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GOP Debates Continue Tormenting Nation, Part 2

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Kragar11/22/2011 10:30:30 pm PST

Penn State players lived by special rules: ex-official

Penn State University football players received special treatment compared to other students when accused of violating school rules, the school’s ex-chief disciplinarian said on Tuesday.

Longtime football coach Joe Paterno and then-university President Graham Spanier were involved in years of debate that ended in changing the rules for how football players were disciplined, said Vicky Triponey, the vice president for student affairs from 2003 to 2007.

“The consequence of these accommodations put us in the position of treating football players more favorably than other students accused of violating the community standards as defined by the student code of conduct,” Triponey said in a statement e-mailed to Reuters on Tuesday.

Her comments dealt another blow to a university and once-storied football program now reeling from allegations of child sexual abuse against a former assistance coach and an alleged cover-up.

Sports have no place in college.