SB Nation Cleveland - Penn State Scandal: Trustee David M. Joyner Named Acting Athletic Director

Penn State Names David M. Joyner Acting Athletic Director

2011-11-16T17:49:32Z

Penn State has named David M. Joyner, a member of the board of trustees for over 10 years, as their acting athletic director, effective immediately according to reports.

Joyner is a Penn State alumnus and will suspend his membership on the board of trustees while he takes on this new role. Former athletic director Tim Curley stepped down from this position after being charged with perjury and failing to report a child rape to police back in 2002.

Penn State’s new interim athletic director is a former wrestler and football player for the Nittany Lions, and he received both his bachelor’s and medical degrees from PSU. He is now a business consultant and orthopedic physician, and Penn State released a statement on the move:

“Dave Joyner has served the board with integrity, and he is internationally known for his work with the U.S. Olympic Committee. I am confident that he will bring that same integrity to his new role,” Penn State president Rodney Erickson said.

VIDEO: Jerry Sandusky And Bob Costas: The Full Interview

2011-11-15T05:40:34Z

If you missed Bob Costas and Jerry Sandusky from Monday night on NBC's "Rock Center", look no further. Below is the entire awkward conversation between Costas and the man that has been charged with 40 counts of sexual molestation involving young boys on the campus of Penn State University:

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Penn State Scandal: Jerry Sandusky Speaks To Bob Costas: The Transcript

2011-11-15T04:52:18Z

Below is the transcript of the Jerry Sandusky interview with Bob Costas on NBC's "Rock Center" on Monday night:

Costas: "Mr. Sandusky, there's a 40-count indictment. The Grand Jury report contains specific detail. There are multiple accusers, multiple eyewitnesses to various aspects of the abuse. A reasonable person says, ‘Where there's this much smoke, there must be plenty of fire.' What do you say?"

Sandusky: "I say that I am innocent of those charges."

Costas: "Innocent? Completely innocent and falsely accused in every aspect?"

Sandusky: "Well I could say that, you know, I have done some of those things. I have horsed around with kids. I have showered after workouts. I have hugged them and I have touched their leg without intent of sexual contact. So if you look at it that way, there are things that would be accurate."

Costas: "Are you denying that you had any inappropriate sexual contact with any of these underage boys?"

Sandusky: "Yes I am."

Costas: "Never touched their genitals? Never engaged in oral sex?"

Sandusky: "Right."

Costas: "What about Mike McQueary, the grad assistant, who in 2002 walked into the shower where he says in specific detail that you were forcibly raping a boy who appeared to be 10- or 11-years old? That his hands were up against the shower wall and he heard rhythmic slap, slap, slapping sounds and he described that as a rape?"

Sandusky: "I would say that that's false."

Costas: "What would be his motive to lie?"

Sandusky: "You'd have to ask him that."

Costas: "What did happen in the shower the night that Mike McQueary happened upon you and the young boy?"

Sandusky: "OK, we were showering and horsing around. And he actually turned all the showers on and was actually sliding across the floor and we were, as I recall, possibly like snapping a towel and horseplay."

Costas: "In 1998, a mother confronts you about taking a shower with her son and inappropriately touching him. Two detectives eavesdrop on her conversations with you and you admit that maybe your private parts touched her son. What happened there?"

Sandusky: "I can't exactly recall what was said there. In terms of what I did say was that if he felt that way then I was wrong."

Costas: "During one of those conversations, you said, ‘I understand. I was wrong. I wish I could get forgiveness (speaking now with the mother). I know I won't get it from you. I wish I were dead.' A guy falsely accused or a guy's actions who have been misinterpreted doesn't respond that way."

Sandusky: "I don't know. I didn't say to my recollection that 'I wish I were dead.' I was hopeful that we could reconcile things."

Costas: "Shortly after that in 2000, a janitor said that he saw you performing oral sex on a young boy in the showers in the Penn State locker facility. Did that happen?"

Sandusky: "No."

Costas: "How could somebody think they saw something as extreme as shocking as that when it hadn't occurred and what would possibly be their motivation to fabricate it?"

Sandusky: "You'd have to ask them."

Costas: "It seems that, if all of these accusations are false, you are the unluckiest and most persecuted man that any of us has ever heard about?"

