While I share in the righteous indignation sent Penn State’s way after the release of Freeh’s report, there’s something about this that leaves me a little uneasy:
NCAA president Mark Emmert told Penn State in November that the organization would be examining the “exercise of institutional control” within the athletic department, and said it was clear that “deceitful and dishonest behavior” could be considered a violation of ethics rules. So, too, could a failure to exhibit moral values.
Letting the NCAA wade into waters of morality has “Pandora’s Box” written all over it. Covering up a pedophile may be an easy call, but what happens when the next time isn’t so black and white? And this with an organization that lacks resources to do proper investigative work and isn’t bound by police power restraints… count me as somebody who doesn’t see this as a good move.
Besides, it’s not as if the NCAA is the last wall here. Every bad actor will be sued. And lose. The school will be sued. And will settle. Paterno’s legacy is already in the process of being demolished.
“Just do something” may make for a good sports slogan, but it’s not the best moral imperative.
Get The Picture 
Penn State should do what’s right and self-impose the death penalty for a few years. I agree, I hate having the NCAA making rulings like this. But if Penn State does nothing there is enough of an outcry that they’ll be forced to. I feel bad for the current roster of players up there.
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Here’s a thought: Bust the football program down to Division II or III. If kids at PSU – ones who had nothing to do with the current, sorry state of affairs – want to play football, then they still could, but the culture of the program (and its literally above-the-law status at the university) would be very, very different. Moreover, PSU fans would still have their Saturday diversion, not that I think many of them would retain the same enthusiasm for the team and sport they’ve traditionally had.
Of course, the loss of revenue means that the university, the state of PA, and the NCAA would be extremely unlikely to go for this. And, I have no idea if a school as big as PSU could even move down to Division II or III, but I thought I’d toss the idea out there.
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Unless they brought their stadium down to DII or DIII along with funding, facilities, and scholarships it would be ineffective. You would just be punishing those that would find themselves competing against the new PSU.
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I dislike, and distrust the NCAA as much as anyone. I feel they have been negligent in cleaning the sport up by playing politics and running investigations that drag out years. Emmert has been a huge disappointment in his short term as President and penalties have been grossly inconsistent. Despite that, if Penn State doesn’t suspend football on their own, I would support someone pulling the plug on them. Since the NCAA cannot manage what they are responsible for, perhaps they can overstep their bounds and do something good. PSU needs to get blasted for this fiasco by someone. It was apparent in listening to the PSU board members, fans, and former athletes deflect responsibility yesterday they just don’t get it and will not self discipline themselves. They feel they have suffered enough and removing the four primary offenders everyone should forget about it and just move along. Very naive, imo.
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First, let me say that I’m as disgusted by this as everyone else is. But who really suffers if football is suspended? I don’t think any of the bad actors do, but a lot of people who had nothing to do with it would.
Maybe you can say the community and school were unjustly enriched through being allowed to operate all these years with this going on. But what about current and future players?
This is an inherent problem with the way the NCAA typically doles out punishment. I will say, though, that stripping Joe Pa of his wins would be more than appropriate. His name should not appear in any record books.
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Agreed, yes it is horrible. Also agree why punish the fans, alums, and future athletes that had nothing to do with it?
Legal proceedings in an actual Court and the media will punish those that were involved.
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The fans and alums are culpable for creating an environment where the coach was the most powerful person on campus. I would feel bad for the players though.
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Hey Biggus, I saw a comment posted at National Review Online by your same handle on a Joe Pa story some months back. Could there be another Biggus Rickus roaming the interwebs or was that you?
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That was me. That article as the worst.
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was*
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agreed.
that guy wrote one piece defending Joe Pa and was raked over the coals by comments. A few weeks later he does it again claiming Joe Pa is the victim of the incompetent board of trustees or something.
infuriated me
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How is that different from Athens, Tuscaloosa, Baton Rouge, Columbus, Austin, etc? If you’re going to punish fans for elevating the football program above everything else at the college you’re not going to be able to stop in Happy Valley.
