New coach pulls women's basketball player's scholarship

First, I made a mistake. You are right, she went to CD. Still, my basic point remains: People knew what she was there, and if she was such a headcase, I am surprised this did not make it into the papers.

Do you realize how much the girl was covered? Probably not. You probably don't live within 100 miles of Harrisburg, as I did then.

You probably weren't in State College the two years Harris was on campus, as I was.

If Portland was going to be fired for the lawsuit, she would've been fired in 2005. But she was not. In fact, she had a rather defiant press conference in April 2006 basically telling the university to go take a hike. This after being slapped with a $10,000 fine. She should've been fired.

The losing is what did her in.

Are you telling me if her teams the past two years went to the regional finals, as they had in 2004, that she still wouldn't have a job?

You have a nice day, Zag.

 

I agree 100 percent with this statement, but only if the concept is applied to men's basketball and football, too.

 

Yes, that's exactly what I am trying to tell you -- Wins and losses had absolutely nothing -- not even one iota -- to do with why Rene Portland is no longer the head coach of the Lady Lions. And if you knew anything about Penn State, which you claim to so I can only take you at your word, you'd know that I am right because that's not the Penn State way. It would have taken a helluva a lot more losing seasons for her to get fired based on wins and losses. Also, Portland RESIGNED albeit with a shove, she was not fired and that's the Penn State way as well.

I'll say it one more time -- Rene Portland would still be the head women's basketball coach at Penn State if she wasn't such an egotistical, abrasive, self-serving, condescending, closed-minded, loose cannon asshole who burnt - excuse me torched -- just about every bridge with every administrator and significant person at the University over the years EXCEPT for JoePa, which is the only reason she lasted as long as she did. Trust me on this -- they had been waiting for her to step in it this way for years and years and she finally did it.

The lawsuit -- and her subsequent comments when she publicly found her boss's assessment of the situation to be "flawed" -- wasn't the REASON she was pushed out the door -- it gave the university the EXCUSE they had been looking for to push her out the door without getting a fight from Joe Paterno - who hired her and on at least one other occassion came to her rescue -- because the university's brass had long ago tired of her act and all of the crap that they had to put up with just to try and appease her.

 

For someone who was not wanted there, they appeased her a very long time.

Twenty-seven years, in fact.

Most of them winning seasons, too, until the end of her tenure.

And while it's not about wins and losses at Penn State, the losing provided a good reason to fire her.

And the reason why she was losing? People finally were hammering her on the Harris thing and the 1991 quotes about "no drugs, no alcohol, no lesbians" and other stuff like that.

I've spoken with her a handful of times. She can be charming, if she so desires.