Sandusky: "I don't know what you want me to say. I don't think that these have been the best days of my life."

Costas: "To your knowledge, did Joe Paterno have any information regarding objectionable activites on your part prior to that report in 2002?"

Sandusky: "I can't totally answer that question. My answer would be no."

Costas: "Did Joe Paterno at any time ever speak to you directly about your behavior?"

Sandusky: "No."

Costas: "Never?"

Sandusky: "No."

Costas: "He never asked you about what you might have done. He never asked you if you needed help, if you need counseling."

Sandusky: "No. No. No."

Costas: "Never expressed disapproval of any kind?"

Sandusky: "No."

Costas: "How do you feel about what has happened to Penn State and to Joe Paterno and to the Penn State football program and your part in it?"

Sandusky: "How would you think that I would feel about a university that I attended, about people that I worked with, about people that I care so much about. How do you think I would feel about it? I feel horrible."

Costas: "You feel horrible. Do you feel culpabale?"

Sandusky: "I'm not sure I know what you mean."

Costas: "Do you feel guilty? Do you feel as if it's your fault?"

Sandusky: "No I don't think it's my fault. I've obviously played a part in this."

Costas: "How would you define the part you played? What are you willing to concede that you've done that was wrong and you wish you had not done it?"

Sandusky: "In retrospect, I shouldn't have showered with those kids."

Costas: "That's it?"

Sandusky: "That's what hits me the most."

Costas: "Are you a pedophile?"

Sandusky: "No."

Costas: "Are you sexually attracted to young boys, to underage boys?"

Sandusky: "Am I sexually attracted to underage boys? Sexually attracted, you know, I enjoy young people. I love to be around them. But no, I'm not sexually attracted to young boys."

Costas: "Obviously, you're entitled to a presumption of innocence and you'll receive a vigorous defense. On the other hand, there is a tremendous amount of information out there and fair-minded, common sense people have concluded that you are guilty of monstrous acts. And they are particularly unforgiving with the type of crimes that have been alleged here.

And so, millions of Americans who didn't know Jerry Sandusky's name until a week ago, now regard you not only as a criminal, but I say this I think in a considered way, but as some sort of monster. How do you respond to them?"

Sandusky: "I don't know what I can say or what I could say that would make anybody feel any different now. I would just say that if somehow people could hang on until my attorney has a chance to fight for my innocence. That's about all I could ask right now. And obviously it's a huge challenge."

VIDEO: Jerry Sandusky Needs Time To Decide If He Is Attracted To Young Boys

2011-11-15T03:40:36Z

In the most disturbing part of Bob Costas' interview with Jerry Sandusky Monday night on NBC, it takes Sandusky nearly 17 seconds to answer a pretty easy question - at least to me. Costas simply asks Sandusky if he is sexually attracted to young boys. Sandusky struggles with the answer, to say the least:

Penn State Scandal: Jerry Sandusky Speaks Publicly As More Potential Victims Come Forward

2011-11-15T03:12:02Z

The scandal involving former Penn State football coordinator Jerry Sandusky and the improper physical contact with young boys shows no signs of slowing down. As more potential victims come forward, Sandusky went public for the first time since his arrest in an interview with NBC's Bob Costas on "Rock Center".

As police worked to verify the new allegations from up to ten additional suspected victims of Sandusky, he proclaimed his innocence of the charges against him - some 40 counts of sexually abusing young boys - and declared he was not a pedophile. Sandusky does admit, however, that he showered with the young boys.

"I shouldn’t have showered with those kids, " admitted Sandusky who went on to say he had "orsed around with kids. I have showered after workouts. I have hugged them and I have touched their legs without intent of sexual contact."

"I enjoy being around children. I enjoy their enthusiasm. I just have a good time with them."

Sandusky started the Second Mile, a charity, with the goal of helping needy children in 1977. Many now claim that Sandusky used his charity to target vulnerable children.

When asked about Penn State, and everything that has happened to the University and Joe Paterno, Sandusky admitted he "had a part in all this" but did not feel guilty about it.

Perhaps the most distrubing part of the interview was a direct question from Costas to Sandusky.

