Former head coach Joe Paterno accused by former VP of student affairs of treating football players differently from students.
For all you naysayers and whistleblowers who want to continuously chastise Joe Paterno, please take into consideration that mainstream media is often misguided and misrepresented. The latest addition is coming from former vice president of student affairs Vickey Triponey who is saying that Joe Paterno treated football players more favorably than the university did with other students.
Triponey isn’t actually stating anything new or groundbreaking. It’s safe to say that the majority of big time programs treat football players and most other athletes differently. But looking back at Paterno’s career, he wasn’t exactly soft on his players, especially if they were stand out athletes.
For example, RB Curtis Enis, drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1998, was kicked of the team for lying about receiving gifts from a sports agent costing Penn State the Citrus Bowl; RB Austin Scott was kicked off the team in 2007 for allegations of rape which were later dropped; WR Bobby Engram, second round draft pick by the Chicago Bears in 1996, was suspended for the entire 1992 season for stealing a stereo from an on-campus apartment; DT Phil Taylor, first round draft pick by the Bengals in 2011, was kicked off the team for assault charges; and CB Knowledge Timmons, was suspended during the spring of 2008 for an on-campus fight involving multiple players (who were also suspended,) but was later reinstated. The list goes on, but those are just a few examples of blue-chip athletes who Joe Paterno punished because of improper behavior.
Triponey wanted to handle disciplining football players because they were held to a different standard. She all but accused the administration of having “a blind sense of loyalty.” Well call it what you want, but a coach will guard his players and a coach will discipline when necessary. That is the make-up of the system whether it is right or wrong remains to be seen.
The real issue at hand was Triponey did not get along with Paterno and other high ranking school officials. Paterno was always afforded control when it came to disciplining his players. Triponey tried to change that, and she was asked to leave. Penn State disciplined its players, just not the way Triponey wanted it done.
On a side not, Triponey was known for being confrontational, pushy, and aggressive. She was not well liked among the students and staff. Not only did she hover over the football program, but she put her foot in everything from cutting funding to the student radio station, to reorganizing the student government, and to reallocating student fees. Needless to say, she was not popular among the masses.
She served her post from 2003-2007 before parting ways with the university. Joe Paterno held his post from 1966-2011 before being fired.
