the healing process.....
January 14th, 2020 at 7:09 PM ^
If he's been accused, that's good enough for me - I dont need no stinking facts or verdict!!!
-Mgoblog
January 14th, 2020 at 10:52 PM ^
So PSU has a second chance to avoid what happened with Sandusky and they do the same damn thing. How do you not fire your coach?
January 15th, 2020 at 9:56 AM ^
OSU fan here. Here is what some OSU insiders have said on OSU sites that you may find interesting.
Parsons actually wanted to go to OSU -- had even named his dog Brutus. But OSU passed on him because he was trouble, despite his immense talent. (OSU stated that it was going to stop recruiting him due to a very minor recruiting violation, but that was a smokescreen to give OSU an excuse not to take him. Who believes that OSU would stop recruiting an elite talent because he was accidentally allowed on the Game Day set?)
Backstory: OSU and Michigan fans frequently criticized Meyer when he was at Florida for recruiting players that were trouble. Meyer actually concluded that was true, and that he focused too much on getting the best players and not on character. Caused lots of issues at Florida. So he decided to change that at OSU. Hence, passing on Parsons. And there were not any significant issues with player conduct at OSU under Meyer.
PSU took its chances on Parsons, and it looks like they got burned.