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Nor should you stop if something like this comes to light. If Penn State getting the death penalty wakes up some fanbases and administrations, good. We shouldn’t be putting coaches on the kinds of pedestals Paterno, Bryant and others of their ilk were on.
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Why wait for it to come to light? You’re not punishing PSU fans for the crimes of Sandusky, you’re punishing them for being fans of the football team and elevating its importance. That particular crime is rampant.
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The punishment requires a heinous enough crime to merit it. I also do not think the situation at Penn State is rampant. You had a coach with total run of the University. The only other situation that comes to mind where that was the case was when Bear was at Alabama. Dooley certainly never had that kind of power in Athens, nor has any other prominent program’s coach in my lifetime. My hope would be that severely punishing Penn State would help ensure no coach gets that much power again.
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And Saban doesn’t have total run of Alabama? Or Coach K Duke? You never know for sure how much influence a person has until it’s all stripped away. That said Paterno was not an outlier amongst his peers in terms of influence over the administration. Gee was only half joking when he said he hoped Tressel didn’t fire him.
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Saban, I don’t think so. At least not yet. Coach K is a good example.
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Is there some direct way to control just how much power we as collective fans of a program are “allowing” the head coach to get? This is entirely unquantifiable and unknowable, unless and until some major horrible abuse of power comes to light. Then everybody will pile on and scapegoat the particular fanbase in question.
The idea that Penn State fans as a group are actually demonstrably different and morally worthy of punishment compared to other fanbases is ludicrous to me. Scapegoating pure and simple. It’s other college football fans trying to burn the evil away by putting all on some other group that is not “like” us at all.
People get passionate about things like college football. It creates the possibility of certain personalities to get more power than is ever healthy. It’s a constant problem everywhere, not some special evil that Penn State fans created and can now be blamed for by the rest of us. If you are uncomfortable with the fact that fandom breeds the potential for these kind of situations, then let’s talk constructively about how to possibly deal with that, if that is possible. But you really can’t make it about one particular fanbase that went “too far,” while the rest of us are safe.
Personally, I lean toward just recognizing that life always involves some risk and potential for evil, but that doesn’t exonerate the actual people in power who do the actual evil. Smash any person who actually broke the law. What’s so hard about that principle? In any event, in my opinion burning everything down and salting the ground in College Station is Spencer’s “Nancy Grace effect” that he posted about last week at EDSBS.
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The problem with that line of reasoning is that the administration put football before basic human decency. Simple fact is the death penalty would put a dent in this kind of culture elsewhere, where no violations may or may not….the players should be allowed to transfer with no restrictions if desired.
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What about the “deceitful and dishonest behavior” exhibited by the NCAA time and time again over the years? Who is supposed to monitor and punish that? Placing that morally bankrupt organization in the position of deciding whether some other institution has been sufficiently deceitful to warrant punishment invites abuse akin to allowing the fox the right to decide if the chickens get to live or not.
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So that I am crystal clear on my position, I am all for those individuals who participated in covering up Sandusky’s wrongdoing being prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and being held liable civilly for their wrongful acts. I am also in favor of Pennsylvania State University itself being held liable civilly for its actions as an institution and vicariously for the actions of its employees. I am NOT in favor of allowing the NCAA to exponentially increase its power over all member institutions by anointing it with the authority to impose the death penalty on a member institution’s sports programs for non-sports violations particularly given the NCAA’s record of favoritism and incompetence demonstrated time and again with bungled and mishandled investigations and its track record of arbitrary and capricious imposition of penalties.
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non-sports violations????? HUH? This is one of the most ill-trumpeted lines I’ve heard throughout this whole process. How the hell is a cover-up by the football regime not a sports matter? If you’re going all legal with NCAA violations, there are plenty of ethics codes on the books and obviously a lack on institutional control. The NCAA sucks, yes. There penalties have sucked, yes. They are incompetent, yet. But none of that changes the facts on the ground at Penn State. Could the death penalty cause long term issues – absolutely. But don’t sit there and call it a non-sports violation when the head coach is covering for criminal activity by another coach.
