Posts Tagged ‘Joe Paterno’

“UPLIFTING ATHLETES” – The Charity for Rare Diseases

February 9th, 2014 by Philly Pressbox | Comments Off on “UPLIFTING ATHLETES” – The Charity for Rare Diseases | Filed in College Sports, Football, Interviews

Uplifting Athletes

In July 2013, as a result of a routine physical, it was determined that I had a 1″ cancerous tumor on my left kidney.  Two weeks later, August 13, I had surgery to remove the tumor.  When I woke up I learned that they had to remove my entire left kidney, my adrenal gland, my lymph node and a part of a rib. The tumor was imbedded and the cancer had started to spread. I had a 7″ incision being held together by 16 staples. Like any other person that has ever been told they have cancer it scares you to death. I started researching and reading everything I could about it.  I learned that kidney cancer is considered a “rare disease”because it affects fewer than 200,000 Americans. As a result, there’s little funding for research and few options for treatment.  It also doesn’t respond to chemotherapy and radiation so your choices are simple, you remove it or you don’t and take the chance it doesn’t spread.

During my research I came across an article about a man named Don Shirley.  Mr. Shirley’s life activities mirrored mine in many ways. He was a high school coach, as was I. He had no symptoms or family history of cancer, nor did I. Mr Shirley first encountered kidney cancer in 1993, before finally passing away when the cancer came back in 2005, at the age of 55, I would turn 55, one month after my surgery.  I also learned that Mr. Shirley had a son, Scott, that was a member of my favorite college football team, the Penn State Nittany Lions.  He had graduated in December 2004 from Penn State with a master’s degree in engineering. I had coached at the Penn State Summer Football Camps for 12 summers and was a season ticket holder.  I found the story of Scott Shirley very interesting as well, and needed to know more about him and the charity that he started called “Uplifting Athletes” that raises money for nearly 7000 rare diseases.

I found contact information and reached out to Scott. We’ve talked several times and communicate regularly through social media. The more we talked the more intrigued I became and the more I wanted to share his story. We recently sat down and did a question and answer session.

PHILLY PRESSBOX (PP): Can you tell us about yourself and your background?

SCOTT SHIRLEY (SS): I am a husband and father who helps college football student-athletes learn how to leverage the position they are in to help other by using their natural talents to the best of their ability. During my time at Penn State I was a wide receiver on the football team (1999-2003) and a catcher on the baseball team (2001). The degrees that I’ve earned include a BS in Engineering and Masters of Engineering from Penn State and I am an Executive Scholar from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. Currently I serve as the Executive Director of Uplifting Athletes Inc and CEO of PledgePlatform LLC. Community involvement includes the Board of Directors for AmeriChoice Federal Credit Union and the Board of Governors for the Maxwell Football Club. In my free time I play semi-pro baseball for the Mechanicsburg Cardinals.

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The Demise of the Paterno Legacy, the Freeh Report

July 30th, 2012 by Philly Pressbox | 1 Comment | Filed in College Sports, General

Anyone that follows Philly Pressbox knows that I’m a huge Penn State fan and a huge Joe Paterno fan. You also know that I’ve been a season ticket holder and I coached at the Penn State Football camps from 1994-2002.  I had the opportunity to meet Joe Paterno several times and have a signed picture with him hanging on my wall. I also worked with Jerry Sandusky during those years until his retirement, as well as the rest of the coaching staff. I knew Sandusky by name and he knew me by name during that time. With that said, this chain of events saddens me to no end. Obviously, the most important thing in this tragedy is the victims. Anything that is noted in this article is not meant to diminish them and what they have had to endure in any way. Please keep that as the top note.

As I watched the craziness of seeing Paterno fired by what appeared to be a disorganized, panic stricken, Board of Trustees that appeared to be bowing to the media and public pressure to do “something” even if it was wrong, I was filled with disbelief. Seeing Joe Paterno die so quickly amidst all of this without ever seeing the end of it was also saddening. Watching the Sandusky trial and the verdicts I couldn’t help but be sickened and wonder how could this happen. I then listened to the Louis Freeh press conference and the presentation of the Freeh Report and was in disbelief, and again wondered how could this possibly happen. Finally, the word came that the Paterno statue was being removed on a Sunday morning under the cover of darkness and secrecy. With that, I decided I needed to read the Freeh Report for myself and see what exactly was so damning to a man that built Penn State University, and the local community, over 62 years as the football coach, into one of the finest institutions in America that is filled with over 500,000 living alumni, pride and key slogans. (Success with Honor, We are Penn State).