"Are you sexually attracted young boys?" asked Costas. The answer, which would seem easy for most of us to answer, caused Sandusky to pause and actually repeat the question twice. He finally answers that, while he enjoys kids, he is not sexually attracted to them. His answer is not convincing to say the least.

Sanusky's attorney, Joe Amendola, claims his client was simply acting like "a jock" in an interview with CNN.

"Jerry Sandusky is a big overgrown kid," Amendola said. "He's a jock, and for anybody who's ever played sports, you get showers after you work out. ... What I'm being told happened is that Jerry was in the shower with this kid, the kid was messing around, having a good time, you had (former graduate assistant and now wide receivers coach Mike) McQueary come in and see that. He felt uncomfortable."

Costas does a great job of going accusation by accusation, asking Sandusky in specifics about each of the most glaring accusations. Each time, Sandusky says he is innocent and has no idea why people have 'lied' about him.

The entire interview is disgusting to listen to. In a society that believes in innocent until proven guilty, Sandusky is as close to it gets to someone that doesn't deserve that right.

Penn State Scandal: Big Ten Removes Joe Paterno's Name From Trophy

2011-11-14T18:43:33Z

We talked last week about the quandary in which the Big Ten found itself in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky sex case. The conference has announced this spring that their Conference Championship Trophy would be called the Stagg-Paterno Championship Trophy. That all changed earlier today when Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney removed Paterno's name from the trophy that will be given to the winner of the Big Ten Championship Game.

"We believe that it would be inappropriate to keep Joe Paterno's name on the trophy at this time," Delany said in a statment. "The trophy and its namesake are intended to be celebratory and aspirational, not controversial. We believe that it's important to keep the focus on the players and the teams that will be competing in the inaugural championship game."

The case, and Paterno's eventual ouster at Penn State, left Delany and the Big Ten little choice. The stink surrounding this mess will linger for a long, long time, but it could not be allowed to permanently stain the Big Ten Championship, especially in it's first year.

Moving forward, the trophy will simply be called the Stagg Championship Trophy, after the former University of Chicago coach Alonzo Stagg.

Penn State Scandal: NCAA Finally Weighs In On Jerry Sandusky Case

2011-11-10T20:04:40Z

The NCAA has finally taken the time out of their busy schedule of over-administrating their archaic rules to comment on the ever-growing scandal involving Penn State and their former head coach Joe Paterno. College football's governing body usually focuses on punishing coaches who buy players dinner instead of much less pressing matters - like sex-abuse cover-ups - but it must have been a light week in Indianapolis.

NCAA President Mark Emmert released the following statement about the case:

Regarding the ongoing Penn State criminal investigation, the NCAA is actively monitoring developments and assessing appropriate steps moving forward. The NCAA will defer in the immediate term to law enforcement officials since this situation involved alleged crimes.

As the facts are established through the justice system, we will determine whether Association bylaws have been violated and act accordingly. To be clear, civil and criminal law will always take precedence over Association rules.

While it is obvious the NCAA must take a backseat to the criminal investigation, they could easily do more in terms of making sure the safety of players and fans at Saturday night's game between the Nittany Lions and Nebraska is guaranteed and the NCAA certainly has the right to make sure certain coaches are not on the sideline for the game.

Oh well, back to making sure coaches are only making one call per day to recruits!

Joe Paterno Fired By Penn State Board Of Trustees

2011-11-10T04:06:20Z

Joe Paterno announced this afternoon that he would be stepping down as the head coach of the Penn State football football team at the end of the season. However, he did not even make it that long. The Penn State board of trustees announced tonight, Nov. 9, that Joe Paterno has been fired and university president Graham Spanier has resigned.

"This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life." Paterno said. "With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more."

Paterno and Spanier were not charged in connection with the sex abuse scandal, but both have come under heavy fire for their inaction in connection to allegations against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.

John Surma, Vice chair of the Penn State board of trustees announced the news.

"These decisions were made after careful deliberation and in the best interest of the university as a whole. Penn State always strives for the highest moral standards in all of our activities. We promise we are committed to restoring public trust in our university."

The decision to fire both Spanier and Paterno was unanimous according to Surma. Paterno has been the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions for the past 45 years. He holds the record for most Division 1 victories with 409, a win he recorded 10 days ago.

Defensive coordinator Tom Bradley has been named interim head coach.