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That is my take as well, football is THE core/root cause of this coverup. Sandusky is singularly responsible for the horrific crimes committed against the young men, everyone agree on that and the judicial system has dealt with him. But the entire coverup can be laid at the feet of JoePa, although at least three others were complicit. If Paterno had wanted to step up, there would never had been a coverup, he had total control over whether the whistle was blown, and he did so on more than one occasion beginning in 1998. If he had any doubts, the second incident had to slap him in the face.
If anyone can explain what, other than football, caused a man of high integrity and honor to go off the deep end I want to hear it. Paterno sold out his principles to protect his record, his football program, and his university. He put those selfish reasons ahead of all else and then played a role in convincing three administrators in doing the same. If the institution of PSU has become that confused about their role, it should be removed, imo.
The idea that it penalizes the fans, community, and some players is acceptable to me. A lesson must be learned, and a strong message should be sent to PSU and any others who may face tough decisions in the future. Lay the wood.
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Yeah. Let’s give the NCAA more power . Let ’em end football at Penn State without any previous warnings or track record of violations of any kind. Let’s set such a precedent so that the next time, when a school that the NCAA has a hard on for (say, because that school sued it and cost the NCAA its domination of TV rights over football telecasts) then the NCAA can give THAT school the death penalty, too, for finding that the president of that institution diverted funds from football revenue for his own use. Maybe even included the AD in on it. Or maybe the AD did it together with coaches (see University of Hawaii)–that’s lack of institutional control, right? Slippery slope here. Be careful what you wish for ’cause you just might get it.
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Sorry Mayor, if you don’t see the difference in this “first time offense” than others, we will just have to disagree on this one. But if you think JoePa, who was willing to overlook the crime of raping children, didn’t over look the routine bad behavior UGA suspends players for I think you would fall for anything. We suspend guys for very minor things, violations that do not even surface in other programs where they are squashed, then we see two Big 10/11/12 programs in one year covering up two of the worst scandals in CFB history. You only have to think back 2 years to read the nuclear weapons being fired at SEC schools from tosu and PSU about how dirty our programs are. And you think these are the only issues at those fine institutions?
You know that I don’t like the NCAA’s way of handling things any more than you, but they have to begin cleaning up the game or we need to get another sanctioning body. I know the ultimate power resides with the conferences and schools but we need some consistency to level the playing field with standards that apply to all.
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Agreed. We need another governing body. I hate for it to appear that I am defending Penn State or that douchebag Paterno. I probably am the biggest Penn State hater on this blog going back to the 1982 season when the Nittany Lions beat UGA for the national championship (I am convinced Paterno stole our signals or otherwise cheated in that game but that’s another story). But we do not need to expand the authority of the NCAA to allow it to impose the death penalty on a school’s sports program because of misconduct ancillary to that program simply by virtue of that conduct being done by coaches and/or other school officials, particularly when there has been no prior warning. The NCAA will abuse that authority as sure as the sun rises.
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Dave, I didn’t want to ignore your comment as I think it was well-intentioned. I disagree that this was a “sports matter.” This was a money matter. The Penn Staters covered up what they covered up because they felt it would cause the university to be held up to public ridicule, cause a reduction in ticket sales and a loss of revenue from television, bowl games and from the sale of merchandise. You may believe that is a close enough connection to football that it warrants action by the NCAA. I do not. I also fear the precedent it will create which would allow the NCAA, an organization deeply flawed itself, even more power over member institutions.
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Ultimately many will think everything is driven by money, and in truth, the overwhelming majority of decisions are, but I don’t think that was the primary motivation here. JoePa’s chase of the record had consumed him by now, and the “alleged” spotless, pristine PSU reputation and smugness were the key factors in this one. Paterno’s ego was bigger than his need for money, so since he had the control, and has several times demonstrated money wasn’t the most important thing to him, I think it was the selfish view that his legacy was more important than doing the right thing. Ironic that his legacy has now been stained forever by his actions (inactions).