The purpose of my reading the Freeh Report was to look strictly at the actions, or inactions, of Joe Paterno to try to determine for myself where I feel he stands in this tragedy. My finding is that there are many things in this report that a purely speculative and made from assumptions. There is some very good information here that can, and apparently will, be used by the university to improve awareness of signs of child abuse and provide training for all employees regarding the Clery Act among many other things as well as implement a system that guarantees communication at the highest levels to the Board of Trustees among many other things.  However, as I will point out below, how can a report be “the gospel” by the university and the NCAA when none of the “key” players were interviewed for the report? They include Joe Paterno, Graham Spanier, Tim Curley, Gary Schultz, Mike McQueary, Jerry Sandusky, Wendell Courtney, and Thomas Harmon. Richard “Dick” Anderson is the only assistant coach mentioned in the report and that is in relation to his Grand Jury testimony representing Sandusky, although it is stated that they talked to many people “including coaches”. So who are Wendell Courtney and Thomas Harmon, you ask? Courtney served as Penn State’s Outside Legal Counsel from 1980-2010 and was a partner at a law firm that performed legal services for the University for nearly 50 years. Courtney also served as legal counsel for the Second Mile and sat on its Board from 2008-2011. (page 107). Harmon is currently the Penn State Director of Public Safety. He held the position of University Department Police Chief in 1998. It’s very interesting that they wouldn’t be included in the report as they were key pieces to this story. Also, have you ever heard of the following people; Alycia Chambers, Ron Schreffler, Chambers colleagues, John Miller, Jerry Lauro, Karen Arnold, John Seasock as well as several State College Police Officers? Each was involved in the in-depth 1998 Sandusky investigation in which no charges were filed because, as it states on page 50, “there was no criminal behavior established (and) that the matter was closed as an investigation.”

Alycia Chambers – a licensed State College psychologist. She was the first person notified by Victim 6’s mother. Page 42.

Ron Schreffler – University Police Department Detective that conducted the initial interviews with Victim 6. Page 42.

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My Joe Pa Story

March 2nd, 2012 by Philly Pressbox | Comments Off on My Joe Pa Story | Filed in College Sports, Football, General, Interviews, Sports

At the time I was living and coaching high school football in Florida. I had the opportunity to meet coach for the first time in 1994 when I took my first player to the Penn State football camp through Tom Bradley, who has become a friend over all these years. A few years later I had the opportunity to take my son, Billy Furman, and his friend Greg Adkins into the football building to have a picture taken with Coach that I later got signed and have cherished. I remember the day like it was yesterday. I was going to take the picture of Billy, Greg and Coach when Joe said to me, “Coach, do you want to get in the picture?” Of course I did, so he had a staff member take the picture so that I could be in it too. What a great moment! (I have the photo posted on my Facebook page, Philly Pressbox).

I had the opportunity to meet Coach several other times over the years but the most exciting time was actually over the phone. It was 2001 and Penn State was again recruiting one of our players, Wayne Dickens, who ended up going to Auburn. Wayne was being recruited by Bob White and Larry Johnson and Bob had called me at my office to check on Wayne’s recruiting status. At that time Bob said, hang on a second Coach wants to talk to you. I proceeded to talk to Coach Paterno for 15 minutes. During that time we talked about everything except for football for the first 13 minutes. He wanted to know how my family was doing, how it was in Florida and of course how the weather was. We spent the last 2 minutes talking about Wayne and his recruitment to Penn State. It was a great time to be talking to someone who you think you’ll never have an opportunity to actually feel like you’re spending time with other than a handshake. I only met Coach once after that but those memories will never be forgotten.

