Penn State Players Questioned; Anonymous Letter Appears

There are a couple of new developments from the incident over the weekend that allegedly involves unidentified Penn State football players.

First, university and police officials have confirmed that players were questioned by authorities regarding the confrontation early Sunday morning. The players still have not been identified, and we don't know for sure what, if any, involvement they may have had.

Second, and more disturbingly, police say an anonymous letter was delivered to the residents of the apartment where the incident occurred. According to the Centre Daily Times, the letter urges the residents of the apartment to drop the charges. It also asks them to "seek out the football department and ask for a formal meeting with your attackers".

"I want you to realize that you have the power now to press charges or to drop them. Legally, the ball is in your hands. However, you can be a hero in this situation and forgive the attackers for what they have done.

"I am sure that the coaches want to know exactly what happened and it would be good for all of you to discuss everything so that any ambiguity is washed out. Then the coaches will be able to punish the actors accordingly. There is contact information at the bottom of this page for Tim Curley, the athletic director. He would be able to set up a meeting of this sort if you would like."

The letter also stated that Penn State coach Joe Paterno (above, right) was going to take action "separate from the law".

Police say that the apartment residents really don't have the power. State College Police Chief Thomas King told the Times that it's not within the power of victims to drop potential charges in a case like this, adding that his office would seek subpoenas to compel them (the victims) to testify, if necessary. King said the letter, while well-written, is "highly inappropriate" in its nature.

According to the Associated Press, Penn State assistant vice president Bill Mahan said the author added, "Again, I'm sorry about what happened."

King said the residents and alleged victims were not threatened, but they "want to be left alone".

This story has certainly taken an interesting turn. It doesn't appear that anyone is trying to intimidate the residents of this apartment, but someone obviously wants them to do what they can to make this story go away. It adds some intrigue as to exactly what happened there last weekend, as well as to what extent football players may have been involved.

Like I said earlier, Paterno can't possibly be happy about this. Once more facts become known, the spotlight will shine on him, as the world awaits his reaction. For now, any questioning of the veteran coach is fruitless, because he'll just insist that the legal process be allowed to play itself out first.

Previously at FanHouse
Penn State Players Allegedly Involved in "Street Confrontation" and "Apartment Assault"