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Mac, you may be right about JoePa personally but for the rest of them it was all about the money.
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Well yeah, the other three had no “legacy” to protect/promote and, first and foremost you have to understand this train wad driven by Paterno…..period. He was more powerful than any of the three, and he had the most to lose. The crime occurred on his turf, by one of his boys, and the biggest loss for doing the right thing was to HIS program. This particular situation was not a result of protecting the money, reporting Sandusky in 1998, or 2002, would not have been a financial blip on the radar. That would have been a criminal matter and civil suit against Sandusky while PSU and King Joe would have been praised for taking immediate action.
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Well, I guess you and I disagree with one another–imagine that!
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Yes, let’s keep our eye on the real Moral Monsters here: The NCAA.
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A Child Rapist, former legenday coach and ambasador to the program, was sheltered, protected, given immunity by the highest seats of power within Penn State from 1998 to 2011 precisely in order to maintain a competitive advantage. To protect the brand. To keep the machine of Penn State football running.
If that’s not worth investigating, if that’s not “lack of institutional control”, what is?
This is not simply a matter of morality, even if we want to think of it as such.
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bingo.
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“lack of institutional control” is not just a general concept that applies to anything. It refers to control regarding certain kinds of matters. In the case of the NCAA, it has to do with matters that relate to amateurism and academic honesty for a school’s athletes. If a school has systematic violations of those kinds of issues, then it can be charged with a lack of institutional control. The NCAA exists to police inter-collegiate athletic competitions, not to make sure that nothing morally horrible ever happens at a school. IF something morally horrible happens, we have laws to deal with that.
Lack of inst control may apply here on the NCAA’s own terms of what schools are required to do, in theory. I’m not an expert on its rule books and regulations. But the argument that the administration did something horrible, and so therefore that by itself is a lack of institutional control by NCAA standards, does not wash.
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When has the NCAA, or any other administrative agency, ever showed restraint and admitted that something was beyond its power to regulate? These agencies seldom, if ever, admit that something is out of their league.
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What’s your point?
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That the NCAA will get involved whether they should or not.
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I think what we have to do here is to separate the grisly nature of Sandusky’s and others’ moral turpitude from the base issue of an institution whose leadership went to great lengths to protect the institution from scandal.
Because Sandusky preyed on children and the ripple of horror this produced in our little community, I wonder if we have lost sight of the more common and widespread problem this episode exposes.
While Mac and others make a reasoned argument for the NCAA to stick its nose into Penn State’s dirty laundry, to me this is clearly a matter for Penn State to handle, with the obvious help of the state of Pennsylvania.
This is not, at its core, a football problem, not a sports story, this is, at its core, a complete failure of institutional leadership at a state school. It is for the state, it seems to me, and the institution to correct.
The NCAA has no business, no matter what Mark Emmert may view as his organization’s mandate, involving itself in this situation.
Is this any different from congress trying to involve itself in a college football playoff…I think not.
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If I was running the NCAA, I would refuse to sanction their football games. I dont want to have anything to do with them. I am pretty sure that the NCAA is a completely voluntary organization. PSU can play football, but I wouldnt want the NCAA logo on their jersey and i wouldnt want them playing in contests that I sanctioned.
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Hitting Penn State with NCAA sanctions just cheapens the legal process. These were crimes that were committed and covered up. Let the legal system deal with it. The NCAA shouldn’t be involved at all. This is way above their pay grade.
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interesting – if what you do is so horrible that the NCAA can’t handle it, well then, by gosh, they shouldn’t.
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Agree. It’s like bringing in the Homeowner’s Association to investigate a murder at Del Boca Vista Phase Three.
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They’re dropping like flies there. It hasn’t been the same since the Izzy Mandelbaum tragedy.
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“It’s go time.”
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Just to add to it, if this was a Rhodes Scholar chemistry department head that covered up acts by an associate professor, and these same crimes happened in a chemistry lab, would we be wanting to shut down the chemistry department?
I think the legal system will take care of this, as they should.
