Extra Work for Nittany Lions
Seems that Penn State's incoming recruits and their new teammates - including many from the Washington area will have extra duties this fall. I'm curious what folks think of this. Should the whole team be punished? Or should those who allegedly committed the transgressions be the only ones affected?
Penn State coach Joe Paterno, upset that several of his players were involved in an off-campus fight in early April, is punishing his entire team this fall. Paterno said Monday night at a banquet near Philadelphia that his players will be part of the clean-up crew at Beaver Stadium every Sunday after home games this fall. They also will volunteer their services for Habitat for Humanity in Centre County and the Special Olympics.
Two Penn State players -- Anthony Scirrotto and Chris Baker -- face charges in the alleged April 1 burglary and assault that sent one person to the hospital. Four others had charges against them dropped because of insufficient evidence.
Paterno said he is determined to teach his players a lesson from the incident.
"We're all going to do it, everybody," he said at a news conference before the banquet. "Not just the kids that were involved because we're all in it together. This is a team embarrassment. I wouldn't call it anything much other than that."
Paterno said the players will earn money for their work after each of the team's seven home games, but that they will be required to donate the money to help fund Penn State's club sports. Members of Penn State's club sports teams earn money by cleaning up Beaver Stadium on Sundays in the fall.
"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 we need to prove to people that we're not a bunch of hoodlums," Paterno said.
By Josh Barr |
May 24, 2007; 9:12 AM ET
| Category:
Football
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Posted by: Aaron | May 24, 2007 11:38 AM
Just another example of why I love St. Joe Paterno. I realise that as a middle aged white, mediocre former ball player, I sound exactly like a middle aged white mediocre former ball player, but this is how a team should handle these situations.
Posted by: david nagorski | May 24, 2007 12:23 PM
State College PA is a large city. University Park is a large campus. The PSU football team is a vast and diverse entity. I don't see how the entire team should be considered responsible for other members of the team. When my frat brothers misbehaved, I had a choice -- participate in some mischief or go inactive with the social functions. I was still a dues-paying member, but if certain factions in the frat were determined to self-destruct, I couldn't stop it nor could I condone it. Only my university could stop the activity; and they eventually removed us from campus. They didn't take half-measures. PSU will not take half measures nor will they expel the team; they make big money for the school. Therefore, Joe is being idealistic to a fault here; his image has been more important than the reality of his situation for the past 20 years; it's now approaching absurdity. If his players respected him they wouldn't have done this; they will respect him less for this collective punishment. He should bear the blame by finally stepping down; and he won't. He doesn't even report to his office anymore; he works from home; players see this and take their cues from his absence.
Posted by: Kevin | May 24, 2007 1:58 PM
But a football team is not the same as a campus frat. The attitude "I have no control over another's actions" is exactly what JP is trying to get ride of. Peers can pressure one another into doing the right thing; now the PS football players have a reason to apply that pressure.
Let me ask you this: regardless of whether the punishment is fair, if you were subject to the same punishment, would you simply complain about the injustice, or would you (backed by the majority of non-troublemakers) take action to ensure that this punishment never happened again?
Posted by: Aaron | May 24, 2007 6:48 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
Yes, I think the whole team should be punished. It's a great way to develop a sense of corporate responsibility for individual actions. The coaches can't be watching the players 24-7, so now the players look out for each other. Also, it increases the severity of consequences for a misdeed; if a player knows that not only himself but his teammates will also be punished, he should think twice about his actions. The punishment should also add a little humility as the players now realize that none of them are above punishment. Finally, it will build a sense of team among the athletes. They're all in it together and I believe that will carry over to the football field. Joe Pa knows what he's doing and I think more coaches would be smart to follow his lead.