The two other things I will remember most about the impact Coach Paterno had on me was the people who I met that were directly impacted by Coach. The first year I went to the camp I took one of our players, Keydrick Vincent, to the camp. Keydrick was 6’5” and 340 lbs at the time so obviously you could see him. He ended up going to Ole Miss and playing in the NFL for 10 seasons. When we were on the small plane between State College and Pittsburgh on the way back Matt Suhey was on that plane. When we got to Pittsburgh Matt waiting for us to get off the plane and spoke to us for 10 minutes. He spoke about his PSU experience and about his experience with the Bears and playing in the same backfield with Walter Payton. When Matt walked away I remember Keydrick saying, “Oh my God that was Matt Suhey of the Bears and he’s the coolest guy I’ve ever met”. Talk about impact on an 18-year-old. I know Keydrick never forgot it through his years in the NFL. I also have had a chance to meet John Cappelletti on various occasions. Cappy is always talking about the values he learned from Coach and PSU.

I’ve become friends with Adam Taliaferro over the last few years. Most people know Adam’s story but don’t know the person. Adam credits Coach Paterno, his parents and Penn State University for his success as an attorney and involvement in many charitable groups. Adam wants to, and is going to make a difference in people’s lives. The list goes on and on, but I think the way the PSU football staff handled themselves says all that needs to be said. Anything less than being a first class professional when dealing with high school coaches and players was unacceptable. Coat and tie when visiting high schools was mandatory, but the actions and the impression about what to expect academically and in college life was put ahead of what to expect on the football field.

The final impact that I feel is the actions of the PSU fans either at home or on the road. There is nothing like a road trip to Beaver Stadium for a football game with all out tailgating. It’s an event like no other. If you’ve never been part of it you have no idea what you’re missing. Visitors can come to Happy Valley, walk College Avenue and go to any local establishment and know they’re going to have a good time and not have to worry about the actions of fans. When the massive Penn State road show heads out everyone knows they’ll be first class fans. It is all a part of the foundation that was laid by Coach Paterno as he built the football program and the university over 45 years as head football coach.

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Paterno Did Not Die a Bitter Man

January 24th, 2012 by Johnny G | Comments Off on Paterno Did Not Die a Bitter Man | Filed in General

Joe Posnanski from Sports illustrated had the opportunity to sit at Joe Paterno’s bedside in the final weeks of his life. Posnanski is writing a biography on Paterno’s life, simply titled, “Paterno”. Posnanski interviewed Paterno and many members of his family in the last few days of the great coaches life. Paterno’s outlook, even with his bleak medical prognosis, is quite impressive.

“In every life,” he told me, “there have to be some shadows. Look at me. My life has been filled with sunshine. A beautiful and caring wife. Five healthy children. I got to do what I loved. How many people are that lucky?”

This is how he talked in those final days. Oh, sure, he did not like the way the board of trustees fired him without asking him any questions. He was disappointed that so many people fastened dark motives to the way he handled what he was told about Sandusky, his longtime assistant coach. (“I made a lot of mistakes in my life,” he said. “But I thought people could see that I tried my best to do the right things. I tried to do the right thing with Sandusky too.”) He was hurt that the program he had spent his life building was in trouble.

The full article is here.

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Joe Paterno Dead at 85

January 22nd, 2012 by Johnny G | Comments Off on Joe Paterno Dead at 85 | Filed in General

 

Joe Paterno’s family announced early this morning that the legendary coach has passed away. Whatever your opinions are regarding the way he handled the Sandusky case, this is a time for mourning and respect for Joe and his family. So long to a great coach. Rest in peace, Joe.

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Joe Paterno Interview With The Washington Post

January 15th, 2012 by Johnny G | Comments Off on Joe Paterno Interview With The Washington Post | Filed in Football, General

Sally Jenkins sat down with Joe Paterno in an exclusive interview for the Washington Post. Just to be clear, Paterno’s lawyer and public relations manager were in attendance. In the article about the interview, Jenkins seems to make several comments that lead you to believe that Paterno’s health is deteriorating quite rapidly. He answered several questions and perhaps provided more details into the reasoning for some of his actions. Some highlights will be listed below:

On why he did not pursue the Sandusky allegations more aggressively:

““I didn’t know exactly how to handle it and I was afraid to do something that might jeopardize what the university procedure was,”  “So I backed away and turned it over to some other people, people I thought would have a little more expertise than I did. It didn’t work out that way.”

On what he said to his superiors upon hearing the news:

“I called my superiors and I said, “Hey we got a problem, I think. Would you guys look into it? Cause I didn’t know, you know…I had never had to deal with something like that. And I didn’t feel adequate.”

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