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Rhoades Scholar department head…..and the Dean of the Science College…….and the VP of Academic Affairs….and the President of the University covering for the associate professor. Why would they cover for an associate professor? To keep the good reputation of the chemistry department. How do you keep them from trying to keep the good name of the chemistry department by any means necessary? Get rid of the chemistry department, if only for a short time.
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Exactly. And this Chemistry Dept. is a cash generating, alumni fundraising, most recognizable public face of the institution.
While the “agents” involved might be imprisoned, deceased, or fired, the institution still should be held responsible.
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There is no “institution” other than the people that actually have make it up. If you have punished the people who did the actual wrong, then it is a serious logical and moral error to hurt the “institution” further at that point. That’s just code for hurting other people who weren’t involved.
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But the men involved, as agents for the institution, failed in a myriad of ways in using their institutional power and control.
The institution–Penn State Football–was the bait and lure, a pedophile used to rape children.
When this was discovered, the men within the leadership of said institution, attempted to cover it up, in the name of the institution.
The institution was bait for Sandusky.
The institution was shelter for Sandusky.
The institution was responsible, with at least the knowledge, of the raping of children, by the aforementioned, emeritus distinguished, private luxury box football holder, parking space in the football lot, Sandusky.
The institution should pay.
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I totally disagree with Mr. Jones III’s premise that this is not a “sports story”. Even mention the name of the school and what comes to mind? — of course, football. Further, the head coach of the team is complicit here with an athletic department employee, and at least one of the crimes publicized took place in a university locker room!! Remember, what NCAA stands for – National Collegiate “Athletic” Association. Even with all of the criticisms and/or limitations of the institution itself taken into consideration, to say that it should not be involved in this case is ludicrous.
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i recently saw that the state of PA’s bond rating was at risk – not because of the economy – but because of the potential magnitude of financial liability from law suits stemming from sandusky’s abuses.
the emotional commitment to joe-pa as deity is still keeping lots of psu folks in denial. it’s going to be a long, long time before that place recovers.
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“We are Penn State” and the legend of JoePa have always been nauseating on various levels. But the death penalty probably does not fit the crime(s). The NCAA may be useful towards further investigations into “who knew what and when” among the other coaches…and can discipline them with sanctions as warranted. No TV and bowl appearances for several years will certainly help minimize the reminder of the PSU culture from the national conversation. I’d rather see the program shamed and work on reform with an opportunity to rebuild publicly rather than allow them to rally behind overcoming the death penalty…which they have the resources for (far more than little SMU ever did).
More like making them work on the roadside chain-gang at hard labor rather than going through multiple appeals on death row….and possibly winning.
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I don’t see how “lack of institutional control” really applies here. If anything, Joe Paterno having way, way too much institutional control was what allowed all this to happen.
And as appallingly as many Penn State constituencies have acted in the wake of thr Sandusky horror, I don’t want the NCAA involved here. The people primarily responsible for the Sandusky cover-up have all either died or been fired; as with so many other NCAA penalties, the only ones who would suffer if the NCAA acted now would be a group of players who did nothing wrong, with the actually culpable adults meanwhile getting off scot-free.
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I doubt someone would have the same success trying to attact and molest young boys using a the brand name of a university’s chemistry department.
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This whole atrocity occurred because the reputation of the football program was more important than protecting young children. I don’t care if the school or the courts do it, but the football program needs to be disbanded for at least 2 years. If both of those entities choose not to do so, then I agree with the NCAA stepping in. The whole premises of “institutional control” is to determine whether the rouge party is allowed to operate without the oversight of the administration. I don’t believe this applies to strictly the events that are uncovered in an investigation. It applies to the atmosphere surrounding the program. If you find one “infraction” and this atmosphere existed then you have no idea if other “infractions” occurred and how many (i.e. Joe Pa handling his players run ins with the law in house, as referenced by the compliance director who resigned). On a personal note, this whole “50 years of good ruined by one huge mistake” is the biggest load of BS. We’ve already proven that 14 of those 50 years are stricken by the cover-up, and there’s no doubt in my mind that Joe Pa covered up other things during his fifty years at the university. Joe Pa was a scum bag, period. Let’s not forget, Sandusky started the Second Mile, which apart from his horrific acts probably did some good for some kids, but no one is painting him like Joe Pa (as someone who’s good acts should still be weighed). Joe Pa covered for a pedophile. He deserves no remorse and no legacy.
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CD, if “it applies to the atmosphere surrounding the program” somebody needs to be looking deeply at a lot of other places including but not limited to Southern Cal, Bama, Auburn, FSU, Miami, Kentucky, Indiana and all those other institutions where football or basketball is placed ahead of everything else. Maybe it wasn’t child molestation but you can bet that there have been coverups of some pretty rotten things at one or more of those institutions I just named as well as others. Can you spell C-A-M N-E-W-T-O-N and R-E-G-G-I-E B-U-S-H?
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I completely agree, but you can’t use the LOIC without an infraction. That’s why USC did and Miami will get hammered hard, but Bama (who most definitely has a football above all else culture) remains unscathed. I don’t think it’s wrong to have an abundance of respect for your athletic team as a coach or administrator. However, if it hinders your ability to think straight, then the culture at the university should be adjusted so it no longer cultivates that sense of “protect the legacy at all costs.” The only way to adjust is to demolish the ivory tower.
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Mayor, thanks for reinforcing my point…all the schools mentioned (and more) have basically the same cultural/institutional bias as Penn State, it is the type of crime allowed to continue by Penn State that is driving the story here.
When in truth, this same culture has covered up, for the same reasons as Penn State covered up child abuse, gang rape, robbery, assault, dope thuggery and theft and you name it.
“However, if it hinders your ability to think straight, then the culture at the university should be adjusted so it no longer cultivates that sense of “protect the legacy at all costs.” The only way to adjust is to demolish the ivory tower.”
I don’t know about demolition, CD, but, again, at all the schools the Mayor mentioned, and many more, the only straight thinking is how to protect the program.
And I hate to say it again, but maybe it takes a micro-managing, arrogant, unfeeling university president to alter this culture. Certainly at many of our brother SEC institutions the university president is a mushy figurehead who uses the athletic director as a shield from problems with the athletic program…clearly this does not work when big, serious trouble happens.
I don’t really feel any more pure because, in the last couple of decades or so, there has been a concerted effort to get control of the athletic program at my alma mater, but I also realize it had to be done.
There is a reason our football players get arrested for breaking wind climbing off a scooter in an alley….they would not at Penn State, and look what that got them.
Or at least that’s how it looks to me.
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I agree with the your sentiments, and understand those who say the NCAA should butt out. I just firmly believe the football program’s reputation and revenue were the cause of this and should be shut down accordingly. I’d rather someone other than the NCAA do it, but don’t care if it ends up that they make the decision after no one else does.
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Sorry, CD, but to me, if PSU wants to shut down the football program for a period of time, that’s fine…it is their mess to handle. The NCAA had nothing to do with the current situation at PSU, to have them self-appoint themselves as a special prosecutor is attention grabbing at its very worst.
“Oh its college football, oh, where is the NCAA?”
Somebody up above posed the scenario where this happened to a professor…should they close down the department he taught in?
Any decision involving Penn State simply has to reside with the people who govern the people who run Penn State.
And, of course, the criminal justice system.
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The entire football program (its players and facilities) was used as a front by Jerry Sandusky to lure children. Joe Paterno knew Sandusky had incidents, yet allowed him continued access to the football program. I believe an assistant coach using a football team as a marketing tool for his pedophilia and a enabling head coach constitutes a major NCAA infraction. And the compliant nature of the administrators constitutes a lack of institutional control. I would venture to guess he NCAA would have no problem slapping the shit out a program who’s coach colluded with drug dealers to help traffic their drug (with use of the football facilities) and enticed the drug dealers to use him by giving them access to the team. Meanwhile, no money or improprieties were exchanged between players and drug dealer. Hell that applies even more to the chemistry department analogy and I can guarantee you the department would be shut down.
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The solution rests with”…the people who run Penn State.” That would be the government of the State of Pennsylvania. That is who actually has the responsibility for dealing with this not the NCAA. Also, with regard to the Penn State football program, there will be a backlash of biblical proportions with nobody wanting the Nittany Lions on TV or to buy anything even remotely associated with the place. Plus their vaunted football program will be dropping to about 2-10 on an annual basis because no top athlete will want to go there. This may be one of those situations where the “marketplace” (for all our free market capitalist posters out there) actually will work out the appropriate solution. These Penn Staters covered up child molestation to protect $$$ and now that it has been exposed will lose their filthy lucre as penance.
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I would much prefer PSU self-discipline and abandon the program but have no confidence in them doing so. When a person doesn’t do the honorable thing and resign, they make someone fire them. If they had the class they have always said they do, football would be shoved back. This season’s PSU games are a joke now and should not be played. Let the players go where they want with no penalty.
I did hear part of a press statement today that made me think they are getting more heat than they expected and realize it may be necessary to go further to satisfy public opinion. It doesn’t seem possible to continue and play the “it was just a mistake” card and hide behind, “it was just terrible, everyone feels badly, so let’s move on now”.
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I am gonna keep whacking away at this till I figure out what I mean. The crime committed by Sandusky should not overshadow the guilt of a system that allowed him to continue to brutalize children. Sandusky’s crime is bad, horrible….but the system’s guilt is worse.
Mac, Mayor, Carolina….if you shut down Penn State’s football program don’t you impact all the kids directly and indirectly (who play other sports the football program supports) involved in the football program, and make THEM pay a price because their leadership and culture failed them?
I doubt any of the current football players at Penn State knew this was going on, yet you guys want them to suffer the collateral damage.
I am sorry folks, something about that does not sit well with me.
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Not me SJ. Read my posts above more closely. I just don’t want the NCAA to come out of this with more power than before. The Penn Staters need to recognize that the public will impose retribution on PSU (and deservedly so), whether any one person or group approves of it or not. Some PSUers are in denial about all this thinking it will blow over. It won’t. Reality can be a bitch sometimes.
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this crime is heinous. not merely reprehensible or ethically wrong, but utterly reprehensible and heinous. if there is anything that can be done by the ncaa to underscore the severity and impact of what has occurred, then it should be done. there are children, families, and agencies whose attempts to gain justice were blocked by various individuals whose primary motivation was to shelter reputations. any attempts to impose the death penalty will come with caveats that allow players to go elsewhere…as they should. but this program deserves to burn in effigy. nothing that has been punished in the past is comparable to this. i understand that this is an extreme view, but i dont understand the situations to which this is being compared. if this was going on at goeorgia i would hang my head in shame and accept the consequences. this situation is unique in its level of grotesqueness (i hope).
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What I have been trying to do for the last couple days is to separate the crime, and yes, it is heinous, from the institutional collapse that allowed the crime to continue.
Then I read, this morning, that Paterno renegotiated his contract for MORE money during the furor. In spite of the fact the people he was renegotiating with knew the truth of Paterno’s participation in covering up Sandusky’s reprehensibly heinous crime. And Penn State gave Paterno what he asked for.
In light of this complete and utter failure of the leadership of the school, I am wondering if maybe the State of Pennsylvania should not just shut down the whole school.
I am struck dumb. I say, (what I mean is…I HOPE) this could not happen with Adams as president, given his personality and personal concerns and yet, and yet…not that it compares in heinosity, Adams made a side deal with Jim Donnan nobody knew about.
Penn State’s ultimate overseer is the board of trustees. It is unclear who those fine folks are responsible to, but I will observe I would not like to be handling correspondence for the Right Honorable Karen Peetz who is the mighty fine chairperson of the board of trustees.
Holding football responsible for the Penn State horror show is short-sighted to me, because, clearly although Paterno was certainly the football coach, the total and complete failure of an institutional morality occurred far off the football field.
I think that’s what I mean.
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Would they put Arkie on the list?
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